An outline of the 2018 book, The Creator Revealed[1],by Michael G. Strauss, PhD, a David Ross Boyd Professor of Physics at the University of Oklahoma:
· The Bible declares that God’s character should be revealed by nature; recent discoveries on science are revealing this character.
· Christianity is truth, therefore the two books written by God (nature & scripture) cannot be in contradiction. The more we study, the more we find that this general revelation is matching what the Bible teaches.
· The Big Bang is revealing the character of God and is evidence that (eventually, when there is a preponderance of evidence) scientists will not suppress conclusions they don’t like.
· A transcendent creator is necessary for the beginning of space and time. The Bible is the only holy book explicitly describing God taking action to create space and time.
· The universe is designed for life. Examples of this design are the amount of matter in the universe, the strong nuclear force, and the element carbon. The evidence for design has been increasingover the last few decades.
· The universe is designed for humans, which reveals God’s care for us.
· The Earth is fine-tuned for advanced life. Examples of this fine-tuning are the galaxy we are in, our location in the galaxy, our solar system, our sun, and tectonic activity of the earth. The number of parameters necessary indicate that there is virtually no chance of finding a planet with advanced life on it.
· The Big Bang, the design of the universe, and the fine-tuning of the earth all reveal the character of God as transcendent, spirit, master designer, super-intelligent, and purposeful.
· Demanding one reading when it comes to Biblical descriptions of the universe has lead to harmful mistakes in the past. The Bible must be read using appropriate hermeneutics:
1. Stories are always told from someone’s perspective
2. Some passages have more than one reasonable interpretation
3. Literary context, figurative language, historical context, and cultural context must be kept in mind.
· There has never been consensus on the meaning of “yom” in Genesis 1 & 2.
1. Outside of the creation days, yom never means 24 hours in Genesis 1 & 2
2. Moses uses morning and evening in Psalm 90 to mean beginning and ending.
3. Numbered days in Zechariah 14:6-8 and Hosea 6:1-2 are not 24 hour days
4. The work day in Exodus 23:10-12 refers to the week and also to years.
5. There are conservative Christian scholars who believe – based on the Hebrew language and the internal evidence - that the days of Genesis cannot be 24 hours.
· The description of the creation in Genesis matches current science.
· Pain and death did not begin with the fall. Natural and humane plant and animal death is not a moral issue, so it was occurring before the fall. Genesis 3:16 says that pain will be increased. It has to already exist in order to increase. The command in Genesis 2:16-17 gives no explanation of what death is, so Adam must have already known what death was! Romans 5:12 clarifies that human death came at the fall.
· Truth can change lives, but incorrect teaching can shut people off from the gospel. Check out what you are teaching and don’t demand a certain reading of the Bible. Young earth creation (24 hour days) is not a credible option among scientists, is not a required way to read Genesis, and will unnecessarily turn people away from hearing the gospel.
· The appendices deal with atheist objections to the universe being created by God and with evolution.
“If we only love God with our emotions in church on Sunday and we don’t love God with our minds in science class on Monday, then we are not truly loving God.”[2]
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