Creationism + Old-Earth Geology = Truth?

I wouldn’t be surprised if I am lynched from all directions over this one, but in response to a recent Slashdot article “Equal Time for Creationism,” I have to say that, in my semi-educated, honest opinion, both the Creationism movement and the Darwinian evolution movement are wrong, though not completely on either count.

Naturalist studies have shown that the Earth and the Universe are quite old, something in the neighborhood of 15,000,000,000 years for the Universe. I’m not going to argue those figures, nor are there enough qualified scientists who contend for a young Earth and Universe (6,000-10,000 years) to be convincing enough to me. I, however, disagree that animals evolve. There may very well have been prehistoric creatures that are different than today; that does not change the observed fact that today’s animals speciate, but they do not advance on an evolutionary scale.

Creationism has it right that God created the Heaven and the Earth, and I firmly believe that the Earth and Universe as we know it were completed within a six day time frame. My faith in the Scripture demands that much.

However, I also believe that between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 there is a gap, a gap that could be any number of billion or trillion of years long. If in the beginning refers to God’s beginning (who was the only frame of reference at the time anyway), the Earth is immeasurably old. For whatever reason, the Earth before Genesis 1:2 was overflowed with water, destroying everything, making it a waste, a void. This is the Earth that we see in Genesis 1:2.

Now, whether there were creatures alive then or even whether there were pre-adamic men is irrelevant. Bible doctrine allows for that; all humans are of Adam’s line and are thus affected by the curse. If there were men (not necessarily humans) before Adam, they would be within their own bloodline.

All I can say is that the Earth is old–really old. However, the Earth as we know it–with our sun, our stars, our animals, etc., are quite young. The plants may echo the past, however, for God didn’t create them within the six days. He caused them to come forth from the Earth (which was created an unknown long period before hand). The seeds were already there. If the Earth had been flooded, the seeds from the plantlife would have survived in the mud, waiting to be called forth by God.

Was there a sun previous to ours? Perhaps. God could have caused it to vanish as part of the judgments on the pre-adamic earth. That would account for all sorts of weather disasters on Earth, including (you guessed it) one frigid ice age.

I think I’m on to something with this way of thinking (though there are some who probably just think I’m on something), and though I developed much of it on my own studying, I owe some credit to James Knox’s sermon “The Gap Theory” for helping me refine my thinking.

More to come, I’m sure, and I’d love to hear any comments anyone may have. I know I didn’t explain this as well as I should have; I’m on my lunch break and am quite pressed for time. So if you have any questions or if you see anything that I just plainly got wrong, feel free to tell me about it.

4 thoughts on “Creationism + Old-Earth Geology = Truth?”

  1. “that does not change the observed fact that today’s animals speciate, but they do not advance on an evolutionary scale.”

    Evolution took place over millions of years. Mankind has been recording observations for a few thousand. The lack of direct observation is predictable.

  2. And since we can’t observe it, all the theory can be is conjecture; it may fit what little record we have of the past gives us, but that is subjective interpretation… The record (fossils, geologic, etc.) also fits a Biblical model including the Noahic Flood.

  3. I have studied the bible extensively and I am beginnig to grasp most of the concepts of Geology.
    Geologists only help me to know what the bible has already foretold. I also see a large gap between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2. There was clearly AT LEAST one more age prior to that which is documented in Scripture. We as Christians believe that Satan was already a fallen being when he spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of
    Eden. In Ezekiel we read the account of Satans fall. Clearly this fall had to have taken place prior to Eden. The Bible makes one believe that Satan was a leader in the earth before Adam. God destroyed the earth because satan exhaulted himself as God and many of the other beings followed him. The most difficult thing for evolutionists to explain is the soul of man. No scientific theory that I have read has been able to identify a “scientific source” that results in an intillect or a thought process. I would love to hear your thoughts.

  4. Mr. Beckman, I attend THE BIBLE Baptist Church of De Land. I have the honor of learning from Brother James Knox. I just “got into” this Gap Theory when I over heard our youth paster talking to someone about it. I have listened to Bro. James’s sermon 16 or 17 times already. I would be very interested in any additinal information you may have concludide since this writing.

    Kind Regards, Pat

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