Statement of Faith

The Bible declares that the human mind (if open to possibility of creation) is able to explore the manifestations of the Triune God rationally, scientifically, and teleologically. The Creator of the universe is the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is only one eternal and transcendent God, the source of all being and meaning, and He exists in three Persons, each of whom participated in the work of creation.

The biblical record of primeval earth history in Genesis 1-11 is fully historical and clearly expressed, including the creation and Fall of man, the Curse on the Creation and its subjection to the bondage of decay, the promised Redeemer, the worldwide cataclysmic deluge in the days of Noah, the post-diluvian renewal of man’s commission to subdue the earth (now augmented by the institution of human government), and the origin of nations and languages at the tower of Babel.

A. Creation

The physical universe of space, time, matter, and energy has not always existed, but was supernaturally created by a transcendent personal Triune Creator, (The Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit) who alone has existed from eternity. Scripture, which serves as an eye witness account, teaches a recent origin for man and the whole creation, spanning approximately 4,000 years from creation to Christ and approximately another 2,000 years from Christ to the present. The gap theory or an old universe/earth theory has no basis in Scripture since death would be introduced into the world before the fall of man. All things in the universe were created and made by God in the six literal days of the Creation Week described in Genesis 1:1-2:3, and confirmed in Exodus 20:8-11. The days in Genesis do not correspond to geologic ages, but are six [6] consecutive twenty-four [24] hour days of creation.

The phenomenon of biological life did not develop by natural processes from inanimate systems but was specially and supernaturally created by the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of the major kinds of plants and animals was created functionally complete from the beginning and did not evolve from some other kind of organism. Changes in basic kinds since their first creation are limited to “horizontal” changes (variations) within the kinds, or “downward” changes (e.g., harmful mutations, extinctions).

The creation record is factual, historical, and presented clearly; thus all theories of origins or development that involve evolution in any form are false. All things that now exist are sustained and ordered by The Lord Jesus’s providential care. However, a part of the spiritual creation, Satan and his angels rebelled against God after the creation and are attempting to thwart His divine purposes in creation.

B. Adam and Eve

The first human beings did not evolve from an animal ancestry, but were specially created in fully human form from the start. Furthermore, the “spiritual” nature of man (self-image, moral consciousness, abstract reasoning, language, will, religious nature, etc.) is itself a supernaturally created entity distinct from mere biological life. The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were specially created by the Lord Jesus Christ, and all other men and women are their descendants. In Adam, mankind was instructed to exercise “dominion” over all other created organisms, and over the earth itself (an implicit commission for true science, technology, commerce, fine art, and education), but the temptation by Satan and the entrance of sin brought God’s curse on that dominion and on mankind, culminating in death and separation from God as the natural and proper consequence.

C. Noah’s Flood

The record of earth history, as preserved in the earth’s crust, especially in the rocks and fossil deposits, is primarily a record of catastrophic intensities of natural processes, operating largely within uniform natural laws, rather than one of gradualism and relatively uniform process rates. There are many scientific evidences for a relatively recent creation of the earth and the universe, in addition to strong scientific evidence that most of the earth’s fossiliferous sedimentary rocks were formed in an even more recent global hydraulic cataclysm.

D. Miracles in the Natural World

Processes today operate primarily within fixed natural laws and relatively uniform process rates, but since these were themselves originally created and are daily maintained by the Lord Jesus Christ, there is always the possibility of miraculous intervention in these laws or processes by Him. Evidences for such intervention should be scrutinized critically, however, because there must be clear and adequate reason for any such action on the part of God.

E. Man’s Fall Affected Creation

The universe and life have been impaired since the completion of creation, so that imperfections in structure, disease, aging, extinctions, and other such phenomena are the result of “negative” changes in properties and processes occurring in an originally-perfect created order. Since the universe and its primary components were created perfect for their purposes in the beginning by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is a competent and volitional Creator, and since He does remain active in this now-decaying creation, there does exist an ultimate purpose and meaning in the universe. Teleological considerations, therefore, are appropriate in scientific studies whenever they are consistent with the actual data of observation. Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that the creation presently awaits the consummation of the Lord Jesus Christ’s purpose.

F. The Redemption of the Creation

The final restoration of creation’s perfection is yet future. The eventual accomplishment of God’s eternal purposes in creation, with the removal of His curse and the restoration of all things to divine perfection, will take place at the personal bodily return to earth of Jesus Christ to judge and purge sin and reign for one thousand years. After the one thousand years, God will create a new heaven and earth free from corruption and will last for all of eternity.

Genesis 1-11; Exodus 4:11; 20:11; Deuteronomy 4:32; 2 Kings 19:15; Nehemiah. 9:6; Job 9:8-10; 10:8-12; 12:10; 26:7-10; 26:13; 28:26; 31:15; 33:4; 33:6; 34:19; 35:10; 36:3; 37:16,18; 38:4-12,19,21,33,36; 40:15,19; Psalms 8:3,5,6; 19:1,4; 24:1,2; 33:6-9,11; 65:6; 74:16,17; 78:69; 86:9; 89:11-12,47; 90:2; 94:9; 95:4; 95:5-7; 96:5; 100:3; 102:18,25; 103:22; 104:2-6,8,24,26,30; 111:4; 115:15; 119:73,90-91,152; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 136:5-9,13,16; 146:6; 148:1-6; 149:2; Proverbs 3:19; 8:26-29; 14:31; 16:4; 17:5; 20:12; 22:2; 26:10; 30:4; Ecclesiastes 3:11; 7:29; 11:5; 12:1,6; Isaiah 17:7; 22:11; 27:11; 29:16; 37:16; 37:26; 40:26,28; 42:5; 43:1,7,10,15,21; 44:2,21,24; 45:7-9,11-12,18; 48:7,13; 49:1,5; 51:13,16; 54:5; 57:16; 64:8; 65:17-18; 66:2; Jeremiah 1:5; 5:22; 10:11,12,16; 14:22; 16:20; 27:5; 31:35; 32:17; 33:2; 51:15,19; Hosea 8:14; Amos 4:13; 5:8; 9:6; Jonah 1:9; Zechariah 12:1; Malachi 2:10; Matthew 13:35; 19:4; Mark 13:19; John 1:1-3,10; 17:24; Acts 4:24; 7:50; 14:15; 17:24-26,28-29; Romans 1:20,23,25; 4:17; 8:19-22; 9:20; 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 11:9,12,18,24; 15:38, 45,47; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18; Ephesians 2:10; 3:9; 4:24; Colossians 1:15-17; 3:10; 1 Timothy 2:13; 4:3-4; 6:13; Hebrews 1:2,10; 2:10; 3:4; 11:3; 12:9; James 3:9; 1 Peter 4:19; 2 Peter 3:4; Revelation 3:14; 4:11; 10:6; 14:7; 20:1-15; 21:1.