"God Creates the Universe": Reflection on Heb. 11:1-3

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. - Heb. 11:1-3

God Creates the Universe

In verse 3, the writer of Hebrews states that when Christians see the universe they understand that it was created by God.

Difference in Belief

So how come a Christian can see that the universe was created by the God of the Bible, but most non-Christians can't?

Here are some reasons why:

1. God has revealed this truth in His authoritative Word (the Bible)

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him (Col. 1:15-16)


2. God has opened the Christian's eye and heart to see and love the truth about the world through the Bible and the Holy Spirit

14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. ( 2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

3. Nonbelievers are still enslaved by their sins, thus they suppress the truth about God

19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:19-22)


Blind Faith?

If this is so, is the Christian faith one that is "blind", that is, is a Christian irrational for believing in biblical truths about the world, like intelligent design?

I don't think so, because there is nothing irrationally for a person to trust in a God, who is invisible (1), all-knowing and all-powerful (Romans 11), who has made himself know through Jesus Christ (Heb. 1), who died on a cross and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15) and has been changing the hearts of people in the past and the present through the Holy Spirit (Heb.11).

But in fact, to take a set of facts and observations from the world, and draw from them a conclusion( 2) of the nonexistence of God is a greater leap of "faith" than a Christian that trusts in a God, who has revealed himself in history, the world, and in the Bible.



Notes:

(1) "The conviction of the unseen" in verse 1, isn't saying that the Christian faith excludes all visible evidences, but that their ultimate trust in the unseen future is in a living God, who is personally invisible, but his works have been and are being seen through history, the world, and the Bible.

(2) All conclusions from observing facts and evidences are opinions, that is, there is a subjective component to all human deductions, therefore an atheistic scientist can not say they are being "objective" and a Christian is being "subjective" but both are subjective in that the Christian has adopted a Christian worldview through the Bible and Holy Spirit (See Point #2) and the nonbeliever is still subjected to his/her "fleshly" worldvew (See Point #3).