By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. | Hebrews 11:3
If you have been following along with my blog series on creation (HERE, and HERE), you will notice that there is one major view that I have not mentioned at all and that is the six, 24 hour day, young earth creation view. This is the dominant view amongst evangelicals and one that has become a major part of the culture war, not only between Christian and non, but those in the church as well. As I have tried to make clear in my sermons and previous posts, this fight has done a lot of damage to the witness of the church. Not because of what has been fought for, but because of how it has been done. By taking an issue worthy of discussion and debate and treating it as settled, some have been discouraged from engaging the church. They have been told that they are not Christians because of their position on an issue that is not the entry point into the family of God.
It is important that we fight for the reality of God as Creator (as well as for the other details that I laid out in my FIRST post on this subject). There are lines to hold. As soon as we choose the wrong ones, the right ones lose their edge. It is important that we prioritize what is most important in the creation narrative and discuss (but don’t divide) over the secondary points. In my sermon, I quoted Dorothy Sayers, and I will use that quote again here:
The only reason I can find for all of the shouting about how God created is that it allows some people to stop thinking, to settle back into the safety of their rut, to stop thinking about what it is really all about.
What it is really about is that creation is God’s. it is [He] who has made us, and not we ourselves. To argue about how God made us is to argue about non-essentials. As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter a whit how God created. the important thing is that creation is God’s, and that we are part of it, and that being part of creation is for us to be co-creators with [Him] in the continuing joy of new creation.
This statement is both humbling and empowering. It reminds us that we are not the source of anything, nor should our goal be to win or have the upper hand over others. It reminds us that we have been invited by the Creator of the universe into the work of co-creating His new creation. Our life is not about us, but entirely about Him. As it comes to Genesis 1, we should use the text to grow our appreciation of the Creator, not to give us some power within creation.
This is true no matter what your creation view is, but I bring this up with a young earth perspective, because I have seen a tendency to elevate creationism in such a way that it obscures the glory of the Creator. I don’t think that this is intentional, but by fighting for God on earthly terms, He tends to lose an aspect of His divinity. We need to make sure that we are using the text in the way that God intended, to focus on His glory and honor.
Another consequence of the way that this cultural battle has been fought is that it has led some to downplay the validity of the young earth position. A desire to not be part of the war has led to some people overly distancing themselves from what is a proper view on the creation narrative. I want to end this series by laying out a few of the defining characteristics of the young earth, literal view and how they can be presented in a way that would lead to a greater unity within the church.
In its simplest form, the young earth position is to read the Genesis 1 account completely literally, from the order that God created, to each day being a 24-hour day, to the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 10 measuring the passage of time to give us an approximate age of the earth. I would not call this a harmonizing view, because it does not try to sync up with the conclusions of modern science, but instead combats those conclusions from a scientific standpoint.
It gives an alternative, yet conflicting, description to how we should read science.
To answer the age of the earth, it is pointed out that Adam was created as an adult and the tree in the middle of the garden would have had growth rings, so the earth was also made with an apparent age instilled in it. As to the fossil record, the worldwide flood in Genesis 6-8 is used to answer how bones were buried below so many levels of sediment and rock. To questions of evolution, a micro-evolution is (usually) acknowledged, but speciation refuted. In the same way that some creation views are willing to shift to accommodate scientific discoveries, the young earth model adjusts to defend against them.
This is its greatest weakness. It is theologically sound and holds very high the authority of God’s Word, but by claiming God’s revelation as a scientific statement, it forces young earth creationism to always be on the defensive. Feeling like science is always coming up with new punches, it keeps coming up with its own way to punch back. I don’t want young earth creationists to believe anything different, but I do believe they should hold this position in a way that elevates God rather than this specific ideology. A few thoughts:
Stop demonizing science and embrace the mystery of God.
Christians believe that God spoke ALL of creation into existence. From Him was made everything that has been made. That is a miracle. The issue with miracles is that they can’t be explained by science; they are something that happens outside of the rules of nature. To believe in God is not about undermining scientific inquiry, but acknowledging that we believe something more than this. It is not the scientific arguments of Creationism that are going to win people, but the celebration of a God who is bigger than science (because any science that exists flows from Him).
Stop simplifying the text and embrace God’s complexity.
I love that young earth creationists read the Bible in a straightforward way. Accepting what God has said is different than claiming that He has said everything. God has given us truths in Genesis 1 that we should base our lives on. He has also left out a lot of things. There is a danger in reducing God down to the limited amount that He has given us. He is much bigger and more complex than what He has given us here. Scripture is sufficient, it has everything that we need to know, but we need to remember that what God has shown us is just a fraction of His majestic glory.
Stop trying to be relevant and just be worshippers.
It is ironic that the position that stands against cultural teaching would struggle with relevance, but in trying to win, it invests a lot in trying to maintain intellectual relevance. There is a lot of fear in losing the cultural battle. I think all Christians should embrace the fact that we will not win the culture by making good arguments. We are going to see lives changed through declaring the hope that we have. It will be our worship of God that brings others to Him. I have always loved Peter’s encouragement:
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. | 1 Peter 3:15–16
Keep trying to merge God’s general revelation and His special revelation. Keep working with others to dig through all that the Bible has to offer on the topic of creation. Do it in such a way that your hope becomes more evident to everyone around you.