A casual dinner with my sister reminded me of one of her endearing (and enduring) traits—a penchant for sweets. You’d hardly believe it given her small frame, but she readily fesses up that she “eats dinner to get to dessert.”
If there’s one “sweet” thing RTB president Hugh Ross can’t get enough of, it’s Q&A. In fact, the staff often joke that he does talks to get to the Q&A. Of all the questions asked, there are a few staples that Hugh and the other scholars (as well as staff) have come to anticipate.
Here is just a sampling of some of the tasty questions and our responses. Hopefully they will whet your appetite enough to encourage you to grab a second helping and check out the additional resources.
What is RTB’s view on the creation “days” in Genesis?
There are four literal interpretations for the Hebrew word for “day” (yom): part of the daylight hours, all of the daylight hours, 24 hours, or a long but finite period of time. RTB posits that, when considering all biblical creation accounts, the case for long but finite creation days best fits the biblical and scientific evidence.
Scientists say the universe had a beginning, is stretching, and will eventually come to an end. Verses like Genesis 1:1–2, Job 9:8, and 2 Peter 3:10 preempted scientific discovery of these properties by nearly two thousand years. RTB considers the big bang “one of the most potent evidences for the existence of God,” specifically the God of the Bible.
Is belief in an old earth the same as belief in evolution?
RTB scholars believe that God miraculously intervened millions, possibly even billions, of times throughout the history of the universe not only to prepare it for life but also to create each and every new species of life on Earth. Our theistic evolutionist friends would say God initially created and then guided (in some sense) the process through biological evolution to generate life’s history. They would therefore take a nonliteral view of the creation narrative.
RTB firmly believes that God supernaturally intervened to create the first human beings (historical Adam and Eve) and endowed them with His image. RTB views hominids and similar creatures (primates) as distinct from humans and not made in God’s image.
What is RTB’s position on animal death before the Fall?
Romans 5:12 is often cited as support for the view that no animal death occurred before Adam sinned. Yet a careful examination of the text shows that Adam’s sin introduced death to all humans. RTB views carnivorous activity not as the direct result of sin but as a part of God’s original creation (which isnot His ultimate creation) and an example of His provision.
Some Christians interpret the “behemoth” and “leviathan” mentioned in Job 40–41 as referring to dinosaurs. This view assumes that humanity lived at the same time as dinosaurs. RTB maintains that dinosaurs went extinct long before humanity entered the scene. RTB posits that the behemoth and leviathan mentioned in Job most likely refer to the hippopotamus and crocodile, respectively.
These are just a few of the many questions brought to the science-faith table. While they may not be as appetizing as the white chocolate cranberry cookies my sister always serves, those curious about God’s Word (Scripture) and God’s world (nature) hunger for answers. And Hugh and the crew are happy to serve up a reply.
Do you have a science-faith question you’d like answered? Send it to [email protected] and it might get on the air. But be sure to skim the I Didn’t Know That! archives to find out if the scholars have already dished out a response.
In this two-part series, guest writer Melissa Cain Travis reviews Mapping the Origins Debate, Dr. Gerald Rau’s attempt to help young people navigate the...
Spiritual disciplines. I'm not sure how many Christians think about spiritual disciplines, and if they do, how often they actually reflect on them. Hopefully...
