Since the
time of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), debate has raged within
Christianity on whether or not total evolution is compatible with the
historic biblical and theological teaching on origins. Two basic camps
have emerged: theistic evolution and creationism. Within the second
faction (creationists), there are two major groups: old-earth
creationists and young-earth creationists. (The former are often
called progressive creationists, and the latter, fiat creationists.)
Currently, in America, the young-earth creationists are led by the
Institute for Creation Research (ICR), based on the work of Henry
Morris. Progressive (old-earth) creationism is championed by Hugh Ross
and his "Reasons to Believe" organization; another proponent of this
view is Robert Newman at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
Young-Earth
Creationism
The primary
difference between young- and old-earth creationists is the speculated
amount of time between God’s creative acts. Young-earthers insist that
it was all accomplished in 144 hours–six successive 24-hour days–while
old-earth (progressive) creationists allow for millions (or even
billions) of years. This is usually done by:
(1)
placing long periods of time before Genesis 1:1 (making it a recent
and local Creation);
(2)
placing the long periods of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 (called
"gap" views);
(3) making
the "days" of Genesis 1 long periods of time;
(4)
allowing long periods of time between literal 24-hour days in
Genesis 1(called "alternate day-age views); or
(5) making
the days of Genesis to be days of revelation of God to the writer,
not days of Creation (called "revelatory day" views).
There are
several variations within these perspectives, making a total of more
than a dozen different views held by evangelical theologians on the
matter.
Old-Earth
Creationism
Old-earth
(progressive) creationists are not to be confused with theistic
evolutionists. Old-earth creationists do not accept macroevolution as
a method by which God produced the originally created kinds of Genesis
1. Old-earth creationism was strong among nineteenth-century
creationists, though the view dates from at least the fourth century
(in Augustine). Again, prominent contemporary defenders include Hugh
Ross and Robert Newman.
Theistic
Evolution
Broadly
speaking, theistic evolution is the belief that God used evolution as
His means of producing the various forms of physical life on this
planet, including human life. All theistic evolutionists believe that
God performed at least one supernatural act—the act of creating the
physical universe form nothing. However, this may more properly be
called deistic evolution, since there are no miracles involved after
the first act of Creation.
Most
theistic evolutionists hold to at least two acts of Creation: (1) the
creation of matter out of nothing, and (2) the creation of first life.
After that, allegedly, every other living thing, including human
beings, emerged by natural processes that God had ordained from the
beginning. Some theistic evolutionists do insist that God directly
created the first soul in the long-evolved primate to make it truly
human and in His image….
Areas of
Agreement Between Young- and Old-Earth Creationists
Young- and
old-earth creationists have much in common, at least among those who
are evangelical. This includes several basic things.
Direct
Supernatural Creation of All Forms of Life
Both young-
and old-earthers believe that God supernaturally, directly and
immediately produced every kind of animal and human as separate and
genetically distinct forms of life. Both hold that every kind produced
by God was directly created de nova (brand-new) and did not come about
by God’s using natural processes over a long period of time or
tinkering with previous types of life in order to make higher forms
(evolution).
Opposition
to Naturalism
Both groups
are also agreed in their opposition to naturalism, which they see as
the philosophical presupposition of evolution. They correctly observe
that without a naturalistic bias, evolution loses its credibility.
Ruling out the possibility of supernatural intervention in the world
begs the whole question in favor of evolution even before one begins.
Opposition
to Macroevolution
Likewise,
both are united in their opposition to macroevolution, either theistic
or nontheistic; that is, they reject the theory of common ancestry.
They both deny that all forms of life descended by completely natural
processes without supernatural intervention from the outside. They
deny that all living things are like a tree connected to a common
trunk and root; rather, they affirm the separate ancestry of all the
basic forms of life, a picture more like a forest of different trees.
Microevolution, where small changes occur within the basic kinds of
created things, is acknowledged, but no macro (large-scale) evolution
occurs between different kinds. For example, both old- and young-earth
creationists agree that all dogs are related to an original canine
pair—part of the same tree. However, they deny that dogs, cats, cows,
and other created kinds are related like branches from one original
tree.
The
Historicity of the Genesis Account
Further,
both young- and old-earthers who are evangelical hold to the
historicity of the Genesis account: They believe that Adam and Eve
were literal people, the progenitors of the entire human race. While
some may allow for poetic form and figure of speech in the narrative,
all agree that it conveys historical and literal truth about origins.
This is made clear by the New Testament references to Adam and Eve,
their creation and fall, as literal (cf. Luke 3:38; Rom. 5:12; 1 Tim.
2:13-14).
Areas of
Difference Between Young-and Old-Earth Creationists
Of course,
there are some differences between the two basic evangelical views on
Creation. The primary ones include the following.
The Age of
the Earth
A crucial
variance between the two views, naturally, is the age of the earth.
Young-earthers insist that both the Bible and science support a
universe that is only thousands of years old, while old-earthers allow
for billions of years. Young-earthers connect their view to a literal
interpretation of Genesis (and Ex. 20:11), but old-earthers claim the
same basic hermeneutic, which they believe can include millions, if
not billions, of years since Creation. They too cite scientific
evidence in their favor.
At a
minimum, it would be wise if both sides could agree on the following:
(1) The
age of the earth is not a test for orthodoxy.
(2)
Neither view is proven with scientific finality, since there are
unproven (if not unprovable) presuppositions associated with each.
(3) The
fact of Creation (vs. evolution) is more important than the time of
Creation.
(4) Their
common enemy (naturalistic evolution) is a more significant focus
than their intramural differences….
Conclusion
The doctrine
of Creation is a cornerstone of the Christian faith. The essentials of
this teaching have universal consent among orthodox theologians. They
include the following:
(1) There
is a theistic God.
(2)
Creation of the universe was ex nihilo (out of nothing).
(3) Every
living thing was created by God.
(4) Adam
and Eve were a direct and special creation of God.
(5) The
Genesis account of creation is historical, not mythological.
While there
is lively debate about the time of Creation, all evangelicals agree on
the fact of Creation. There is also agreement on the source of
Creation (a theistic God) and the purpose of Creation (to glorify
God). The exact method of Creation is still a moot question; however,
increasingly, the scientific evidence supports a supernatural Creation
of the universe, the direct creation of first life, and the special
creation of every basic life form. Hence, macroevolution, whether
theistic or naturalistic, is unfounded both biblically and
scientifically.1
