Creationism and Views

Biblical Creationism Is the belief that the physical universe, including the earth and all living things, was created by God alone It can not be part of science because no human has observed, measured, or recorded observations of Creation Must be accepted by faith

Evolutionism Is the belief that the physical universe, including life, was not created but happened by mere chance It cannot be a part of science either Evolution must be accepted by faith

What does the Bible teach about Creationism 1) God created by direct acts. Gen 1-2, John 1:3, Gen 1:31 2) God sustains His creation. Ps 104:1,5,14,24 Col 1:17 3) God reveals His power through His creation. Ps 19:1, Rom 1:20 4) God revealed the sequence of His creation in the Bible 5) God specially created man. Gen 2:7, 1:26 6) God created man and man is responsible to God. Ps 100:3, Col 1:17 7) God’s creation has degenerated. Gen 1:31, Ps 102: 25-26, Isa. 51:6, I Peter 1:24, If evolution were true, then things should get better and more efficient.

1. God’s Creation Found in Genesis 1 Creationist Theories - are man’s opinion about the details not provided in God’s word. (Do not contradict creation.)

2. Days of Creation Day 1 – Earth, Light, and Dark Day 2 – Sky and Water Day 3 – Land and Plants Day 4 – Sun, Moon, and Stars Day 5 – Fish and Birds Day 6 – Land animals and Man Day 7 – God rested

3. Long Day vs. Short Day Theory Short Day – each day was 24 hours Long Day – each day is a long period of time so that the week of creation was actually thousands of years

Problems with long-day In the literal account of Creation the days are 24 hour days Plants would have been created before light The usual interpretation of II Peter 3:8 means that God is not bound by time

Short-day The phrase “evening and mourning” used at the end of every creation day supports at 24 hour day Sequence of creation in Genesis 1 would not work well for long ages.

4. Gap vs. Non-Gap Theory Gap – great period of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2; Belief that God destroyed his initial creation (after the fall of Satan) and started over Non-Gap - no large gap between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2, God created day/night on the first day and then went on with his work on the second day.

Gap theory problems Question- Why should God destroy a previous creation that was good? Would the destruction of a previous creation include death? Not till Adam (Romans 5:12)

5. Old-Earth vs. Young Earth Theory Old-Earth – belief that the earth is millions or billions of years old; supports evolution Young-Earth –belief that the world is only 8,000-15,000 years old; supported by genealogies in the Bible

6. The Flood/Noah’s Ark Bible states that it was UNIVERSAL (covered the entire earth) Noah’s ark was a boxlike structure, didn’t need to go anywhere…just stay afloat, it was 100,000 sq. feet, cover 20 basketball courts. God brought the animals to Noah, ark would only be half full

Why the flood could not be a local flood Ark would not have been necessary, God would have directed Noah to an area not covered by water People could have escaped death (purpose was to destroy wicked mankind) The dove would not have returned to ark God would break his promise of never flooding the earth again (Gen 8:21)

7. Canopy Theory Belief that a high, clear layer of water vapor covered the earth, provided abundant dew, rather than rain. (Gen 2:5-6) It created a greenhouse effect which plants and dinosaurs could have survived in that aren’t found today. Belief that the flood was the falling of the canopy (Gen 7:11)

8. Flood Theory of Fossil Formation Sedimentary – materials settle out as a moving substance slows down Genesis flood formed most of the sedimentary fossils. Sediment containing dead organisms must be buried quickly. A major catastrophic event would provide the right conditions to form the vast amount of sedimentary fossils we have today. Fossils are found in tangled heaps of mixed fossils, lack of order results from flood pressing down sediment to create mixed up fossil layers

Dinosaurs in the Bible During 1800’s archaeologists discovered bones of strange animals In 1842 Sir Richard Owen used term dinosaur “fearful or monstrous lizard” Behemoth (Job 40:15-41) Leviathan (Job 41) Creationists believe that it is possible that man and dinosaur lived near each other before the flood

The T-Rex