| The doctrine of Creation is
foundational to Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. To recognize that the
earth and its inhabitants came about by creation, not by chance, is to recognize
the existence of a Creator. To acknowledge God as our Creator is
fundamental to recognizing both His power to redeem us and His right to judge
us. Creation also is intricately tied to our belief in the Sabbath,
which is a memorial to God's Creation and a sign of the believer's faithfulness
to God at the close of time
(Rev.
14:7).
Seventh-day Adventists take
Genesis
1-11 as an accurate historical account of the origins of life on earth.
We accept the biblical account's straightforward testimony that the
creation of life on this planet and its various habitats occurred in six
literal, 24-hour days. Based on the available biblical data, we also
believe that the period of time since the Creation has been a short chronology
of a few thousand years, as opposed to millions of years required by the
general theory of evolution. Further, we accept the account of the
Fall, which brought a radical change to life on this planet, as well as the
world-wide Flood, which destroyed that life and dramatically altered the
physical face of the planet.
The conclusions one reaches about what the Bible teaches on this crucial
subject depend much on the method of interpretation one brings to the Bible.
Our church has historically rejected external authorities that claim to supersede
what the Bible itself says. We affirm that the Bible has final authority
in matters of origins. We accept the Bible as it reads in its most
straightforward manner.
Maintaining the historical-biblical view of Creation is not simply based
on an uncritical or apathetic disregard for modem science. Denial of
the historicity of Genesis 1-11 undermines the very essence of Christianity-the
plan of salvation-for it necessarily denies the historical Fall and death
resulting directly from it. Acceptance of biblical Creation reminds
us of our desperate need of a Savior and gives us insights into God's love
and power to redeem us. Join us this quarter as we study what the Bible
and the Spirit of Prophecy say about God's Creation.
"God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic
account of His creative activity. In six days the Lord made 'the heaven
and the earth' and all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh
day of that first week. Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual
memorial of His completed creative work. The first man and woman were
made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion
over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it."—SDA
Fundamental Belief 6.
Contents:
(no frames)
Meet the Principal Contributor
to This Quarter's Guide
Randall W. Younker is associate professor of Old Testament and Biblical
archaeology and director
 of the Institute of Archaeology at Andrews University. He
is also director of the Ph.D./Th.D. program at the Seventh-day Adventist
Theological Seminary at Andrews. He received his B.A. in religion from
Pacific Union College in 1975 and an M.A. in biology from that same school
in 1977. He later earned a second M.A. and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern
archaeology from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Younker has taught a number of courses in science and religion on the
undergraduate and graduate level for several years. In addition to
teaching, Dr. Younker has been a field archaeologist for nearly twenty years,
working in both Israel and Jordan. Currently, he directs excavations
for the Madaba Plains Project at Tell Jalul, a major site from the biblical
period located near Mt. Nebo in Jordan. He has authored or coauthored
over fifty scholarly and popular articles. Dr. Younker and his wife,
April, have four children: Rebecca, Michael, Elizabeth, and Sarah.
Giardina Sabbath School
Study Helps
Jerry Giardina of Houston, Texas, prepares a series of helps to accompany
the Sabbath School lesson. He includes all related scripture and most
EGW quotations. These are provided in three wordprocessing versions
Wordperfect;
Microsoft Word;
RFT for our MAC friends; and
HTML (Web Pages).
Last updated on June 26, 1999
Editorial Office: 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Principal Contributor: Jack J. Blanco.
Editor: Philip G. Samaan.
Associate Editor: Lyndelle Brower Chiomenti.
Editorial Assistant: Soraya Homayouni Parish.
Art and Design: Lars Justinen.
Pacific Press Coordinator: Glen Robinson.
Copyright © 1999 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist.
All Rights Reserved.
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