Today's podcast continues the series, Know What You Believe... In this series, we're looking at the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. I hope you enjoy. 

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We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. -The Nicene Creed

As we study the basics of our faith along the Grace Pathway, it is important to make sure we are on solid footing. There can be no more solid footing than knowing that the universe and everything in it—including our lives—are the creation of God. 

You can look at society as not only a clash of cultures, but also as clash of stories about who we are. 

I grew up in two worlds—the world of church, and the world of the Chicago public school system. 

In the world of church, I learned the story I was created in the image of God. 

In the world of the public school system, I learned the story that I evolved from lower forms of life. 

My church taught me I was body, soul, and spirit, with a spark of life lit by the breath of God. The universe was God-centered. It was created by him, and existed for his glory. I had an eternal soul and would live forever, either with or without God. 

In my church, I learned all creation was infused with the presence of God, and every day of my life was supercharged with transcendent value. 

My school told me a different story. I was a matter and energy molecular machine plus nothing. The universe was an accident, and had no purpose. I was an accident too, bound by time, and when my chemical machine wore out, I snuffed out like a candle, and that was it. There was nothing after death. 

In my school, I learned that the space-time continuum was all there is, and every day of life was defined by the survival of the fittest. 

The world of church lifted the veil of existence and showed me the face of a Creator God upholding and redeeming all things. It taught me a story in which I am the epitome of creation. 

The world of school showed me a mechanical universe with no soul. I am the product of evolution.1

The message of creation resounds from Scripture with undeniable power and logic. 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)
The whole creation tells of the majesty of God. It is a testament to his creative power and genius, a monument to his love. Whether the beauty of a flower, or the wonders of a baby’s hand, or the glories a vast cosmos, all-that-is testifies to an Infinite God whose mind imagined and whose hand created all things. 

While Christians may hold a variety of viewpoints as to the precise dating and methodology by which God created all things and outfitted earth for our habitation, all Bible-believing Christians see the cosmos as sitting in the hand of the God who made it.

“He’s got the whole wide world in his hands…” 

The issue is bigger than creation alone. Your view on creation reveals something deeper about you. Will you submit your beliefs and life to the authority of God’s Word or not? Where will you find your truth? 

If you find your truth in the Bible, you will discover the wonderful blessings of a universe created by God from nothing. 

There are plenty of excellent apologetics-type books that demonstrate the truthfulness of the Genesis account. This is not a book on apologetics, so I will save some of that discussion for book 4.3 in the Grace Pathway. However,