Throwing the gauntlet early

Our pastor looked at the very first verse of the Bible today, and I found it interesting the way he summarized the challenge those first ten words pose to a variety of competing belief systems:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

- To the atheist, this proclaims there IS a God, and He's the cause of all that is
- To the polytheist, it declares there is but one God
- To the pantheist, it reveals the God who is NOT "in and a part of everything," but rather is a transcendent being who is the cause of what we see, not merely the sum total of it
- To the evolutionist, it asserts life was created, and not the result of a series of freak accidents
- To the materialist, is says that matter is not self-existent
- And to the existentialist, it challenges that life and creation do indeed have a purpose

If, in the very first verse, the Bible throws down such a glaring contrast between ways of thinking, no wonder so many would rather simply dismiss Genesis (and the rest of scripture) as allegory, fable, myth or hoax. Few truly examine the merits of its claims.

There are clear lines of demarcation when thinking on these issues. Upon what basis do you stand where you do?