Living Spring 活泉-Vol8-2016

By Pei Yao
Chicken first,
or egg?
Not too long ago, I asked my friend a seemingly silly
but logical question. It is, in fact, a causality dilemma
for philosophers for centuries: Which came first, the
chicken, or the egg? My friend, who has recently decided
to become a follower of Jesus, answered me within
seconds, chicken!
Well, I was not satisfied with this easy answer. I asked
for more explanation and argument from him. After
much consideration and consultation, he finally came to
a conclusion that God created chicken and hence, the
chicken came first because the rooster and the hen must
mate in order to lay eggs. Hmm… The hen doesn’t need
to mate to lay eggs. I burst into laughter.
The question indicates a very important truth in
Christianity. The answer from my friend affirms his
Christian worldview that all creatures are creation of
God. Therefore, being one of the living creatures created
by God, the chicken came first undoubtedly. The Bible in
Genesis tells us that God created birds with wings on the
fifth day of His creation.
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every
living thing with which the water teems and that moves
about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged
bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
(Genesis 1:21)
The hen lays eggs in whatever circumstances but no
promise of chicks from the eggs. The rooster mates with
Photo credit Wikipedia Commons: Phichet9707
the hen to fertilize the egg in order to produce chicks.
This is a simple logic of how chicken has to come first
before eggs.
God’s words are the ultimate truth. His wisdom is beyond
our limited imagination.
Humans, in our narrow knowledge, search for evidence.
Scientists, after having countless experiments, finally
concluded that the chicken came first, not the egg. They
discovered that the protein which forms the egg shells is
only found in the hen’s ovary.
My friend and I gave thanks to God for the biblical truth.
Even when the philosophers and scientists were arguing
in the complex circle of chicken and egg, the Bible reveals
the simple truth from the beginning.
An amazing discovery. A simple truth in the Bible. Pure
faith in Christ.
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Living Spring
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