God and evolution?

Question

So the belief is that God created us for His pleasure. Is it possible God could have created the earth (without humans at first) and the heavens for His pleasure and that evolution followed because of His creation? This could explain dinosaurs because they could have been for His pleasure. There is a theory that God created the earth and then destroyed it and then recreated it. This destruction of the earth could have resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Maybe His pleasure changed to intelligent beings. He could have created man and allowed man to evolve. Your thoughts. Thank you.

Answer 1

I agree with you, but you are going to get hammered by the fundies! God creates because that's what God does. He creates. Yes, absolutely, I'm sure creation was done in logical and gradual steps. God is logical, not magical.

Answer 2

Re: RcknRllr - Why do evolutionists always pre suppose Gods non-existence? Where is the proof of evolution? It is called a theory for a reason - there is no conclusive evidence. If there were, there wouldn't be conflicting theories on evolution & scientists would be unaninmous in their beliefs, but the fact is there are about as many scientists who are creationists as there are evolutionists.



Could the flood have killed the dinosaurs? This would explain such findings as mammoths found frozen with vegetation still in their mouths & undigested in their stomack, suggesting a sudden death in water.
Also, Genesis 1:6-8 talks about there being an expanse created between waters on the earth & waters in heaven. If there was a large amount of water surrounding the the whole earth, this could create a greenhouse effect making the whole earth a warm place this. Could this explain Why tropical vegetation & reptilian dinasaurs are found in what is now colder climates?
Maybe the dinasaurs were created as part of the preparation for human habitation?

Re:Elmjunburke: So you're saying that a fully furnished house could appear without being designed & built? Or maybe a car or computer? You must be, because you're saying that our planet, the universe, life & nature can appear & function perfectly together without a designer or creator. Whatever a human is able to create nowhere near touches the suffistication of our universe & it's inhabitants.

Answer 3

As a history professor, biblical scholar and life long Christian.

Let me point out the following things.

First of all... God did create all the Earth before man was created. Read Genesis chapter 1, verses 1 - 31. Man was not created until the sixth day.

Second of all....The ideas of creation and evolution are mutually exclusive. They cannot co-exist together.

Why?

Because with evolution there can be no morality (right and wrong - Good & evil). Only the strong will survive and the weak will die out, but for what purpose???

It is ignorant and stupid to believe and to think that man did not fall. If man did not fall, what need would there be for a savior? If there was no savior, what need be for God? If there is no God, what need would there be for life to even exist? Life at that point would be meaningless. Suffering would be meaningless. Life at that point would have no purpose. Everything man has ever thought or done would be all for nothing, just wasted away. Life would mean nothing.

I cannot and will not accept that. I know I have a purpose. I know I am here for a reason. I know man did fall. I know Christ died for my own and for sins of the world.

Third of all....The dinosaurs did exist within the Old Testament (or Torah) however they were not called dinosaurs, they were mentioned by many different names.

The Bible refers to many the common animals we know today. The list includes lions, wolves, bears, sheep, cattle and dogs along with various kinds of birds, rodents, reptiles, and insects. What is interesting is that this extensive list includes three animals that we no longer recognize. These three are (in the original Hebrew language) tanniyn, b@hemowth (yes, it’s spelled correctly—at least as close as we can get in Roman characters), and livyathan.

Although we alter the spelling of behemoth and Leviathan slightly, we still use those same words in bibles today. However, tanniyn is always translated into another word when we write it in English. Tanniyn occurs 28 times in the Bible and is normally translated “dragon.” It is also translated “serpent,” “sea monster,” “dinosaur,” “great creature,” and “reptile.” Behemoth and Leviathan are relatively specific creatures, perhaps each was a single kind of animal. Tanniyn is a more general term, and it can be thought of as the original version of the word “dinosaur.” The word “dinosaur” was originally coined in 1841, more than three thousand years after the Bible first referred to “Tanniyn.”

How we got these new names is interesting. In 1822, Mary Ann Mantell became the first person to discover and correctly identify a strange bone as part of a large, unknown reptile. Her husband, Dr. Gideon Mantell, later named this creature an “Iguanodon.” From that time forward, these forgotten animals were given names chosen by the people who rediscovered them. Of course, the Bible, written between approximately 1450 BC and 95 AD, does not include any of these names.

Forth of all.... God did create the earth and then destroyed it and then recreated it. Ever read about "Noah & the Flood" (Genesis chapters 5 - 9)

Last of all.....God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26) after His own likeness. We have a mind, body, spirit and soul. We are unique in this way. All the animals of the world do not have all of that.

Answer 4

God has created, is running, and will destroy the Universe. God is the Origin and Destination of the Universe. God was, is, will be everywhere, God was never Created and will never die / be destroyed. God is beyond Life and Death. All religions of world teach human way to get close to God. You give your Best, God will give thy Best. Ask God for help and forgive, God will help and forgive you. Pray; Worship and Thank God for everything. Remember wherever there is Happiness in Life, there will be Sorrow. To get Happiness, you must master Sorrow. For Success in Life; Believe in Self and God, Learn from Past, Concentrate in Present, Plan for Future. Have control on, be the master of, not the slave of your body, senses, and mind. Purpose of this Life is to Gain and Share utmost Knowledge and Experience to differentiate and choose Right, Good, God against Wrong, Bad, Devil. Set your Desire level perfect or OK to be brave, no low to be coward, no high to be cruel. You have rights of Survival, Self Defence, and Freedom.

Answer 5

Maybe. Evolution could occur and probably did. I believe that we were created human not as anything less however. It is clear in the bible that Adam and Eve were intelligent, like we are. You cannot believe in macro-evolution and in God also.
It is not clear if you are a creationist or not? Creatonists can still believe in a form of evolution, just not the general misconception of apes evolving into humans.

Answer 6

So then he could have created the universe, destroyed it, re-created it, balled it up and threw it in the trash, started over - created a new one, wasn't happy with that, destroyed it, went out for a cafe latte, came back created another universe, then put it on the shelf for a while then took it back down and thought to himself... 'no this isn't exactly what I had in mind'.

--Yeah, this is way more logical than the physicists and the big bang theory.

Answer 7

I think your explanation is plausible. I have always considered it strange that the entire planet worth of dinosaurs was wiped out. Perhaps God was just using the eraser on his pencil?

Answer 8

It is possible to imagine omnipotent beings capable of doing anything. So I don't see why creationists don't just say 'OK god made evolution as well' and save themselves the trouble of having to misrepresent scientific discoveries that have been made since the Bible was written....

Answer 9

I'll tell you one thing: the God you believe in comes across as a self-indulgent hedonist who gets bored rather easily. I hope, for all our sakes, He doesn't get bored with humans and find "pleasure" in flying pig like creatures, or something like that.

Answer 10

If there is a god then why would creating something give it pleasure.