I’ve had the opportunity a few times over the years to teach a small group of people on The Book of Genesis. I teach with an emphasis on apologetics, but my background is in science, not Theology.
When I teach, I take the approach of starting with what I call “Genesis Chapter Zero,” i.e. Roman’s 1 and 2 Peter 3. In this series, I want to cover the first 11 chapters of the Book of Genesis, with a focus on science, and then see about going from there.
Romans 1
New American Standard Bible
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Notice the reference here to the “prophets” and the “holy Scriptures.” The Old Testament is often referred to as “The Law and the Prophets.” Here we see that the writings of the prophets are “Scripture.”
This word “Scripture” is key.
In 2 Timothy, we read that “All Scripture is breathed out by God” and the Apostle Peter refers to the writings of the Apostle Paul as “Scripture,” putting the writings of Paul on the same level as the Old Testament writings.
Jesus referred to the Torah as having been written by the prophet Moses. In Mark 12, Jesus refers to Exodus as being the book of Moses, and in John 7, Jesus says that Moses gave them the law. Based on the reference in Strong’s concordance, the word here for “law” is referring to the Torah. (See below.)
The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians refers to the message of the Apostles not as the word of men, but as the word of God. This means that both the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul affirmed one another’s writings as being from God, not just the message of man.
Strong’s Greek: 3551. νόμος (nomos) — 196 Occurrences (biblehub.com)
God-Breathed Scripture & Sola Scriptura | Answers in Genesis
Bible Verses about the Word of God & Importance of Scripture (biblestudytools.com)
Keep in mind also that the Psalms say that the words of God are flawless. This is pretty much self-evident, because if God speaks, and God is perfect, how could His words have any flaw?
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. — Psalms 12:6
2 Peter likewise contains the following:
20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. — 2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV
It goes without saying that The Apostle Peter is referencing genuine Biblical prophecy here. Not every charlatan who has ever called himself a prophet gives genuine prophecy.
The (small o) orthodox view of the Bible has always been that while the words of the Bible were largely penned by men (with the Ten Commandments being a rare exception written by the very finger of God), the Holy Spirit moved the Biblical authors so that their words would be without error, making God the ultimate author of the Bible.
My point here is not to “prove” that the Bible is the Word of God, merely because the Apostles claimed that their teachings were the word of God.
In terms of even “proving” that the (entire) Bible claims to be the word of God, this is only a brief start. What I have here is only the very beginnings of something that is well beyond the scope of this article.
If we are to ask the question “Is the Bible the infallible word of God?” there are still a million follow-up questions that need to be answered, and I hope to address at least some of those in this series.
Now, here’s the rub in the other direction. If one claims to be a Christian, and yet wants to claim that the Bible is a fallible collection of writings from very wise men, then one has to contend with the scriptures referenced above.
It is one thing for a preacher to point people to God with his words, it is another thing entirely for a preacher to claim to speak for God.
If the apostles merely meant for their words to be taken as good, but fallible advice and opinions, then why did they say that their message was the “word of God?” Why did they call the writings of their fellows “Scripture” and claim that “All Scripture is breathed out by God?”
Unjustified Skepticism
Based just on the case I’ve presented so far, I can very much understand that there is still a lot room for skepticism, and I very much respect that. But I would also like to challenge everyone reading this article to ask whether the evidence going forward (this and other evidence in general) favors the Bible being the word of God or merely the word of men.
I also want to respectfully point out what we’ve all seen at the Thanksgiving dinner table…
When any contentious subject comes up, I’ve noticed that there are people who want to fold their arms and play the skeptic.
Jacob Brunton says “Doubt, like belief, must also be justified.” This is his response to “Unjustified Skepticism.” It is good and healthy to approach all claims with open-minded skepticism. But when the evidence starts pouring in, it is not good or healthy to build walls of skepticism to keep the evidence out.
Whenever I study skeptical objections to The Resurrection, it always amazes me how Atheist historians like Bart Ehrman, aren’t trying to explain the evidence, but rather try to explain the evidence away.
I see the same with Atheistic scientists who try to explain away the evidence for design in the Universe.
As Biologist and Darwinian Atheist, Richard Dawkins so (in)famously says:
"Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose."
R. Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, p. 1
“Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved.”
F. Crick, What Mad Pursuit,1988, p 138.
"It is almost as though the universe had been consciously designed."
Richard Morris, The Fate of the Universe, 1982, 155.
To borrow from the scene in Interstellar, when the dust in the attic starts to settle into a barcoded message, it’s time to start suspecting that the house might be haunted. In a similar way, the message in the Bible and in our DNA, is not merely random chance plus natural selection or merely the work of men.
Even when looking at the laws of physics, many scientists have asked whether we live in a “haunted universe.”
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Here Jesus Christ is called “Lord.” Does this mean that Jesus is merely our ruler? Or our king? Or does this mean that He is God?
The word translated as “Lord” from Greek, kurios (and it’s various forms), refers to God. Even Jesus uses this word to refer to God when He says that only God is to be worshipped (Matthew 4:10).
If one wants to claim that kurios refers merely to a lord in a human sense, then they are free to make that argument, however, I would challenge them to build their case by showing where an angel, or any of the prophets or apostles are referred to by this term.
The Greek word for “worship” (mentioned in Matthew 4:10) has 60 occurrences in Strong’s Concordance.
In the Book of Revelation, John falls down to “worship” at the angel’s feet but is corrected by the angel saying that he must not do that. (See Revelation 22)
Yet Jesus accepts this “worship” (same word) many times in the New Testament. The same word for “worship” is used in the Greek in Matthew 10, Revelation 22, and the passages where Jesus is worshipped.
Strong’s Greek: 2962. κύριος (kurios) — lord, master (biblehub.com)
Matthew 4:10 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com)
Romans 1:4 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com)
Strong’s Greek: 4352. προσκυνέω (proskuneó) — 60 Occurrences (biblehub.com)
If Jesus says that only God is to be worshipped, and then accepts worship, then what is Jesus claiming about Himself?
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice here that the “saints” the Apostle Paul refers to are living people to whom he was writing. Many people believe that saints are dead people that Christians are supposed to pray to, but there is no evidence for that anywhere in the Bible. Any attempt to talk to the dead is condemned in Scripture, and there is no evidence that anything about this has changed in New Testament times, regardless of how anyone “feels” about the matter, or what any priest, pope, clergy, or counsel has said.
Within the Body of Christ, we have many traditions, but none of us have the authority to nullify the word of God for the sake of our traditions.
See Matthew 15 where Jesus makes allusions to the Law of Moses as being the “word of God” and where He accepts worship (same word in Greek) from a Canaanite woman. (Also see the cross references for Matthew 15:4)
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to the uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
One comment I find interesting in this greeting is the fact that Paul wants to gain some fruit from meeting with the people he loves in Rome. Too often Christians have this idea that they are just supposed to give all the time and not gain from other people. We get this notion from Kant, not from Christ.
Throughout the Bible, we see a moral ethic of love for other people, however, this is a love where the individual is emphasized. The love we see in Scripture has more in common with the rational egoism of Ayn Rand than with the philosophy of altruism as derived from Kant.
Both Paul and the individuals in Rome are wanting to meet together for a mutual upbuilding and for mutual benefit, not for the sake of sacrifice as an end in itself.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.”
Far too often, it seems like modern Christians believe that they have to sugar coat Christianity, and with this the full Gospel takes a back seat. Just saying that “Jesus loves you” and being “nice” to people is not the Gospel.
A full presentation of the Gospel should start with the history we see in Genesis with the perfect Creation and the loss of Paradise through the First Adam.
This should then cover sin, and our need for a Savior, and it should lead to the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, and His power to take sin from us and to make each one of us new.
A serious discussion of sin and Hell, (not just “mistakes” and “separation from God”) have to be included in a serious in-depth discussion of the full Biblical Gospel.
Ladies, Jesus is not your boyfriend, He is the sacrificial Lamb who took your place on the Cross so that you did not have to endure the wrath of God.
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Truth is evident to all men. God has made himself so obvious from what we can plainly see in Creation, that men are without excuse to deny Him. Creation even clearly reveals many of the attributes of God.
As Psalm 19 says “The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.”
Notice that the attributes of God are obvious from the evidence that we see in Creation. There is a school of thought called Presuppositionalism, which claims that all evidence is interpreted through worldview glasses (which to an extent is somewhat correct), however, it also claims that one cannot understand the evidence in front of them unless one first starts with a Biblical worldview.
Cody Libolt shows how quotes from Van Til, one of the major founders of Presuppositionalism, do not hold up when placed side-by-side with quotes from the Bible.
Cornelius Van Til: “The God spoken of in Scripture cannot be proved to exist by *any other method* than the indirect one of presupposition” (Van Til, 1955).
I (Greg) honestly wonder how Pharaoh and his priests would have reacted to such a quote after the God of Israel destroyed their country.
One of the major problems with this is that the Pagans that Paul was referring to in Roman’s 1 had never read the Bible, and did not have a Biblical worldview. Yet God still held them accountable, because of the clear evidence that was right in front of their eyes.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.
The rejection of truth itself lead men to irrational thinking, and eventually to idolatry.
Modern humans are referred to as Homo sapiens sapiens, which means “Wise wise man.” We declare ourselves to be wise in universities and then invent Gender Theory, and a never-ending army of idiotic ideas which are somehow immune to logic.
24 Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
What has the Sexual Revolution brought us besides pain and heartache? Has anyone ever looked at porn, or slept with a stranger and honestly said “I’m really glad I did that?” Even people who are proud of their promiscuity seem to be overcompensating.
This has even affected same-gender friendships, as men from before the Sexual Revolution were much more affectionate with one-another.
In terms of self-worship (worshipping the creature), how common is narcissism in academic circles? Professors who are so proud of themselves, for what they were able to accomplish with money stolen from the taxpayers.
Some of the brightest scientists I have spoken to will spend decades studying a very small part of a living system.
Yet the evidence for design in nature screams at us from every direction.
There are certain features of the living world that I like to show to engineers or to computer scientists, which leave experts in these fields dumbfounded. For example, almost every time I’ve shown the bacterial flagellum to a mechanical engineer, they’ve acknowledged that this has to be the result of an incredible designer.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, 27 and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
God has made Himself and His nature so obvious from the evidence in Creation that men are without excuse to deny Him. Yet people reject God and proclaim themselves to be wise.
This then leads to a society where degrading perversions, including homosexual lust, are practiced.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
Modern American society fits this description.
Even in American Churches, we will see pastors crying out against the sin of abortion, but then these same pastors will say that we should not divide over minor “political” matters, such as voting for Democrats. The doublemindedness here is incredible.
2 Peter 3
New American Standard Bible
Purpose of This Letter
3 Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder, 2 to remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
The Coming Day of the Lord
3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.”
This idea that everything continues just as it was from the beginning is very reminiscent of a philosophy known as “Uniformitarianism” — an idea developed by Charles Lyell and others. Uniformitarianism basically insisted that there was no Global Flood, and no other major catastrophes that formed the geologic landscape that we see today. Instead, this philosophy claimed that everything in Geology must be explained in terms of slow, gradual processes.
Later on, events such as the eruption of Mount Saint Helens blew this idea away. Clearly, catastrophic events do happen, however the remnants of Uniformitarianism are still prevalent in science.
5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water.
Notice here that Peter is affirming both the Creation account in Genesis 1 and the events of Noah’s Flood as actual events in actual history. If these were merely allegorical stories, then what Peter says here would make no sense.
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.
If one wants to claim that the judgment of God in Genesis was a mere allegory, then what does one do with this passage?
It’s important to also point out that all major schools of Old Earth Creationism and Theistic Evolution deny that there was ever a Global Flood. They teach that the Flood was either a local event or some kind of allegory.
But what do we see in the above passage? We see that God created the world out of water, and then destroyed the world with water.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
This passage is often misquoted by well-meaning Christians who want to support an Old Earth. Notice that a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The word day here still means day.
This passage does not say that the word “day” can be substituted for an indefinite period of time anywhere that we see it in scripture. It is referencing the fact that God is outside of time.
The Final Revelation — The Untold Podcast Episode #1
In researching this topic, I have not been able to find any expert, with a PhD in ancient Hebrew, who believes that the author of Genesis 1 intended for the 6 days of creation to mean anything other than 6 days of normal length.
But more on this topic when I get to Genesis 1.
A New Heaven and Earth
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Notice here that the Apostle Peter calls the words of the Apostle Paul “Scripture,” placing the writings of Paul on the same level as those of the Old Testament.
Earlier in 2 Peter, the Apostle Peter says that all prophecy comes from God, then here in chapter 3, he prophecies about the future.
The prophecy that in the end times men would deny the Global Flood has turned out to be correct. This is quite amazing, since virtually every culture in the ancient world had some kind of Global Flood legend. The idea that the Global Flood is somehow contrary to science is a phenomenon that did not exist until recent centuries. So how did Peter know this was going to come about when this did not happen until some 1700 years after he penned these words?
Books that claim to come from God are a dime a dozen, however the Bible validates this claim in part by describing events in detail centuries or millennia before they occur.
One might try to attribute this power to coincidence, psychic abilities, or wormhole aliens, but the authors themselves (at the very least) claimed that this message was from the God who created the universe. No other book, as far as I am aware, has been able to predict the future with this level of specificity, precision, and accuracy.
We can and should approach the Bible with an open-minded skepticism, but at some point, doubt, like belief, must be justified.
