Genesis vs Evolution

The next day after a quiet breakfast alone with the Master, Chester challenged him to a debate on Evolution vs Creation. The Master agreed. Chester sipped his coffee and Master sipped his tea. There was a tension in the air and excitement in their eyes. The Master was in excellent spirits, and eager for this conversation.

Chester spoke first. "You can't have it both ways. Evolution and Creation are not compatible ideas. You have to pick one or the other, thats all there is too it. I have to admit in God because of what I have just experienced, but there is all this scientific evidence in evolution. But you can't have it both ways."

The Master grinned. "Of course you can. You can have both if you know the missing pieces of information."

Chester gasped into his coffee. He was expecting this God nut from India to take the Creation side of the argument. "Wait, you can't take both sides at the same time, its not allowed. Pick a side!" Chester was getting a bit steamed. He felt like the Master was cheating somehow.

The Master sipped his tea and leaned back. "So you are saying you don't want to hear what I've learned from Master's past that can solve your little puzzle?" Grinning he waited.

Chester eyed the Master as he finished his coffee. After tilting the mug back for the last drop he leaned forward and said, "Ok, you are on, but it be better be logically consistent or I'm gonna rip it apart! Hah!" Chester was so proud of his debate skills that he felt he could take on anyone.

The Master acted unconcerned and he pulled a chess set out from where he was sitting. As he set it up he said, "Both the evolutionist and the theologians are missing the meaning of the first two verses of Genesis. The whole mystery is hidden in one word."

Chester loved to play chess. He was amazed at how old and intricate the chinese chess pieces looked. He handled each piece carefully as he helped set up the chess board. "I get white! Besides you have a long tale to tell."

Click the board and watch the game

Laughing Chester moved out the pawn in front of his King's Knight to the fourth square. "This opening should suprise you. I have studied it very deeply, you don't have a chance!"

Chester and the Master played quietly for a dozen moves or so. Chester was amazed at how casually and easily the Master adapted to his strange opening. In fact the Master was putting pressure on Chester's position. After about four more moves Chester had reached a position where he felt he wasn't in danger of losing a piece. Slowly Chester looked up at the Master and asked, "What word?"

The Master replied, "Word?" A joy seeped into the room.

Chester wasn't looking at the board instead he focused on the Master again. "How can one word solve the debate of evolution versus creation? It seems to me that is a paradox."

The got up from his chair and declared. "It doesn't solve the debate it joins them together, it joins them. They are both part of the story.

The Master left the porch and when he came back he had brought an English King James Bible and a concordance. "Read to me what the first two verses of this bible says and stop."

Chester took the leather book and flipped pages until he found Genesis. Reading he said "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Looking up Chester shrugged and said, "So?"

The Master said, "Look up in the concordance the definition of was, right after earth in the second verse. You will see what is translated as the English word was should better be translated as the phrase 'It came to pass'. Or if you want a word for word translation, instead of was it should be became. My Master told me told me the original Hebrew meant And it came to pass that the earth became a wasteland empty and chaotic."

Chester challenged. "You can't just rewrite Genesis."

The Master pointed to the second verse. "I'm showing you the full meaning of verse two in the original Hebrew, not as it was translated into English. Look up the original Hebrew for without form and void. They also mean chaotic and empty. As you can see, there is no word for word equivalence in English for the Hebrew words of hayah, tohuw and bohuw. Taking their full meaning it becomes clear that there was a lot of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It is the events that are not mentioned between these two verses that led up to the earth becoming a chaotic wasteland. The missing information solves the mystery of Evolution vs Creation.

Forgetting the chess game, Chester said. "You have my full attention."

Continue with The Story part 11.

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The Reluctant Messenger of Science and Religion Novel

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The Story