Above are links to 3 videos on how Christians interpret Genesis 1 and in particular how they relate it to the discoveries that science has made in the last few years. Scientists believe that the universe’s history spans 13.8 billion years. We will have to fly quickly to cover all of this time.
I will examine a set of “suspects” or options, thinking about which might provide the best interpretation of Creation in Genesis. The Bible claims that nature is part of God’s revelation showing His power and His glory to mankind. Though Christians agree on this, different ways have been proposed for how to view this in scripture. In the first video, I will briefly describe six proposed options or suspects. Each option can contribute to our understanding of what the Bible records and how we can relate it to Earth’s history.
Then we will begin to look in particular at the Day-Age proposal. In any proposal, the going in assumptions should be understood. Several key assumptions are made in the Day-Age model and if these are not true, then this model is not viable.
We also need to think about why the author of Genesis chose to use the words that he did. His choices were affected by limitations in his language, his choice of literary genre and by his purposes. Some purposes we can understand, while others may not ever be possible until we can talk to him.
If we are going to understand how to relate the Bible and science, then one thing we need to understand is the history of the cosmos as seen in scientific data. We will look at timelines, initially scaled in billions of years. This one shows a series of events recognized by science and the origin of humans – Adam and Eve. Notice that were late to the party.
Genesis 1:1-2 are interpreted as describing the period of time before the seven periods of creation that make up “creation week”. They record the time from the beginning of our universe until Earth was ready to move forward to the next major phases of creation. Certainly, one of the purposes for this work was to prepare it for humans.
Genesis 1:2 tells us that the Spirit of God was hovering over waters on Earth. One thing this does is give us the frame of reference for the days of creation. Understood as from the surface of the Earth, the order given in the revelation makes chronological sense.
Video one describes six views of creation, describes the “day-age” interpretation, and then the prequel, approximately 9 billion years of time. I said we would have to move quickly. The second video will compare days one through four of “creation week” to what has been discovered and interpreted in science. The third video, perhaps the most important, will compare days 5 through 7 (mostly through day 6) to scientific data and interpretations and provide overall conclusions.
This timeline summarizes my day-age interpretation, based on the discoveries made to date that I have found. It is certainly not the only correlation that can be considered, but if this or something similar is true, it confirms that God is both the author of nature and the Bible.
Here is a snapshot view:
1. Prequel
a. Earth and heavens…. The moon and stars were created 1st – check
i. Earth, moon and stars present by 4.53 bya
b. There was water on the surface of the planet… God’s Spirit hovered there- check
i. Demonstrated by 3.8 bya
ii. Provides frame of reference for the text that follows – the surface of the Earth
2. A First day
a. Light could reach the surface and day and night were distinguishable
b. Plant life requires light and this was found by 3.75 bya – check
3. A Second day
a. Atmosphere – check
b. Stable water cycle – check
c. No unique scientific evidence, perhaps by 2.5 bya
4. A Third day
a. Continents in place by ~2.8-3 bya – check
b. Land plants – check
i. Perhaps the Cambrian Explosion had a land plant component 540 mya
ii. Certainly by the Devonian forests dated 393 mya
5. A Fourth day
a. Sun and Moon visible in skies – check
b. Insects flying present by 325 mya using sun and moon for navigation
6. A Fifth day
a. Sea monsters by 250 mya – check
b. Birds by 160 mya – check
7. A Sixth day
a. Land mammals – “common ancestor” – 225 mya – check
b. Humans – 200K; 70K, 6K – check
i. Check out a video here: Recent Views of Adam and Eve
8. A Seventh day
a. With mankind, the recorded phases of creation were complete
b. This day is not closed. The writer of Hebrews recognized this in Hebrews 4:3-13 and draws on the continuation of that rest to show that believers enter into God’s rest. We strive to enter God’s rest, joining him in this seventh day.
Summary and discussion:
• Genesis reveals creation over seven days…. God’s days.
• I don’t think Moses saw these as calendar days or provided a scientific description.
• The days served in a way as metaphor for the human workweek.
• However, based on a real history. The Holy Spirit guided the author to write words that served the people in that day but continue to be true today.
• Does the order match what we have discovered from nature?
• Looks good, but not “uniquely interpretable”. Other correlations are possible.
• Day-age is certainly not the only reasonable way to look at Genesis 1 and some aspects are not totally obvious in English translations.
• Truth is not always simple.
• Consider all of the religions who have stories of creation.
• Are there any others that could be considered to be reasonable options in terms of current science? If so, were they derived from Genesis?
• If the Bible has the closest ancient documentation claiming to be a record of creation to what we observe in nature, what would be #2?
• Genesis is the only account where this kind of discussion can be had. It would be difficult to find any that could be easily comparable in any real sense to nature as science sees it.
• Some may be concerned that this view and old Earth interpretations in general don’t seem to respect God’s ability to work miracles and want to demand that God created things instantly as mature creations.
• Genesis does not tell us details about how things appeared.
• Genesis 1:11 says, “Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation”. It doesn’t tell us what this looked like.
• Genesis 2:8 says “And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east”. This indicates that he started by creating, but then allowed “natural” processes to work.
• God in the Bible often involved “natural processes” in His miracles.
• When God parted the Red Sea, the Bible tells us that God caused a wind to blow to dry up the land. (Exodus 10:13) Did the wind cause the land to dry or did God? It was a miracle in which God used some “natural” processes.
• In creation, God worked through processes that we often call natural processes, but He was the one creating.
• If God have used “Evolution” (mutation and natural selection) would that invalidate the Day-Age interpretation?
• Genesis does not give details about the creation of plant or animal life.
• God probably used mutation and natural selection, but they were just some of the tools that He used as the designer producing the extravagant variety of life that He desired.
• Evolution would not really impact most of how Day-Age interprets Genesis.
• Genesis does demand that humans are special creations. Regardless of how much one interprets Genesis 2 to include figurative language, it still demands the special creation of Adam and Eve.
The universe shows much evidence of having been designed by a mind that deliberately placed advanced life on earth. This included humans with the capacity and resources to investigate the universe. The Day-Age model for interpreting creation in Genesis provides a clear picture of the creation with the fingerprints of the God of the Bible through its whole history. How else could an author writing almost 3500 years ago produce an account that follows our understanding today so well?
I began each video by pointing out that my Christian faith is anchored by three truths. If the creator is the God of the Bible, then the first leg is very solid. The second leg is that Jesus is God, as demonstrated by His resurrection from the dead. If you are interested in this topic, you might want to look here for more information: First Report of the Resurrection. The third leg is that of personal experience. These concepts are not academic or hypothetical discussions. God reaches out to us and we can experience his love. He created us to experience Him. I do.
Recent Comments