It All Started with Genesis-Part II

Last updated on: November 10, 2023 at 11:41 am by Richard E. Simmons III

It All Started with Genesis-Part II 2023-11-10T11:41:48-06:00 Richard E. Simmons III

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is part two of “It All Started with Genesis” that posted last week. Click here to read Part One.

*****

Probably the most brilliant scientist I have ever heard speak is Dr. Hugh Ross, a Canadian Astrophysicist. As a young boy he was very curious about the universe. At the age of eight Ross read every book on Astronomy in his well-stocked elementary school library. He says:

“At age ten I had exhausted the science resources of the children’s and youth sections of the Vancouver Public Library and was granted a pass to the adult section. A few years later I was given access to the library of the University of British Columbia. By the time I was sixteen, I was presenting public lectures on astronomy and at seventeen won the British Columbia Science Fair for my project on variable stars. Also at seventeen, I became the director of observations for the Vancouver branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (an organization of primarily amateur astronomers). I felt glad to have found so early in life a pursuit I loved.”

Ross had no formal religious beliefs, and he knew that the European philosophers of the Enlightenment largely discounted religion. He says:

“I first looked for insight from their works. What I discovered, however, were circular arguments, inconsistencies, contradictions, and evasions. I began to appreciate nature all the more, for it never presented me with such twists.”

So Ross finally decided to read all of the holy books of the world’s major religions. He believed there was a God out there and reasoned that if He was the Creator he would be speaking through one of these books. The problem is most of the holy books he read were esoteric, mysterious and vague. His great frustration is that none of them contained anything stated specifically enough to be tested.

Finally, he picked up a Bible he had received from the Gideons. He was struck by how simple, direct, and specific it was and he was amazed at “the quantity of historical and scientific references.”

What rocked Ross’s life was reading the first chapter in the book of Genesis. He put it this way:

“Instead of another bizarre creation myth, here was a journal-like record of the earth’s initial conditions—correctly described from the standpoint of astrophysics and geophysics—followed by a summary of the sequence of changes through which Earth came to be inhabited by living things and ultimately by humans. The account was simple, elegant, and scientifically accurate. From what I understood to be the stated viewpoint of an observer on Earth’s surface, both the order and the description of creation events perfectly matched the established record of nature. I was amazed.”

Ross committed himself to vigorously reading the Bible through, testing the accuracy of all its statements on science, geography, and history. It took him eighteen months. He then confesses that:

“At the end of the eighteen months, I had to admit to myself that I had been unsuccessful in finding a single provable error or contradiction. This is not to say that there were not any passages in the Bible I did not understand or problems that I could not resolve. The problems and passages I couldn’t yet, understand didn’t discourage me, however, for I faced the same kinds of things in the record of nature. But, just as with the record of nature, I was impressed with how much could be understood and resolved.

I was now convinced that the Bible was supernaturally accurate and thus supernaturally inspired. Its perfection could come only from the Creator Himself. I also recognized that the Bible stood alone in revealing God and His dealings with humans from a perspective that demanded more than just the dimensions we mortals can experience (length, width, height, and time). Since humans cannot visualize phenomena in dimensions they cannot experience, finding these ideas in the Bible also argued for a superhuman author.”

Ross did not know what to do next. He then spent a long evening studying the salvation passages in the Bible. Ross then realized he must humble himself before God, asking Him to forgive him of his pride. Ross committed himself to following Christ. He says,

“At 1:06 in the morning I signed my name on the back page of my Gideon Bible, stating that I had received Christ as my Lord and Savior!

All of the scientific and historical evidence I had collected deeply rooted my confidence in the veracity of the Bible and convinced me that the Creator had indeed communicated through this holy book. I went on to become an astronomer and then an astrophysicist, and my investigations into both the cosmos and the Bible have shown me a more wondrous, personal God behind nature than I could ever have imagined.”

We must remember, however, that for Hugh Ross it all started with Genesis.

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 27, 2023

Your True Spiritual Destination

Next Post

November 16, 2023 Remembering God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Character Development Inspiration Leadership Life Purpose Personal Growth Relationships Seeking God Spiritual Truth The Bible True Masculinity Uncategorized Wisdom

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A stone A fence A wall A door