f.    Evangelicals have held various views of Genesis 1.

1.   Liberal critics have often dismissed the Biblical record of creation as a literary fairy tail reflecting the primitive culture of ancient peoples. It is not to be taken seriously.

2.   Conservative Old earth interpretations. Prior to 1959, these views were most popular.

a.   The Catastrophism group of Theories: Proponents of these theories have in common the belief that there were millions or billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, that the original creation of Earth was destroyed in one or more catastrophes, (the fall of Satan) and that Genesis 1:2ff describes its re-creation in six literal days.

b.   The Day-Age Theorists assert that the “days” of the creation account were ages. “Evening and Morning” means “Beginning and End.”

c.   The Alternate Day-Age Theorists say that the “days” were twenty-four hours long each, but that they were separated by vast expanses of time to allow the newly created plants and animals to multiply.

d.   The Revelation Day Theorists interpret the “days”
of creation, not as days in which God created the various things, but as days in which God spoke to Moses about His creative work.

e.   The Eden Only Theorists hold that the Earth is billions of years old, but that Genesis 1:2ff is recent and pertains to Eden only.

f.    The Relativity Theory suggests that the “days” of Genesis 1 are measured not as man measures time but as God does. “A day with the Lord is as a thousand years.”

g.   The Cosmological Theorists hold that the Genesis account is written in a style of Hebrew that is not employed in literal historical sections, as is found in the bulk of the Pentateuch. The language is a lofty, majestic form of Hebrew that strongly suggests other than a strictly literal interpretation. It is a cosmological (showing the orderliness of Creation) rather than a historical sequential account. This theory may be the most literal in that it expresses the literary nature of the text as it was composed within ancient culture. The questions posed by our modern scientific culture would have seemed strange to Moses. The Genesis text is best understood as addressed to ancient questions in a way that reflects ancient styles of apologetics.

3.   Conservative Young earth interpretations. Since 1959, these views have become more popular.

a.   The Wooden Literal Theorists assert that the earth and the universe were created in 4,004 B.C. in six literal days.

b.   The Extended Literal Theorists recognize that Ussher miscalculated the date 4,004 B.C., and that the earth and the universe were evidently created at least a few thousands of years earlier.

c.   The Flood Geology Theorists assert that the earth and the universe were created only a few thousands of years ago and that the Genesis Flood caused practically all of the fossils and strata observed by modern geologists.

d.   The Apparent Ages Theorists say that the Earth was created only a few thousands of years ago. Some say that the Flood gave it a false appearance of vast age. Others say that God created it with an appearance of great age.

4.   The first two verses of Genesis have been understood in different ways.

a.   “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and empty”  (King James Version)

1:1                     Original creation

1:2                                                    formless & empty

1:3-2:3                         Six days of creation

b.   “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was (became) formless and empty” 

1:1                     Original creation

gap of time ?                    Fall of Satan

1:2                              God’s judgment = chaos

1:3-2:3                        Six days of creation

c. "In the beginning, when God created the universe the earth was formless and desolate.”  (The Good News Bible). 

Original creation ?

formless & empty chaos

1:1-2            Dependent clause

1:3-2:3                         Six days of creation

d.   "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty" (The New International Version).

1:1 Summary statement.

Original creation ?

1:2                                                                  formless & empty

1:3-2:3                        Six days of creation

2:1 Summary statement.

4.   How are we to understand the following expressions in the creation narrative?

a.   “In the beginning” (Hebrew - bereshit) is a unique term that is used in the Bible to describe an extended or indeterminate duration of time - not a specific moment. It is a block of time not unlike “the end times” in the NT.

b.   “God” (Hebrew - Elohim) is a general word for “mighty one” or “one who is awesome.” The plural references to God underscore His majesty and may suggest the Trinity.  It is the word used in chapter one.

      “Lord” (Hebrew - Yahwah) is used in chapter two with Elohim. It is the name of Israel’s Covenant maker.

c.   “Created” (Hebrew - barah) is a word that means to make new. Its subject is always God in the Bible but it is not always used to create out of nothing. It is the best Hebrew word however to convey the idea of ex nehilo (out of nothing).

1.   “made” (Hebrew - asah) is the more general term that also means “to appoint” and “to acquire.”

2.   “formed” (Hebrew - yatzar) means “to shape.” It is used to describe the skilled work of an craftsman.

d.   “the heavens and the earth” (the sky and the land) is an expression which means “the whole universe.”

e.   “without form and void” (Hebrew - tohu wabohu) Gen. 1:2. The idea is one of “wilderness without human life.” It is used by the prophets to describe the results of God’s judgment but that does not mean that judgment is always the cause of such a condition.

f.    “let there be” is a prophetic expression of God’s word calling forth something so as to make it good. It can refer to the creation of something out of nothing but more often it refers to the awakening of something to its good purpose. So the expression “let there be light” may mean “let the light shine as I intend” with no specific reference as to whether the light existed before the spoken word. For example in Ex.10:23, Neh.8:3, Gen.44:3 a similar expression is used to describe the sunrise.

g.   “Image and Likeness of God” (1:26)

1.   “Image” (Hebrew - tselem) - exact copy

2.   “likeness” (Hebrew - demut) - resemblance. These two terms are synonyms (Gen.5:3).

3.   The first thing that is said about mankind is that he is a spiritual being - distinct from the rest of created life in a way that links him with God. 

4.   What makes mankind unique from all lower forms of animal life is his religious nature and capacity for a covenant relationship with God.  (Not that he is a bipedal, tool-maker with language and possessing a certain brain size.)

h.  “day”  (Hebrew - yom) in Gen.1?

1.   In Gen.1-2 the term is used in three ways:

a.   Daylight - the opposite of night. 1:14

b.   A 24 hour day. 1:5 (This is the literary image that is used.)

c.   An extended period of time. 2:4

2.   The arguments for a literal solar (24 hr.) day in the 6 days of creation.

a.   A plain reading of the text, with its recurring phrase of “evening and morning”, suggests a solar day of twenty-four hours.  That would have been clear to Moses and his first readers. 

b.   Creation is pictured in six familiar periods followed by a seventh for rest, corresponding to the days of the week as Israel knew them. Ex.20:11

c.   The text does not tell us whether the account is an analogy of God’s creative activity or a chronological account of how many hours He worked.

d.   It would be assumed that the appearance of history would be present in the creation of fully developed life forms (i.e. trees would be created with rings).

3.   The following reasons suggest that the day might not be a solar day.

a.   Gen.2:4 uses the term to refer to the whole creation event - “These are the generations of the heavens and of the Earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” We could also cite Gen.4:3, Isa.2:12, 4:2, and Josh.24:7.

b.   It is unlikely that all of the activity ascribed to the 6th day could have taken place in 24 hrs.

c.   If the sun’s appearance is not until the fourth day, it could not have been used as a means of measuring the length of the previous three days.

d.   If the stars were created on the fourth day and the nearest star is Alpha Centauri (four and a half light years away), how could they be “for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years”?

e.   On what side of the earth was the world created? Morning and evening do not coincide at all points of the earth’s surface.

f.    We are expressly told, both in the Old and New Testament, that God’s time is not to be confused with man’s time - II Pet.3:8.

g.   The fact that the Scripture commonly refers to a 24 hour period whenever it associates the word “day” with a number, is true but it is not a rule of Hebrew grammar and therefore of limited significance.

h.   The reference to “evening and morning” is used in Psalm 90:4-6 in conjunction with the expression of “one day is as a thousand years.” This suggests that it may be a poetic expression in Genesis one.

4.   The length of the days is not the point of this text.

a.   Ireneaus, Origen, Basil, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas held the extended day view long before the present evolutionary debate.

b.   To be dogmatic in insisting on a “24 hr. day view” at this point may unnecessarily discredit the witness of one seeking to win a favorable hearing of the gospel among nonbelievers. If evangelicals can’t be trusted in a simple matter such as the age of the earth, which can be easily verified, then how can they be believed on the doctrine of vicarious atonement?

D.  The Second Creation Narrative (Genesis 2:4-25) addresses the responsibilities of man in relationship to his environment.

1.   Outline:

a.   Adam’s relationship with the creation                                 

1.   His purpose - to till                                                          2:4-6

2.   His origin - from dust                                                      2:7

3.   His location - Eden                                                           2:8-15

b.   Adam’s relationship with his Creator                                     2:16-17

c.   Adam’s relationship with his counterpart

1.   The reason for male and female                                      2:18-20

2.   The relationship between male and female                     2:21-22

3.   The responsibilities of male and female                         2:23-25

2.   Comparison and contrast between the first and second chapters of Genesis:

a.   The ordering of the events of creation differ in chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis. This has caused some to see a contradiction and thus two competing versions of creation.

b.     It is more likely that we have two renditions of the same event with different purposes.

 

General (universal) Genesis 1:1-2:3	Specific (man) Genesis 2:4-2:25
Elohim (power) ORDER & SIGNIFICANCE ADAM = mankind	Yahweh (covenant) RELATIONSHIPS Adam = an individual male

1.   The first chapter is concerned about the ordering of the events and the subordination of the elements in the universe.

2.   The second chapter deals with man’s relationship and responsibility to key elements in his world.

E.   The following considerations pose challenging questions to the harmonization of Genesis and evolutionary biology.

1.   The text seems to assume that all natural phenomena are the result of God’s creative word not an impersonal and meaningless “natural” process.

2.   The original creation precedes Genesis 1:1. The account here is an ordering of creation.  This starts with “let there be light”. This cannot be anything like the “big bang” unless we assume that the whole universe started as water.

3.   General evolution demands competition and death, both of which are linked to the fall not the creation.

4.   Natural selection leads us to ethics that are at best nonsensical and at worst bestial. Survival of the fittest and strongest seems contrary to the nature of God revealed in Christ.

5.   Other Biblical texts speak of God’s creation of the world - Ex.20:11; 31:17; I Chron.1:1; Job 38:4-7; Matt.19:4-5; I Cor.11:7-8.

Pastoral advice

 

 

Questions that you should be able to answer.

1.  Specific facts you should know.

a.  Apart from Gen.1-2 where does the Bible speak about God as the creator?

b.  Why are the two creation accounts in Genesis different?

c.  What is the purpose of the creation narratives in Genesis 1-2?

2.  Issues that you should be able to discuss.

a.  What is the apologetic purpose of Genesis 1-2?

b.  Is theistic evolution a viable option from the Biblical perspective? Why or why not?

3.  Questions you should wrestle with.

a.  If the naturalistic evolutionary theory could be confirmed, how would that effect the Christian faith?

b.  How important is the doctrine of special creation? Why?

 

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