When reading Genesis chapter 1 the question of interpreting how long the six days of creation actually are has divided Christians into basically two camps. One group, the young earth creationists, believe that these creation days are to be taken as six literal 24 hour days. The other major group, the old earth creationists, believe that these days are to be taken as very long periods of time. While this is not a salvation issue, nonetheless, it is an important issue since it raises the important question of how do we interpret what the word of God says.
I read a fascinating devotion on this issue recently from the Institute for Creation Research called, Biblical Accuracy, in which they said the following:
“Many who profess to be Christian intellectuals today are arguing that we should defer to the evolutionists in matters of science and history since the real message of the Bible is spiritual. The Genesis account, for example, is not meant to give us details of the events of creation, for scientists can give us this information. It merely assures us that God is somehow behind it all. But if this were all that God meant to tell us, its very first verse is enough for that! What is the need to describe all the days and acts of creation at all if the record has no real relevance to history or science?”
As I read the above statement I started to think why would God spend an entire chapter, and especially the first chapter of His written revelation, describing in detail what happened on each of the first six days of creation and then not expect us to literally interpret it. Genesis is a book of history and, I believe, God never intended us to interpret it in any other way. While I will admit that the six days of creation are totally miraculous it is important to realize that the only reason some Christians choose to not interpret the six days of creation as six literal 24 hour days is that they are uncomfortable with the conclusion that the earth is as a result very young; on the order of 10,000 years.
Clearly God could have created the universe and all that is in it in a nanosecond if He so desired. Creation, no matter how you view it, is a great supernatural miracle. The problem with science is that many make it out to be infallible, and the lens we should view the Bible with instead of the other way around – viewing Scripture as infallible and the lens we should view science from. When it comes to origins science is in no position to claim infallibility. All science can do is try to extrapolate backwards using at best fallible assumptions.
To take Genesis chapter 1 and say it is not to be interpreted literally is not warranted by the text and Christian scientists need to be very careful in deciding what miracles they will believe in and what miracles they will not. The clear reading of the word “day” is one 24 hour time period. If God didn’t want us to interpret it that way I believe He would have made it just as clear that He meant it to be long periods of time – but He didn’t do that.
Scientific theories are constantly being revised and many of them proven wrong. Our Bible, on the other hand, is never wrong and should always be interpreted literally unless the clear context states otherwise. Genesis 1 gives us a fascinating look into the creation week – we need not change the straightforward interpretation of it. To make the creation week mean billions of years, in my opinion, does great damage to the simple reading of Genesis 1.
Again, while this Christian in-house debate on the age of the earth and the interpretation of the word day in Genesis 1 is not a salvation issue we need to realize that we must never allow fallible science to trump infallible Scripture.
Thanks Curt for this blog. I share that view of Genesis 1. In the final analysis, I have come to accept this as, quite straightforwardly, a miracle. God is omnipotent and as you have pointed out capable of performing this in any period of time He chooses.