How does the Bible Challenge or Agree with Current Scientific Theories? (Genesis 1:1)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

   Scientific theories, by their very definition, are subject to change and adjustment. Scripture remains as God’s revealed unchanging declaration of truth. The Bible was not written as a challenge to any particular scientific theory, but scientific theories have often been designed to challenge and undermine biblical statements. They either agree with scripture or are mistaken.
   The description in Genesis 1:1 that “God created the heavens and the earth” yields three basic conclusions: 

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1. Creation was a recent event measured in thousands not millions of years ago;
2. Creation was ex nihilo, meaning that god created out of nothing;
3. Creation was special, with light and time being the first of god’s creative acts, since the day-count (Gen. 1:5) began before the creation of sun and moon (Gen. 1:16).

    One key in evaluating scientific theories depends on our understanding of the biblical word “created.” Although the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 can be used to describe the act of shaping or altering existent matter (Is. 65:18), such is not the case with the Bible’s first words. God spoke the heavens and earth into existence. Both context and the rest of Scripture bear witness to God’s creativity without use of any preexisting material (Is. 40:28; 45:8, 12, 18; 48:13; Jer. 10:16; Acts 17:24).