by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
My regular readers know that I am a biblical creationist. Now, don't panic and run off, hear me out, OK? Some of my past articles (like this one) have dealt with the problems associated with compromising with Genesis.
My regular readers know that I am a biblical creationist. Now, don't panic and run off, hear me out, OK? Some of my past articles (like this one) have dealt with the problems associated with compromising with Genesis.
I need to clarify something at this point.
Many people are overwhelmed with the pressure to compromise because they are told what to think, that evolution is true, the earth is old, the universe is ancient &c. Many do not really think about it at all, but simply go with the flow. Others see the problems that occur when they tamper with a plain reading of Scripture, so they force-fit a gap between the first two verses of Genesis, invoke the "Day-Age Theory", say that the first few chapters of Genesis is allegorical and that those of us who believe that it means what it says are fringe-group nuts.
One apologist said something that angered me quite a bit. He said that he does not believe in evolution, and will not let "science" tell him how to interpret Scripture. Great! However, (you knew there would be a "however", did you not?) he could not believe in a recent creation because it did not fit Big Bang cosmology, which he felt was sufficiently established. That angered me. Not only did he contradict himself and promptly let science philosophy influence his view of Scripture, but he did not realize that he was doing violence with a great deal more of the Scriptures. Also, he was out of touch with the fact that the Big Bang theory is not established, but disputed among scientists. I felt that he casually compromised the Bible to fit science philosophy, and that I could not trust him any longer to give me useful apologetics information. Perhaps I should not have been surprised after reading that dreadful book on the New Age that he wrote several years ago...
Some people have not casually accommodated the whims of the current trends of science. They believe that the universe is old. I would in no wise consider them incompetent or that they are not really Christians. (That is the clarification that I wanted to make, the purpose of this article.) But I would really like for them to consider the implications of their positions and how it relates to Scriptures.
Especially if these people believe that the Bible really is the Word of God, and is their final authority.
I will not stifle myself about a few basic facts:
- Yom יוֹם means a literal day when it is with an indicator like a number, evening, morning and so on. When this happens throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, it is accepted that yom means a literal day (with very few possible exceptions). "And there was evening and there was morning, one day", has three indicators. Why should the first part of Genesis be the exception? It means literal day.
- Some people want to say that "day" was a long period of time. Well, yom means and indefinite period of time when the indicators (such as numbers) are not there. To justify this, people will say, "The Bible says one day is with the Lord as a thousand years". Read the rest of 2 Peter 3.8, Zeke. It also says "and a thousand years as one day". Keep going, read the context. This verse is not attempting to define "day".
- Still not convinced? Exodus 20.11 tells us outright that God made everything in six days, and rested on the seventh day. He did this as an example for us. He did not work for six thousand years and rest for one thousand years. We would have some extremely rough work weeks with that exegesis!
- You're calling Jesus a liar. That's right, I said it! In fact, you're in a bad place with the New Testament, because the early chapters are the most quoted passages. Adam was a real person (1 Cor. 15.45, Jude 1.14) the flood of Noah's time really happened (1 Peter 3.20). Need I go on?
Do you see how one compromise leads to another, and can affect our understanding of the entire gospel message? Where is your authority? Who are you going to trust? Isaiah 40.8
I'll be back in another יוֹם or so.
Addendum:I just found this excellent article on the