THE PURPOSE OF CREATION (PART 2 OF 3): THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ANSWER

  • By Dr. Bilal Philips

  • Description: An introduction to the most puzzling question of human history, and a discussion about the sources which can be used to find the answer.  Part 2: A look into the bible and Christian belief about this subject.

  • Judeo-Christian Scriptures

    A survey of the Bible leaves the honest seeker of truth lost.  The Old Testament seems more concerned with laws and the history of early man and the Jewish people than with answering the vital question concerning humanity’s creation.  In Genesis, God creates the world and Adam and Eve in six days and ‘rests’ from His work on the seventh.  Adam and Eve disobey God and are punished and their son Cain kills their other son Abel and goes to live in the land of Nod.  A9nd God was ‘sorry’ that he had made man!  Why are the answers not there in clear and unmistakable terms?  Why is so much of the language symbolic, leaving the reader to guess at its meanings?  For example, in Genesis 6:6 it is stated:

    “When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose.”

    Who are these ‘sons of God?’  Each Jewish sect and each of the many Christian sects who followed them have their own explanations.  Which is the correct interpretation?  The truth is that the purpose of man’s creation was taught by the prophets of old, however, some of their followers – in collusion with the devils – later changed the scriptures.  The answers became vague and much of the revelation was hidden in symbolic language.  When God sent Jesus Christ to the Jews, he overturned the tables of those merchants who had set up businesses inside the temple, and he preached against the ritualistic interpretation of the law practiced by the Jewish rabbis.  He reaffirmed the law of Prophet Moses and revived it.  He taught the purpose of life to his disciples and demonstrated how to fulfill it until his last moments in this world.  However, after his departure from this world, his message was also distorted by some who claimed to be among his followers.  The clear truth which he brought became vague, like the messages of the prophets before him.  Symbolism was introduced, especially through the “Revelations” of John, and the Gospel which was revealed to Jesus was lost.  Four other gospels composed by men were chosen by Athanasius, a fourth century bishop, to replace the lost Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And the 23 books of writings of Paul and others included in the New Testament outnumbered even the four versions of the gospel.  As a result, New Testament readers cannot find precise answers to the question “Why did God create man?”  And one is forced to blindly follow the contrived dogmas of whatever sect they happen to belong to or adopt.  The gospels are interpreted according to each sect’s beliefs, and the seeker of truth is again left wondering, which one is correct?

    The Incarnation of God

    Perhaps the only common concept to most Christian sects regarding the purpose of mankind’s creation is that God became man so that He could die at the hands of men to cleanse them of sin inherited from Adam and his descendants.  According to them, this sin had become so great that no human act of atonement or repentance could erase it.  God is so good that sinful man cannot stand before Him.  Consequently, only God’s sacrifice of Himself could save humankind from sin.

    Belief in this man-made myth became the only source for salvation, according to the Church.  Consequently, the Christian purpose of creation became the recognition of the ‘divine sacrifice’ and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Lord God.  This may be deduced from the following words attributed to Jesus in the Gospel according to John:

    “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

    However, if this is the purpose of creation and the prerequisite for everlasting life, why was it not taught by all the prophets?  Why did God not become man in the time of Adam and his offspring so that all mankind would have an equal chance to fulfill their purpose for existence and attain everlasting life.  Or did those before Jesus’ time have another purpose for existence?  All people today whom God has destined never to hear of Jesus also have no chance to fulfill their supposed purpose of creation.  Such a purpose, is obviously too limited to fit the need of humankind.

  • PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE

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