TEACHING NOTES ‌ Introduction In this series we are going to take several doctrines (beliefs/teachings) that many Christians believe today and trace them through church history. Our goal in this series is to find out what the earliest Christians believed and how these doctrines changed over time. The first topic we will cover is a modern doctrine that is often referred to as “Creationism” or specifically “Young Earth Creationism” (YEC). We are using the term “Creationism” to refer to a kind of obsession with “proving” the creation story in Genesis and dividing Christians by their views of creation. ‌ All ancient Jews and Christians were creationists, meaning that they believed that God created all things that exist. Tonight’s teaching is not asking whether or not we should be creationists, but what kind of creationists. ‌ Three Creationist Categories: 1. Creationist = God created the universe. 2. Young-Earth Creationist = God created the universe 6,000 years ago. 3. Old-Earth Creationist = God created the universe millions of years ago. ‌ Disclaimer: I believe that God created the heavens, earth, and all of its inhabitants and did so whenever and however He chose. Since God can do anything He wants, God could have created in six literal days, six longer periods of time, six seconds, or one nanosecond. The text of Genesis 1 supports six periods of time, but the length of those six periods are not as clear as some Bible teachers like to think. The main point of Genesis 1 is not when or how the world was created. The main point of Genesis 1 is WHO created the world. ‌ A Popular Myth: The Bible clearly states, and the church always taught, that God created the world in six literal 24-hour days around 6,000 years ago. ‌ In the modern debate around creation and science, it is often said that all the Jews and Christians believed that the Bible teaches that God created the universe in six literal 24-hour days roughly 6,000 years ago. To this the atheists says, “See, modern science has disproven the Bible.” The atheists, and many Christians, assume that this is what the Bible clearly teaches. ‌ This is a myth because there has never been a point in church history where there was one view of creation. All Jews and Christians believed that God created the universe, but there has never been one accepted view of the creation days, the age of the earth, or the age of the universe. ‌ THE EARLY CHRISTIANS (AD 70-500) What did the early Christians believe? The short answer is that there was a diversity within early Christianity on the subject of the creation days and the age of the earth. What we learn from the ancient Church is that we can hold differing views on the creation days without being divided. While there were differing views, the consensus was that the human mind cannot fully understand the creation days. ‌ Theophilus of Antioch (AD 180) “Of this six days’ work no man can give a worthy explanation and description of all its parts, not though he had ten thousand tongues and ten thousand mouths; nay, though he were to live ten thousand years...” To Autolycus 2.12 ‌ Day-Age View (Each “Day” = 1,000 Years) Some early Christians believed that the creation days in Gen. 1 could be as much as 1,000 years each. This idea is based on Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” and 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Today this view is often referred to as the Day-Age view (each day is a long period of time). ‌ Note: Both Ps. 90:4 and 2 Pet. 3:8 are not saying that one day is literally 1,000 years, but is a metaphor saying that God is outside of time and not limited by time. The number 1,000 is never used literally in the Bible, but always refers to a long period of time. However, many early Christians entertained the idea that the creation story was a prophesy and that each day could represent 1,000 years and that the end would come after 6,000 years. ‌ Epistle of Barnabas (AD 70-130) “The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: “And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.” Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implies that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifies, saying, “Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years.” Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished.” — Epistle of Barnabas 15 ‌ Justin Martyr (AD 90-165) “For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die, we know that he did not complete a thousand years [Gen. 5:5]. We have perceived, moreover, that the expression ‘The day of the Lord is a thousand years’ [Ps. 90:4] is connected with this subject” — Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 81 ‌ Irenaeus (AD 130-202) “For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: “Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.” This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.” — Against Heresies 5.28.3 ‌ Theophilus of Antioch (AD 180) “All the years from the creation of the world [to Theophilus’ day] amount to a total of 5,698 years and the odd months and days. . . . [I]f even a chronological error has been committed by us, for example, of 50 or 100 or even 200 years, yet [there have] not [been] the thousands and tens of thousands, as Plato and Apollonius and other mendacious authors have hitherto written” — To Autolycus 3:28–29 ‌ Cyprian (AD 210-258) “The first seven days in the divine arrangement contain seven thousand years.” — Treatise 11.11 ‌ Lactantius (AD 250-325) “Therefore let the philosophers, who enumerate thousands of ages from the beginning of the world, know that the six-thousandth year is not yet complete. . . . Therefore, since all the works of God were completed in six days, the world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years. For the great day of God is limited by a circle of a thousand years, as the prophet shows, who says, ‘In thy sight, O Lord, a thousand years are as one day [Ps. 90:4]’” — Divine Institutes 7:14 ‌ Figurative Creation Days Other early Christians believed that God created outside of time, because time itself was created on the fourth day in Gen. 1:14-19. The following quotes are from early Christians who believed the creations days were not literal 24-hour days. ‌ Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215) “And how could creation take place in time, seeing time was born along with things which exist....That, then, we may be taught that the world was originated, and not suppose that God made it in time, prophecy adds: “This is the book of the generation: also of the things in them, when they were created in the day that God made heaven and earth.” For the expression “when they were created” intimates an indefinite and dateless production.” — Stromata 6:16 ‌ Origen (AD 185-253) “For who that has understanding will suppose that the first and second and third day existed without a sun and moon and stars and that the first day was, as it were, also without a sky? . . . I do not suppose that anyone doubts that these things figuratively indicate certain mysteries, the history having taken place in appearance and not literally” — The Fundamental Doctrines 4:1:16 ‌ “The text said that ‘there was evening and there was morning’; it did not say ‘the first day,’ but said ‘one day.’ It is because there was not yet time before the world existed. But time begins to exist with the following days” — Homilies on Genesis ‌ Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) “In short, it must be said that our authors knew the truth about the nature of the skies, but it was not the intention of the Spirit of God, who spoke through them, to teach men anything that would not be of use to them for their salvation” — The Literal Interpretation of Genesis 2:9). ‌ “Seven days by our reckoning, after the model of the days of creation, make up a week. By the passage of such weeks time rolls on, and in these weeks one day is constituted by the course of the sun from its rising to its setting; but we must bear in mind that these days indeed recall the days of creation, but without in any way being really similar to them” — The Literal Interpretation of Genesis 4:27 ‌ “At least we know that it [the Genesis creation day] is different from the ordinary day with which we are familiar” — The Literal Interpretation of Genesis 5:2 ‌ “It follows, therefore, that He, who created all things together, simultaneously created these six days, or seven, or rather the one day six or seven times repeated. Why, then, was there any need for six distinct days to be set forth in the narrative one after the other? The reason is that those who cannot understand the meaning of the text, ‘He created all things together,’ cannot arrive at the meaning of Scripture unless the narrative proceeds solely step by step. — The Literal Meaning of Genesis 5.3.6 ‌ “For in these days [of creation] the morning and evening are counted until, on the sixth day, all things which God then made were finished, and on the seventh the rest of God was mysteriously and sublimely signalized. What kind of days these were is extremely difficult or perhaps impossible for us to conceive, and how much more to say!” — The City of God 11:6 ‌ Point: The early Christians did not have one view of the creation days or the age of the earth. Nearly all of them believed that the earth was already at least 6,000 years old in the 1st and 2nd century AD. This means that none of them would qualify as “young-earth creationists” today, since by their calculations the earth would now be around 8,000 years old. ‌ THE MIDDLE AGES (1000-1700) During the middle ages Christians continued to have differing views on the creation days and the age of the earth. However, the popular view in the western church in the 1500s was that the earth was around 6,000 years old. This was not the only view in the church, but was the popular view in the west at that time. ‌ John Calvin (1509-1564) Calvin was a famous theologian in the Protestant Reformation. In his commentary on Genesis Calvin states that Genesis is not a book of astronomy and that Moses was writing the creation account in a way that could be understood at the time. Essentially, Calvin did not believe the creation days were literal days. ‌ Bishop James Ussher (1581-1656) Bishop Ussher was an Archbishop in the Church of Ireland. After writing many books on theology and church history, Ussher wrote Annals of the Old Testament. In this book Ussher argued that the first day of creation was at nightfall on October 22, 4004 BC on the Julian calendar. Ussher’s view was never considered an official doctrine of the church did not gain popularity until much later. The modern Young-Earth Creationism movement follows Ussher’s date. ‌ The Chaos-Restitution or Gap Theory (1700s) This view was the dominate view of the 1700s. The Chaos-Restitution theory held that in Genesis 1:2 the earth was “without form and void” for an unknown period of time. This means that God created the earth in a chaotic state first and then later formed creation and filled it with life. In this view, the earth is old and life is young. This view was developed further into the Gap Theory, which added the idea that Satan and 1/3 of the angels rebelled during the gap. This version of the Gap Theory was popularized in America through the Scofield Reference Bible (1917), which also popularized dispensationalism and the rapture in America. ‌ What is Young Earth Creationism? ‌ According to the website of Answers in Genesis: “Young-earth creationists believe that the creation days of Genesis 1 were six literal (24-hour) days, which occurred 6,000 years ago.” - answersingenesis.org ‌ The modern YEC movement is a reaction, or overreaction, to the scientific position that the earth is 4.5 billion years old and the universe is 13.7 billion years old. The YEC movement gained popularity as a criticism of Darwinian evolution. ‌ YEC is a theological position that based on several presuppositions and interpretations, each depending on one another. They claim that any Christian who believes that the earth is older than 6,000-10,000 years, is compromising the Bible and is in serious error. Young-earth creationists believe that their interpretation of Genesis is the only correct interpretation. ‌ For example, one of the main presuppositions is that there was no death at all (animals or humans) before Gen. 3. So, the young-earth position states that the earth could not be millions of years old, because there would have been death before Adam sinned. However, the idea that there was no death at all before the fall of Adam is found nowhere in the Bible. This idea comes from a misreading of Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Notice that Paul says that death spread to all MEN (mankind). Paul is not saying there was no death at all, but only that death spread to all humans because all of them sinned. ‌ When did YEC become a popular doctrine in America? While many in the ancient church believed that the earth was somewhat young, the modern YEC movement is unique and not based on ancient Christianity. The modern YEC movement actually appears very recent in history. In fact, 100 years ago most Christians in America were old earth creationists. It was not until the rise of the Seventh-Day Adventist movement than young-earth creationism became popular in America. ‌ The Seventh-Day Adventist movement began as an off-shoot of the Millerite movement in the 1840s. During a phase of the 2nd Great Awakening, William Miller gained a following (the Millerites) and predicted that Jesus would return between the spring of 1843 and the spring of 1844. When Jesus did not return, the date was moved in October 22, 1844. These failed predictions were later referred to as “The Great Disappointment.” James White and Ellen G. White left the Millerites and started their own group, which was later called the Seventh-day Adventists. One major doctrine of theirs is that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast. Much of their beliefs are based on the prophetic visions of Ellen G. White. In one such vision, Ellen claims to be have been taken back in time to the creation event and was told that it occured in six literal 24-hour days. Then she was shown the rock layers of the earth and told that they were all laid down instantly in Noah’s flood, rather than being laid down over long periods of time. She was also taken in this vision into space and saw that there were many other earth-like planets with life that were created long before our earth. Therefore, Ellen G. White was a young-earth but old-universe creationist. ‌ Ellen G. White’s views were only popular in the small Seventh-day Adventist group until the self-proclaimed geologist George McReady Price, who was also a Seventh-day Adventist, wrote several papers and books in the early 1900s supporting Ellen’s flood geology. He tried to argue “scientifically” that the geological column was the result of Noah’s flood and this was proof of a young earth. Price called this method “flood geology.” Price also taught that after the Tower of Babel the human race was degraded to the point that some were given darker skin as a curse. Price’s view were mostly rejected by the majority of Christians. ‌ However, in 1954 Bernard Ramm wrote the book “The Christian’s View of Science and Scripture” to refute Price’s flood geology and young-earth views. Ramm’s book would eventually have the opposite effect, because John Whitcomb Jr. wrote his doctoral dissertation against Ramm’s book and in support Price’s views. At first, Whitcomb’s work was mostly rejected by Christians and geologists. But Whitcomb eventually contacted Henry Morris, who was a hydraulic engineer. Morris agreed to co-author the book “The Genesis Flood” with Whitcomb in 1961, where they used Price’s arguments for a young earth and added their own theory that the universe was also young. Eventually, Whitcomb and Morris formed the Creation Research Society (CRS) which still exists today. This also led to the formation of Creation Ministries International (CMI) and Answers in Genesis (AIG). These groups are now the main leaders of modern Young-Earth Creationism. Their popularity in America has led to the false idea that Creationist = Young-Earth Creationism. ‌ Problems with YEC The main flaw of the modern YEC movement is the idea that the Bible should be used as a Divine science book. This not only leads to strange interpretations of the Bible, but also creates a barrier between science and the Bible. YEC makes it their mission to disprove any claim of science that contradicts their specific interpretation of the Bible. ‌ What does the Bible say? With any question or debate, we must ask this question, “What can be supported by the text of the Bible?” If the text in question leaves something open or unanswered, we must be willing to accept what the Bible is saying and is not saying. The text of the creation story is not as detailed as we may hope, nor is it trying to answer all the modern questions that we bring to the text. In fact, most of the modern debates on creation are about issues totally unknown to the author of Genesis. Moses had never heard of science or geology and wrote nothing about the age of the earth. ‌ Here are a few facts from the text to consider: ‌ The phrase “In the beginning” (Gen. 1:1) is two Hebrew words be reshit, which means “what is first” and has no indication of time. In other words, Gen. 1:1 could be translated, “Way back when, the first thing that happened is God created the heavens and the earth.” When biblical authors want to tell us a date, they usually say something like “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month...” (Gen. 7:11) or “In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month...” (Jer. 39:2). However, in the creation story there is no indication of when it happened. ‌ Gen. 1:1-2 says that God created the heavens and the earth, and then the creation “days” describe God putting things in order and adding life. Therefore, the text supports the possibility that there could have been an unspecified amount of time between Gen. 1:1-2 and the six “days” of Gen. 1:3-2:4. ‌ “Day” refers to different durations of time: - Daylight hours (Gen. 1:5, 14). - Time with a beginning/end (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). - Time without an end (Gen. 2:2-3). - The entire creation event (Gen. 2:4). “in the day the LORD God made the earth and the heavens” ‌ The Sun is not created until the fourth day (Gen. 1:14-19). God says that the Sun and Moon are “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” The fourth “day” is the creation of time as we know it. Therefore, the first three “days” cannot be considered as literal 24-hour days. ‌ The phrase in Gen. 2:4 “These are the generations…” [Heb. toledot] is always used in Genesis to introduce what happens next, never to retell a previous story (Gen. 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2). Also, a toledot is always describing an order of events (genealogy). ‌ The order of events in Gen. 1:1-2:3 (creation) does not match the order in Gen. 2:4-24 (Eden). An honest reading of Gen. 1-2 seems to indicate that the creation of Adam and Eve in Gen. 2 is a different event than the creation story in Gen. 1. The order of events in Gen. 1 do not match the order of events in Gen. 2. This leaves the possibility of an unknown period of time between the two stories. However, this is only a possibility in the text and should not be taught as doctrine. ‌ Gen.1:1-2:3 Plants Animals Humans (M&F) Gen. 2:4-24 Human (male) Plants Animals Human (female) ‌ This could explain why there are people outside Eden in Gen. 4. ‌ Conclusion ‌Whichever view we take on creation, we must remain humble and willing to learn and adjust our view accordingly.