How Science Confirms a Literal, Historical Adam and Eve | The Log College

How Science Confirms a Literal, Historical Adam and Eve

by Terry Mortenson

Editor’s Note: The following article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of Eikon.

An increasing number of professing evangelical scholars and leaders doubt or deny some or all of the details about Adam in Genesis. They do so because they believe that science has proven overwhelmingly that we are related to the apes through millions of years of evolution. But is this so? And does it matter?

The Historicity of Adam

Genesis 1–11 is inerrant history, not poetry, historical fiction, or mythology.^[1] The thirteen-fold use of Hebrew word toledoth (translated as “history,” “account,” or “generations”) in Genesis,^[2] alongside the waw-consecutive, imperfect verb form, shows that these eleven chapters are historical narrative. The genealogies in Genesis 5, 11, Luke 3, and the many comments of Jesus, Paul, and Peter show that Genesis 1–11 should be interpreted as literally as we do the accounts of the virgin birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.^[3]So, what does Scripture teach about the origin of man?

The Literal Truth About Adam

According to Genesis 1:26–28, Adam and Eve were created on the sixth literal day of history and were uniquely made in the image of God. They were created to rule over the rest of creation. Adam was created to understand and use spoken language (Gen. 2:7–25). Adam had the reasoning ability to name animals and discern that he was alone — the only human being, until God made Eve.

Genesis 2:7 clearly states that God made Adam’s body from the dust of the ground, added the divine breath, and Adam became a “living creature” (Hebrew: nephesh chayyah). The same Hebrew words, nephesh chayyah, describe sea creatures, flying creatures, and land animals (Gen. 1:20–21, 24; 2:19; 9:9–15). They are all living creatures (though they are not made in the image of God). God did not make a living creature by natural processes over millions of years and transform that living creature into a human being. The first man, Adam, was supernaturally made from literal dust (cf. Gen. 3:19; 1 Cor. 15:45–47). Genesis 2:7 is impossible to harmonize with human evolution.

Genesis 2:22 says Eve, the first woman (Gen. 3:20), was made from a pre-existing living creature (Adam). But this was by supernatural surgery, not by any natural process.

The fall of Adam and Eve not only produced immediate spiritual death (Gen. 3:8) but also precipitated God’s judgment in initiating the process of physical death (Gen. 3:19). God also cursed the non-human creation (Gen. 3:14, 17–18; Rom. 8:18–25). In Genesis 3:15, God gave the first promise of the coming Messiah to save sinners. Then God made coats of skin implying the first blood sacrifice as a covering for sin (Gen. 3:21), pointing to the Lamb of God (Jesus) who provides forgiveness of sin (John 1:29) for those who repent and believe the gospel.

God says that He created the earth to be inhabited by man (Isa. 45:12, 18), and that He created the heavenly bodies so man can tell time (Gen 1:14). But if the big bang theory is true, then God waited billions of years after He made the stars, Sun, Moon, and Earth before He made man. What kind of God would say and do this? These statements only make sense if Adam was created five days after God created the earth and two days after He made the heavenly bodies.

Referring to Genesis 1–2 in Mark 10:1–9, Jesus affirmed that God created Adam and Eve at the “beginning of creation.”^[4] Paul likewise taught that “since the creation of the world,” humans have seen the witness of creation to the existence and some attributes of God (Rom 1:20). Jesus and Paul were clearly young-earth creationists: Adam was not created billions of years after the beginning, as implied by the evolution story.

But what about the “overwhelming scientific evidence”?

The idea of millions of years of earth history was invented in the minds of anti-Christian geologists in the late eighteenth and early-nineteenth century by using naturalistic, uniformitarian assumptions to interpret the evidence.^[5]

Fossil evidence?

Since the discovery of “Neanderthal Man” in 1856 in Germany, evolutionists have trotted out numerous examples of fossil evidence to “prove beyond question” that we evolved from some ape-like creature over millions of years. From 1864 until recently, evolutionists said Neanderthals were a different species, Homo neanderthalensis. Today, many evolutionists classify them as fully human, and for many good reasons. They made sophisticated spears and tools, jewelry, glue, boats, flutes from bear femurs, and homes from animal skins. They painted cave art, used fire to cook, cared for their sick, and ceremonially buried their dead. Genetic and anatomical evidence indicates they could speak, and they interbred with modern humans.^[6]

“Piltdown Man” was announced in 1912 as an ape-man who lived 500,000 to a million years ago. In the following decades he was discussed in 500 scientific papers^[7] and presented as evidence of human evolution in the famous “Scopes Evolution Trial” in 1925.^[8] But in 1953 “Piltdown man” was exposed as a deliberate hoax concocted by some of the leading scientists in Britain.

In 1922, Henry Fairfield Osborn (director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, 1908–1935) declared to the public that “Nebraska Man” was an ape-like ancestor based on a single fossil tooth! But in 1927, after more fossil evidence was discovered in Nebraska, it was quietly revealed (in a technical journal) to be from an extinct species of pig.

In 1970, in commenting on the Piltdown hoax, the prominent evolutionist Lord Solly Zuckerman declared,

Students of fossil primates have not been distinguished for caution when working within the logical constraints of their subject. The record is so astonishing that it is legitimate to ask whether much science is yet to be found in this field at all. The story of the Piltdown Man hoax provides a pretty good answer.^[9]

In 1974 “Lucy” was declared to be a “missing link” ape-woman. But compelling evidence, recognized by even some evolutionists, shows that she and other Australopithecines are 100% apes.^[10]

In 1993, in a review of an evolutionist book on human origins, Chris Stringer, another world-famous evolutionary expert on the subject said,

The study of human origins seems to be a field in which each discovery raises the debate to a more sophisticated level of uncertainty . . . . True to the traditions of the field, the arguments swirl around the questions of the correct classification of the fossils and of the presumed relationships between the species of humans and pre-humans.^[11]

From 1997 to the present, Dr. Carl Werner and his wife have visited 122 natural history museums and universities all over the world. They have photographed thousands of original fossils and interviewed over 100 leading evolutionists about the evidence for evolution, and especially the evolution of man. What they discovered was a trail of false claims, hidden evidence, manipulation of the evidence, fraud, and sharp disagreement among evolutionist experts. Anyone who thinks the scientific evidence for human evolution is strong needs to consider Werner’s revealing interviews and photos of the actual fossil evidence. The world has been deceived.^[12]

Genetic evidence?

Like the fossil evidence, genetics also confirms Genesis and refutes evolution. For many years the media and science magazines have told the world that the DNA of chimpanzees and humans “are nearly 99 percent the same.”^[13] But to arrive at that percentage, evolutionists did not compare the whole genomes of chimps and humans and used the human genome as a structural framework (which thereby assumed ape-to-human evolution is a fact).

But in 2016, Dr. Jeffrey Tomkins (geneticist at the Institute for Creation Research) carefully analyzed the published genomic data and concluded that the genomes of humans and chimps are only about 85% the same.^[14] In May 2025, in the prominent journal, Nature, evolutionists confirmed that percentage as a result of mapping the whole genome of apes without using the human genome as a template.^[15]

Dr. Tomkins and Dr. Nathaniel Jeason (genetics expert at Answers in Genesis) have also shown that genetics confirms that all humans are descended from just two humans and the mutation rate in the human genome confirms the biblical timescale for Adam, not the evolutionist timescale for the first Homo sapiens.^[16]

Does It Matter What We Believe About Adam?

The biblical and scientific evidence overwhelmingly exposes the lie that humans evolved from some ape-like ancestors over millions of years. The account of Adam and Eve in Genesis is literally accurate history. They were created supernaturally only a little more than 6000 years ago.^[17]

The Bible’s teaching about Adam and Eve is critical to right thinking about gender, marriage, abortion, racism, and the authority of Scripture.^[18] The myth of millions of years of animal disease, death, and extinction and other natural evils before Adam undermines the clear biblical truth about the original very good creation, the cosmic impact of the Fall, and the future redemption of the creation at the return of Christ and thereby assaults the character of God.^[19]

Many old-earth creationists affirm a literal, historical Adam but accept the billions of years. This reflects an inconsistent hermeneutic, as I have shown elsewhere.^[20] Christians should reject all old-earth views, not just theistic evolution.^[21]

Most importantly, Adam is foundational to the gospel message of salvation. He brought sin and physical and spiritual death into the human race. But Jesus, the last Adam, came to give spiritual life and ultimately resurrected physical life to all those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Rom 5:12–21; 1 Cor 15:20–28, 42–50). We have no gospel without the last Adam. But we can’t have the gospel with the first Adam either. Let God be true, but every man a liar (Rom 3:4)!

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[1] Even most old-earth proponents in the church recognize that Genesis 1–11 is history. See, for example, Walter Kaiser, The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable and Relevant? (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001), 53–83.

[2] Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, 10:32, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:13, 25:19, 36:1, 26:9 and 37:2.

[3] For a scholarly defense of the young-earth view of Genesis 1–11 that is also understandable to thoughtful lay people, see the 14-author work, Terry Mortenson and Thane H. Ury, eds., Coming to Grips with Genesis (Green Forest, AR: Master Book, 2008).

[4] For a short defense of this statement, see Terry Mortenson, “But from the Beginning of . . . the Institution of Marriage? Answers in Genesis, November 1, 2004, https://answersingenesis.org/family/marriage/but-from-the-beginning-of-the-institution-of-marriage/. For a longer discussion, see Terry Mortenson, “Jesus, Evangelical Scholars, and the Age of the Earth,” Answers in Genesis, August 1, 2007, https://answersingenesis.org/age-of-the-earth/jesus-evangelical-scholars-and-the-age-of-the-earth/, which is similar to chapter 11 in Coming to Grips with Genesis.

[5] See my lecture (based on my PhD research), Terry Mortenson, “Millions of Years: The Idea’s Unscientific Origin and Catastrophic Consequences” Answers in Genesis, August 26, 2008, https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/age-of-the-earth/millions-of-years/; as well as Terry Mortenson, “The History of the Development of the Geological Column,” Answers in Genesis, August 8, 2007, https://answersingenesis.org/age-of-the-earth/the-history-of-the-development-of-the-geological-column/; and Terry Mortenson, “Philosophical Naturalism and the Age of the Earth: Are They Related?” Answers in Genesis, March 2, 2005, https://answersingenesis.org/age-of-the-earth/are-philosophical-naturalism-and-age-of-the-earth-related/.

[6] See Marvin Lubenow, “Neanderthals: Our Worthy Ancestors,” in Terry Mortenson, ed., Searching for Adam: Genesis and the Truth about Human Origins (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2016), 263–286.

[7] Glen Levy, “Top 10 Shocking Hoaxes,” Time (2010 March 16), https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1931133_1931132_1931125,00.html.

[8] Regarding that farcical trial that made a fool of a leading old-earth creationist, see Terry Mortenson,  https://christoverall.com/article/concise/the-1925-scopes-evolution-trial-why-it-matters-100-years-later/, July 18 2025.

[9] Solly Zuckerman, Beyond the Ivory Tower (New York, NY: Taplinger Publishing Co., 1970), 65.

[10] See David Menton’s illustrated lecture, “Lucy: She’s No Lady,” Answers in Genesis, August 11, 2015, https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/evolution/lucy-shes-no-lady/. The late Dr. Mention was a respected human anatomy medical professor (Washington University School of Medicine) and expert on the claimed fossil evidence for human evolution.

[11] Chris Stringer, Book review of Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human, by Richard Leakey (Doubleday, 1992), Scientific American (May 1993), 88.

[12] See The Grand Experiment Video Series, especially video episodes 3–8 on human evolution at https://www.thegrandexperiment.com/video-series.

[13] Elizabeth Kobert, “Skin Deep,” National Geographic (April 2018), 32–33.

[14] Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “Analysis of 101 Chimpanzee Trace Read Data Sets: Assessment of Their Overall Similarity to Human and Possible Contamination With Human DNA,” Answers Research Journal 9 (2016): 294–298, https://answersresearchjournal.org/analysis-chimpanzee-trace-read-data-sets/.

[15] DongAhn Yoo et al., “Complete sequencing of ape genomes,” Nature, 641:401–418 (2025 May 8), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08816-3.

[16] Nathaniel Jeason and Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “Genetics confirms the recent, supernatural creation of Adam and Eve,” in Terry Mortenson, ed., Searching for Adam: Genesis and the Truth about Human Origins (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2016), 287–330.

[17] In Searching for Adam, sixteen experts defend the literal truth about Adam biblically, theologically, historically, paleontologically, genetically, anatomically, socially, and morally.

[18] Mortenson, Searching for Adam, 459–501, https://answersingenesis.org/adam-and-eve/adam-morality-gospel-and-authority-of-scripture/.

[19] Terry Mortenson, “The Fall and the Problem of Millions of Years of Natural Evil,” Answers in Genesis, July 18, 2012, https://answersingenesis.org/theory-of-evolution/millions-of-years/the-fall-and-the-problem-of-millions-of-years-of-natural-evil/.

[20] See my 20,000 word critique of Wayne Grudem’s critique of theistic evolution: Terry Mortenson, “Theistic Evolution: A Response to Wayne Grudem, Making the Same Errors He Opposes in Others, Answers in Genesis, February 17, 2021,  https://answersresearchjournal.org/theistic-evolution-response-grudem/. For a shorter 3,000-word summary, see Terry Mortenson, “Wayne Grudem’s Seriously Inconsistent Opposition to Theistic Evolution,” Answers in Genesis, https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/old-earth/wayne-grudem-inconsistent-opposition-theistic-evolution/.

[21] See my lecture, Terry Mortenson, “Did God Create over Millions of Years?” Answers.tv, August 26, 2024, https://www.answers.tv/videos/did-god-create-over-millions-of-years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Terry MortensonTerry Mortenson (MDiv, PhD) is a speaker, writer, and researcher at Answers in Genesis.View all posts

The Creation Out of Nothing | FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS

The Creation Out of Nothing

FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS
volume 24, number 47, November 20, 2025

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1:1. 

Astronomers tell us that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has over three billion stars, that it is one thousand light years deep, that it is one hundred thousand light years across. One light year is the speed of light which is one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per  second multiplied by every second in one year. They also say that there are one hundred billion galaxies in our universe. These figures are incomprehensible to us, but they proclaim a God of immeasurable glory and immensity, One who fills up every inch of His creation with His omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. 

The debate today is between naturalists and creationists of every stripe. Whether they believe in an old earth through a Steady State view of the universe (as did Carl Sagan who said “The cosmos is all there was, is, or ever will be”), or through the Framework hypothesis or Gap theory, or a young earth through a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation, this debate hinges on philosophy or theology. There is no conflict between true science and Biblical faith. Notice that I said “true science”, for it recognizes its limitations. True science works by observing certain phenomena and arriving at hypotheses based on that research. Since no human being was present on the first day of creation we are unable to observe the origin of the universe. True science is no better than theology at suggesting “how it all began.” Robert Jastrow of NASA famously said that for cosmologists, this is ending as a bad dream. For years they have been scaling the mountains of ignorance, thinking they finally have topped the summit, expecting to discover how it began, only to find the theologians sitting there for centuries. So the Christian has no reason to fear true science. We welcome scientific research, based on the scientific method. And we do not denigrate the suppositions scientists make on any range of observable and verifiable subjects. The conflict, however, arises when they become metaphysicians, philosophers, or theologians. 

The grand declaration, that God created all things out of nothing (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Acts 17:24, Romans 1:20, Hebrews 11:3) is the most profound and far reaching statement in all of Scripture. It says volumes about God. It tells us that He is self-existent (Isaiah 45:5ff), incomprehensible (Romans 11:33), and sovereign (Psalm 115:3). He does not need us. He was not lonely before creation. This speaks of His aseity. He was perfectly content and fulfilled in His Triune fellowship. He does not enhance His being or attributes by condescending to our helplessness. We are unable ever to mine the depths of His wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, or truth. He does as He pleases. He foreordains everything that comes to pass. There are no mistakes, no accidents. Nothing catches Him by surprise. Our problems stem from our truncated, paltry view of God. Our thinking about God tends to be far too small.

I aim, over the next several weeks, to take up the issue of God’s creation and some of the implications this has for us. Some of you are aware of the debate between Bible believing expositors and theologians concerning the early chapters of Genesis. Some believe in what is called the “Framework Hypothesis”, others believe in a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation. I would not call the Framework exegetes heretics though I believe they are very wrong in their view with massive negative implications. They say that they believe in creatio ex nihilo, creation out of nothing. However they believe that Moses never meant Genesis 1 to be taken literally. They say it is poetical, that the six days of creation are not chronological, that Moses meant the first three days to refer, as it were, to kingdoms and the last three days to refer to various kings in those kingdoms. In their view day one corresponds to day four, day two to day five, and day three to day six. This view allows for an old earth, perhaps billions of years old, and this fits very well with the vast majority of cosmologists who believe in a Big Bang theory of how it all began. 

I reject the Framework hypothesis for several reasons. First, the Hebrew text has fifty-one “vav” consecutives in Genesis 1 alone, The “vav” consecutive is a Hebrew verb form that is used in historical narrative, not in poetry. Secondly, the language in Genesis 1 is not symbolic. There are no metaphors or tropes in it. Thirdly, it does not make use of parallelism which is so prevalent in Hebrew poetry. See the Psalms and much of Isaiah. Psalm 19:1 is an example of Hebrew poetry (notice the parallelism), “The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” And fourthly, the New Testament makes at least one hundred references to Genesis 1-11 and none of these give any indication that they view it poetically. They are all stated historically, that these things really happened in time in the ancient world.

I freely admit that this causes many to view the Bible to be in serious conflict with science. Most who believe in a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation believe the earth is less than ten thousand years old, and most cosmologists simply laugh at that. I will have more to say about this in the future, but as it stands right now, may I suggest that we have one of two ways to go in this debate. Either we begin with science and then try to fit Scripture into a reasonable model of cosmology; or we begin with Scripture and wait for science to make sense of the apparent discrepancy. As an evangelist and exegetical preacher I say we must begin with Scripture. After all, no one was there at the beginning. No one knows how it all began. For a scientist or cosmologist to speak as though he knows, is to move from science to metaphysics, philosophy, or theology. Would it not make sense, therefore, to begin with Scripture, to admit that we don’t know how it all began, but trust the Bible, that it clearly  teaches a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation? Perhaps many scientists may one day, through research, find the Bible’s explanation acceptable.

This all means that we ought to deny atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, polytheism, and naturalism. If you take the Genesis 1 account seriously, then this leaves no room for any of these isms—including naturalism in the form of evolution or theistic evolution. These views all contradict the Scriptures. It means that we must affirm the worship of the God of Scripture. One of the Hebrew words for worship in the Old Testament means literally to bow down with one’s face to the ground in utter reverence before the Creator Redeemer. It means that everyone’s life has purpose and meaning, and that’s because we are the crown of His creation. No one is unimportant. And it means that creation is a paradigm for re-creation. God recreates us in Christ, giving us a new heart to love and serve Him; and He one day will re-create the heavens and earth, restoring them to their pre-fallen glory and majesty. I pray your vision for God will expand so that you may worship in awe. 

Why Do 99% of Scientists Reject Creation? | Around the World with Ken Ham

I personally know geologists, paleontologists, biologists, engineers, chemists, and so many other scientists who all start with God’s Word as their authority and believe in the biblical account of creation. But they are certainly in the minority! Why do 99% of scientists reject creation?

The heart of man is wicked and against God.

Well, ultimately it’s a spiritual issue! The heart of man is wicked and against God. But practically speaking, it’s because evolution is all students are ever taught! Relatively few people are actually exposed to creation teaching (though the Lord is certainly using this ministry and our attractions to reach millions with the message of biblical authority and creation).

Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson explains the connection between education (or indoctrination) and the statistic regarding scientists’ beliefs about origins in this video:

Watch the video on YouTube.

They need to see that biblical creation is a valid scientific model, it accurately explains the world around us, and it’s making discoveries.

Yes, we need to be doing all we can to ensure that children and young people hear the biblical authority message and are exposed not only to the challenges inherent in the evolutionary story but also to the actual science that creationists are doing. They need to see that biblical creation is a valid scientific model, it accurately explains the world around us, and it’s making discoveries.

That’s one reason we publish so many resources for kids and offer children 10 and under free admission to both the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. We want as many children as possible to visit so we can impact them with the truth of God’s Word and the gospel.

And one brand-new children’s resource that’s now available for preorder is Awesome Facts About the Earth, the newest book in our popular Awesome Facts series (which also includes Awesome Facts About Animals and Awesome Facts About Space). Kids will love learning about our planet from a biblical perspective with worldview and apologetics teaching sprinkled throughout the “awesome facts.” You can check it out and preorder at AnswersBookstore.com (it makes a great Christmas present!).

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2025/11/08/why-do-99-percent-of-scientists-reject-creation/

April 23 Morning Verse of the Day

1:28 In this the longest of the five blessings found in the account of creation, God gave humanity five different commands. Implicit in the first three commands is God’s blessing on the institutions of marriage and the family. The final two commands, to subdue the earth and rule the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing on the use of the planet’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Of course, only the wise use of these resources permits people to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A similar command to the survivors of the flood is shorter, having only the first three verbs in it (9:1).

Bergen, R. D. (2017). Genesis. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (pp. 6–7). Holman Bible Publishers.

1:28 The reference to “male and female” (v. 27) identifies human life as sexual, having different reproductive roles. Unlike the gods of the pagans, the God of the Bible does not engage in sexual activity, but the propagation of the human race was part of God’s plan from the outset. Propagation itself is not the result of sin. The power of procreation becomes sinful only when it is prostituted to selfish ends and carnal gratification. There may, in fact, be a redemptive significance implied by the verb “subdue,” if sin is understood to be already present in creation (v. 2, note).

Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Ge 1:28). Thomas Nelson.

1:28 blessed. See v. 22; 9:1 and notes. The genealogies of chs. 5; 9; 11; 25; 36; and 46 bear witness to the fulfillment of this blessing.

have dominion … earth. Under divine blessing, humans accomplish the cultural mandate (v. 26 and note) by naming the creation (v. 5; 2:19, 20). This activity expresses their bearing the image of the Creator-King. Fallen man, however, distorts this activity into self-deification and abuse of the creation.

Sproul, R. C., ed. (2005). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (p. 9). Ligonier Ministries.

1:28 Be fruitful and multiply As with the animal kingdom, humanity is created to be fertile. The capacity for sexual reproduction is cast as a divine blessing.

subdue it, and rule over These terms indicate active power or rule involving physical force or effort (Jer 34:16; Esth 7:8; Josh 18:1; Isa 14:2; Ezek 29:15).

Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 1:28). Lexham Press.

1:28 As God had blessed the sea and sky creatures (v. 22), so too he blesses humanity. Be fruitful and multiply. This motif recurs throughout Genesis in association with divine blessing (see 9:1, 7; 17:20; 28:3; 35:11; 48:4) and serves as the basis of the biblical view that raising faithful children is a part of God’s creation plan for mankind. God’s creation plan is that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his vice-regents or representatives. subdue it and have dominion. The term “subdue” (Hb. kabash) elsewhere means to bring a people or a land into subjection so that it will yield service to the one subduing it (Num. 32:22, 29). Here the idea is that the man and woman are to make the earth’s resources beneficial for themselves, which implies that they would investigate and develop the earth’s resources to make them useful for human beings generally. This command provides a foundation for wise scientific and technological development; the evil uses to which people have put their dominion come as a result of Genesis 3. over every living thing. As God’s representatives, human beings are to rule over every living thing on the earth. These commands are not, however, a mandate to exploit the earth and its creatures to satisfy human greed, for the fact that Adam and Eve were “in the image of God” (1:27) implies God’s expectation that human beings will use the earth wisely and govern it with the same sense of responsibility and care that God has toward the whole of his creation.

1:28 God created a permanent order of creation. But he also intended a development in which man would play a central role. Because Adam failed and fell into sin, Christ came as the last Adam to achieve dominion (see 1 Cor. 15:22, 45–49; Eph. 1:21–22).

Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 51–52). Crossway Bibles.

1:28 blessed. This second blessing (cf. 1:22) involved reproduction and dominion. Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it. God, having just created the universe, created His representative (rule over) and representation (cf. image and likeness). Man would fill the earth and oversee its operation. “Subdue” does not suggest a wild and unruly condition for the creation because God Himself pronounced it “good.” Rather, it speaks of a productive ordering of the earth and its inhabitants to yield its riches and accomplish God’s purposes.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 1:28). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

1:28 God blessed them. God extended to humankind the blessing of procreative power that He had given to animals. But here He added an additional element: instructions to subdue the earth and have dominion over all the other beings that God has made. These additional instructions reflect the special role that humankind plays in God’s creation. See p 842. Be fruitful and multiply. See note, v 22. Sex and childbearing are blessed by God in holy wedlock. Cf Ps 127–28. “Genesis 1:28 teaches that people were created to be fruitful, and that one sex should desire the other in a proper way. We are not speaking about lustful desire, which is sin, but about that appetite that was in nature in its perfection. They call this physical love. This love of one sex for the other is truly a divine ordinance” (Ap XXIII 7).

Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 14). Concordia Publishing House.

1:28 God blessed them: God’s smile, the warmth of His pleasure (1:22; 2:3; 9:1; 12:2, 3). God delighted in what He had made (Prov. 8:30, 31). The word translated subdue (Heb. kabash) means “bring into bondage.” This harsh term is used elsewhere of military conquest (Zech. 9:15) and of God subduing our iniquities (Mic. 7:19). As a king sets off to war to conquer a territory, so humans are told by the Great King to subdue the earth and rule it. Why this need to subjugate the earth? There are at least four possibilities: (1) sin would ruin the earth, and people would have to expend great effort to live there (3:17–19). (2) Satan would defy the will of God and make all good efforts difficult. (3) The earth left to itself would not remain good. Instead, God planned that people would need to manage and control it. (4) The beauty of the earth was only in the garden that God planted (2:8); the rest of the earth would be hostile. Whatever the case, subdue does not mean “destroy” or “ruin.” It means to “act as managers who have the authority to run everything as God planned.” This command applies equally to male and female.

Photo by Howard Vos

In this painting by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, God is portrayed as the Creator. After six days of work, God was pleased with His creation (Gen. 1:31).

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (pp. 6–7). T. Nelson Publishers.

Ver. 28 Have dominion.—Man’s dominion over the lower animals:—
I. THIS DOMINION GOD HAS MADE TO ARISE FROM THAT MENTAL SUPERIORITY WHICH CONSTITUTES MAN’S DISTINCTION AND GLORY.

1. The power of man is in his mind.
2. The benefit and extent of man’s dominion is made to depend on the moral as well as the intellectual nature with which he was originally endowed.
3. As God has thus fitted man, by his superior nature, for dominion; so, on the other hand, He has given to the inferior animals a corresponding disposition to acknowledge man’s superiority.
4. Thus the comfort of man is evidently promoted when this dominion is wisely and justly exercised, according to the original design of the Creator. “The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered: the lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are for the price of the field.” But the dominion of man when justly exercised, is a mean of comfort also to the animals who are connected with him. Living in our society and neighbourhood, they become the objects of our care. Attached to our persons and homes, they feel pleasure in our service. They thus partake of our provision, and enjoy the advantage of our foresight.
   II. THE MANNER IN WHICH OUR DOMINION OVER THE INFERIOR ANIMALS OUGHT TO BE EXERCISED.
   A right to rule is not a right to tyrannize; and a right to service extends only to such duties as are consistent with the powers of the servants, and with the place which is assigned to them. All power is of God, and can only be lawfully exercised when exercised according to His designs. That likeness to God in which we were originally created, should remind us that justice, and goodness, and mercy, are the chief distinctions after which we should aspire; and that our dominion was designed, like that of Him who designed it, to be exercised with wisdom, rectitude, and compassion. The consideration of our dominion, and the services by which those who are subjected to our power, in such numberless ways, minister to our comforts, only enforces on us more strongly the duty of providing for their comfort, and preserving them from injury. And is it not the very essence of benevolence to desire and to promote the happiness of every being within the sphere of our influence? (S. McGill, D.D.)
   The Divine blessing:—
   Every loving father wishes his children well. The Divine Father wishes the first human pair well, for such is the import of the words “He blessed them.” We can say, too, without any hesitancy, that He wishes every member of the human family well, both for time and eternity. Those who are not blessed, and there are thousands, ought not to ascribe this to God, but to themselves. (A. McAuslane, D.D.)

Exell, J. S. (n.d.). The Biblical Illustrator: Genesis (Vol. 1, p. 104). James Nisbet & Co.

Stephen C. Meyer and Marcus Ross lecture on the Cambrian explosion | WINTERY KNIGHT

Stephen C. Meyer and Marcus Ross lecture on the Cambrian explosion

Cambrian Explosion

Access Research Network is a group that produces recordings  of lectures and debates related to intelligent design. I noticed that on their Youtube channel they are releasing some of their older lectures and debates for FREE. So I decided to write a summary of one that I really like on the Cambrian explosion. This lecture features Dr. Stephen C. Meyer and Dr. Marcus Ross.

The lecture is about two hours. There are really nice slides with lots of illustrations to help you understand what the speakers are saying, even if you are not a scientist.

Here is a summary of the lecture from ARN:

The Cambrian explosion is a term often heard in origins debates, but seldom completely understood by the non-specialist. This lecture by Meyer and Ross is one of the best overviews available on the topic and clearly presents in verbal and pictorial summary the latest fossil data (including the recent finds from Chengjiang China). This lecture is based on a paper recently published by Meyer, Ross, Nelson and Chien “The Cambrian Explosion: Biology’s Big Bang” in Darwinism, Design and Public Education(2003, Michigan State University Press). This 80-page article includes 127 references and the book includes two additional appendices with 63 references documenting the current state of knowledge on the Cambrian explosion data.

The term Cambrian explosion describes the geologically sudden appearance of animals in the fossil record during the Cambrian period of geologic time. During this event, at least nineteen, and perhaps as many as thirty-five (of forty total) phyla made their first appearance on earth. Phyla constitute the highest biological categories in the animal kingdom, with each phylum exhibiting a unique architecture, blueprint, or structural body plan. The word explosion is used to communicate that fact that these life forms appear in an exceedingly narrow window of geologic time (no more than 5 million years). If the standard earth’s history is represented as a 100 yard football field, the Cambrian explosion would represent a four inch section of that field.

For a majority of earth’s life forms to appear so abruptly is completely contrary to the predictions of Neo-Darwinian and Punctuated Equilibrium evolutionary theory, including:

• the gradual emergence of biological complexity and the existence of numerous transitional forms leading to new phylum-level body plans;
• small-scale morphological diversity preceding the emergence of large-scale morphological disparity; and
• a steady increase in the morphological distance between organic forms over time and, consequently, an overall steady increase in the number of phyla over time (taking into account factors such as extinction).

After reviewing how the evidence is completely contrary to evolutionary predictions, Meyer and Ross address three common objections: 1) the artifact hypothesis: Is the Cambrian explosion real?; 2) The Vendian Radiation (a late pre-Cambrian multicellular organism); and 3) the deep divergence hypothesis.

Finally Meyer and Ross argue why design is a better scientific explanation for the Cambrian explosion. They argue that this is not an argument from ignorance, but rather the best explanation of the evidence from our knowledge base of the world. We find in the fossil record distinctive features or hallmarks of designed systems, including:

• a quantum or discontinuous increase in specified complexity or information
• a top-down pattern of scale diversity
• the persistence of structural (or “morphological”) disparities between separate organizational systems; and
• the discrete or novel organizational body plans

When we encounter objects that manifest any of these several features and we know how they arose, we invariably find that a purposeful agent or intelligent designer played a causal role in their origin.

Recorded April 24, 2004. Approximately 2 hours including audience Q&A.

I learned a lot by watching great lectures from Access Research Network. Their YouTube channel is here. I recommend their origin of life lectures – I have watched the ones with Dean Kenyon and Charles Thaxton probably a dozen times each. Speaking as an engineer, you never get tired of seeing engineering principles applied to questions like the origin of life.

If you’d like to see Dr. Meyer defend his views in a debate with someone who reviewed his book about the Cambrian explosion, you can find that in this previous post.

Further study

The Cambrian explosion lecture above is a great intermediate-level lecture and will prepare you to be able to understand Dr. Meyer’s new book “Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design“. The Michigan State University book that Dr. Meyer mentions is called “Darwin, Design and Public Education“. That book is one of the two good collections on intelligent design published by academic university presses, the other one being from Cambridge University Press, and titled “Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA“. If you think this lecture is above your level of understanding, then be sure and check out the shorter and more up-to-date DVD “Darwin’s Dilemma“.

The Lie: Unravelling the Myth of Evolution | VCY

The Lie: Unravelling the Myth of Evolution

Date: November 14, 2024
Host: Jim Schneider
​Guest: Ken Ham
MP3 | Order

https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/1114242227516260/

Ken Ham is the founder CEO of Answers in Genesis and its two life-changing attractions, the highly acclaimed Creation Museum, and the world-renowned Ark Encounter.  Ken is a biblical apologist and author of more than 30 books, including Divine Dilemma (understanding death, disease, and suffering), Divided Nation (about today’s culture wars), Creation to Babel. (a devotional commentary) and a new updated edition of The Lie: Unraveling the Myth: Evolution/Millions of Years.  Ken is also a blogger and speaker on Answers…with Ken Ham.

Have you ever wondered why our society has gone in the direction that it has?  Why are issues such as gender, sexuality, abortion and racism so prominent these days?  There’s also the mass exodus from churches and the fact that churches seem to be losing ground.  What is the root cause of this?

The answer is in the form of a lie that has captured generations.  It has eroded the belief in God as creator and the truth and authority of Scripture.  It’s the lie of evolution and the belief in millions of years.  It’s critical that we understand the magnitude of this issue because many continue to be swallowed up by this deceptive issue as it shows up in children’s textbooks, it’s promoted in the media, Hollywood and sadly, it’s even taught in some seminaries and proclaimed from pulpits across America. 

So join Ken as he talks about this new, revised edition of The Lie, the current attack against Christianity, why evolution and atheism are also religions, what has led to the popularity and acceptance of evolution into seminaries and churches, changes coming to Ark Encounter, input from listeners and more!   

More Information
Book Offer–Ken Ham has indicated that he has received more testimonies concerning changed lives from this book than any other he has written.  Now in 2024 he indicates the culture has changed so much that he went back to revise and update this work.  While the central message of the book has not changed, the culture has, so he’s made it more relevant and powerful than ever.  The Lie is a handy-size, hardcover, full-color book of just over 300 pages laid out in an easy-to-read fashion.  This hardcover book retails for $19.99, however, this book is being featured as a book of the month from the VCY Bookstore.  Through November 30, 2024, you can obtain it at 41% off.  That’s just $11.79 plus any applicable tax and/or shipping.  It’s available online at vcy.com or by calling our bookstore at 1-888-722-4829.

October 15 | 1 Kings 18; 1 Thessalonians 1; Ezekiel 48; Psalm 104 (Part 2)

“o lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.” So we read in the opening verse of Psalm 104. In this psalm the evidence of the Lord’s greatness is bound up with the created order. Some reflections:

(1) In the opening verses (104:1–4) the string of metaphorical touches is revealing. God wraps himself in light; he stretches out the heavens like a tent; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes winds his messengers. Pantheism merges god with the universe; robust Christian theism not only makes God separate from the universe as Creator is to creation, but in these metaphors suggests that God delights in what he has made. The mood is not only exalted, but almost playful. If pantheism is ruled out, equally there is no scope for deism. The created order is alive with God’s presence as he delights in what his hands have made.

(2) In this psalm there is a strong emphasis on the way all of life depends on the sustaining providence of the Almighty. God makes springs pour water down ravines, and in consequence the beasts of the field drink, trees grow, birds of the air nest in the branches (104:10–12). God is the One who makes grass grow for the cattle, and makes other plants for human consumption (104:14). The lions roar and seek their food from God (104:21). As for the sea, with its teeming millions of life forms, “These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time” (104:27). The sheer abundance and diversity of life forms testifies to God’s imagination, power, wisdom, and incalculable wealth. Life itself is sustained by God’s sanction. If he takes away their breath, they die (104:29–30). The assumption is not the animism of the pagan world. There is an orderliness to the whole (note the rhythm of light and dark, 104:19–24) that makes science possible. But God never withdraws from active, providential rule over every single element of the universe’s operation, with the result that it is not only appropriate but essential to confess that all of life is daily dependent on God for its quotidian supply of food.

(3) All the created order elicits delighted and faithful praise from the unnamed psalmist (104:33). There is just a hint that we ought to be thinking about God in these terms; we want our meditation to be pleasing to him (104:34). And before the closing lines of praise, there is a quiet reminder that despite the glory and beauty of the created order, sin has made this more of a war zone than a museum or a choir (104:35).¹

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¹  Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 2, p. 314). Crossway Books.