What About Dinosaurs, Neanderthals, Life and Death Before Adam and Eve?
Answer: We don’t disregard what we do know in mathematics (algebra, trigonometry, and calculus) because we have unsolved math problems. Similarly, just because you can bring up some difficult or mysterious questions about God or the bible (the age of the earth, Noah’s ark, the justice of the flood, dinosaurs, Neanderthals, God’s omniscience and our free will, etc.) does not take away from the supernatural evidence we have discovered. So what have we discovered? Let’s go back to the puzzle.
Unlike most jigsaw puzzles that have all the pieces close in size, our world/universe (God’s general revelation) and the Bible (God’s special revelation) has pieces the size of our house while others are the size of our fingernail. The BIG pieces make up an overwhelming majority of this puzzle. If you look for and connect the BIG pieces (the frame) first, you will find more pieces that correctly fit to one another because the BIG pieces are distinct, bold, solid, firm, unchanging, unequivocal, powerful, piercing, and only fit one way; on the other hand, the small pieces are mysterious, ambiguous, shapeless, slippery, nebulous, and seem to fit in many ways. The BIG pieces provide the framework to hold the smaller pieces intact; therefore, meaning flows from the BIG pieces to the smaller pieces. The pieces of the puzzle are measured in significance and importance.
BIG pieces (from our world/universe/existence):
1. The Origin of the Universe--The universe had a start - what caused it? We only have 3 options (universe caused itself, nothing caused it, or SOMETHING that is uncaused, timeless, spaceless, immaterial, personal, and very powerful).
2. The universe operates by uniform laws of nature (the universe is fine tuned for life).
3. The discovery of DNA—Scientists agree that DNA is similar to a computer code/program or a language. Programs have PROGRAMMERS.
4. Moral Law—some things are objectively wrong (e.g. torturing babies for fun). What is the grounding for this law that all sane individuals acknowledge?
5. Reason, consciousness, order, intelligence, life, and everything cannot come from nothing.
6. The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
BIG pieces (from the bible):
1. Who/ What created us?--Holy Trinity
2. What are the attributes of this Creator?
a. God is a personal Spirit
b. God is omniscient—knows everything
c. God is omnipotent—all powerful
d. God is omnipresent—present everywhere
e. God is sovereign
f. God is holy
g. God is Absolute Truth
h. God is righteous
i. God is just
j. God is love
k. God is merciful
l. God is faithful
3. Has this Creator communicated to us? If so, how can we be sure this communication was from the Creator?
a. The bible has supernaturally fulfilled prophecy—predictions of the future that are precise, detailed and accurate. The Bible is the only volume ever produced by man in which detailed prophecies relating to the rise and fall of individuals and empires are given with hairsplitting accuracy. Daniel gives prophecy so detailed it reads like history written after the fact . There were dozens of specific prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ life alone.
b. Supernatural unity--the bible was written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different authors, and the story told is absolutely cohesive and consistent.
c. Supernatural events--the bible is an index to history (not like a fairytale) and nothing has been disproven about the historical facts of the bible.
d. Supernaturally changes lives (existential validity/EXPERIENTIAL RELEVANCE)--God changes us in a way we never could change ourselves when we obey the Scriptures. This experience of transformation is universal, the same around the globe. It transcends all economic, ethnic, geographical boundaries. When people consistently obey the teachings of this book, something radical happens, both to individuals and to whole cultures.
e. Supernatural survival--the Bible is a fighter (The Bible has demonstrated supernatural survival through time and persecution. There have been many powerful, concerted attempts to destroy this book—externally[through destruction] and internally [through criticism]—to no avail. The Bible remains the best selling book of all time. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago),
f. Supernatural insight--The Bible answers the big questions of life (ORIGIN--where did we come from, MEANING--Why were we created/what's our purpose, MORALITY--Why do I feel guilty when I do certain things or don’t do certain things/ how can I know right from wrong, and DESTINY--What happens when we die?) in a way consistent with the way we experience and perceive the world and in a way that is internally cohesive (it makes sense). Remember, many religions give answers, but the question is whether they give answers that fit the world the way we know it to be (E.g., Hinduism. All distinctions are illusion--“Maya”--there is no ultimate distinction between good and evil, and the meaning and goal of life is to “evaporate” back into the Godhead. This doesn’t ring true with the things we seem to know about the world.
Now these are some of the small pieces (mysterious questions we may never know with 100% certainty) of this puzzle:
How EXACTLY did God speak to Moses? Where are dinosaurs in the bible? Why would God allow the devil in the Garden of Eden? Why did God flood the earth? Did God create the world in 6 literal days? Why do animals feel pain? And we could go on and on.
The point here in all this is we don't disregard the obvious (Big Pieces that fit unequivocally together) for the sake of the mysterious (small pieces that we don’t understand yet). In other words, we don't find clarity in ambiguity from what is unclear. We find clarity in ambiguity from what is clear.
If you try to understand and connect the small pieces that don't belong together before the BIG pieces-- you'll find yourself confused, frustrated, anxious, and hopeless in the fog of mystery. On the other hand, those that look for and connect the Big pieces before they move on to the smaller pieces are rewarded with the fruits of wisdom--joy and serenity. These are just the benefits for this world. There is extrinsic value (beyond this world) as well.
We will never complete the entire puzzle in this life, but we all try. If you focus on putting the BIG Pieces together and allow meaning to flow from the BIG pieces to the smaller pieces you will get much further on your quest for TRUTH.
Unlike most jigsaw puzzles that have all the pieces close in size, our world/universe (God’s general revelation) and the Bible (God’s special revelation) has pieces the size of our house while others are the size of our fingernail. The BIG pieces make up an overwhelming majority of this puzzle. If you look for and connect the BIG pieces (the frame) first, you will find more pieces that correctly fit to one another because the BIG pieces are distinct, bold, solid, firm, unchanging, unequivocal, powerful, piercing, and only fit one way; on the other hand, the small pieces are mysterious, ambiguous, shapeless, slippery, nebulous, and seem to fit in many ways. The BIG pieces provide the framework to hold the smaller pieces intact; therefore, meaning flows from the BIG pieces to the smaller pieces. The pieces of the puzzle are measured in significance and importance.
BIG pieces (from our world/universe/existence):
1. The Origin of the Universe--The universe had a start - what caused it? We only have 3 options (universe caused itself, nothing caused it, or SOMETHING that is uncaused, timeless, spaceless, immaterial, personal, and very powerful).
2. The universe operates by uniform laws of nature (the universe is fine tuned for life).
3. The discovery of DNA—Scientists agree that DNA is similar to a computer code/program or a language. Programs have PROGRAMMERS.
4. Moral Law—some things are objectively wrong (e.g. torturing babies for fun). What is the grounding for this law that all sane individuals acknowledge?
5. Reason, consciousness, order, intelligence, life, and everything cannot come from nothing.
6. The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
BIG pieces (from the bible):
1. Who/ What created us?--Holy Trinity
2. What are the attributes of this Creator?
a. God is a personal Spirit
b. God is omniscient—knows everything
c. God is omnipotent—all powerful
d. God is omnipresent—present everywhere
e. God is sovereign
f. God is holy
g. God is Absolute Truth
h. God is righteous
i. God is just
j. God is love
k. God is merciful
l. God is faithful
3. Has this Creator communicated to us? If so, how can we be sure this communication was from the Creator?
a. The bible has supernaturally fulfilled prophecy—predictions of the future that are precise, detailed and accurate. The Bible is the only volume ever produced by man in which detailed prophecies relating to the rise and fall of individuals and empires are given with hairsplitting accuracy. Daniel gives prophecy so detailed it reads like history written after the fact . There were dozens of specific prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ life alone.
b. Supernatural unity--the bible was written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different authors, and the story told is absolutely cohesive and consistent.
c. Supernatural events--the bible is an index to history (not like a fairytale) and nothing has been disproven about the historical facts of the bible.
d. Supernaturally changes lives (existential validity/EXPERIENTIAL RELEVANCE)--God changes us in a way we never could change ourselves when we obey the Scriptures. This experience of transformation is universal, the same around the globe. It transcends all economic, ethnic, geographical boundaries. When people consistently obey the teachings of this book, something radical happens, both to individuals and to whole cultures.
e. Supernatural survival--the Bible is a fighter (The Bible has demonstrated supernatural survival through time and persecution. There have been many powerful, concerted attempts to destroy this book—externally[through destruction] and internally [through criticism]—to no avail. The Bible remains the best selling book of all time. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago),
f. Supernatural insight--The Bible answers the big questions of life (ORIGIN--where did we come from, MEANING--Why were we created/what's our purpose, MORALITY--Why do I feel guilty when I do certain things or don’t do certain things/ how can I know right from wrong, and DESTINY--What happens when we die?) in a way consistent with the way we experience and perceive the world and in a way that is internally cohesive (it makes sense). Remember, many religions give answers, but the question is whether they give answers that fit the world the way we know it to be (E.g., Hinduism. All distinctions are illusion--“Maya”--there is no ultimate distinction between good and evil, and the meaning and goal of life is to “evaporate” back into the Godhead. This doesn’t ring true with the things we seem to know about the world.
Now these are some of the small pieces (mysterious questions we may never know with 100% certainty) of this puzzle:
How EXACTLY did God speak to Moses? Where are dinosaurs in the bible? Why would God allow the devil in the Garden of Eden? Why did God flood the earth? Did God create the world in 6 literal days? Why do animals feel pain? And we could go on and on.
The point here in all this is we don't disregard the obvious (Big Pieces that fit unequivocally together) for the sake of the mysterious (small pieces that we don’t understand yet). In other words, we don't find clarity in ambiguity from what is unclear. We find clarity in ambiguity from what is clear.
If you try to understand and connect the small pieces that don't belong together before the BIG pieces-- you'll find yourself confused, frustrated, anxious, and hopeless in the fog of mystery. On the other hand, those that look for and connect the Big pieces before they move on to the smaller pieces are rewarded with the fruits of wisdom--joy and serenity. These are just the benefits for this world. There is extrinsic value (beyond this world) as well.
We will never complete the entire puzzle in this life, but we all try. If you focus on putting the BIG Pieces together and allow meaning to flow from the BIG pieces to the smaller pieces you will get much further on your quest for TRUTH.