This section of the Creed packs a lot into a few words, and rather than hit it all, I’m going to focus on the one I see as the big issue right now. Namely, the date of creation. There are few subjects sure to rile up Christians more than the question of origins, and I think we should start with a few key points:
1. What the Bible tells us – God created the Heavens and the Earth
2. What the Bible does not tell us – When and How God Created the Heavens and the Earth
So, we have a little bit of gray area on number 2, and Christians have come up with multiple interpretations of the first couple chapters of Genesis. Quick rundown of some of the options:
Young Earth Creationism – the earth/universe is roughly 6000 years old. Based on adding up the genealogies in Genesis. This is the Answers in Genesis group (Ken Ham) and tends to get the most press. Many non-believers confuse this loudness with “what the Bible actually says.”
Theistic Evolution – God uses evolution as the means of creation. Endorsed by the Catholic church and many scientists who are Christians, including Francis Collins
Gap Theory – the idea that there is a “gap” of millions/billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It seems to me this one is dying out a little, but was popular with mid-20th century televangelists.
Day-Age – This is the idea that each of the “days” in Genesis 1 is “an era/epoch.”
Punctuated Equilibrium – This theory proposes that each “day” in genesis is a short time, but there could be millions/billions of years inbetween each day. In other words, God steps in every once in a while and does something big, then lets it develop on its own for a while. This is the position of Hugh Ross and the Reasons to Believe organization.
One thing I want to emphasize is that ALL of these are Christian theories. All of them accept that God created the heavens and the earth, all believe the Bible is the Word of God, all of them believe in salvation through Jesus, etc. They only disagree on when and how God created.
YOU SAY POTAYTO, I SAY POTAHTO
One thing that surprises a lot of American Christians is that this is primarily an English language debate. After speaking with missionaries around the world, I have found that for the most part, Christians who speak other languages haven’t found this a particularly divisive issue.
Why? I’m glad you asked.
The main issue is the word “yom,” the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1: there was evening and there was morning, the first “yom”…the second “yom”….and so forth. So the question is, what does yom mean? In English, in Genesis 1, it’s usually translated as “day,”, but does this mean a 24-hour day? Well, in verse 14, 16, and 18 it just means the “sunlight” part of the day (12 hours), in Genesis 2:4 it means at minimum the whole creation week, in geneses 4:3 it means “a length of time,” and in Genesis 26:8 it means “a long time.”
So which does it mean in Genesis 1? A 24 hour days, 12 hours, a week, some time, or a long time? The answer is, we don’t know. The word means all those things and more in Hebrew, and in English (unlike some other languages), we just don’t have a word that conveys that breadth of meaning. So, depending on how you translate it, Genesis 1 could be “on the first day,” or “the first period of time,” or “an indefinite period of time.”
THEORIZE AND SEEK
What do the Creeds say on this? In a word, nothing.
The creeds reaffirm what the Bible says: God created the Heavens and the Earth. It does not say when. Importantly, this implies that the “when” of creation should not divide us as Christians either. If some of us think the earth is six thousand years old, fine. If some believe it is four billion years old, also fine. We are all still Christians.
Aside from creation, this part of the Creed also implies that everything ultimately comes from God. He is the ultimate source of everything that exists, including the entire physical universe that we can observe. All matter and energy and consciousness had its beginning in the nature of God.
I would argue this is one of the greatest endorsements of scientific inquiry. If we believe that God created everything and that everything reflects his nature, and we believe that we as Christians should strive to learn everything about God that we can, then it stands to reason that we Christians should passionately pursue all aspects of scientific discovery about the universe. God did it, and left it for us to figure out the details; a divine puzzle to give us the joy of finding the secrets. The more we learn of Creation, the more we learn of the Creator.
So pass the beakers and let’s have some Bible Study.