hit the one in the middle

One of my favorite movies growing up was Rocky IV. With every Rocky movie (i lost count after 4) the climax comes at the end when Rocky gets into the ring with the antagonist of the film. In Rocky IV it was the invincible Russian national champ Ivan Drago. Just before the fight, they met at the center of the ring like all boxers do and exchanged a few pleasantries. That’s when Drago looked into Rocky’s eyes and said “I must brrrreak you.” Imagine hearing those words. You’re up to face the biggest challenge of your life, and you hear the words “I must break you.”

Truth is, I think we hear it all the time. Especially in our fears. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid to ask out that girl/guy you’ve been thinking about? Are you afraid of the job interview you’re applying for? Are you afraid of making a commitment to someone, something or someplace? Welcome to the ring!

a parent’s greatest fear

Yesterday, Maria Sue Chapman, one of Steven Curtis Chapman’s adopted daughters, age 5, was killed in a tragic accident at their home. Not only do I sympathize with a Christian artist that I respect, I feel the pain of parents who have lost one of their children. May God comfort them in this time of mourning.

You can learn more about Maria and the details of this tragedy here.

Q24. Did animals die before the fall? And what’s up with dinosaurs?

On the sixth day of creation, God created animals and man. But what kind of animals did he create? Are the same animals still alive today? Did they evolve into something else? What about dinosaurs? Are fossils real or a test of our faith?

There are millions of ancient fossils in the earth. But the question is, did animals experience death before the fall of man? Were they subject to death from the moment of creation? Well this is definitely possible. There was no doubt that death existed in the plant world, since Adam and Eve loved to eat salads (i.e. ate plants). The warning to Adam in Genesis 2:17 was only that he would die if he ate of the forbidden fruit, not that animals would also begin to die. From the information we have in scripture, we cannot now know whether God created animals subject to aging and death from the beginning, but it remains a real possibility.

But what about dinosaurs?

Q23. How did God create the universe out of nothing?

Humans can be creative but we require materials from which to build or construct something. If I want to make pizza, in order for that to happen, I need dough, tomatoes, cheese, pepperonies, etc. God is not so constrained. But science teaches us that it is impossible for matter to be created out of nothing. Therefore, science and logic tell us that it is impossible for God to have created the universe out of nothing. Furthermore, in order for God to exist (whether or not he existed before creation), something had to exist before him in order for his existence to be.

Q22. If God is infinite, how did he create time?

My next few posts are going to deal with “creation.” I’m going to try and address the questions around why, how and when God created the universe. How did God create the world? Did he create every different kind of plant and animal directly, or did he use some kind of evolutionary process? And how quickly did God bring about creation? Was it really six days or millions of years? How old is the earth? How old is the human race?

So… we start with the creation of time.