h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was tempted to stay out off this and I'm going to to a large extent, except to say that it is possible to believe both in a scientific view of the origins of the world and life AND to believe in a creator God as pictured in the Genesis accounts.

I would also like to say that I am reliably informed that the structure of Genesis one is a form of Hebrew poem. So, it is not and never was meant to be taken as a scientific type explanation of the beginning. It was however, intended to present a truth about the beggining of things, i.e. 'In the beggining was God and God....'. The interesting thing to note aboute the things created and the order they are in is that each one (ie. the sun, moon, stars, animals etc.) were all objects worshiped by the people around the Jews. This poem can then be seen as simply asserting to everyone that the objects they worshiped as Gods were in fact created by the Jewish God. This effectivly communicated to everyone the Hebrew belief that there God was both Almighty and the creator of everything!

The bottom line is if it's a poem don't treat it like a science textbook. But, that doesn't mean it can be sidelined, since it can (and I believe does) present us with a central truth that will effect all areas of life.

You may not realise but your doctrine of creation, and we all have one even if it's believing in evolution, will impact all other areas of your life. For example if in your doctrine of creation you see as Genesis asserts that God created all men and women equal, then this will change your view of other people of both sexes. Or if you believe that we are made in the image of God, who is Good, then you'll believe that there is good and value in everyone human being, this then leads to treating others with respect and stuff.

Anyway I'm going on too much as I never intended to say half of that. And it's late and I want to get to bed so I'm going to leave it there.