Rediscovering The Truth About Creation

In looking at Criterion One, I have called this first necessary condition, that of God's things being able to survive the Ages, the Gamaliel factor. This criterion is named after a wise Pharisee who lived during the First Century. Concerning his famous remark, the Bible records:

Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God [1]."

This excerpt from the Book of Acts does not prove the first criterion. These words merely describe it! As the story goes, the Apostle Peter was brought before the Sanhedrin to answer for his crime of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One should note that even in those days such behavior was strictly forbidden. While many within that Council were seeking to kill him, plus some of the other Apostles for their heinous act of preaching, Gamaliel stood and advised against such a hasty action. He argued that the Apostle's effort, if it were only of human power and direction, would eventually fail. He went on to say that if their work was not of God, then those who were doing the work would soon be gone, and their work would be gone with them. In supporting his remarks, this Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin then provided examples of two other instances where the movements had quickly died away as soon as the leaders of those respective movements were gone. Thus, Gamaliel made his point because the Apostles were soon released.

If God exists NOW, then the first condition which must be met is that the things of God will have to have survived through the Ages! Has this criterion been met? My opinion is that it has. Today, our nation has visible evidence of God's existence all around. First, the country is full of churches where God and Jesus Christ are preached. Second, Christians are everywhere, in every part of this country and even the world. They are everywhere, and the world throughout history has always had a remnant of those who have called upon the Lord.

The last piece of evidence for this first criterion is the Bible. Had that Book been just another book and not God's Word, it would probably not today be anywhere to be found. But note the message of Matthew 24:35 where Jesus promised that not a single word of the Bible would ever pass away. Has that promise been kept? I would say that it has! The Book is still here with no signs to suggest that it will ever disappear. While teaching Scriptures in public schools may no longer be permitted and while people may find even more ways in the future to ignore its teachings, the Bible still looks like it is here to stay!

In terms of survivability, the preservation of the Church, the existence of Christians, and the testimony of the Bible show that the things of God have survived! In fact, they have all made it through at least two thousand years of adversity. The Bible, in particular, has survived more than thirty-five hundred years without a single rewrite or modification. Not only that, but these examples of the Faith are still around and going strong! By comparison, the Big Bang and Evolution theories cannot even come close to meeting such a high standard. The Theory of Evolution was popularized by Charles Darwin about one hundred and fifty years ago, and while the theory, or at least the idea for the theory, may have existed before him, it still is very young relative to the Bible and Christianity. More importantly, though, this belief about evolution is still very young and also still very much unproven!

The Theory of Evolution is relatively young, and the Big Bang theory is even younger! This incredible belief about the origin of the universe from a single, compact mass has only been around for a short while, but in that time, it has already undergone extensive rework just to make it fit the data. By comparison, the Bible has endured for a much, much longer time without any changes. The two-step expansion of the Big Bang theory, which was discussed earlier, is a significant modification to that original belief. Still, the theory cannot be proven! Therefore, based on this first criterion, there is no contest between science and God! Christian heritage and the things of God date back literally thousands of years, while science can only counter with two relatively young and definitely unproven beliefs.

Science does not have anything which can compete head-to-head with Bible Christianity. That should be obvious! However, lest one should misunderstand this first criterion, an important explanation concerning logical syntax is required. Someone might point to something like pain or evil which also has been around forever and suggest that these, because they are not of God, contradict the first condition.

Would such a response be logically true or logically false? Recall the first criterion! If God exists now, then His things must have survived. Note that this syntax only relates to God's existence and to the survival of His things! It does not address those things that might have survived which are not of God. Therefore, from a logical syntax perspective, the first condition still passes even though pain and evil have also survived. In Chapter Thirty of this text, more will be said about this much less desirable survival of pain and evil.

By looking at its converse, the first criterion can be viewed from a slightly different perspective. This new argument says that if God's things have not survived, then He does not now exist. What does this restatement of the first condition mean? Taking the three examples of God's things which were just expressed, this statement means that if the Church can be destroyed from the earth, then God does not now exist. This restatement means that if Christians can be eliminated from the earth, then God does not now exist. And finally, this restatement says that if the Bible can be removed from the earth, then God does not now exist. If any or all of these three elements can be destroyed, eliminated, or somehow removed from the earth by human hands, then this would be sufficient grounds for saying that God does not now exist!

During the first several hundred years after the death of Jesus, the Roman Government tried diligently to break up the Church, but they failed! They tried to kill all those who professed to be Christians. Yet again, they failed! Many through the years have been martyred for their faith, but the Church, Christians as a whole, and the Bible have all endured.

In Rome, the consequence to the Government for opposing God was sure! According to the secular historian, Mr. Edward Gibbon, in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the whole Roman Empire fell at least in part because they were not able to stop Christianity. Concerning the fall of Rome and the rise of the Christian Faith, he writes that Christianity spread throughout Europe, into Asia and Africa, and then to Canada and Chili [2]. The leaders of Rome fought with great zeal for thirteen or fourteen centuries trying to overthrow Christianity, but they were not successful! The more they tried to stop it, the more Christianity spread. Some people were chased from Rome. Others simply fled for their life. But everywhere they went, they carried with them the good news and hope of the Gospel!

In some parts of the present world, Bibles are literally outlawed, Christians are persecuted, and the Church has been driven underground. Nevertheless, the things of God have still continued! In this country, an effort has also been underway for some time to rid the Lord from all aspects of public life. Given the choice, many would simply choose to eliminate Him from our system altogether. Yet, He and His things still continue.

In this matter of eliminating God, one would do well to see Rome as an example of what can happen from such a course. With us as with them, if we persist, then the conclusion will once again be sure. Our nation may struggle to get rid of the Lord and may even do so for a short time, but it will be at our own peril! In the end, America will fall, not God, because the words of Gamaliel were absolutely correct. If God is real and if He is trying to do some work, then no one or no force on this earth will be able to stop Him. He and His things have survived through the Ages, and they will continue to do so!