I do not profess to be an expert in the ongoing debate between creationism and evolution. The prevalent arguments in both educational and theological spheres often seem trivial. Maybe I am a simpleton, but I have three primary reasons that I believe in the creation narrative in the book of Genesis.

First, the concept of a creator just makes sense. If you attend an elaborate Kentucky Derby party and see a spectacular ice sculpture of a horse, would you wonder how it was crafted? Would you consider whether the artist may have purchased several bags of ice at the store, poured them in a cooler, and, during their commute, hit a large pothole that caused the ice to bind together, forming a marvelous, perfect depiction of a horse? Of course not. You would compliment the artist on their craftsmanship.

What is more complex – an ice sculpture or a living, breathing, eating, running, reproducing thoroughbred? How can one gaze upon the marvels of a horse, or the innocence of a baby, or the majesty of a tree and dismiss them as mere cosmic accidents? The Bible says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 14:1). We instinctively know the difference between deliberate design and random results. It makes sense for us to believe an all-powerful creator is behind our complex universe.

The second reason I believe the creation story is that the counterargument – that life is the product of random events over countless millennia – defies reason. It requires a belief that nothing became matter, chaos became order, the inanimate became animate, ignorance became intelligence, and the indiscriminate became complex without any guidance. That is not logical.

Author Frank Peretti mused about the absurdity of the notion – that billions of years ago, a mass of goo was struck by lightning and, incredibly, it quivered with life! Then, that one-celled amoeba swam around in the swamp for billions of years until it developed fins and scales. That implausible fish swam around in the ocean for billions of years but so desperately wanted to test dry land that it somehow developed a hard shell and lungs to breathe above water. Amazingly, it eventually crawled onto land and, over billions of years, began craving the ability to climb trees. Astonishingly, it developed claws and a long tail and ate nuts! But that squirrelly creature wanted to move faster through the trees, so it developed a longer tail and different bone structures in its legs and began eating bananas. Then that evolutionary miracle wanted so badly to smoke, drink, and cuss that it stood up on two legs and became a man! Frank Peretti titles this implausible long story “From Goo to You by Way of the Zoo.” Come on! The faith required by the evolutionist to actually accept that as truth is nonsensical!

The third and most significant reason I believe in the Genesis narrative is that Jesus Christ believed it and taught it as fact. “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’?” (Matthew 19:4). To suggest the universe is the product of chance is to claim superiority over Jesus Christ. Unless the evolutionists can heal, save, impact the world, and then conquer death and raise themselves to life like Jesus, I am going to take Jesus at His word.

When I became a Christian, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and the Lord of my life. Jesus said, “I am the… truth” (see John 14:6). Therefore, I believe what Jesus said about creation. It reminds me of an old bumper sticker that read, “Jesus said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Someone suggested the bumper sticker should really say, “Jesus said it. That settles it, whether I believe it or not!”

So, for me, believing the Genesis narrative is really quite simple.  I believe the account of the only one who displayed power over science by conquering death, and that settles it.