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A Christian World View and Science
(a conversation between Ron Hughes and Dr. Humphreys)

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Ron Hughes:  David, I suppose to the casual observer, you are a religious man.  But for me, and know you a little bit, of course, I see that you are a Christian man.  And there is a big difference between being a religious man and a Christian man.  How does the distinctively Christian view of things fit together with science?

Dr. Humphreys:  I think that's a very important point, Ron.  You can find yourself saying, well, however God did it - matter and animal life and humankind are all special creations - Genesis teaches that - and you can then say, well, I'm a "creationist" because I believe that origins really are only explicable by God.  That without God it's like a jigsaw with a piece missing.  You see, and that's all true, but you see that doesn't make me any different from say a Muslim or a Buddhist or all kinds of non-Christians like the well-known astronomer in Britain, Sir Fred Hoyle.  I mean, [he] has come to the conclusion on the basis of intellectual argument and scientific reasoning; they've reached the conclusion that only intelligence could have brought life into being.  But you see scientists like that aren't Christians and so there is a certain level of, if you like, "Creationism" that is fine as far as it goes, but it is not Christian.

So what's distinctively Christian is that you go back to the Bible.  Sections like Colossians 1, or John 1, or Hebrews 1 - a lot of the first chapters of some of the big books - really tell us that the Creator God can only be know through Jesus Christ.  I have to say any form of Creationism that sort of bypasses the Biblical revelation about the role of Christ, doesn't go far enough.  I mean the Bible says in Hebrews 1:2 "that in these days, God has spoken through his Son, whom He appointed heir of all things," and it says, "…through whom He made the universe."  

Now that's a very important statement.  If you put that along side verses like Colossians 1:16 that says, "All things were created," - talking about Christ - "By Him and for Him and in Him all things hold together."  You get something that goes really further and most people go.  In fact it goes further than saying Christ was the agent of creation or that it was somehow through Christ, it points out, Ron, that it was FOR Him.

So here I am I've got a real purpose statement now.  So that I'm not just thinking of some self-expression of God or some vague reason; that I understand now that Christ was not only the creator, but He was the creator of everything.  And in that sense He's unique and above everything.  And what's distinctly Christian, you see, is to say, look, everything's upheld by the word of His power; that it was for Him.

And so, I'm at the point where I say, this is the purpose of the cosmos.  Not just something vague, but it's the arena in which the glory of Christ is demonstrated.  It's the place where the purposes of Christ are worked out; that the whole universe is the place in which the will and the mind and the character of Christ [are] expressed. 

Now that goes a lot further than many religious people would go, but that according to the Bible is the purpose of the cosmos.  It's very different from saying, 'well, it's out there for some reason and it's a wonderful thing' and all that.  It really pinpoints why it's there and what we are here for: for Christ and Christ alone.