Back to: Big Bible Basics Course
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NIV)
Scientific Perspective
As discussed in the background about the philosophy of Naturalism, in the last few centuries in the western world there has been a distancing of the concept of the Creator from western science. Scientists can observe and study the wonders of the creation, but they cannot study our Creator directly as they study other subjects scientifically. But we can see evidence of a Creator in the wonders of our creation.
This is why it is God Himself who must reveal Himself to us in order for us to know deeper truths about His nature. God has made this revelation about Himself in the Bible and especially in the life of Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son. So, to be able to directly correlate the events described in the Bible with the events described in science is a great gift to those who believe in the truths and power of science. The great Creator of nature, the source of all science, has made it plain that all of the wonders that we find in science and nature find their source in the eternal God who is far beyond what we can think or imagine.
Scriptural Perspective
It is God who has always existed, the great I AM. He existed before the beginning of our universe. This is why we put this frame first, even though it does not follow exactly the word sequence in the first verse of Genesis (the word sequence is dictated by how grammar worked in ancient Hebrew). Following Jewish practices, we use the name of G-d here, recognizing that from a religious as well as a scientific standpoint, our Creator is far, far above what we can fully understand or imagine. From a religious standpoint, this is one of the many reasons that we call G-d holy.