Biblical Creation Gen. 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 1
Biblical Creation In the beginning it please God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good. (London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, Ch. 4, p. 1) 2
Chronology of Biblical Creation 1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. ~966 BC Exodus was ~1446 BC Gen. 15:13 Then He said to Abram: Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. Ex. 1:8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph period of affliction begins ~1886 BC It s unknown how long Israelites were in Egypt from Joseph to affliction. Use Gen. 5, 11, 21 to work back to creation, ~4000-8000 BC 3
Creation v. Evolution The significance of the debate Rom. 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge Ex. 20:11a For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. Richard Dawkins, Oxford 4
Creation v. Evolution Romans 1:19-23: because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and fourfooted animals and creeping things. 5
Definition of Evolution Change in living things over time. (McGraw-Hill textbook) The process of change in the traits of organisms or populations over time. Evolution, through the process of natural selection, can lead to the formation of new species. (National Geographic) 6
Definition of Evolution In the broadest sense, evolution is merely change, and so is all-pervasive; galaxies, languages, and political systems all evolve. Biological evolution is change in the properties of organisms that transcend the lifetime of a single individual...the changes in populations that are considered evolutionary are those that are inheritable via the genetic material from one generation to the next. Biological evolution may be slight or substantial; it embraces everything from slight changes in the proportion of different alleles (genes) within a population to the successive alterations that led from the earliest protoorganism to snails, bees, giraffes, and dandelions. Douglas Futuyma, Evolutionary Biology 7
Definition of Evolution Very simple life forms arose from non-living chemicals, and over the eons, by mutation and natural selection, these simple life forms developed into all the complex plants and animals on earth, including many extinct species, all by random chance, without the assistance or direction of an intelligent being. (Tim Irving) 8
Theistic Alternatives to Biblical Creation Gap Theory Theistic Evolution/Day-Age View Framework Hypothesis Progressive Creation 9
Gap Theory A time gap exists between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2. 1:2 is translated as The earth BECAME without form and void. During this gap, evolution occurred as taught in secular science. When God was ready to create man, He reformed the heavens and earth. They became without form and void. 10
Gap Theory Problems became is very unlikely in this context without form and void : Why would fossils and old rocks remain? What does the first day (1:5) mean in this context? 11
Theistic Evolution/Day-Age View Evolution happened as taught in naturalistic science, but God was the directing force behind it. Days of Genesis correspond loosely to geologic eras. 12
Theistic Evolution Problems All of the old-earth models require the Word of God to be interpreted so as to conform to human knowledge. Language of Genesis specifies solar days the evening and morning were the nth day. Submit to the authority of science. 13
Framework Hypothesis Genesis 1 is a literary framework not wedded to a specific view of the age of the earth. Genesis 1 is non-literal, non-sequential, i.e., things didn t necessarily happen in the order they in which they are given. Same old problem the words of Scripture are pretty clear. 14
Framework Hypothesis It is the interpretation of Gen. 1:1-2:3 which regards the seven-day scheme as a figurative framework. While the six days of creation are presented as normal solar days, according to the framework interpretation the total picture of God s completing His creative work in a week of days is not to be taken literally. Instead it functions as a literary structure in which the creative works of God have been narrated in a topical order. 15
Framework Hypothesis The framework interpretation strives to understand the text of Genesis 1:1-2:3 on its own terms, independently of any questions that may arise from the empirical study of origins. In contrast to the other two positions, the framework interpretation recognizes the exegetical implications of the unique literary and theological character of this inspired record of the history of creation. The Holy Spirit has given us an inerrant historical account of the creation of the world, but that account has been shaped, not by a concern to satisfy our curiosity regarding sequence or chronology, but by predominantly theological and literary concerns. 16
Framework Hypothesis Day Creation Kingdoms Day Creature Kings 1 Light 4 Luminaries 2 Sky, seas 5 Sea creatures, Winged creatures 3 Dry land, vegetation 6 Land animals, Man 17
Framework Hypothesis The two triads idea was pioneered in 1924 by Dutch theologian Arie Noordtzij. Not obvious to church fathers, or to the Jews before them, or to Moses who recorded it. But Irons and Kline say this view strives to understand the text on its own terms. They say the Holy Spirit did this on purpose: that account has been shaped by predominantly theological and literary concerns. 18
Framework Hypothesis Very insidious promoted by noted Reformed theologian. Our position is that natural revelation and Scripture cannot contradict one another. If there is an apparent conflict between our interpretation of natural revelation and our interpretation of Scripture, the only role of natural revelation in the exegetical task is to serve as a warning that we may need to reexamine our exegesis. 19
Progressive Creation God created progressively in accord with evolutionary timetable, e.g., God created the first one-celled life, When ready He created the next stage of more complex life, and so on to the dinosaurs, etc., culminating with man Again, problem with text of Genesis. 20
Progressive Creation Hugh Ross wrote the Day-Age section in The Genesis Debate. In it he combines the Day- Age theory with Progressive Creation. Astronomer by training Founder and President of Reasons to Believe an international, interdenominational organization dedicated to proving that science and faith are allies and to establishing the veracity of Scripture. 21
Progressive Creation We build our day-age interpretation upon the conviction that we can trust God s revelation as truth in both the words of the Bible and the works of creation including the entire physical universe.our day-age interpretation treats the creation days literally as six sequential, long periods of time. He means literally! 22
Progressive Creation Creation of entire physical universe by God s fiat miracle. Singling out the earth for a sequence of creation miracles. At its beginning, earth is empty of life and unfit for it; primordial atmosphere and interplanetary debris prevents light of sun, moon and stars from reaching surface of earth s ocean. 23
Progressive Creation Clearing of the interplanetary debris and partial transformation of earth s atmosphere so light can penetrate to earth s ocean. Formation of water vapor to establish water cycle. Formation of continental land masses. Creation of plants on continental land masses. 24
Progressive Creation Transformation of atmosphere to occasionally transparent. Sun, moon, etc. now visible as distinct objects. Creation of swarms of small sea animals. Creation of sea mammals and birds by God s fiat miracles. 25
Progressive Creation Creation by God of three specialized kinds of land mammals, all specifically designed to cohabit with humans: 1) short-legged mammals 2) long-legged mammals that are easy to tame 3) long-legged mammals that are difficult to tame. Creation of the human species by God s fiat miracle. 26
Progressive Creation Irons and Kline seem to misunderstand our response to scientifically unverifiable biblical narratives. Most biblical narratives portray human history, which can be verified using historical data. Biblical narratives for which little or no specific verification can (yet) be found may still be believed on the basis of more general proofs for biblical authority. However, we must regard any creation account or narrative of human events that clearly contradicts scientific and/or historical data as erroneous, mythical, or fictional. Hugh Ross, The Genesis Debate, p. 192. 27
Theistic Alternatives Summary All but the Framework Hypothesis are variations on Theistic Evolution, and the Framework Hypothesis allows for it, and seems to encourage it. These will all fail because the basically agree with evolution, which as we shall see, is demonstrably false. But look at the Scriptural issues. The fundamental problem with any of these non-literal, old-earth interpretations is that they make the Word of God bend to conform to the supposed knowledge of man. 28
Theistic Alternatives Summary If you can t believe Gen. 1, what about John 1:1-5, Ex. 20:8-9,11, Rom. 5:12? Proponents of each of them say they believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. All the participants J. Ligon Duncan III, David W. Hall, Hugh Ross, Gleason L. Archer, Lee Irons and Meredith G. Kline hold a high view of Scripture, affirming both the infallibility and inerrancy of Holy Writ..Each participant holds firmly to the full inspiration of Scripture. Norman L. Geisler, foreword to The Genesis Debate. 29