God is Creator of ALL things – this is primary.
How God chose to create ALL things – this is secondary.
By saying something is secondary does not mean it’s not important to discuss, rather, it means that it is not necessary to divide over. Sadly, many Christians have debated what is secondary and ultimately divided over it. Not only is this heartbreaking, but it sends a strong message to non-Christians that when we disagree with one another over secondary issues, we divide. This should not be.
During the ASK series, we are seeking to answer hard questions… questions that the church often avoids talking about. With that being the case, there will be certain challenges we face during this series, namely, learning how to be gracious to one another when there are differing perspectives on secondary issues.
On Sunday, November 1st, I had the privilege of interviewing a friend of mine on the subject of Science and Faith. Dr. Gavin MacBeath was a Professor at Harvard for eight years (Chemistry and Chemical Biology), and currently works at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, the company he founded.
It was joy and privilege to have Dr. MacBeath on stage sharing about his faith in Jesus Christ and how his studies in Science have served to enhance his understanding of just how great and magnificent God is.
Dr. MacBeath and I agree on the primary thing – that God is Creator of ALL things. That God created us in His image to have a relationship with Him. But our sin separated us from God. In love, God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins so that those who look to Jesus in faith will be reconciled back to God both now and forever. That is primary, and we agree whole-heartedly on that.
But, Dr. MacBeath and I disagree on secondary matters, namely, how God chose to create all things. My heart in inviting Dr. MacBeath to speak at GENESIS was not to champion his position, rather it was to demonstrate that as Christians we can disagree on secondary issues while encouraging one another towards primary things, namely that Jesus is King.
Although the terminology might be confusing, Dr. MacBeath is a ‘theistic evolutionist.’ In short, theistic evolution states that ‘God began creation and then pulled back from working directly in creation to work instead through the natural process of evolution. The only exception was God involving himself directly again in the making of the human spirit.’1 As Dr. MacBeath clearly stated, the position he holds is secondary, meaning, if he gets to heaven and finds out that he was wrong, well, then he was wrong.
What I respect about Dr. MacBeath is that he came to his conclusions after much study and prayer. He did not arrive at these conclusions because it was the popular thing to do (because it’s not), rather, Dr. MacBeath followed the evidence and made his conclusions. I respect that.
I respect Dr. MacBeath, but I disagree with his conclusions. We agree on the primary thing (God is Creator of all), but disagree on secondary matters (how He created). When two Christians disagree on secondary matters, we don’t need to fight, argue, debate and divide. That is not helpful.
At GENESIS, we believe emphatically what the Bible says about God…
- The Bible reveals that God is the Creator & Sustainer of ALL things in the universe.
- See Genesis 1:1 & Isaiah 45:18
- The Bible reveals that everything belongs to God – He is ruler of all!
- See Psalm 89:11 & Psalm 93:1
- The Bible reveals that creation proclaims the glory & greatness of the Creator!
- See Psalm 19:1-4
- The Bible reveals that God makes Himself known to the created through creation
- See Romans 1:19-20
- The Bible reveals that the Creator is ‘wicked’ powerful!
- See Psalm 33:6-9
At GENESIS, these are primary. What is secondary is how God chose to create.
For me, I am young-earth creationist. Meaning, I believe that God created the entire universe, including Adam and Eve in six literal twenty-four-hour days. In short, I hold this position because by faith, I believe that when the Bible says God created ALL we know in six days, I have no reason to doubt that. I realize there is great debate over the interpretation ‘Yom’ (day) in Genesis 1, but I’m choosing the plain and/or simple reading of the Genesis 1 narrative. Additionally, I believe that God would not call me to do something in the manner that God did (work six days, rest on the seventh – see Exodus 20: 8-11), only to discover that the very thing God has called me to do He never did Himself.
I realize that those in the ‘Science camp’ would think this position to be at best illogical in light of all the scientific data that supports a much older universe than say 10,000 years. But here’s the thing, I hold my position in an ‘open-hand.’ Meaning, I could be wrong. I know that I am not wrong to say that God is the Creator of ALL things, but I ‘could be’ wrong in holding to the position of a young-earth creationist.
My heart behind Sunday’s conversation was to share to the best of my ability what the Bible says about God as the Creator of ALL things, and invite a friend to share how Science has shaped his worship and love of God – not to debate or have a counter-point discussion. I am thankful that as Christians we can have thoughtful discussions and in humility, learn from one another.
I am thankful to Dr. MacBeath for giving up his entire Sunday to be at GENESIS for all three services. And I am thankful that despite our differences on secondary matters, Dr. MacBeath and I can spur one another on to love and worship the One who created us to know Him and walk with Him.
You can watch and/or listen to the message: Science & Faith here.
1 – Doctrine by Driscoll and Breshears
Recommended Reads
The Case for a Creator – Lee Strobel
Darwin’s Black Box – Michael J. Behe
The Wedge of Truth – Phillip E. Johnson
God: The Evidence – Patrick Glynn
