asah Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

June 7, 2024June 6, 2024

God Used Two Methods

In the Spring 2024 issue of God and Nature, Dr. John Carpenter has an excellent article on God’s two methods for bringing things into existence. Dr. Carpenter, a Hebrew and Greek scholar, brings a great understanding of two Hebrew terms in Genesis. Genesis uses the terms “bara” and “asah” to show that God used two methods to bring everything into existence.

The first method that Genesis refers to, “bara,” is creating the physical world and time into existence from nothing. Proverbs 8:22-23 describes this as wisdom and says, “The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works before His deeds of old. I was formed long ages ago at the very beginning when the world came to be.” The Hebrew word “bara” is never used to refer to something humans can do. We find it in Genesis 1:1. It is not used again until Genesis 1:27 to describe humans as being in the image of God, referring to our spiritual makeup. Genesis 2:3 describes the two methods God used: “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created (bara) and made (asah).”

That brings us to the second method God used to bring things into existence. “Asah” refers to things that both God and humans can do. That is to take what has already been created and change it to something new. Everything from Genesis 1:2 to Genesis 1:26 involves God making, not creating. The only other Hebrew word that refers to this process is “yatsar” used in Genesis 2:7. That term describes what a potter would do and is used here to refer to God forming the man’s human body, not his spiritual makeup in God’s image).

God used two methods to “create” and “make.” Humans have duplicated what God has done in making things, including work in genetics and genome projects. What sets humans apart from everything else is not our physical makeup. The difference between human DNA and other primates’ DNA is not huge, but human spiritual makeup is a huge difference.

Unfortunately, many denominations refuse to take the Bible literally and twist it to fit their creeds. Science and the Bible agree 100% in what they say, but bad science and bad theology do exist. No one has all the answers, but the evidence is there for all to see and study. Listen to God and not to human theologies, which were an issue in Paul’s day and are an even greater issue today.

In our booklet “God’s Revelation in His Rocks and His Word,” we echo the same point that the Genesis account, with its use of “bara” and “asah,” demonstrates that God used two methods to bring everything into existence. This understanding, when coupled with a literal interpretation of the Bible, reveals a remarkable harmony between science and the Bible, providing reassurance of their compatibility.

Reference: John B. Carpenter in God and Nature, a publication of the American Scientific Affiliation, spring 2024

October 24, 2023April 12, 2024

Solar System Formation

NASA released a fascinating picture showing solar system formation. The star in the picture is PDS 70, and the resolution is so good that a planet orbiting the star is clearly visible. Also visible is a disk around the planet, apparently forming several moons.

This picture shows what astronomers believe was the process that produced Jupiter and some of its moons. This is the first time astronomers have seen a solar system formation in progress. The amazing thing about this is that it is very reminiscent of the Bible’s description of the process God used to produce the Earth and the other objects in our solar system.

Genesis 1:1 uses the Hebrew word for creation (bara), which describes a process that only God can do, creating something from nothing. Modern science has now shown that time, space, and matter/energy came into existence at a point called a singularity, but can’t answer what went on before this singularity. From verse 1 through the rest of Genesis chapter 1, the word “bara” is not used until verse 21, when God created the first animal life. The term used elsewhere is “asah,” which describes changing something already created. (See verses 7, 16, and 25.) The word “bara” is used again in verse 27, when God created man and woman in his own image. Chapter 2, verse 3 summarizes what God had done by saying that He rested from all He had created (bara) and made (asah).

What we are now seeing is how material already created is crafted into a solar system. We may never know what purpose God has for these other solar systems. However, watching this solar system formation helps us understand the formation of our solar system and our unique planet. We know that our giant gas planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) are strategically placed to protect Earth from collisions by comets and other objects coming from outside our solar system.

In Psalms 8:3-4 we read, “When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,…” We don’t see the answer to that question in the physical processes God has used and continues to use. The significance of humans and Jesus Christ’s teachings reveal God’s spiritual purposes in the creation.

The horrible wars wreaking havoc among humans in today’s world are caused by the evil that combats the good Jesus came to establish. While the world is embroiled in war, selfishness, power struggles, greed, and death, we see God working in the lives of men and women and the good being done by the people who faithfully follow Jesus.

Reference: apod.nasa.gov for October 17, 2023.

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023

Geological History Lessons

One of my favorite places on Earth is northern Michigan. As a child, I spent many summers on Lake Michigammi in the upper peninsula and grew to love the land of birches and pines. We can learn from the geological history lessons of northern Michigan.

Returning to this area over 70 years later has been a shock. When I was a kid, the people made a living harvesting and using the trees to make wood for construction purposes and to make paper. That industry still exists, but tourism and the construction of elaborate homes have replaced the trees as the basis of the northern Michigan economy. People have been buying large plots of land, building huge houses, and calling their property a “forest preserve.” Unfortunately, this practice includes the shoreline of Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and the many inland lakes, limiting the general public’s access to this water wonderland.

Michigan’s state rock is the Petoskey stone, a beautiful coral often used to make attractive jewelry. The interesting thing about the Petoskey stone is that it is a tropical coral that only grows in warm water. Obviously, there has been a change in the climate because Michigan is not a tropical paradise. In our time of concern about climate change, we find the geological history lessons of northern Michigan indicating that Earth’s climate has changed in the past.

Another lesson from northern Michigan is the action of ice over time. Everywhere you look, you see huge rocks weighing many tons that could not have been placed by running water. These rocks come from many places and are all different. As a public school earth science teacher in South Bend, Indiana, I would take my students to the local gravel pit to hunt for unusual rocks. One student found a jasper conglomerate from Bruce Mines in Ontario. It had glacial groves and was hundreds of miles from its origin. We also found pieces of raw copper from outcrops in northern Michigan. One student found a diamond from an unknown Klondike area somewhere to the north. The geological history lessons we learn from the enormous rocks, the sand, and the many lakes is that, at one time, glaciers covered the area.

So how much time did these climate changes take? Knowing the geological history has been essential for oil drilling, coal and copper mining, and agriculture in Michigan. These things were part of how God prepared planet Earth for human habitation. Some religious people have tried to explain these things by Noah’s flood, but most ignore any attempt to explain the method and just say, “God did it.” That avoids the question of how and when.

Genesis 1:1 is undated and untimed, and the Genesis account uses the Hebrew words “bara,” meaning to create, and “asah,” meaning to make. Creating from nothing (bara) is used in verse 1, where it applies to space, time, and matter/energy. It is used again in verse 21 for the creation of the first life and in verse 27 for the creation of the first humans. Making (asah) refers to taking what was created and changing it. It is used in verses 7, 16, and 25. Chapter 2 verse 3 summarizes what God had done by using both bara and asah.

The geological history lessons of northern Michigan show us God taking what He had created and molding the Earth to prepare it for human habitation. As we understand more of what God has done, it becomes evident that all we see around us is the work of an intelligent Creator who cares about His creation and the humans He created in His image.

June 29, 2021June 20, 2021

Creation of the First Humans

Over the last two days, we have looked at some Hebrew words used in the Genesis creation account. The two most important words are “bara” and “asah.” They describe two different processes God used. Yesterday, we said that “asah” refers to making something from materials that have already been created. “Bara” refers to something only God can do in creating something that did not exist before. The Bible uses that word in describing the creation of the first humans.

Genesis 1:1 uses “bara” to refer to God creating the universe and planet Earth out of nothing. The same word is used in Genesis 1:20 for the creation of the first life when only non-living matter existed before. Then it is used in Genesis 1:27 for the creation of the first humans in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them.” This view of what a human is, values every human. All human lives matter because all lives, all races, all ethnic groups, and both sexes are created in the image of God.

All attempts to get animals to exhibit characteristics unique to humans, such as artistic creation, musical synthesis, worship, and being able to be taught to think, have been a failure. There are horror stories of animals raised in human homes as humans and how they eventually reverted to their instinctive drives. One of them was a chimpanzee raised as part of a family. It savagely attacked and wounded a female visitor whom the chimp considered an invader in his territory.

The Bible is very clear in its teaching about the unique nature of humans and their equality with one another. In John 4:1-42, Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman. Verse 9 points out that Jews at that time didn’t even talk to Samaritans, much less a Samaritan woman. Verse 27 tells us that the disciples marveled that Jesus spoke with her. Galatians 3:26-29 states the Christian view of the equality of all humans in no uncertain terms.

Skeptics have attempted to say the Bible denigrates some humans as second-class citizens by pointing out the conflict between Jews and Gentiles. That conflict had nothing to do with race but was over religious matters. Others have suggested that Genesis 6:1-8 denigrates some groups by calling them “nephilim.” The word “nephilim” doesn’t mean a giant or an alien or a half-human. The word’s literal meaning is “fallen ones,” and the passage’s context is clear that it describes people who have rejected God and His will. The word for giant in Hebrew is “gibbor” (Job 16:14) or “rapha” (Deuteronomy 2:11, 20 and 2 Samuel 21:16, 18, 20, 22).

The Biblical concept of humans is not only that all races and nationalities are equal, but that humans as a whole are unique and special because they are created in God’s image. The lineage of all people on Earth today goes back to the creation of the first humans. No other faith but Christianity has given the instructions to treat one another–even our enemies–with love, respect, and care (Matthew 5:38-48). That is because we are all created in God’s image.

June 28, 2021June 20, 2021

The Bible Description of Humans

Yesterday we asked the question, “What is a human?” Evolutionists say that humans are the product of millions of years of evolution. That belief says that survival of the fittest and chance evolutionary processes made you who you are. Also, it has logically led to slavery, racial prejudice, ethnic cleansing, and abortion. But is that true, or should we accept the Bible description of humans?

Genesis 2:3 uses two different Hebrew words to describe the creation process. The passage says, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it He rested from all His work which God created (bara in Hebrew) and made (asah in Hebrew).” Some translations don’t distinguish between them, but the words refer to two different processes.

“Asah” refers to making something from materials that have already been created. In contrast to “asah,” the word “bara” refers to something only God can do in creating something that did not exist before. Those two words describe two different processes, and the distinction is essential.

There are two other significant Hebrew words used in the Genesis creation account. One of them is “yatshur.” It describes artistic work in the creative process. It means to form or shape as a sculptor would do. Genesis 2:7 tells us that “God formed (yatshur) man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” The reference to the living being uses the Hebrew word “nephesh,” which refers to a breathing creature. It is also used to refer to animals.

The similarity between “asah” and “yatshur” is that they both refer to the shaping of something from materials already created (bara). Genesis uses the word “asah” when referring to God making animals. Psalms 94:9 uses “yatshur” to describe the formation of the human eye. Jeremiah 1:5 uses it to refer to the formation of the fetus in the womb.

The word “bara” is connected to the Bible description of humans. Tomorrow we will take a closer look at that.