BIG & small QUESTIONS OF THE FAITH JASON S. DEROUCHIE, PHD ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF OT AND BIBLICAL THEOLOGY BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, 2016

QUESTION Does the Christian’s belief that the Bible is without error require holding that God created in six 24- hour periods and that the earth is roughly 6,000 years old?

 4.1 We believe that God created the universe, and everything in it, out of nothing, by the Word of His power. Having no deficiency in Himself, nor moved by any incompleteness in His joyful self- sufficiency, God was pleased in creation to display His glory for the everlasting joy of the redeemed, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Bethlehem’s Elder Affirmation

 4.1 We believe that God created the universe, and everything in it, out of nothing, by the Word of His power. Having no deficiency in Himself, nor moved by any incompleteness in His joyful self- sufficiency, God was pleased in creation to display His glory for the everlasting joy of the redeemed, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. o Implication 1: The universe is a divine creation, not an accident. Bethlehem’s Elder Affirmation

 4.1 We believe that God created the universe, and everything in it, out of nothing, by the Word of His power. Having no deficiency in Himself, nor moved by any incompleteness in His joyful self- sufficiency, God was pleased in creation to display His glory for the everlasting joy of the redeemed, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. o Implication 2: God was the only pre-existent reality before the universe. He created “out of nothing.” Bethlehem’s Elder Affirmation

 4.1 We believe that God created the universe, and everything in it, out of nothing, by the Word of His power. Having no deficiency in Himself, nor moved by any incompleteness in His joyful self-sufficiency, God was pleased in creation to display His glory for the everlasting joy of the redeemed, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. o Implication 3: God created the universe not out of need but out of pleasure. Bethlehem’s Elder Affirmation

 4.2 We believe that God directly created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from his side. We believe that Adam and Eve were the historical parents of the entire human race; that they were created male and female equally in the image of God, without sin; that they were created to glorify their Maker, Ruler, Provider, and Friend by trusting His all-sufficient goodness, admiring His infinite beauty, enjoying His personal fellowship, and obeying His all-wise counsel; and that, in God’s love and wisdom, they were appointed differing and complementary roles in marriage as a type of Christ and the church.

o Implication 1: Humans were not the result of an evolutionary process but a distinct, special creation.

 4.2 We believe that God directly created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from his side. We believe that Adam and Eve were the historical parents of the entire human race; that they were created male and female equally in the image of God, without sin; that they were created to glorify their Maker, Ruler, Provider, and Friend by trusting His all-sufficient goodness, admiring His infinite beauty, enjoying His personal fellowship, and obeying His all-wise counsel; and that, in God’s love and wisdom, they were appointed differing and complementary roles in marriage as a type of Christ and the church. o Implication 2: All of humanity everywhere and from all time derives from these two individuals.

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC) Three Major Creationist Views

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC)  NOTE 1: All three of these views affirm supernaturalism over naturalism; all affirm that God alone created and upholds the universe. Three Major Creationist Views

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC)  NOTE 2: The Bethlehem EAF declares that our church does not permit its leaders to hold to theistic evolution of humans. We have pastors and professors who are YEC and OEC. Three Major Creationist Views

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC, Meyer)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC, Beckman)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC)  NOTE 2: The Bethlehem EAF declares that our church does not permit its leaders to hold to theistic evolution of humans. We have pastors and professors who are YEC and OEC. Three Major Creationist Views

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC, Meyer)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC, Beckman)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC)  NOTE 3: Bethlehem does not declare EC heretical, and we have close relationships with Christians who hold to it, including some members of Bethlehem. Three Major Creationist Views

 Young Earth-Creationism (YEC, Meyer)  Old Earth-Creationism (OEC, Beckman)  Evolutionary Creationism (EC, Keller)  NOTE 3: Bethlehem does not declare EC heretical, and we have close relationships with Christians who hold to it, including some members of Bethlehem. Three Major Creationist Views

Theological Triage

QUESTION Why do you hold to YEC, believing that God created a mature earth in in six 24-hour periods in a literal week and that the earth is extremely young––6,000–10,000 earth-years old?

 Roughly six–ten thousand earth years ago God created the universe and all life in six successive natural days marked by evenings and mornings in the pattern set- forth in Genesis 1. My 24-Hour Mature, Young- Earth View

 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” o Time marker: “in the beginning” o Sole Actor: The Trinitarian Creator: God the Father creates by his Word (“Let there be...”) and Spirit (“hovering over the waters”) o Distinct Divine Act: “to create” (bookended with 2:1) Genesis 1:1

o Object: “the heavens and the earth” (merism for the whole created realm):  Unseen heavens (where God and angels dwell), seen heavens (atmosphere and space), and earth (our planet) (see Ps 148) o Summary or Sequence?  Option 1: Sequence o Gen 1:1 is the first event in the creation week. The rest of the chapter follows this action. o “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then he formed and filled it....”  Option 2: Summary o Gen 1:1 is a statement that is then unpacked. o “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And this is how he did it....”

o Object: “the heavens and the earth” (merism for the whole created realm):  Unseen heavens (where God and angels dwell), seen heavens (atmosphere and space), and earth (our planet) (see Ps 148) o Summary or Sequence?  Option 1: Sequence o Gen 1:1 is the first event in the creation week. The rest of the chapter follows this action. o “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then he formed and filled it....”  Option 2: Summary o Gen 1:1 is a statement that is then unpacked. o “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And this is how he did it....”

 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” o Creation was a process: Focus here is on unmet potential. The start of Day 1 included an undifferentiated mass. o “Formless and void”: Uninhabitable and uninhabited; lacking clear shape and distinction of the parts (land and water, sky and earth). Genesis 1:2

The Formless Takes Shape (Uninhabitable > Habitable; Static Regions/Creation Kingdoms) The Void Becomes Filled (Uninhabited > Inhabited; Mobile Occupants/Creature Kings) Day 1: Light Day 4: Luminaries Day 2: Skies & Seas Day 5: Birds & Sea Creatures Day 3: Land & Vegetation Day 6: Land animals & humans Day 7: The Creation-King Rests