WHERE DID THE UNIVERSE COME FROM: CREATION
Intro:
This will be a series called The Transforming Story. It is about the Biblical Worldview and Worldviews generally. See below under 'Creation' for a definition of the term 'Worldview'.
In the last few months, I have been working on putting together a course on the Biblical Worldview called 'The Transforming Story'.
God's Transforming Story is Creation- Fall- Redemption-Consummation (Restoration)
CREATION:
First- A Definition of Worldview:
A Worldview is like a pair of glasses that we interpret the world through. The glasses represent our presuppositions, what we presuppose or assume reality is. We normally do not look AT our glasses; we look THROUGH them without thinking. So also, we look through the glasses of our assumptions to interpret reality often without thinking.
However, it is crucial that we understand the times in which we live, and therefore we need to understand two things:
First: The Biblical Worldview- Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation (Restoration)
Second: The competing Worldviews we have to live with in our everyday lives.
Spectrum of Worldviews:
If you picture a spectrum, there are Three main Worldviews that have characterised Western Culture for the most part according to Darrow Miller of Coram Deo Ministries -https://disciplenations.org/resources/coram-deo-before-the-face-of-god/
But for this spectrum, picture a DIAGONAL LINE that travels DOWNWARD beginning with Biblical Theism at the top. We will assess these in relation to a Key Question for each of the 4 chapters (Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation) of the Transforming Story.
Of course there are many other offshoots of these main Three worldviews but these Three are the major ones in the history of Western culture.
Taken from ‘Discipling Nations’ by Darrow Miller mentioned above.
Biblical Theism
Deism
Secularism
A Worldview has to be able to answer these 4 Ultimate Questions:
Where did the Universe come from/What does it mean to be human? Creation
What is wrong with the world? Fall
What is the solution to what is wrong with the world? Redemption
Where is history going? Consummation
Where does the Universe come from/What does it mean to be human?
These 4 Key Questions above are crucial because: Ideas have consequences.
A Worldview can also be likened to a Tree:
When you look at a tree, you observe the Trunk, the branches, the leaves and the fruit. But you cannot see the roots of the tree. A Worldview is similar to a tree.
The Roots= Beliefs
The Trunk= Values
The Branches= Behaviour
The Fruit= Consequences
Obviously if you plant apple seeds, you will eventually get an apple tree. The seeds or the roots are the beliefs that a person holds to in which to interpret the whole of reality.
There is a reason why the 3 main Worldviews in the history of Western culture travel downward.
Because only the Biblical Worldview of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation (Restoration) corresponds with ALL created Reality as it really is.
How does the Biblical Worldview on the above Spectrum answer the first of these 4 questions-which is a Twofold Question?
Where does the Universe come from/What does it mean to be Human?
The Gospel begins at Genesis 1v1- Creation
The Biblical Worldview begins with this categorical propositional statement:
And it ends in Revelation 22 with a New heavens and a New Earth. This means that history is linear, and is moving toward its consummation, its end point.
God's arch enemy, aka Apollyon the devil also has his deceptive counterfeit 'end to history'. It has usually come in the form of tyrannical empires throughout history.
Right now, the worldview of Globalism combined with an ever increasing Technocracy ruled by an elite appears to be the contemporary 'Tower of Babel' that the enemy is working through. We must not only understand the times in which we live but we are to 'expose the works of darkness (Ephesians 5v11)
There are 3 words that are crucial in this first verse in Genesis 1v1 if we are to understand the whole scope of redemptive history from Creation to New Creation. This will be covered in the next Blog
Very good