Dr Paul Allen

What Provokes the Questions So, what gives rise to these questions is that I, and many others in the history of the church, have emphasized the biblical teaching that God created and redeemed his people for his own glory — meaning, to cause his glory (his greatness, his beauty, his worth) to be known and treasured and shown in the universe. That’s what I think “for his own glory” means. “Stars and stones and mountains are means to God’s self-glorification, but not the way humans are.” “My sons . . . my daughters . . . whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6–7). We’re chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed through the blood of Christ for the praise of the glory of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:4–7). And that teaching — namely, that all things are from him and through him and to him, to his glory — that teaching causes all these questions to be raised. So, let me respond to these nine questions with a very short answer and then look at the main thing in Scripture. Nine Brief Answers Questio...

“By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb. 11:3). Creation sings a beautiful story. Every detail was designed by a masterful artist whose artistic abilities are high and above the most skilled human painter. Not a stroke of colour is wasted. Every layer of wispy blue and white in the sky is intentionally designed; every verdant hue of green in the dew-dipped grass is there on purpose; every shade of colour in the wind-swept flowers of the field was put there like a well-stationed singer in a choir. Creation sings a beautiful story; the author and perfecter of that story is God Himself in Christ. But what does creation sing about? John Calvin was fond of using the theatre analogy to talk about creation and its relationship to God. He called creation the “theatre of the glory of God.” In this theatre, God is the great artist-conductor, and every scene of the play is designed to reflect...

The most popular belief about Satan’s fall is based on the Bible in Isaiah 14:12 (KJV): “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer son of the morning!” The passage goes on to say that Lucifer tried to raise his throne above the stars and become like the Most High, but God cast him down to the depths of the pit (Is 14:13-15). This passage is often compared with Ezekiel 28:11-19, which allegedly speaks of Lucifer as the king of Tyre living in the Garden of Eden. He was a beautiful cherub angel, but God said to him, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” (28:17). Some even claim that Lucifer was the choir director of heaven based on the names of instruments listed in the King James translation of Ezekiel 28:13. Hence popular theory has it that Satan, as Lucifer, fell at the beginning of creation. The Bible, however, never directly affirms anywhere that...

The creation period described in the Book of Genesis is of great interest to many Christians. As a result, much discussion has been had within Christianity itself as to the nature of the creation account and the length of time over which creation could have occurred. Many Christians in America hold to a creation period wherein the universe was formed over the course of six 24-hours periods; other Christians believe the period of creation to be much longer, perhaps even millions of years. One of the central questions related to this issue concerns the use of the Hebrew word “yom” in the opening lines of Genesis. Translations of this word into English use the word “day” in place of “yom,” so that the biblical passages indicate acts of creation on six consecutive days (as in, exact 24-hours periods).  This plain reading of the word is simple and concise, likely one of the reasons a large amount (likely the majority) of Christians today hold to a 24-hour interpretation; a 24-hour perio...

There’s an unseemly battle going on among evangelicals over the age of the universe. On one side there are the “YECs” — young-earth creationists. They take the “plain meaning” of Genesis 1 to mean God created everything described there in six days, 8,000 to 15,000 years ago. On the other side are the “OECs” — old-earth creationists (BioLogos) — who accept the scientific consensus that the universe began almost 14 billion years ago. Both sides in this battle are Christians; both believe God is Creator. Typically both sides agree there was an original human couple created uniquely in God’s image. These two first humans were innocent before God until they fell into sin. Both sides agree that Christ came to restore us to the relationship with God that He intended for us. Yet Biologos believe with Adam and Eve were 10,000 other humans of which God chose only two. The YEC side is led by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis. OEC’s most prominent spokesman is Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe....

Why did God create? Certainly not because He needed someone to love. Throughout all eternity past, God enjoyed perfect love and intimate communion within His own being. The three persons of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Spirit—enjoyed perfect relationships and completely fulfilled one another. Thus, God was not inwardly lonely or personally empty; He was entirely self-satisfied, self-content, and self-contained.  So God did not create because of some limitation within Himself. Instead, He created everything out of nothing in order to put His glory on display for the delight of His created beings and that they might declare His greatness. The book of Genesis records God’s extraordinary display of sovereignty in speaking creation into being—and in saving it. In Genesis, Moses first recorded the stunning demonstration of God’s sovereignty in creation. God did not look down the tunnel of time and see the universe evolve out of nothing. He did not foresee a big bang and the...

What was God doing before He created the world? Some people would answer that perhaps He was lonely. And being lonely, He needed to fill that empty hole in His heart. So, maybe He decided to create the world so He could have fellowship with others. Now that the world is here, God is not so lonely anymore. Because of us, He feels fulfilled and whole. This answer is common. It can be heard in many churches today, articulated by well-meaning Christians. Please brace yourself, because I have something shocking to say: God does not need you. He doesn’t need you, He doesn’t need me, and He doesn’t need anyone or anything in this world. In fact, He doesn’t need the world at all. God is not a needy God. It’s not as if He was bored, twiddling His thumbs, desperately lonely before He created the world. God is not dependent on the world for His existence, nor is He dependent on the world for His happiness and self-fulfilment. Instead, He possesses life in and of Himself. More precisely, H...

In a recent letter to the editor in the local newspaper, an author complained that the “big bang hypothesis” was being taught in public schools. He said that we need a better hypothesis. His answer: teach “Creationism!” What this well-meaning Christian does not seem to understand is that the Big Bang model is actually evidence for a supernatural Creator. The eminent cosmologist, Alexander Vilenkin, made it clear: “With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eternal universe. There is no escape: they have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning.” This raises questions science cannot resolve alone. Science is the study of nature, and yet with the Big Bang, we have scientific evidence for the beginning of nature itself. It is intuitively obvious and constantly confirmed that everything that begins to exist has a cause. According to Big Bang cosmology, the space-time universe (all nature) had an ultimate beginning. The question is r...

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” ( Genesis 2:18). Throughout Genesis 1 we see God pronouncing His creation as good. Then in Genesis 2, e find God saying that something is not good: loneliness. Even though Adam had the fellowship of God, the situation was not good until he also had the fellowship of other human beings . Loneliness is a serious problem in our day, that has been further complicated by sin. Many of our technological advances only serve to increase personal loneliness and alientation. God made the woman from the flesh of the man and brought her to be his helper. It is difficult to discuss the role of the wife as a helper to her husband because in our society men have so grossly perverted this function of the woman. The feminist movement is largely the result of the abuse and degredation of women in pornography, the increasingly widespread phenomenon of incest, and the failure of men to lovingly pr...

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God ? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” (Romans 9:20). The Bible tells us that man is a creation of God. How ironic it is then that if there is anything we humans deny and resist with all our power, it is the fact that we are creatures. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, it was to deceive them into rejecting the limitations of creaturehood and make them think they could become gods. The atheistic German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that man’s lust for power is what makes him different from all other creatures. History has demonstrated that man cannot stand the fact that he is a creature. Take an honest look at yourself. Do you have trouble with authority? With humility? We have these problems because we do not like being creatures. We want to be gods. We do not want to concede our dependence on anything or anyone else, and we do not want to be subordinate to anyone ...

How many are your works, O LORD ! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. PSALM 104:24  www.hopecollege.com “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). He did it by fiat, without any preexisting material; his resolve that things should exist (“Let there be …”) called them into being and formed them in order with an existence that depended on his will yet was distinct from his own. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were involved together (Gen. 1:2; Pss. 33:6, 9; 148:5; John 1:1 –3; Col. 1:15–16; Heb. 1:2; 11:3). Points to note are as follows: (a) The act of creation is mystery to us; there is more in it than we can understand. We cannot create by fiat, and we do not know how God could. To say that he created “out of nothing” is to confess the mystery, not explain it. In particular, we cannot conceive how dependent existence can be distinct existence, nor how angels and human beings in their dependent existence can be not robots ...

And God said, “ Let there be light ,” and there was light ( Genesis 1:3 ). As God begins to work with the raw material of His creation , His first act is to separate darkness from light. Notice that the Bible does not give us a mechanical description of how this light was produced. Rather, the focus is on the “divine fiat.” The word fiat comes from the Latin phrase let there be. God speaks and things are created out of nothing. In verse 3 we find a clear affirmation of the authority of God . The word authority is built on the word author. God as Author of all things has authority over all things. Only God has the power of being within Himself. Only God can declare anything into existence. The great “I AM” is the Author who speaks. Verse 3 points us to an understanding of God’s power in creating all things. Theologians say that the world was created ex nihilo , out of nothing. They also say ex nihilo, nihil fit: out of nothing, nothing comes. Both statements are correct when we ...

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen ( Romans 11:36). Why did God create the world? One of the most foolish answers advanced is that God was lonely and needed to create someone with whom to have fellowship. The Christian doctrine of the tri-unity of God stands completely against any such idea. God has eternal fellowship within Himself and has no need to create anything. Creation results completely from His sovereign will. Some have said the purpose of creation was to prepare the way for redemption: God created it and predestined the fall of man so Jesus could redeem the world. At first glance, this notion looks very pious, since it focuses on Jesus and His work. As we shall see, however, it is inadequate to explain God’s purposes as the Bible sets them out. Looking at Genesis 1, some have said that the purpose of creation was to provide the world for man’s glory and happiness. Man, after all, is the crown of creation, and...

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them ( Genesis 1 :27). What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Mormonism maintains that human beings are the literal offspring of “God” and that “God” exists in a body. Because Christianity believes in creation ex nihilo , such unsubstantiated Mormon -like beliefs have no place in our faith. God created the physical universe and thus cannot Himself be physical. The traditional Christian view of the image of God distinguishes between His image in the broader and narrower senses. In the broader sense, man is the image of God in all that he is, with the result that he governs the creation. In the narrower sense, man is to image God’s holiness and righteousness. Thus, it is held that when man sinned, he lost the image in the narrow sense, but retained it in the broad sense. This position’s strong point emphasizes the spiritual and moral characteristics at the core of hu...

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” ( Genesis 2:18). Throughout Genesis 1 we see God pronouncing His creation as good. Then in Genesis 2 we find God saying that something is not good: loneliness. Even though Adam had the fellowship of God, the situation was not good until he also had the fellowship of other human beings . Loneliness is a serious problem in our day, that has been further complicated by sin. Many of our technological advances only serve to increase personal loneliness and alientation. God made the woman from the flesh of the man and brought her to be his helper . It is difficult to discuss the role of the wife as helper to her husband because in our society men have so grossly perverted this function of the woman. The feminist movement is largely the result of the abuse and degradation of women in pornography, the increasingly widespread phenomenon of incest, and the failure of men to lovingly provide...

What do we mean by the Christian faith ? We mean the same core beliefs held by Christians over the millennia, from the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds to today. We believe in the Trinity— God the Father, Son, and Spirit . We believe that God created all things, visible and invisible.  God transcends his creation and brought it from nothing ( creatio ex nihilo ); God is immanent in creation, actively participating in a creative and continuing sense (creatio continua); and God will transform the current order of things into his new creation (creatio ex vetere). All people are created in the image of God, yet all have sinned against God and are in need of God’s saving grace. God’s Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth as fully God and fully man.  His physical death and historical bodily resurrection provide the only path to salvation and eternal life. The Holy Spirit convicts, equips, guides, and empowers God’s people today. The Bible, including all the ...

Book Review: Old Earth - Or - Evolutionary Creation. Questions related to origins are some of the most divisive in the church today: How old is the earth? Is there good evidence for intelligent design? Did God use evolution? Sadly, rather than discussing differences in a sober and gracious manner, conversations are often characterized by defensiveness, misunderstanding, and personal attacks. What a shame! But this need not be the case. The recent book Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? demonstrates that leading voices in the origins debate can come together and wrestle over big questions of faith and science with both “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). This book is the culmination of a decade-long formal conversation between scientists, philosophers, and theologians from the old-earth creationist organization Reasons to Believe (RTB) and evolutionary creation (theistic evolution) organization BioLogos , as well as a group of Southern Baptist (SB) seminary professors. One ...