Cliffs and creation

My wife and I were awed and humbled by the immense cliffs towering above us as we made our way along the beach at Cape Kidnappers (see previous two editorials). One thing was as obvious as it could be - God did not create these cliffs in a creation instant. The layering of the rocks and the presence of numerous numbers of shells prove that these strata were laid down in water over time. But to whom should go the credit for these staggering natural phenomena - God or the big bang?

One of the most common arguments used by evolutionists against the whole idea of the divine origin of things is a simple fact - numerous features of heaven and earth appear to have had a "natural" origin. How does one reconcile this truth with the simple biblical teaching that God created it all?

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them , and rested the seventh day.

He obviously didn't snap His fingers to make those cliffs, yet He claims the credit. A study of sand on the world's beaches should be enough to convince anybody that it consists of the fragments of rocks that weathered long ago, or of the pulverized shells of marine organisms, or a mixture of the two. The remains of watercourses that once flowed

on our planet but no longer do show that rivers have come and gone over time. Astronomers tell us that the rings of Saturn are relatively recent in making.

Old earth creationists are not embarrassed by the concept of creation by process; rather, they are enthralled by it. That God set in motion all the processes and laws of nature which have been operating like clockwork ever since and producing cyclically, over time, volcanoes, mountains, beaches, caves and sedimentary rocks provides believers with a never-ending insight into the genius of the Creator.

If an alien visiting earth were to walk into a kitchen and find piles of dough in some tins on the counter and then an oven with its door open and a loaf of warm bread inside it in a similar tin, he would deduce that the bread in there had risen from dough through the action of heat. Would he also deduce that the bread evolved and that the oven door had been opened by an earthquake? Ridiculous.

Genesis One doesn't give any details of the methods used in creation. It does not teach the magician model of instant creation. The evidence from nature suggests He created more like a chef making a soufflé, or a builder making a mansion (Job 38:4-5). My favorite analogy is that of composer. Would that somebody would compose a creation symphony.