Position Questions

Relating Science to the Bible

Two models of Relating Science to the Bible: [1]

Models of Creation

Three Models of Creation [2]

Scientific Creationism

The view that the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24-hour days and that creation occurred over the span of 144 hours in a 6-day workweek is called Scientific Creationism. On this view, scientific data are properly understood only in the context of a recent creation, the fall of humanity into sin, and a global flood that reshaped geology. Anything that indicates Earth is old is regarded as misleading or misunderstood. Only the Bible gives us trustworthy data about the age of creation.

Progressive Creationism

Christians who believe Earth is old often embrace the Progressive Creationism model, which says that over long periods of time (the “days” of Genesis) new kinds of plant and animal species were created by God through His successive interventions in the normal operations of nature. Progressive creationists accept the timescales and mechanisms of astronomy and geology but reject macro-evolutionary theory. The fossil record is taken to reflect immenseperiodsof stasis (where there was essentially no biological change) interspersed with occasions where God miraculously introduced new species. The most comprehensive progressive creation model formulated to date is that given by the apologetics ministry Reasons to Believe (RTB). We outline it below as the best current model for Progressive Creationism. We will refer to this model as TCM for Testable Creation Model.

EVOLUTIONARY CREATIONISM

Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the human genome project, says his scientific studies have strengthened his faith in Jesus Christ. However, that does not mean he is a Scientific Creationist or even a Progressive Creationist. Instead, Collins believes that God providentially guided evolution to create all life. Renowned conservative theologians such as Benjamin B. Warfield (a staunch advocate of biblical inerrancy in the late 1800s) have shared this belief. We anticipate that many readers will automatically dismiss this model as plainly unbiblical. However, it is important to consider the merits and objections to all the major viewpoints held by thoughtful Christians. Following is a brief description of Evolutionary Creationism.

Questions on Creation

• Light on day 1, Sun on day 4?

1. Light emanated from a temporary source for the first three days. This implies that either the temporary source had the same mass, chemical composition, and thermonuclear processes as our sun, or that the laws of physics were different on the first three days (which is an argument from silence and so relies on speculation rather than biblical or scientific evidence).

2. Light emanated from the sun for the first three days, but the sun could not be seen from the surface of Earth until Day Four.

Five Creation Views

Note that the last four views are not mutually exclusive, but each of the last four does exclude the first.