From Gordon Wenham’s (lecturer at Trinity College, Bristol) commentary on Genesis 1:1-2:3,
Genesis 1 formed the basis of the first article of the Christian creed, “I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth.” In more recent times Genesis 1 provides an intellectual underpinning of the scientific enterprise. The scientific enterprise’s assumption of unity and order underlying the manifold and seemingly capricious phenomena of experience rests on Genesis 1’s assertion of the one almighty God who created and controls the world according to a coherent plan. Only such an assumption can justify the experimental method. Were this world controlled by a multitude of capricious deities, or subject to mere chance, no consistency could be expected in experimental results and no scientific laws could be discovered…
Genesis 1’s proclamation of the God of grace and power who undergirds the world and gives it purpose justifies the scientific approach to nature. Genesis 1, by further affirming the unique status of man, his place in the divine program, and God’s care for him, gives a hope to mankind that atheistic philosophies can never legitimately supply.
Gordon Wenham, World Biblical Commentary, vol. 1, “Genesis 1-15,” (39, 40)
