TWO THEORIES OF BEGINNINGS

Victor M. Eskew

 

          If there were ever a time when nothing existed, then nothing would still exist today.  Something cannot come from nothing.  If something exists, then something existed to bring what exists into existence.  In other words, whether you are a theist, that is, one who believes in God, or, an atheist, one who does not believe God exists, both have to acknowledge that something existed that caused all things that exist today. 

          Yes, there are two different theories of beginnings.  Theists believe that an eternal,  living, all-powerful, all-wise God brought all things into being by an act of creation.  Atheists deny that theory.  But, all things are here today.  Where did they come from?  The atheists have an alternative theory.  They tell us that matter, in some form, is eternal.  Remember, something cannot come from nothing.

          Let’s stop here and ask a question.  “Which one of the two theories is easier to believe from the outset?”  Is it easier to believe that an eternal God created all things?  Or, is it easier to believe that all things were created from some form of matter?  The question that most will ask the theist is:  “Where did your God come from?”  The answer to that question is that He is eternal.  He is a self-existent being.  He had no beginning, and He has no end.  Some people cannot fathom that answer.  However, they need to ask a similar question to the atheist.  Where did that matter that created all things come from?  The atheist must answer in the same matter the theist answers.  He must affirm that the matter is eternal.  He must believe that it has always existed.  With these thoughts in mind we ask again:  “Which of the two theories is easier to believe from the outset?”

          As we look about our world today, we see that life exists.  Life is found in the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and in the human kingdom.  Both theories of origins, therefore, must account for life.  The theist affirms that life can from a living God.  His nature is life.  He is the very fountain of life.  The atheist, on the other hand, must teach that life came from non-living matter.  The eternal matter that they believe created all things had to also create life. 

          Let’s stop and ask our question again.  “Which one of the two theories is easier to believe at this point in the discussion?  Perhaps before anyone answers that question a fact needs to be brought forth.  The fact is this:  “Life can only come from life.”  The opposite is just as true.  Life cannot come from non-life.  The God of the theist is a living God.  The matter of the atheist was non-living matter.  It was just some gasses that were floating in some form of void billions and billions of years ago.  Now, ask the question again.  “Which one of two theories is easier to believe?”  Did life as we know it come from life?  Or, did the life which exists today come from non-life?  Dear reader, if you believe that life came from non-life, you believe in something that has NEVER occurred.  You believe in something that has NEVER been proven to happen. 

          When we examine our world, we also find that order exists in the world.  There are multitudes of methodical and harmonious arrangements that are manifested throughout the Universe.  The order that exists in the Universe has allowed man to discover a multitude of laws the govern the Universe.  These laws are so precise that we have been able fly, to navigate the deep, to explore space, and to develop medical technology that has been able to preserve life in numerous ways.  Where did these laws come from? 

          The theist affirms that an all-wise God created the Universe.  He is a God of law and order.  Therefore, He instilled laws into the fabric of His creation.  The atheist tells us that the eternal matter that existed at the beginning exploded, evolved, and eventually settled into the ordered Universe that we have today.  We ask again:  “Which one of these theories is easier to believe?”  Before answering, let’s think about something.  Has an explosion ever manifested order and design?  An explosion in a chocolate factory will never create candy bars.  An explosion in a metal factory will never cause a car to be created.  An explosion in a chemical factory will never bring forth gallon cans of multicolored paint.  Explosions only bring chaos and destruction.  Now let’s ask:  “At this point in our study, which theory is easier to believe?”  Did an all-wise God establish the laws that exist in our world?  Or, did a “big bang” bring all of the laws into existence? 

          Part of the design that exists in the world involves a very complex being called a “homo sapien,” that is, a human being.  As we think about the human being, we must ask:  “Which theory of origins is easier to believe regarding the product we call man?”  The theist tells us that a living, omnipotent, omniscient God, created man in His image.  The atheist argues that humanity is the product of billions of years of evolution.  This evolution had to depend upon mutations that eventually brought modern man into being.  One more time we ask:  “Which theory of beginnings is easier to believe when it comes to its explanation of man?” 

          One more time, let’s stop and consider something unique about man.  Every human being has a conscience.  The conscience can be defined as follows:  “a feeling that originates in the mind of man that approves or condemns his actions based upon the teaching he has received from others.”  No one would deny that human beings have a conscience.  When we do good, our conscience approves of our actions.  When we do bad, our conscience condemns our actions.  The conscience involves the mind of man.  It involves his rationale and his feelings.  The theist asserts that God instilled man’s conscience within him.  The atheist must believe that it evolved.  However, the evolution of the conscience cannot be found in the process of evolution.  Neither the plant kingdom nor the animal kingdom manifest conscience.  So we ask:  “Now, which of the two theories of beginnings is easier to believe?” 

          It has often been said that it takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to be a theist.  The atheist must believe that matter is eternal.  He must believe that life comes from non-life.  He must believe that order and design is the result of chaos.  And, he must believe that the conscience of man spring from absolutely nothing at some point in time.  If a person honestly thinks about the things we have discussed, he must admit that the atheist has an abundance of faith in his theory.  It is amazing that he laughs at the theist for having faith in God.  At least the theist’s eternal God possesses the things that the atheist’s eternal matter doesn’t.  He is living.  He is a God of order, design, and law.  It is He who possesses a conscience who instilled a conscience into every human being. 

          The honest individual must admit that an atheist has an abundance of faith.  Too, he must respect the faith of the theist.  He must also have some regard for some of the affirmations of Scripture.  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).  “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is…” (Exo. 20:11).  “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Ps. 33:6).  “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:  marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Ps. 139:14).  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:21).  “For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God” (Heb. 3:4).