Spontaneous generation is the now debunked theory that living organisms can arise from non-living things. I was so disappointed in middle school when I was taught that fruit flies don't just appear out of nowhere. I was convinced they did. Even today, I sometimes wonder. It sure seems like they just spontaneously appear when there's fruit around. And before I found out the truth, I was fascinated by the theory. Perhaps my level of my disappointment didn't quite rival the sad news that Santa doesn't exist, but certainly another one of my bubbles was busted. What I thought was really cool turned out to be just another myth. O the humanity!
Centuries ago, everyone believed in spontaneous generation. It was taken for granted. For example, it was the common belief that rotten meat produced maggots, dust produced fleas, and mud generated frogs. That is, until people became too scientifically intelligent. Although, in reality, the experiment to disprove spontaneous generation was quite basic. It just required a little logic. It wasn't until the 17th century that a man named Francesco Redi did a simple experiment. Essentially, he put meat in 2 jars, one of them covered. Eventually, maggots appeared on the meat in the uncovered jar, and no maggots appeared on the meat in the covered jar. This showed the maggots didn't come from the rotting meat, but from outside sources, namely fly eggs.
I personally like the fantasy of spontaneous generation. And still, I wish it were true. But wait! I've got good news! To my delight, I have come to realize that spontaneous generation is indeed a reality! That's right! There have been actual, documented cases that happened long ago. We can find them right in the Bible.
The first documented case of spontaneous generation involves creation itself. The power of God is so great that He just spoke and the whole universe was created! Spontaneous generation!
"They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water." (2 Peter 3:5)
What's incredible and so difficult to grasp is the fact that God spontaneously generated physical matter out of absolutely nothing. He created a physical realm when only the spiritual realm existed. He created a visible reality when there was only an invisible (to us) reality in existence. Spontaneous generation!
"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." (Hebrews 11:3)
Not only did God create the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets out of nothing, He created all living things from nothing. And He did it true to the definition of spontaneous generation - creating living things from non-living things. Namely, He generated man from dust, spontaneously. Centuries ago, people thought dust generated fleas. Well, God blew that away with something way over the top. Out of dust He generated man! Spontaneous generation!
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)
If you think what God did in creation was amazing, there's another case of spontaneous generation that surpasses even creation itself. It's the case of Jesus entering into the physical realm from the spiritual realm. Jesus was not created. Jesus was God in the human form. Jesus pre-existed as "The Word", then at just the right time, spontaneously generated into the womb of Mary. That, in itself, is a miracle. Many call it the incarnation of Jesus. Incarnation literally means taking on flesh. Spontaneous generation!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
So, yes, there is such a thing as spontaneous generation. It may not be true in the case of fruit flies, but in a much bigger realm of things it's true. And to go even one step further, you and I, if we are in Christ, are going to be personally involved in our own case of spontaneous generation! It's going to occur on the final day, when Jesus returns. We are going to go through a spontaneous transformation, in a twinkling of an eye. The dead will be raised and we will be transformed from perishable, mortal bodies into eternal, imperishable spiritual beings. Wow! Spontaneous generation!
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
I always liked the idea of spontaneous generation, and I've come to realize that it indeed does exist, and that God is a God of spontaneous generation! And that is a trustworthy statement.
The first documented case of spontaneous generation involves creation itself. The power of God is so great that He just spoke and the whole universe was created! Spontaneous generation!
"They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water." (2 Peter 3:5)
What's incredible and so difficult to grasp is the fact that God spontaneously generated physical matter out of absolutely nothing. He created a physical realm when only the spiritual realm existed. He created a visible reality when there was only an invisible (to us) reality in existence. Spontaneous generation!
"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." (Hebrews 11:3)
Not only did God create the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets out of nothing, He created all living things from nothing. And He did it true to the definition of spontaneous generation - creating living things from non-living things. Namely, He generated man from dust, spontaneously. Centuries ago, people thought dust generated fleas. Well, God blew that away with something way over the top. Out of dust He generated man! Spontaneous generation!
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)
If you think what God did in creation was amazing, there's another case of spontaneous generation that surpasses even creation itself. It's the case of Jesus entering into the physical realm from the spiritual realm. Jesus was not created. Jesus was God in the human form. Jesus pre-existed as "The Word", then at just the right time, spontaneously generated into the womb of Mary. That, in itself, is a miracle. Many call it the incarnation of Jesus. Incarnation literally means taking on flesh. Spontaneous generation!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
So, yes, there is such a thing as spontaneous generation. It may not be true in the case of fruit flies, but in a much bigger realm of things it's true. And to go even one step further, you and I, if we are in Christ, are going to be personally involved in our own case of spontaneous generation! It's going to occur on the final day, when Jesus returns. We are going to go through a spontaneous transformation, in a twinkling of an eye. The dead will be raised and we will be transformed from perishable, mortal bodies into eternal, imperishable spiritual beings. Wow! Spontaneous generation!
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
I always liked the idea of spontaneous generation, and I've come to realize that it indeed does exist, and that God is a God of spontaneous generation! And that is a trustworthy statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment