N. K. Aning - The Dilemma

THE DILEMMA SERIES

PART ONE

THE GOD DILEMMA

A ll you really need to know for the moment is that the universe is a lot more complicated than you might think, even if you start from a position of thinking it's pretty damn complicated in the first place. Adams Douglas

Acknowledgements

G rateful acknowledgement is given to the following personalities for the beautiful quotes in this book: John Milton, Isaac Newton, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Taylor, Ernest Hemingway, and Albert Einstein. All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

Introduction

A s a child, I had access to a ton of books from my dad. I remember my dad bringing a boxload of novels home one day. My curiosity was piqued as I read through all those books one by one. I used to enjoy staring at artistic renderings of biblical stories. There was this little book about prehistoric animals I was fascinated with. The book showed different stages of evolution, archeologist attempting to carbon date dinosaur bones. I was thrilled to read about these giant creatures. I recall reading about prehistoric men. There was this nagging question at the back of my head, but of course, being from a religious family, I couldnt ask these questions. I often wondered to myself, if these stories of prehistoric men were true, then what did it mean for the biblical story of Adam and Eve? It is in this respect that I set out to examine some of the themes of the natural world and religion. I am no expert on science or religion. Therefore, I ask this question; what would a lay person think of the many controversial themes in the bible?

Chapter One

Creation

This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being . Isaac Newton.

These are the words of an influential scientist in his time. The creation story is one that many great thinkers have grappled with over the centuries. The bible states that In the beginning when God created the universe.. This statement clearly shows that creation was initiated by an intelligent being. The first humans, Adam and Eve were created by God and from them all mankind was spawned. As a lay person I dont have enough evidence or proof to suggest otherwise.

Creation according to some evolutionist began through the big bang. How exactly this happened is still a subject of contention? Evolution is a fascinating theory yet the great question still remains. What could have caused the big bang? How did a single unprecedented event lead to life as we know it? Even Charles Darwin admitted the difficulty with his theory, if I am not wrong.

Back to the main question. As a lay person who is neither an expert in theology or evolution, my question is this; what would common sense dictate? Is it reasonable to assume that such a complex and beautiful universe could have sprung up by chance? Was creation by accident or design?

The answer to this question lies in part in our social conditioning. No one can deny that the family we are born into help shapes our beliefs about life. I recall fondly as a child reading a book on fossils. These giant creatures had gone extinct while two-footed creatures like us had lived on. As I read these books on prehistoric men, I asked myself if God had created Adam and Eve, what about the Neanderthals? Was it an elaborate hoax by some scientist to discredit the biblical story of creation? Judging from the millions of humans on this planet, is it reasonable to assume that Adam and Eve were the first humans? Is it also reasonable to assume that the existence of life on earth was the result of a single improbable event like the big bang?

To the evolutionist, it would be preposterous to assume that creation originated from an intelligent being. But to the lay person, neither science nor religion adequately addresses the question of creation sufficiently enough. There are still many unanswered questions. Evolution might not offer a better explanation to the complexities of life, but it doesnt negate the fact that religion, Christianity for that matter hasnt also done enough to sate the curiosity of the lay person. To a lay person creation by design would be more preferable as the words of Jeremy Taylor succinctly puts:

What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skills of science is not able to make an oyster.