Thinking of the history of the universe, we note the
uninterrupted development in it, which as it seems, does not require any
interference from without. When La Place was explaining to Napoleon his theory
of the provenance of the solar system, to the question of Napoleon: "Where
is the interference of the Lord God here?" he answered: "My theory
does not need it."
It was an impudent, but not an atheist statement.
La Place was a believing person, they say that to the question of Napoleon,
about if Jesus Christ really existed, he answered: "It cannot be doubted,
like cannot be doubted the existence of Julius Caesar or Your Majesty."
His first statement we can paraphrase in such a
way: the laws of the universe, created by the Lord God, are so perfect, that
the interference in their action or correction of them is not necessary.
Naturally, the presence of laws supposed that there is the Lawgiver.
Saint righteous John of Kronstadt writes:
"The Lord has the full respect to the created by Him nature and its laws,
as to the works of His infinite Wisdom. Therefore He usually shows His Will
with the help of nature and its laws…"
The laws of nature were not eternal, they appeared
together with the appearance of the first energy-matter, when the time and
space started existing. The scientists call this moment "The big
bang"; it happened approximately 15 milliards years ago at the time when
there "was not any thing made that was made’. This way the material
universe started from the immaterial Element.
Each second the millions of tons disintegrate into
atoms and these atoms become the stores of energy. This process is
irreversible, for as though energy can be converted into matter again, for that
it is necessary the expenditure of more energy.
Meanwhile, even if at least one gram of the
material substance could be transformed into energy during one thousand years,
the substance would not be infinite: even in the beginning of times it would
all be transformed into energy, and this energy is irreversibly used for the
increase of entropy, i.e. the equal spreading of chaos in the universe.
So, according to the modern scientific
understanding, the material universe must have surely started from the
immaterial cause, which we call the Lord God and testify about it, citing the
Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
After God created the heaven and the earth (i.e.
the terrestrial material substance), the further development of the universe,
which got the blessing of the Lord, happened according to the given by Him
laws, without His interference, but with His guidance, when His arm directed
all the processes towards the outlined by Him goal.
Likewise it happened until in one point of the
universe appeared something new — life.
The living organisms are something absolutely new,
which does not come out of the chemical and physical processes of the
development of lifeless matter. All the living organisms originate from the
similar to them living organisms, like brilliantly was noted by Pastere. And if
it is correct now, then it is not possible to state arbitrary and without
proof, that millions of years ago everything was different.
The references to the most primitive organisms,
bacteria and viruses, which as though have their borders between living and
lifeless matter erased, loose their persuasiveness, if we recall that both
bacteria and viruses need organic medium for their existence, without which
they cannot live. Consequently, they could not be the first samples of the
animal kingdom, but could appear when the organic world already existed on the
earth.
Our closest neighbor and satellite in the
universal space, the Moon, is the absolute witness of the fact that the
development of the physical and chemical processes does not give the start to
life by itself. Now we definitely know about the Moon, that there is no life on
it. Our planetary neighbors, Venus and Mars, seem to be the similar witnesses.
Apparently, there is no life on these planets, either. The hypothesis that Mars
has fading life, and Venus the starting one, is unfounded.
Now the most recent investigations showed that in
any case there is no developed life, neither on Venus, nor on Mars. And even if
there is some primitive life there, it means that there, too, sounded the
creative word of God, about which the Bible says: "And God created
every living creature."
To these living creatures God commanded to
be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and gave them the ability to be
perfected, get accustomed to the conditions, in which they live. From this came
the natural development of living creatures, i.e. evolution. Though, no
evolution could make a mute animal out of a rational being. To that testify all
the kinds and types of animals. All of them are our far contemporaries, which
according to the Bible and paleontology, appeared before us. No other kind,
than mankind, became rational, about which it is said: "God created man
in his own image."
So, we stated that the direct interference of God
into the lead by Him process of world creation happened for three times.
It can be objected that in the Bible there are
mentioned not three, but six days of creation, and as though nowhere it is said
about the mentioned by us three boundaries. But it only seems, if one reads the
Bible not attentively enough. Concerning the days of creation Moses himself,
who wrote the narration about the creation of the world on the inspiration of
God, says in Psalm 89: "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as
yesterday when it is past" and Apostle Paul repeats: "One day
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Six days or periods are mentioned in the Bible to
show that the Lord created the material universe not with a single act, not in
a moment, but gradually, letting the laws of nature reach the planned by God
results and as if take part in the creation. The seventh creative period, on
the teaching of the Church, goes on till the present day and will last till the
end of ages, when there will come the eighths day, which will have no end.
About that say many holy fathers and especially it is described in detail by
St. Basil the Great.
The creative moments of the direct interference of
God into led by Him, and subordinated to those set by Him laws, process, are
mentioned in the Bible (in Hebrew) with the Hebrew word "bara," which
is very well translated in Russian with the word "to create," in
opposition to the Hebrew word "asa," which in Russian means "to
design, bring forth."
In the Biblical narration about the creation of
the world the word "bara" is used only thrice, in the meaning
"to create from nothing" (as a poet creates his poem not from a
pencil and a piece of paper, but from himself):
- In the beginning, when
God created the immaterial and material world,
- with the creation of
living creatures — the animal world and
- With the creation of
the man.
In all the other cases the word "asa,"
"to bring forth," is used. God brought forth, but not created the
outward seen sky, brought forth, but not created the heavenly bodies. Having
created the living creatures in water, God created, but did not bring forth the
beasts of the earth.
In this one should see the indication of the Bible
of the process of evolution, the provenance of the beasts of the earth from the
water creatures. And, finally, he created, but not brought forth the man in His
image, after His likeness. But still concerning this part we should understand
that it is our spirit that is created in His image and similarity. What is said
about the body is: "The LORD God formed (but not "brought
forth") man of the dust of the ground," i.e. from the terrestrial
elements.
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