The topic of death before Adam's fall into sin is a common area of debate between Christians who accept an old Earth and those who insist that the Bible requires a young Earth. Old-Earth creationists (whether or not they are theistic evolutionists) have to accept animal death before the fall. After all, the fossil record …
Continue reading Death before the fall — an old-Earth Biblical perspective
A week or two there was a post on InternetMonk.com asking for comments from Christian scientists and science-educated Christians about how they had resolved the tension between science and faith. Here's my comment from that post, with a little editing: I am “The GeoChristian” that someone else referred to earlier. I have an M.S. and …
I've had a number of good comments in the past month on the following posts. Feel free to join in. Dr. Dino still in prison -- I consider the teachings of Kent Hovind ("Dr. Dino") to be anti-apologetics that has no place in our churches and Christian schools. Not everyone agrees. Augustine and Darwin -- …
This is part three of a six-part series examining supposed evidences for a global flood that have recently appeared on the Answers in Genesis web site. The people at AiG are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I share their love for the Lord Jesus Christ, their respect for the Bible as the Word …
Continue reading Six bad arguments from Answers in Genesis (Part 3)
This is part two of a six-part series examining supposed evidences for a global flood that have recently appeared on the Answers in Genesis web site. The people at AiG are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I share their love for the Lord Jesus Christ, their respect for the Bible as the Word …
Continue reading Six bad arguments from Answers in Genesis (Part 2)
Christianity Today has a review The Bible, Rocks and Time, the recent book written by Christian geologists Davis Young and Ralph Stearley. I've written about this excellent book here and here. The review is by young-Earth creationist Marcus Ross, who earned his PhD in geology from the University of Rhode Island a few years ago, …
Continue reading Marcus Ross review of The Bible, Rocks and Time
Apparently, the young-Earth organization Answers in Genesis doesn't want its readers to know that 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon had no problem with an Earth that is millions of years old. AiG is posting Spurgeon sermons on its web site, but has edited at least one sermon to remove references to an old Earth. A …
The blog Tough Questions Answered has a good five-part series addressing the question "What is the meaning of the word 'day' in Genesis?" The posts take a look at reasons why the six days of Genesis 1 are not necessarily six literal consecutive 24-hours days. Young-Earth creationists have much of the Evangelical world convinced that …
Does the Bible take priority over science, or are science and scripture complementary? Here's the approach I take: All truth is God's truth. I'm not the first to use this phrase by any means, but I think it is a good summary of how I view the relationship between science and my Christian faith. Sometimes …
One of the most prominent old-Earth creation organizations is Reasons to Believe, headed by astronomer Hugh Ross. Ross is an advocate of what is known as the day-age interpretation of Genesis 1-2. In the day-age theory, the days of Genesis 1 are not literal 24-hour days, but represent vastly longer periods of time. Ross advocates …
I received a letter from a friend with questions about the age of the Earth, and how to raise children in a family where one parent is an old-Earth creationist, and the other is a young-Earth creationist. Here is my response, with the name changed and some of the letter changed as well: Dear Joe, …
Charles Spurgeon was one of the great preachers of the nineteenth century, and like many leading Evangelicals of that time, he had no problem with the idea of an old Earth. Today's Pyromaniac's blog has an excerpt from Spurgeon's book The Greatest Fight in the World. In this short section, Spurgeon attacks the scientists who …
Derek Kidner, author of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (IVP) on Genesis, Ezra, Nehemiah, Psalms, and Proverbs, died this week, at age 95 (HT: Be Bold, Be Gentle). Kidner had a love and respect for the Scriptures, a thorough knowledge of Old Testament language, history, and culture; and an ability to communicate clearly. He also …
Francis Schaeffer on the age of the Earth: What does day mean in the days of creation? The answer must be held with some openness. In Genesis 5:2 we read: "Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." As it is clear …
A good review of Young and Stearley's The Bible, Rocks, and Time by Dr. Peter Enns, professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, can be found here. I haven't finished the book yet, but agree with Dr. Enns that "despite this blunt assessment of young-Earth creationism, the authors’ treatment of their opponents’ views are …
The speaker at the young-Earth creationist seminar I'm attending also referred to the Robledos Mountains human footprint, allegedly found in Permian rocks of New Mexico. Again, I'm highly skeptical. Here it is: If this were genuine, it would be the most precious fossil in the entire world. It would be in a glass case in …
I've been attending a seminar presented by a smaller young-Earth creationist organization. I respect the speakers for their commitment to the inerrancy of Scriptures, and their proclamation of the gospel. I share their trust in the Bible, and my heart is lifted any time I hear Christ proclaimed as God's sacrifice to take away our …
I received my copy of The Bible, Rocks, and Time yesterday (I thought I wouldn't get it until October!). Here are some of the endorsements from inside the front cover: What an enjoyable tour of the history of geology, the interaction between geological study and biblical exegesis, and the current field of geology itself! Professors …
Back in the 1980s, a key book providing both Biblical and geological evidence for an old age for the Earth was Christianity and the Age of the Earth by Davis Young, professor of Geology at Calvin College. It is still a useful book, but it is about to be superseded by The Bible, Rocks, and …
GeoChristian 