After reading any persuasive article, one must decide to accept or reject the facts put forth for consideration. In “What are the Various Views of Creation?”, Mark Driscoll outlines six distinct views to be examined. This writer most closely identifies with Driscoll’s second view, Young-earth Creationism. This is due, to the writer’s belief that the periods of time described in Genesis 1 and 2 are all equally measurable as twenty-four hour days. A fact that is reiterated in Exodus: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).
One should notice that “heaven” and “earth” are both described in each biblical account. This seems to solidify the entirety of God’s creation and dispel the assertion made by Driscoll’s Historic Creationism that the earth existed for an undefined period of time before God prepared it for habitation. Driscoll does, however, point to the existence of evening and morning on the days preceding the creation of the sun, moon, and stars as evidence contrary to this writer’s view; a fact which was not considered prior to reading the article. This should not be seen as a dissuasive argument, but one that calls for a more in depth look at the terms. Just as Driscoll points out that the Hebrew word yom has been merely translated into the term day, so too have the words morning and evening been changed to a more easily recognized vernacular.
It stands to reason then, that the latter terms could simply refer to a change in phase or state of matter (for example hot to cold or asleep to awake).
The Review on Greek Mythology View’s of Creation
The story of the creation of the universe has many different versions. In some cultures it is believed that the universe was created by the procreation of the Deathless Creatures. Other cultures believe that the creation of the universe resulted from a big bang in which all of the elements in the world gathered together to create a huge mass and then burst to create life. Lastly, and the most ...
This writer contends that morning and evening, as used by the author of Genesis, were not assigned to specified hours of a day until God ordained the linkage on the fourth day; just as mankind did not rule over the fish and birds prior to God’s say. Such a conclusion requires both an exact and a symbolic interpretation of the Bible. Isn’t the same true in stories of today? Creation is being retold by the author of Genesis and, like authors of today, the account is a mixture of literal and figurative language. Like today’s stories, biblical stories use context clues to decipher which interpretation is appropriate.
For example, the specific details given in Genesis 1:14-19 indicate that creation of the fourth day is being described quite literally. There is a precise explanation of events as well as the effects of those events (seasons, days, and years).
Conversely, Genesis 2:24 speaks of man and woman becoming one flesh. By examining the previous passages for context, this writer comes to understand that the narrator does not intend for readers to believe that two bodies become one, but that the hearts and minds of the couple should act as one. Illustrative language is also used to describe Adam and Eve’s acquirement of knowledge: “… the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked…” (Genesis 3:7).
This varying use of language leads to much debate concerning the age of the universe and whether or not it can be biblically proven. Based on the stated belief that God created the earth in six standard days and a literal interpretation of the genealogies outlined in Genesis, this reader believes the universe to be approximately six thousand years old. An older earth cannot be proven without manipulation of the creation timeline. One must assert that the earth existed before God began the first day (disproven by Exodus 20:11) or, as Driscoll purports, that the earth existed in a mature state before that time. However, Genesis 2:5 refers to a land void of shrubbery or sprouted plantings indicating a callow land.
This writer does agree with Driscoll though on his view against evolutionary Creation. It appears to this reader that the entire point of Genesis is to define God as Creator and to ascribe the events of Creation to a timeline. This would be unnecessary if the earth resulted from spontaneous generation as macro-evolutionists believe. Spontaneous generation is further disproven later in the Bible: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
The Essay on Genesis vs. Iroquois Creation Myth
All different cultures have their own creation stories, mostly all containing the elements of a Higher Power of some sort, how the power created the world, and the creation a human man. The Christian belief in the Genesis story has these key elements , as does the Iroquois creation myth, The World on the Turtle’s Back. Although these two creation stories share similarities, they also have ...
Furthermore, the genealogy reported in Genesis 5:1-32 includes no indicator of evolutionary change. Specifically in regards to Seth whom is reported to have been “in [Adam’s] own likeness, in his own image” (Genesis 5:3).
In fact, God uses Noah and the Great Flood in later chapters of Genesis to create change instead of simply breeding out wickedness through a series of evolutionary events.
“Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark” (Genesis 7:23).
God again uses action over evolution in the account of the Tower of Babel when he says “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other” (Genesis 11:7).
In the end, Christians have many varying views of Creation. The importance does not lie in one’s differences but in the faithful seeking of knowledge through interpretation and debate. For, without it one would simply cease to gain further awareness of God’s glory.
