Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Is Williamsburg Sinful?

There is a town here in Virginia called Williamsburg. It seeks to replicate Colonial America, and does so well enough to attract large numbers of tourists and field trips.

My question is this: Is it sinful to create a town with the appearance of age? To make something that looks older than it really is? Are the designers of Williamsburg being deceptive? Manipulative? Are they lying by making their modern town out to be something that it is not?

I believe God has made a young universe that looks old. Some Christians do not like this approach to Genesis 1, arguing that it turns God into a deceiver. But assuming that God has made a young universe with the appearance of great age, does it necessarily follow that this makes him a deceiver?

Is Williamsburg deceptive? The answer, of course, is no. Visitors are informed clearly up front that Williamsburg is not really a colonial town. And the same can be said of God's work of creation. He states clearly "up front" (in Genesis 1, no less) that he took just six days to make the heavens and the earth. Yet the text is equally up front about the appearance of age (Adam and Eve have adult bodies, they are able to see the stars, etc.).

There is no deception in making a young thing that looks old as long as you openly admit that it is young. Furnitute makers craft fake antiques all the time. Some do so with wicked motives, that they might inflate the price of their wares. Other craftsmen create fake antiques because some customers like the look and wear of old furniture, but cannot affort real antiques. These furniture makers are not being deceptive because they tell their customers the truth: this table looks old, but it is not.

God has told us the truth about his creation. It is about 6000 years old. Thus there is no deception in giving said creation the appearance of age. We all live in Williamsburg, VA. And there is nothing sinful about it.