In the Beginning . . . God Refuted All False Ideologies

God’s revelation of himself through creation has been clear ever since the creation week in Genesis 1 (Romans 1:20).

Atheism is the belief that there is no God. It is not the lack of a belief in God since it not only involves a negative belief (unbelief in God), but it also involves a positive belief in the philosophy of naturalism (see below). Genesis 1:1 tells us atheism is wrong because the heavens and earth were created by God. The Bible tells us that those who do not hold to the view that God created the world and that we are creatures of God are not thinking rationally but irrationally, even foolishly (see Psalm 14:1). This is because those who reject the existence of God are suppressing the truth of his revelation in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18–19). God’s revelation of himself through creation has been clear ever since the creation week in Genesis 1 (Romans 1:20).

Evolution is the belief that the biodiversity we now see on earth evolved from a single source by natural processes over billions of years. However, Genesis 1 tells us that God created all things (vegetation, plants, trees, sea creatures, birds, and animals according to their kind) supernaturally by speaking them into existence (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26; cf. Psalm 33:6), and this took place in the space of six 24-hour days (Genesis 1:1–2:3; Exodus 20:11). Evolution also has mankind evolving from preexisting hominids, who share a common ancestry with other forms of life; whereas, God created mankind (Adam and Eve) supernaturally on day six and separated them from other forms of life (see Genesis 1:27, 2:7; 22; cf. Deuteronomy 4:32). In evolution, death is a natural part of the process of life, but Genesis tells us that death entered the world because of man’s disobedience toward God (Genesis 2:17, 3:17–19; cf. Romans 5:12).

Materialism is the belief that matter is all that exists. However, according to Genesis 1, matter had a beginning when God brought the material world into existence (cf. Nehemiah 9:6). Unlike God, the material universe cannot be eternal because it is suffering the effects of entropy. If the universe were eternal, it would have had enough time to have reached a state of maximum entropy. But the universe is far from a state of maximum entropy, so it cannot be eternal. The material world was created by an eternal, self-existent, all-powerful being who is immaterial and therefore not a part of the world (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 43:10; John 4:24).

Naturalism, the philosophy which dominates the sciences today, asserts that all reality can be explained in purely natural categories (matter and energy) without any appeal to the supernatural. In Genesis 1, nature (creation) is under God’s personal rule. Everything in the universe exists because of God (Isaiah 45:6–7). The laws of nature are not impersonal, mechanical creations of God; rather, they are descriptions of the logical, orderly way God normally upholds his universe (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). The laws of nature are not an alternative to God’s power: they are his power (God decrees the ends as well as the means). God can suspend the laws of nature if he wants (i.e., turning water into wine). But if the universe came about by random, chance processes, then why would it obey laws? The “gods” of naturalism (time, chance, and Mother Nature) are false “gods” who cannot create and will perish from the earth (cf. Psalm 96:5; Jeremiah 10:11).

Humanism is the belief that human beings are the starting point for moral and philosophical inquiry. In Genesis 1, God is the ultimate reality, and mankind, who is created in his image, is dependent upon him (Genesis 1:27). Humanism is essentially godless Christianity as it borrows its moral standards (good and evil; right and wrong) from the Christian worldview and not from its evolutionary worldview (in which humans have no intrinsic value and there is no such thing as objective morality). For humans to seek the meaning of existence without reference to their Creator is ultimately futile (see Ecclesiastes 1:12–14; 12:1, 13).

Deism is the belief in a “god” who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it and therefore excludes him from the course of history. The deistic belief in “god” is based on a natural theology that rejects supernatural revelation. In Genesis 1, God actively brings things into existence in six 24-hour days, and even after the initial creation of the world, it depends on him at every moment as he continues to uphold all things by the power of his word (Hebrews 1:3). Even throughout history, God has chosen to intervene in creation at certain times by performing miracles (see Exodus 7–12; Psalm 105:27–28; John 2:1–11, 6:1–15, 11:38–44).

Pantheism tends towards foolishness as it worships that which is unworthy of worship: creation (Romans 1:22, 25).

Pantheism is the belief that creation is made up of God’s own being (the world is God, and God is the world) so that creation itself is divine. However, in Genesis 1, God is not a part of his creation since he creates, transcends, and existed before it (cf. Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 57:15). Pantheism is a failure to distinguish between the Creator and his creation. God is not what he created, but rather what he has created reflects who he is. When you observe the heavens, you do not observe God: you observe what God has created (Psalm 19:1). The Creator and the creation are two ontologically distinct things. Pantheism tends towards foolishness as it worships that which is unworthy of worship: creation (Romans 1:22, 25). This is because pantheism is the result of a natural theology that rejects divine revelation (God’s Word).

Polytheism is the belief that there are many gods, but in Genesis 1, God alone created all things (cf. Isaiah 44:24). The false “gods” of the nations (Exodus 15:11; cf. 9:14) are not in the same category as the Lord (YHWH), as he defines the category of God: self-existent and uncreated (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10). The message of the Bible is that the Lord is Creator, and the gods of the nations are idols (Psalm 96:5) behind whom is demonic influence (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:19–20). It is foolish to trust in other gods (Isaiah 43:11, 44:6, 45:5) as the attribute that separates the Lord from all other deities is that of creating (Isaiah 40:28, 42:5).

Monism is the belief that the world is self-creating and attributes oneness or singleness to existence (i.e., the world). In a monistic worldview, everything is made up of the same stuff, all distinctions are removed, and essentially everything has the same worth. In Genesis 1, however, God is Creator, and distinctions are the product of his work in creation, significantly God’s creation of mankind: male and female (Genesis 1:27; cf. 1:4, 6, 9–10, 14–18). Genesis 1 sees distinctions in the world: the main one being that God is our Creator and mankind is his creation (Genesis 1:1, 1:27; cf. Romans 1:25).

Dualism is the belief in two irreducible principles (matter and spirit) to analyze the knowing process or to explain all of reality. In dualism, good and evil are eternal co-principles in tension with one another (neither can win). In Genesis 1, however, God was alone when he sovereignly created all things and is distinct from his creation (Isaiah 44:24). It is God alone who is good, and he declared his original creation to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31; cf. Psalm 34:8, 106:1). Evil is not a part of God (1 John 1:5) and was not a part of his original creation (Genesis 3).

Each of the above views about the origin and meaning of the world have one thing in common: they reject an infinite, personal, transcendent God who is sovereign over all things.

Each of the above views about the origin and meaning of the world have one thing in common: they reject an infinite, personal, transcendent God who is sovereign over all things. At the same time, all these philosophies essentially are the same reality, viewed from different perspectives, and end up embracing each other. For example, because all the above views reject an absolute, personal, transcendent God, they presuppose materialism, which functions in terms of naturalism or evolution, leading to humanism, agnosticism, or atheism and ultimately ends in pantheism. All pagan views of origins ultimately give autonomy to the creation or the creature. In contrast, the Christian worldview gives glory to the Creator for his work in creation.