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Neilk inquired curiously:
Besides the Bible which was written by MAN, what evidence do we have for creationism?
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I ought to know better than to get involved in this one. (sigh) Superman's doing such a great job of equivocating and holding fast to a solid middle-ground position, I hate to step in with anything more conservative. A lot of good points have been made here, but I felt it would be shameful to remain silent any longer.
That said, I wrote an excellent defense for the deity of Christ and the accuracy of the Gospel accounts in
this thread. Before disputing the accuracy of a document, please check your research. As it turns out, the Bible is widely recognized among historians as historically accurate -- both old and new testaments. Dismissing the Bible demonstrates that a complete lack of real interest in the discussion. Further, insistently holding that there is no God cannot result in anything like a rational discussion. Clearly, if there is no God, then the Bible is some kind of hoax, and we all crawled up out of a pool of slime 10 billion years ago. Further, if there is no God, then life has no purpose, and there is no such thing as morality. Without an entity who exists outside of our finite human world, without someone with the authority to determine a standard of truth, there can be no discussion of Right and Wrong. We may as well revert to terms like "convenient" and "inconvenient," as "right" and "wrong" have no meaning outside of some external standard.
You see, all of us have the same data, we're just approaching it with different assumptions. The evolution camp assumes no God, while the creation camp assumes a Creator. Of course we reach differing conclusions!
I have no disrespect for those who hold to the atheistic position -- rather I have great respect for one who can look plainly upon the world around them and announce that there is no God. I am truly impressed by the blind faith of those who enjoy the rain, then turn to thank the clouds. Would that I had such faith!
While I'm posting, I'm also somewhat impressed by the logical leap that many, even here, make. They say "I've seen too many people who misinterpreted scripture, so clearly there can be no God" -- or similar. That's like saying "I'm sick and tired of seeing physics students misinterpret Newton -- Newton must be wrong!" Rather than doing the research to determine if there is any truth behind the "Sunday-only Christian's" poorly-lived faith, they simply discard the whole belief. Again, I make this point only because this crowd is certainly smart enough to catch the mind-blowing logical fallacy.
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Superman wisely noted:
Remember, scholars believe the bible does not start out "in the beginning the earth was void and formless..."
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True, to an extent. The word for "formless and void" is pretty challenging. The best data I have was a thesis on the term suggesting that the only thing we're certain of is the chaotic nature of what existed. The question of where or when the matter itself was actually created is not necessarily answered -- the opening statement seems to assume that stuff exists, but that it is utterly chaotic: no direction, no pattern, no purpose. The analog to our lives before the influence of Christ is clear: without a theistic approach to life, there is a hollow that cannot be filled, life has no meaning, and no purpose. After surrendering control to the God who Created everything, who has authority over all the universe, life gradually becomes a purposeful thing; chaos is transformed by the power of God. For the one who believes the truth of God enough to take action, it is a growing process, a continual casting off of the old ways and growing into a new life in Christ. I cannot vouch for every man who has claimed that "God told me such-and-such," nor can I vouch for every action of every person who claims the title "Christian." I can only speak for my God - the Creator of the Universe, the author and perfector of our faith - and His influence on my own life.
Dan