In an age of scientific discovery, the origins of the universe seem all but certain. Though we can’t go back and see what happened, the majority of the educated world believes in some form of “big bang” start to the universe. Then there are those weird Christians who seem to stand in stark defiance to clear science. They believe the universe is significantly younger than science would suggest. So what’s their deal?
Young Earth Creationism in a nutshell
In its simplest form, Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is an attempt to remain true to a literal-yet-reasonable interpretation of the Bible. Most would agree that not all the Bible should be taken literally, but that the creation account in Genesis 1 is a historical account of why there is something instead of nothing. YEC believes in 6 literal days of creation, in the order described.
Everything about YEC flies in the face of what modern science seems to prove. Many Christians would even agree that God created the universe billions of years ago, in agreement with modern science. The only difference is that they believe that God “stirred the pot,” setting things like evolution into motion.
So why would Young Earth Creationists go against what seems so clear through modern science? How does the Bible, our source of truth, support this belief in spite of scientific theory?
Genesis writing style
When evaluating anything in the Bible, it’s important to know the context of what’s being said. Daniel was a prophet, and in hindsight we can clearly understand that the statue he saw in Daniel 2 wasn’t a literal statue, but a visual metaphor for kingdoms. Likewise we understand that Solomon’s wife didn’t really have eyes like doves or a neck like a strong tower, but that he was poetically describing a woman he loves.
The literary genre we’re reading matters in how we interpret things. Psalms isn’t interpreted like Judges, and Ezekial isn’t read like Proverbs. So when we are looking at the story of creation, we need to ask ourselves whether the rest of the book, or even books of a similar style, would use some sort of metaphor or creation myth.
Genesis is one of five books of the law, a historical account written by Moses (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as we see in 2 Timothy 3:16-17). These five books are a mixture of dry history and supernatural occurrences. Yet despite modern criticism, there’s no evidence that the two can ever be separated between “historical” and “mythological.” Everything is told through a historical lens, writing genealogies with the same seriousness as the parting of the Red Sea.
Thus when Genesis begins with a clear statement that everything was created in six literal days, a snake spoke to Eve, and the entire world was flooded, proper interpretation demands that we treat it as though it were written as historical fact.
The literal six days are also repeated in Exodus 20:11. This isn’t even an attempt to teach the order of creation, but to point out why Israel was to rest on the Sabbath.
Christ took it literally
In the same tone as Exodus, God in human flesh spoke of creation as though it were a literal period of days. In Luke 11:50-51, Christ spoke of Abel, the second generation of human beings, as though He truly existed. Likewise, Christ said:
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. (Mark 10:6-8)
Here, he’s making a clear assumption that the world was created, and part of that creation was genders and the institution of marriage. Christ, through whom God made everything, is stating things in a way that only makes sense if creation was a one-week process, rather than billions of years of evolutionary advancement.
Death kills other theories
Young Earth Creationism brings harmony to a biblical teaching that no other theory can.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12)
Genesis has a clear series of events that we must keep in mind:
- Everything was made perfect and everlasting
- Adam and Eve sinned
- With sin came death
Now let us assume for a moment that the universe is billions of years old, and human beings were granted sentience by God at some point in the last 10,000 years. There is a glaring issue that simply cannot be answered: how did death exist for billions of years before the introduction of sin?
This is something that must be answered because the reality of sin and death is central to the entirety of the gospel itself. Christ came because His death was the only way to pay for the utter destructiveness of sin. His redemption is the only hope we have of not only living forever, but soon experiencing a universe that is completely perfect, free of sin and death.
With an old universe, sin will be destroyed and yet death must still remain. After all, death existed before sin, so eternity won’t be so very long after all. Trying to harmonize an ancient universe with the truth of the Bible simply doesn’t work without outright shattering the power and effectiveness of Christ, the gospel, and our hope of salvation.
This article is part of the series “65 Theology Questions People Will Ask You.” Click the link to read more informative articles like this one!
