Few portions of the Bible have been as hotly debated as the creation story, which is a shame, because its message is beautiful. But this beauty gets lost in how we approach the creation narrative. At least, it gets lost in the way many Western evangelical Christians do.
When we read this passage, we tend to try to settle specific debates, and therefore focus on certain questions: Are the first chapters of Genesis recording historic events or are they akin to other ancient creation tales such as the Enuma Elish of the ancient Babylonians, or the Atrahasis Epic of the ancient Mesopotamians? Does “day” mean day as we understand it (24 hours), is it figurative language, or something else altogether? How old is the earth? And for some reason we ask, Did the first people have belly buttons?
We approach the creation account from a specific kind of apologetics standpoint. We make arguments against competing perspectives and ideologies, particularly those that reject the idea of a creator God altogether and view all life as the result of a process of ongoing, incremental changes and mutations successfully occurring over millennia, and all governed, essentially, by chance. We focus on fossil records and offer alternative explanations of current scientific perspectives. We talk about dinosaurs, make replica arks, and fund institutes that explore the evidence that this world was purposefully made.
But too often, we approach these topics defensively. We attempt to counter a narrative born from the Enlightenment Movement of the eighteenth century, a narrative that attempts to pit faith against reason, or science against Scripture. It’s a narrative that claims that reasonable people don’t believe in fanciful creation stories like what we see in the Bible. A narrative that creates a conflict out of nothing, because it’s a conflict that doesn’t exist.
Reject Red Herrings Around the Creation Story
There are reasonable discussions to be had about the relationship between science and Scripture. For those of us who grew up assuming the Enlightenment’s “faith versus reason” narrative is true, we need to have those conversations. But the debate, as it is commonly framed, is also a red herring.
After all, there is no genuine conflict between the two. Untold hundreds of scientists throughout the centuries were (and are) committed Christians. Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, and George Washington Carver are just a few worth mentioning. They recognized what we need to as well: Rather than faith being a barrier to scientific inquiry, faith is fuel for it — a desire to understand the world God made.
That is why I don’t buy the common framing. The faith versus reason, or science versus Scripture, dichotomy is a distraction from a much more significant issue. Or rather, a more significant conflict that revolves around the Bible’s central plot, and its central character.
The Creator and His Creation
Go back and read Genesis 1:1. Who is the first character introduced in this story? It is God, the Lord of all things. Already present; already existing. Outside of all that is. By introducing God as the preexistent Creator of everything, the Bible reveals a profound truth: All creation belongs to him. It is his.
Because he made everything, God has the right to determine how everything works. To say what is right and what is wrong. To say what is good, beautiful, and true — and what is not — in every area of existence. The flow of time. The speed at which every planet in our solar system orbits around the sun. What humans are, and what we are not. No area of creation is outside of his authority.
And that authority isn’t limited to one person of the Trinity either. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally in total authority over everything because all were present and involved at the beginning. The Father and the Spirit are the most apparent, with God the Father the declared creator of all things, and the Spirit of God moving, preparing for the work of creation to begin (Genesis 1:1-2).
But what about the Son? Where was he in the beginning?
John’s Gospel provides the answer as its first verse calls back to the opening line of the Bible: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1 NIV). The Word who was with God and was God, and came into the world as the man Jesus Christ. Jesus, God the Son, “was in the beginning with God” (verse 2 NKJV), and all things were created by him, for him, and through him (verses 3, 14, 17). He sustains everything, holding all things together, with the same authority that the Father and Spirit have over creation (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).
The Scandal of the Creation Story
That is the real scandal of the creation story. And that is exactly why people are desperate to debunk it. Or, at least, try to put those who do believe it on the defensive. People don’t object to the creation narrative because it’s ludicrous or intellectually dishonest. In truth, it is no more or less intellectually credible than the belief that the universe as we know it exists, effectively, by accident. They object because, if there is a Creator who made everything, we are not autonomous beings. If we came into the world as the result of the equation of time plus matter plus chance successfully adding up again and again and again, we are beholden to no one. We don’t have to worship, and more pointedly, obey God, because that God isn’t real.
But if the creation narrative is true, and so is the rest of the Bible’s narrative for that matter, it’s a different story. It means the God who made everything is in authority over everything — including us. He is not a distant deity content to let us run amok, doing whatever pleases us. God has a plan for his creation, a design for how it works, and a purpose he is working toward. He is so personally invested in his creation that when we tried to deviate from his plan — to do our own thing — he revealed himself to the world by entering into it as the man Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus put his authority over all creation on display with signs and wonders, forgiving sins, refuting human tradition, and even overcoming death itself. And to him, as Lord over all creation, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess his authority, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).
Behold the Beauty of the Story
That is the point of the creation story. That is the point of the entire Bible: All authority belongs to Jesus. It is beautiful and scandalous. And this is what we need to remember whenever we find ourselves drawn into discussions and debates about faith and reason, or science and Scripture. There are honest discussions to be had, and we should want to have them. But they aren’t really about faith and reason. They’re about how the world works and how we were meant to live.
The story we’re told by the culture around us (and what it wants us to believe) is that we are entirely self-autonomous. That we are masters of our fates, free to define ourselves and to do as we please. It promises a kind of freedom it cannot deliver; and instead of freeing us, it stifles us.
But the story of Scripture invites us to embrace a view of the world that is bigger and brighter and more wondrous than anything mankind can imagine. One that welcomes questions and exploration, because by exploring the world we come to know better the One who made it all, the One who is in authority over all things (Psalm 8:1; Romans 1:19-20). We are meant to live under God’s authority, not our own. Under his rule, we find the freedom we seek. And our hearts will remain unfulfilled until we finally yield to him.
Excerpted with permission from Faith Simplified by Aaron Armstrong, published by Harvest House Publishers. Copyright 2025, Aaron Armstrong.
With abundant insights and engaging discussion questions in every chapter, Faith Simplified will inspire both individuals and groups to embrace faith in fresh, compelling ways. This accessible guide will help you take these truths to heart so you can understand and experience the blessings of Christianity at their fullest.
Aaron Armstrong is a Marketing Director with Thomas Nelson Bibles and the author of multiple books, Bible studies, and documentaries. As an adult convert, Aaron writes to engage those curious about Christianity, encourage new believers, and equip those coming alongside them. For nearly 20 years, he has served local churches as a preacher, small group leader, and children’s ministry leader. He and his wife, Emily, have three teenage children.
