Rooted in Divine Origins - Genesis 1

The doctrine of man’s creation is clearly taught in Scripture. In Genesis 1 God is mentioned as the Creator of all things about 17 times. There are about 50 other references in the Bible that declare the same thing. Some of the passages directly teach creation, and others imply that God is the Creator of Adam and Eve. The very concept of creation is that God created the world out of nothing. There is no previous existence other than God’s statement of Himself:  I AM who I AM; I AM the Alpha and the Omega; I AM the First and the Last; I AM the Beginning and the End.

Today, there are two primary polar-opposite views held in this world regarding the origins of things.  

1.   God is the author of all things,

 Col. 1:16 – “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”

2.  There is no God, instead, Matter is eternal.  Therefore, the universe is self-existing and not created. Hence, man is part of nature and has emerged as a result of immense periods of time, and mind numbing chance.

Out of these two worldviews on origins comes two opposing thoughts regarding humanity:

Divine Creation presents man as the crowning work of God. Because of this we have eternal value and are eternal beings. 

In contrast, the humanist’s manifesto declares there is no single 'ultimate' meaning of life. Instead, it is up to us to make our own lives meaningful.  Humanity is merely a higher form of ordinary animal life; the life of a human is of no more intrinsic value than the life of any animal.