Up until 200 years ago there was almost no question in the church that God created the earth in six literal days. However, as knowledge through science grew so did man’s theories!
Augustine, a 5th Century philosopher and theologian had his own Old-Earth theory. He said that the days in Genesis could not be literal days, if only because Genesis itself tells us that the sun was not made until the fourth day. So if the sun was not made until the fourth day that is a good reason to theorize in a gap theory?
Here is a quote from a renowned young Earth creationist, Terry Mortenson. “The Bible clearly teaches that God created in six literal, 24 hour days, a few thousand years ago. The Hebrew word for day in Genesis is yom. In the vast majority of its uses in the Old Testament it means a literal day; and where it doesn’t the context is clear” (day is used 2301 times in the O.T -Gen 1:5) why only question genesis? I think it is clear that the earth, by the authority of His word without question, was created in six literal days.
Theories have led men to believe, that only scientists could answer the questions of the creation of the world. The belief of the Gap theory has started to sneak into the church with great deception (Rom 16:17-18), theories that the earth and universe are millions of years old.
Some even believe that dinosaurs walked the earth long BEFORE man & God killed them off to make room for man. Let’s look at what God’s Word says!
Did dinosaurs live and die before Adam & Eve? Genesis 3:21 makes it clear that the first death after the creation of life (animal & man) was made by God. After sin entered the world, God killed the first living creature to make clothes for the now sinful Adam & Eve. (Rom 5:12)
These are just some reasons why we believe that the Bible is giving us the TRUE history of the World.
God’s Word is the final authority!
In Christ,
Eli
Eli,
ReplyDeleteExcellent thoughts, brotha. I've often been left wondering when I encounter Christians who believe in an old-earth theory. It seems to me, and this is certainly an oversimplification, that the only way around a literal 6-day creation account is if one interprets the Bible through some other lense ... like the Darwinian Theory of Evolution, or naturalistic materialism.
I witnessed a conversation once between a young-earth advocate and an old-earth advocate. The old-earther was essentially arguing his case from science, to which the young-earther pointed out that you cannot interpret the Bible in light of scientific data. In fact, he said, it should be the other way around: scientific data taking into account God's revelation.
How is it that a Christian and an atheist can examine the same scientific evidence and come up with two different conclusions? Because of their presuppositions - because there are worldviews in collision (ring any bells with anyone? =)). The old-earth advocate needs to stop trying to make the Bible work with what modern academia says, and start from a God-focused perspective which draws one's conclusions from the God-breathed Scriptures.
Furthermore, if God wanted to communicate that He created in 6 literal 24 hour periods, how else could he have said that? It's all-too-easy to try and explain away the normative meaning for the word for day, but if day doesn't mean a 24 hour period, how else could Moses have written that the universe was formed in 6 days? Failure to provide an answer to this question is telling of the old-earther's arguments. Just food for that to our old-earth advocates out there.
Thanks for the post!
Case of Base