Does it really matter what we believe about Genesis? Do our perspectives about this book play out in more ways than we know? Does our belief about how we got here—whether through molecules-to-man evolution over millions of unseen years, or that God somehow guided the process of evolution, or holding that God spoke it all into existence only recently—permeate our thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, and choices more than we’re aware?
Christians today want the truth, and most can tell when it’s being spun. An easy read through the first 11 chapters of Genesis reveals a complete account of human history—leading straight back to the six days of Creation. Dinosaurs, the Flood, the dispersion of the human race at Babel are all included in these chapters for all to plainly see. But this account doesn’t fit with secular science—not even close. The timeline is off—way off. Modern evolution theory is completely missing in the text. Noah’s Flood has no place in modern secular geology. These two accounts of origins just don’t fit. They are polar opposites.
This leaves us with three worldviews to choose from—three pedigree options we can choose, anchoring our worldviews in very different places. In the evolutionary worldview, there is no moral lawgiver and no moral judge after we die. The Bible is placed on equal status with the sea of self-help books available that provide every possible take on life. The evolutionist who becomes a Christian but never comes to trust God’s Word as instructive or authoritative beyond any other book remains stuck in a rut, likely without much spiritual growth as a Christian. They cruise through life as a "cultural" Christian at best.
Up next we have the Theistic Evolutionist. Sadly, after being saturated with over 250 pages of evolution teaching in public schools, many teens end up in this category. In this view, secular science is somehow crammed into the pages of Genesis, but this amalgamation ends up with neither story fitting nicely. They don’t fit well scientifically or theologically. Did God really use a slow, random, murderous process to bring about life on earth, even the human race for which Christ died? If Adam was not a real person, did Christ die for the sins of a myth?
Our next view takes Genesis at face value. This Biblical Creation worldview places death after sin, has all the “kinds” of animals existing before the Flood (and spreading throughout earth afterwards), and relies on the genealogies in Genesis 1–11 to inform us that earth is young—only thousands of years old. While modern secular science mocks every level of these views, many Christians today hold boldly to this perspective, and in so doing develop vastly different perspectives on life—even on topics outside of creation origins.
The worldview we develop stays with us for most of our lives, guiding our choices, attitudes, behaviors, and ultimately outcomes, and we each have only run through this life to play it out. But in the movie Foundations, the lead character Parker gets three different runs through life: Once as an evolutionist, once as a theistic evolutionist, and once as a biblical creationist.
In Parker’s first run through life, he is raised to believe in evolution. To Parker’s parents, the Bible is a useful religious book, but has no place speaking on matters of history or science. The Bible is just a compilation of myths with some good moral teaching, but because it claims to speak about origins in ways that “science” has now debunked, it has limited authority in Parker’s life. His limited faith in God has few penetrating, deep roots. We get to see how this view plays out, including how he regards church, marriage, purity, raising children, career—all the way to his death bed.
In the second version of Parker’s life, he is raised with the Bible having some credibility, but its teachings about history and science are just an a la carte buffet. Parker grows up taking what he wants from Scripture, but the Bible has no real place of authority in his life because it has no credibility. Parker regards the Bible with the attitude: “Well, the first few pages of the Bible don’t get it right, why should I trust the rest?” Indeed, many teens today wrestle with these same attitudes. Parker’s life turns out quite mixed, full of regrets.
Finally, we see Parker live out life version #3, this time with a biblical worldview. Parker is raised believing that truth starts on the first page of the Bible, so he trusts it for a foundation and builds his life upon it. His family grounds him in Scripture. His Biblical roots penetrate deeply into his life, transforming thoughts, attitudes, choices, and of course—outcomes. When difficult challenges enter his life he struggles, but ultimately chooses to respond with Scriptural guidance. We see Parker’s life turn out much differently this time…
Watch Foundations free here: www.foundationsmovie.com
Image courtesy: ©Genesis Apologetics
Genesis Apologetics is committed to providing Christian families with Biblically- and scientifically-based answers to the evolutionary theory that many children are taught in public schools. Our mission statement is: “Strengthening the faith of God’s children by grounding them in biblical truth and equipping them to discern error, one divine appointment at a time.”
Our ministry provides practical and easy-to-understand web, video, and written products for pastors, parents, and students. The materials provided will be those that are “core” to the Creationist position, which are generally held in agreement with leading creation ministries, such as www.answersingenesis.com and www.icr.org. We generally avoid “fringe” evidences that are controversial between these and other Creationist associations.
