Just a Few Accidents
Paul: Thanks for coming with me on that walk along the nature track Terry, some of those birds, lizards and insects were interesting.
Terry: It was a pleasure Paul. I am interested to know where you believe this wonderful diversity of nature comes from?
Paul: I believe God created the birds, the fish, the insects and animals. Finally, he created man in his own image.
Terry: That belief is only for those who don’t know what really happened.
Paul: So what really happened?
Terry: What really happened was a long series of remarkable accidents which brought everything into existence.
Paul: What were the accidents?
Terry: A long time ago, when there were no animals, birds, fish, insects or plants. Just water, sand, mud and hot lava. Some of the bits and pieces bumped into each other at the end of a lake, and then there was this amazing accident. A living microbe was formed.
Paul: That sounds rather incredible Terry.
Terry: Just wait Paul, there’s more. At the other end of the lake, there was another amazing accident. Some bits and pieces bumped into each other and another form of life came into being; plant life.
Meanwhile, back at the microbe end of the lake, there was a reproduction accident. The microbe split in two and both halves kept living.
Paul: That’s amazing Terry. Did something land on the microbe and split it in two?
Terry: No Paul, it did it all by itself. And that’s not all. Back at the plant form of life end of the lake, there was an equally astonishing reproduction accident. It also split in two, and both halves continued to live.
Paul: But not everything reproduces by splitting in two.
Terry: That’s no problem Paul, because at the microbe end of the lake, there was what I would call ‘the complicated reproduction accident’. Over time, many of the microbes developed into two groups. One group being the males, and the other group the females. When this happened, they took on a complicated means of reproduction. After that accident, there was an amazing accident with the plants. Many plants, after splitting in two for many generations took on a complicated means of reproduction where they needed to be pollinated in order to reproduce.
Paul: That’s a strange accident Terry. There’s also the problem of the air breathing animals. There’s a big difference between a microbe and an air breathing animal.
Terry: That’s no problem either Paul. It was just a matter of a few accidents. First there was the ‘lung accident’. Mind you, not one big accident but rather, a long series of micro accidents which culminate together to form the one big macro ‘lung accident’. That was followed by the ‘heart accident’, then there was the ‘blood in the arteries and veins accident’, then finally there was the ‘start the heart pumping accident’. Not everything went smoothly at first because animals which received a cut bled to death until along came the ‘coagulation of the blood accident’.
Paul: You have forgotten a significant accident Terry. That is the ‘get old and die accident’.
Terry: There is no advantage in animals deteriorating over time and dying. I must confess, that accident looks a bit ridiculous. What’s your answer to ageing and death?
Paul: I believe there is an explanation as to why we are here which makes more sense than the ‘we got her by accident’ story.
God who is very powerful, very wise, very holy and righteous, and who is not subject to time, created the whole universe. He created the earth and everything it contains. God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, and placed them in the Garden of Eden. They could eat the fruit in their paradise existence, but they were forbidden by God from eating from a tree called the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. They were warned that disobedience of the command would result in death. One day Adam and Eve rebelled against the clear command of God with the result that in addition to knowing good, they also came into a personal knowledge of evil and its consequences. Death not only came to Adam and Eve, sin and death was also passed on to all of their descendants. Furthermore, the curse of aging and death fell on all creatures. Nothing escapes the penalty of death. From the microbe to the whale, everything dies.
That all seems a bit gloomy, but into that depressing situation came the Lord Jesus Christ to conquer sin and death. He had to live a sinless life, and then suffer a cruel death on the cross in order to redeem people from their terrible condition and bring them to God. People are saved when they place no faith in their own righteousness, but rather, repent of their sins before God and fully trust in the righteousness of Christ on their behalf. As the Bible says, “... This is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord Our Righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:6). Furthermore, they acknowledge that there is no self punishment which they can inflict upon themselves to blot out their sins. Only the suffering death of Christ on the cross can pay the penalty.
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Uploaded, April 2008
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