My Worldview As I Study Genesis

After years of studying the bible and science I have come to the following beliefs.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Gen. 2:1 "And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them".

Gen. 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not [yet] done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

I Believe...

That the Bible is God's word to us.

That the physical creation is the record that God left us to prove that His word is correct.

That God created the heavens and earth at the beginning and no new matter has been created since that beginning.

That after the beginning as the universe expanded outward and formed galaxies and stars that God then formed the earth, the sun and the solar system from existing matter.

That God then began the work of creating from existing matter the earth as it would appear in the days of Adam.

That God prepared the earth and solar system in an organized and logical sequence of events.

That God introduced on each day life that would prepare the earth for the life to be introduced the next day.

That each creation day was a normal 24 hour day and God then gave the earth time to fulfill the requirements of that day. God did this six times until the earth was prepared for human habitation.

That the creating during the six days was preparing the earth for human habitation.

That at the end of day six the work of creating was finished. Gen. 2:1-2.

That Genesis describes the one and only creation and that this was not a re-creation. Gen 2:1-2.

That the earth we see today is the earth that Adam saw.

That the Garden of Eden was a special place different than the rest of the world.

That Adam and Eve would made just like people today are as they were the "prototype" or the "master" copies made exactly like us so that the DNA would reflect this in their offspring.

That God created the "kinds" at the beginning of each "day" and gave the earth time for them to reproduce and fill the earth. God then introduced the next set of "kinds" to integrate with those already living and also fill the earth with all the varieties of their "kind". All the Varieties would find their own "niche" in the world and would thrive.

That the flood did not destroy the plant life on earth.

That at the end of day six that the earth was tilted and the global climate system was functional.

That God had determined beforehand where all the nations would be and had arranged the earth's continents, islands, seas by the end of day six for the nations to dwell in. Acts 17:26

That the structure of the land and seas at that time were as they are today with a few minor changes that have taken place in the last 6000 years due to earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. The earth was ready for human habitation with all the features that would appeal to the different kinds of humans that would be born. Some like deserts, and some mountains, some like the forests, etc. God created a world for all of us.

That God made the earth to be exciting and an interesting place to live, to explore and to study. He made the earth with wild rivers, open grasslands, mountains to climb, oceans to cross, forests to build homes from the lumber, mineral deposits to build civilization, the high deserts or steppes to raise high quality beef and healthy horses. There was the grasslands to grow the staff of life, bread, and to feed our livestock. Many plants and animals were designed to live in bare rocky mountain areas, deserts and swamps. Some were designed to live in the Arctic and Antarctic and at the bottom of the oceans. River were flowing from higher elevations and mountainous areas to the seas. God built a world with trmendous diversity.

That in the time of Adam the oil deposits, coal deposits, mineral deposits, borax, potash, limestone and other deposits were here also, waiting for humans to develop the technology to use them for energy, building, farming, manufacturing, etc.

That God wants us to look into His creation and study it and understand how it works. I believe God enjoys us looking into His creation. We love to plant gardens also and watch the garden grow and mature. I believe that God felt the same way as He watched the earth blossom and life spread over the earth.

That God describes Adam being made from the earth to help us to see that we are temporary beings. Without the tree of life we cannot become immortal, and that we do not have an immortal soul. We, now, are of the earth and physical, earthy, temporary beings with a human spirit that God endowed us with. He gave us a mind to study His creation and gave us His word so that we could understand His way, His thoughts, His laws and His truth. God gives to all people the ability search, study, analyze and draw conclusions concerning the past history of the earth. God made us in His image and has given us the creative genius to study and understand His marvelous creation.

That God has already said in His word that each "day" to him is like a thousand years to us or a very long period of time. He also said a "watch in the night" is also like a thousand years to us.

That Genesis 1-3 is completely compatible with the findings of science and that in the sediments, rocks and deposits is a frozen record of earth's history. By studying that great historical record in the rocks that we will come to the right conclusion concerning creation and the book of Genesis.

In conclusion the earth is today as it was after day six. It is the world God gave us and it still operates according to the laws that He created.

This is how I view Genesis and the world at that time when I study the book of Genesis.