Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And it was so. 7 And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. 8 And God called the expanse Sky. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one gathering, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. And the waters under the sky gathered to their gatherings, and the dry land appeared. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation, plants yielding seed after its kind, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seed in it after its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after its kind, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seed in it after its kind, on the earth. And God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky for the illumination of the day, to give light on the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to separate between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights–the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night–and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let flying creatures fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” And it was so. 21And God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged flying creature after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the flying creatures multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after its kind: tame animals, and crawling creatures, and wild animals of the earth after its kind.” And it was so. 25 And God made the wild animals of the earth after its kind, and the tame animals after its kind, and everything that crawls on the ground after its kind. And God saw that it was good. NHEB
Where there is darkness in verse 2, God separates light from dark in verse 3. As the sun isn’t created until verse 14 we are left with the question of what does light mean here? One explanation is the creation of angels as they are considered as beings of light (recall Satan disguising himself as an angel of light). Another approach is to consider Revelation 21. In the new Jerusalem, there is no sun as God’s presence provides all the light needed. Likewise, at the end of Exodus 40 the people knew God showed up in the tabernacle because it was filled with His glory (i.e., light). When Moses returns from Mt. Sinai, the people know he had been with God because his face was glowing. When Solomon dedicates the Temple, it fills with light. The wise men followed the light of the star to find Jesus. This uncreated light is the symbol of God’s unwavering commitment and connection with His creation.
2Corinthians 4:5 For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, 6 seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. WEB
The general understanding among most people is that science doesn’t agree with Genesis. Christians typically deal with this in one of three ways. First is to consider the nature of the language. Since it is poetic in nature then the thinking is that it must be poetry and nothing more (i.e., not historical). Second is to say that when science and Scripture conflict, Scripture always wins. Third is to be agnostic about it and have no opinion since there is a lack of information (such as the Bible as originally written). The problem is that all three seem to imply that science trumps Scripture.
If Genesis is simply poetry, then perhaps miracles are nothing more than allegory, Christ didn’t rise and Balaam must have been hallucinating while having a conversation with his donkey. Perhaps Job is simply a fable. On the other hand, if we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God (and trust that Word), then we need to question science and the assumptions made by scientists in the same manner as they would question us. What we would learn is that there are limits to what science can “know”and the lack of evidence there is (and the amount of faith required) to support the theories that they use to try and fill in the knowledge gaps.
Like most things these days, the science versus creation arguments represent two different worldviews with the overwhelming majority on the science side being atheists while those on the creation/intelligent design side are mostly Christians. The problem for science is that no one was present to see creation take place. As such, the science regarding the origins of life and the earth isn’t based on observation. This lack of observable evidence places limitations on what science can actually prove about the origins of our world and of life.
There has been a rise in scientists operating from a creation/intelligent design standpoint and advances are being made that support their position. While these people are as likely to be biased as their atheistic compadres, their existence creates the kind of competition that drives science forward. For what it is worth, there are both “young Earth” and “old Earth” Christians (with some spirited debates between these two groups). When all is said and done, perhaps we might take a lesson from our Catholic brethren who are actively engaged in scientific research and have a little less fear that science is going to somehow upend our faith.
Verse 3 is the beginning of an orderly and sequential creation with the platform on which life is based occurs in the first 3 days. This is not random as things flow from step A to B to C. This suggests to some a basis for science, i.e., that science is compatible with religion and that there is an orderliness in creation that allows for science. Simply stated, God is evident throughout nature and His creation.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made….. NHEB
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, 4 their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. BSB
The Bible doesn’t make make arguments to prove God’s existence although Aquinas thought he could establish God based upon reason rather than the Bible. The assumption is that God “is”.
Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do abominable works. There is none who does good. NHEB