FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

New Zealand Tablet, 25 August 1921, Page 33

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

LA .Weekly Instruction fob Young and Old.] CHAPTER IV.—THE CREATION OP THE WORLD—THE MAN—ORIGINAL SIN. 1. We have now learnt what faith teaches us about God, cosnidered in Himself, whether in His nature or in His personality. It remains for us to discuss the doctrine relating to the works of God.

The works of God admit of two distinctions: the creation of the universe, and the providence by which it is governed. We mean, in speaking here of providence, that economy, action, or succession of actions, by which God leads all creatures to their end, and more especially those which hold the first place in the visible world—namely, man, or the human race.

We will first take for consideration the creation-of the world; then the angels; and lastly, man and original sin.

First Article: The Creation of the World.

2. God has created—that is, drawn out of nothing—heaven and earth, with all that they contain, either spiritual or corporal. By this is meant all that exists out of God—namely, the earth which we inhabit, the sun, the moon, and the stars of the firmament, with those millions of globes and suns that occupy the immensity of space; also all living beings, plants, animals, men, and the angels, who are invisible and purely spiritual creatures. This vast universe has been created by a single word of the Creator, by a simple act of the Divine Will. "He spoke, and all things were made; He commanded, and they were created" (Ps. cxlviii.). •

3. In the first page of Genesis the history of the creation is recorded; but in this recital a distinction ought to be observed between those points which are clear and certain, and those which are disputed or obscure. The clear and certain points are the following: (1) In the beginning God created heaven and earth. (2) God made to His own image and likeness the first man, the sole father of the human race.

(3) God established the law of the Sabbath, in order to consecrate the seventh day to the divine worship ; and He did so in memory of the creation, which was a type of the weekly period.

(4) God formed the world as it now exists, with its waters, its plants, and its various species of animals; and He accomplished this work in the space of six days. ' The points which follow are doubtful, and in no wav defined by faith: (1) What must be understood by the days of creation P Hie Hebrew word torn, translated as day, may signify a period of 24 hours, or it may be used to denote "an indefinite space of time, or a simple distinction of order without succession of time. ' (2) What was the original state of the universe before the days of creation? Were there plants and animals previous to this, which were subsequentlv engulfed in a tremendous overthrow, thus producing the Mosaic chaos? (3) Did the different words of the Creator, which constitute the distinct acts of creation, produce their effect immediately or gradually? Had all the plants appeared before the creation of animals? Were there certain species of plants and animals which subsequently perished and Have been superseded by other species? (4) What are we to understand by -the work of the and b d ay when the Scriptures te]] us God made the sun and the stars to light the earth? Did the sun and Z stars commence their existence then, or did they onl v begin to light up the world, which had now become capable teStt B"** 8 "** infh — th - « .•«. Th ?V n p-M ther , qUeSti nS ' Which are not defined Jrftft the ff e 7 by the interpretation of the Church, f/rjff l ?. l ? the irrigations of science. 4. All that Faith teaches us about the antiquity of the world is, that it did not always exist ' hnt -createl in Hmo n r. .+ xu • . . tUWtl > s> exist, out was created Zrl ™SL ♦ I 6 i egmnm « of -*™e. The sacred Scriptures do not begin to reckon years from the creation of the world, but from that of man; and they count them

so as to give us only an uncertain chronology, which varies from 4,000 to 5,500 years, or even more, from the time which elapsed between the creation of Adam and the coming of Jesus Christ.

5. The end which God had in view in creating the world was His glory, or the manifestation of His divine attributes, and the true happiness of all reasonable creatures.