Tke Problem of Origins The Biblical Solution to the Problem of Origins Better Than Any Science Can Offer By LEANDER S. KEYSER, D. D„ L u th e ran D ivinity School, Springfield, O.
HERE is one book in the world which throw s a clear lig h t' on the problem of or igins. T hat book is th e Bible.
fo rth in the Bible? Do any of the scientists actually p refer to believe th a t they have come up by mere n atu ra l pro cesses from a bestial stock, giving to man ra th e r the image of th e ape and baboon th an th e image of th e good and holy and all-powerful C reator of the cosmos? The w riter of these lines often wonders why th e mere statem en t of the Bible regarding the genesis of th e human fam ily does not cause every body to cry out w ith approval and jubilation. Suppose we consider ano ther problem th a t all th rough the ages has puzzled and troubled hum an though t— the ori gin of sin and suffering. They are here; no one can deny th a t fact. If all the books th a t have been w ritten on th is subject could be gathered to gether, they would form a vast library. But th e hypotheses of human thought have been practically abortive; they have yielded no satisfying resu lts; they have lacked philosophical and ethical depth and adequacy. But whc.n we tu rn to the Biblical n arrativ e of the genesis of sin, we find th a t it meets th e whole situation from every point of view. It tells us th a t sin is th e resu lt of the fre e choice of a m oral agent, whom God created and placed in the m idst of an environm ent th a t afforded him the opportunity to enjoy his ethical privileges and to exercise his ethical powers. Will anybody te ll us how else sin could have come into th e world ex cept by th e free choice of an ethical agent? If it had its inception in any other way, it would not have been sin; it would have been only m isfortune. Sin in the sense o f,g u ilt can be com m itted only by a being who has the
The speculations of men, even th e most learned of them , lead the m ind into m ist and uncertainty, bu t the Bible speaks w ith a firm, full-toned voice. There is th e problem of the origin of th e universe. The universe is here. How and whence did it come? How many erudite tomes have been w ritten on th a t subject, and how meager and unsatisfying have been the results! But th e Bible solves th e problem in a very simple, positive and ration al way; for in its very first v erse it says, “ In th e beginning God created th e heavens and th e ea rth .” Could anything be clearer th a n th a t? Could anything be more profound and rational? There we have the universe and all its phe nomena adequately accounted for. Try to figure out some other way th a t is adequate. None can be found. There is also the problem of th e gen esis of man. H ere again th e re has been much human conjecture; volumes on volumes have been w ritten, bu t all ) of them leave th e mind in uncertainty. Not so w ith th e teaching of the Holy Book, which presents a most satisfying solution of th e origin of man. It say* in simple and yet majestic language: “And God created man in His own im - ' age; in th e image of God created He him ; male and female created He th em ” (Gen. 1 :2 7 ). Could anything be more uplifting th a n th a t? And since it is so inspiring to the mind, ‘ th e logical inference is th at it is true. Does anybody really want man to have a different origin from th e one set
YEAR. WILL YOU HELP? (See Page 458)
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