Is Genesis History?Sample

Lesson 2: The Science of Animals 

The Science of Animals

I have a yellow Labrador who loves chasing balls.  She never seems to tire of it.  The little terrier up the street, however, roots around in the yard looking for moles.

God had something curious in mind when He made animals.  Genesis tells us they were created according to their kinds on the last two days of creation. On the sixth day, He brought them to Adam to name. 

God apparently built into each animal kind all sorts of possible variations within limits.  We can look at dogs and cats to see the potential, but dogs don’t become cats and cats don’t become dogs.

This seems to be one of the reasons God brought the animals to Adam.  It’s as if God the designer wanted Adam to notice the unique characteristics in each kind.  By naming them, Adam was identifying their uniqueness.

In one sense, Adam is the first scientist: he is examining the natural world, figuring out similarities and differences, then verbally categorizing them.  Science is the process of trying to understand more about God’s creation in order to explain it and control it.  

What’s neat is that as we enter into that process - even if we’re just observers - we can actually learn more about God through what He has made.  This seems to be why God talks about His creation when He’s questioning Job.  God knows how complex and wonderful it is.  He designed it to amaze us. 

But the creation is now fallen.  Paul tells us it is in “bondage to corruption.” The animals are no longer as they were at the beginning.  Nor are we.  

This means two things for science.  First, there is a tendency for some scientists to ignore what happened in history.  When they do this, they mistakenly interpret the world.  Second, these mistakes can seem plausible because people, though fallen, are still very intelligent.

The Psalmist tells us this is what happens if we lean on our own understanding.  We can follow a path that seems right, but ultimately leads us in the wrong direction.

Reflection:

Are you pursuing ways of thinking not based on God’s word?