Relevance of Six-Day Creation

Is it adequate simply to "believe in creaton," or is there some value in embracing the specific details recorded in Genesis 1-2? I am a Young Earth Creationist (YEC), which some consider the more remarkable given my chemistry background, interest in amateur astronomy, study of formal logic, and authorship of several science fiction novels (not silly end times nonsense, but real SF, set far in the future and showing the church alive and well).

The Bible teaches that the universe is about 6000 years old. Scientific observation shows that the Earth appears to be about 4.5 billion years old, while the universe as a whole appears to be about 14 billions years old. One can quibble on these numbers a bit, but it is obvious that we are dealing with two radically different views of the world.

Thus the many efforts to reconcile Genesis 1-2 with the competing conclusions reached by modern scientists. Some Christians question the literal interpretation of Genesis 1, preferring to think of the word "day" as symbolically referring to long periods of time. Other Christians attack the methods and interpretive paradigms of modern scientists, asserting that perhaps the universe does not really appear to be that old after all.

Although this post is not intended to defend my own attempt at reconciliation, let me say in passing that I believe God has made a young universe that appears old. This is the "appearance of age" theory, and it has many detractors. Let me suggest, however, that unlike all the tortured treatments of Genesis 1, the "appearance of age" theory does flow naturally out of the text. On the day they are created, Adam and Eve are clearly portrayed as looking older than they really are (they have adult bodies, not infant bodies). But more on this another time.

What I'm really interested in discussing here is why the whole topic matters. Some of us have a natural aversion to controversy (not always a bad thing), and the issue of the earth's age can needlessly divide and distract the church (aren't there much more important matters worthy of our time and energy?). Nevertheless, I would be so bold as to assert that the age of the earth actually matters. The issue is relevant, in other words. Please allow me to explain why.

The Doctrine of Original Sin teaches the following:
1) God made a world that was very good, a world very unlike the one we now inhabit.
2) Adam sinned against God, resulting in negative consequences for the creation in general and mankind in particular.
3) As a result of Adam's sin, all humans descending from him (by ordinary generation) inherit a sin nature - we are sinful from the moment of conception.
4) Because Adam carried the office of Federal Head for humanity, the guilt of Adam's first sin is credited or imputed to the whole human race. This means God considers all people guilty of Adam's first transgression.
5) Adam was not only head of the human race; God made him king over the entire physical creation. When Adam fell, the creation fell with him. Death and decay entered the world. The creation is now in bondage to decay, and awaits the day when it will be redeemd and transformed.

The key idea I'd like you to focus on is this: the world as we see it now, as we experience it now - this is not the way God made the world. The pre-Fall world was radically different. A world without decay. A world without death. Given how all physical processes in this world are governed by entropy increases, it is frankly impossilbe for us to even imagine what the pre-Fall world was really like. But the key idea is that it was nothing like this world.

Why is the current world so horrible? Because we screwed it up. God made it very good. We rebelled. God is now keeping his promise: the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.

It is essential to guard this Doctrine of Original Sin, that all the blame for the world being the way it is stays where it belongs: on our shoulders. God did not make the world this way. It is our fault that the world is the way it is.

Now this is why the age of the earth matters. It seems to me that the idea of the earth being 4.5 billion years old is linked pretty tightly with the idea that the world has always been as we see it now. A world governed by death and decay. A world that has experienced no radical discontinuity between the way things are (meaning the basic physical laws of the universe) and the way things were.

For example, let's examine a layer of sedimentary rock full of fossils. Fossils = death. If you claim that the layer of rock of 300 million years old, then you are claiming that death has been around for at least that long (i.e., long before Adam and Eve showed up on the scene). Then the presence of death and decay is no longer Adam's fault. It is God's fault. The world is the way it is because God is a lousy Creator.

So far from being some secondary issue best shunted to the side for the sake of unity, the age of the earth actually finds itself inextricably bound up with the core Doctrine of Original Sin. This is not a secondary matter. It is, rather, the very issue of blame bantered back and forth in Genesis 3. Who is to blame for the world's fallen condition? (This planet is a horrible place. If you think otherwise, just give it a little time.)

According to Genesis 3, Adam (and by extension, the whole human race) is to blame for the world being the way it is. Before Adam sinned, the world was not like this. We need to guard this piece of the Biblical worldview, for what is at stake is not only God's reputation as a good and wise Creator, but also the sufficiency of Christ's redemptive work. For only if the sin of the First Adam is the cause of everything wrong in the world, only then is the obedience of the Last Adam the solution for everything wrong in the world.

Those fossils can't be older than Adam, because before Adam there was no sin, no death, no decay, no disaster - none of the stuff that today produces dirt full of dead animals.

Guard the Doctrine of Original Sin.

Why the Doctrine of Creation Matters

Though I am a Six Day Creationist, I want to acknowledge the value of "just believing in creation." In other words, many people (Christians and non-Christians) believe that God made the universe in general and life in particular, yet do not accept the various details recorded in Genesis 1-2. Before explaining why I think the details do matter, allow me to emphsize the common ground shared by all people who believe that God is Creator.

Why "Creation in general" matters. If God is Creator...

1) Life has a purpose. If life arose through a random, natural process, life is meaningless. Only created things have purpose, meaning, telos, end.

2) Time is linear. The view of many religions that history is cyclical destroys all incentive toward cultural and intellectual progress. Cultures with such a view of time stagnate, since nothing anyone does can actually make a difference. But if the universe has a definite beginning point, our decisions and actions affect the future and therefore matter.

3) God is not one of us. This sounds a bit strange, but most ancient religions viewed the gods as part of our world. There existed no fundamental difference between the human and the divine. The Creator-creature distinction results in a radically different view of God. He is transcendent, set apart, possessing being as part of his very essence.

4) God possesses an absolute right to command us, judge us, and dispose of us and all our circumstances as he sees fit. If God is Maker of all things, visible and invisible, he is a debtor to no man, owing us nothing. We have (and can have) no claim upon him. No one has ever given to God that God should repay him. It is literally impossible for God to be unfair.

5) Likewise if God is Maker of all things, we have no right to complain about anything, or charge God with wrongdoing, or get bent out of shape, put out, feel imposed upon, etc., if God does not give us what we want when we want it. Any sort of bad attitude presupposes that God owes us something, that we are entitled or have a right to something that God is withholding. The doctrine of Creation forever destroys all notions of entitlement. God is free to do with us as he sees fit. No one can charge him with wrongdoing or say to him, "Who do you think you are?"

6) All religions are not basically the same. The creation myths of various religions show the gods (or nowadays, aliens) making the universe and life out of pre-existent matter. In other words, gods and/or aliens simply rework the basic elements that have always existed apart from their creative act. But the Biblical doctrine of creation is creation ex nihilo, creation from nothing. God spoke the universe into being. Before God created space, matter, energy, physical forces, etc., only God existed. Don't let the pluralists get away with saying all religions are the same. They are not.

7) We understand why all men possess an inherent need to worship. Because we are creatures, worship is hardwired into us. It is literally impossible for a human not to worship. The question is only ever a matter of what we will worship: our Creator, or a substitute. But the actual act of worship is unavoidable. To say it somewhat differently, only the doctrine of creation explains why we are the way we are. Thus apart from the knowledge of God as Creator, it is impossible for us to understand ourselves.

8) We have an explanation for why "general revelation" works. Romans 1 teaches that we learn about God's "invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature" through our observation of the world around us. The creation teaches us about God because that is what it is: creation! There is no such thing as "nature" or the "natural world." There is only God's world. All of it is made by him, sustained by him, and governed by him. Thus every bit of the creation teaches us something about the God who created it. Indeed, through our study of the world in general and ourselves in particular, we learn enough about our Creator's righteous requirements as to render all of us without excuse for our rebellion against him.

Perhaps you can think of other ways in which the doctrine of "creation in general" profits its advocates. If you do not agree with the details of Genesis 1-2, yet nevertheless believe that God is your Maker, you at least enjoy the eight benefits listed above.

But Genesis 1-2 does give us specific details about how and when God made all things. I believe these details matter.