Compelling Love

Young Biosphere Creationist View

Photo credits: http://www.rachelswork.com/computer-art 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  (Genesis 1:1-2)

The Hebrew phrase, “the heavens and the earth” may refer to the universe, including all the heavenly bodies and our own earth.  The earth was at first unformed, without mountains or valleys, covered completely by ocean with no light upon its surface.  We are not told how long the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters before the first day.

God said, “Let there be light”, and for the first time there was light on the surface of the ocean, beginning the cycles of day and night.  Evidently, the watery atmosphere covering the ocean was now translucent, similar to  a very overcast day.  Light was reaching the earth, but the sun was not visible.  “So the evening and the morning were the first day.”

On day 2, God created the expanse of the sky, between the waters above and the waters below.

On day 3, God gathered the waters under the sky so that dry land appeared.  From this we can infer that the earth was now formed into higher elevations and lower elevations including ocean basins.  Also on day 3, God created plants bearing seeds after their own kind.

On day 4, God established the Sun, Moon and Stars to be visible from the earth, evidently by thinning the translucent watery layer above the atmosphere to make it transparent.  Now the source of the light was visible.

On day 5, God created the fish of the sea and the birds of the air.

On day 6, God created all of the land animals.  Then God created man in His own image; “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  Then God blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over all the creatures of the earth.  Then God blessed all that He had made, and it was very good.

Questions

1. Reading across the above table, do you see a relationship between days 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6?

2. God created both plants and animals to procreate “after their kind”.

This implies that the descendants of each basic type of animal and plant will only be of that same kind.  For example, the canine kind will always give birth to canines, and the feline kind will always give birth to felines.

How does this description compare with the evolutionary view that somehow our distant ancestors were not human?

Recent breakthroughs in DNA research and analysis support a six thousand year history of life on earth, and a worldwide flood 1500 years after the Creation.  This is brilliantly explained in Nathaniel T. Jeanson’s book, “Replacing Darwin – The New Origin of Species”, Oct. 2017, Master Books, Green Forest, AR.

3. God created man “in His own image.” How do you understand this statement?

4. When do the days begin in Genesis 1 – at Dusk or at Dawn?

The sentence, “So the evening and the morning were the [nth] day” occurs at the conclusion of each set of creative acts.  The endpoint of the cycle is designated as “morning”, as in “dawn” – the point in time when darkness is beginning to be replaced with light.  Since dawn is the endpoint of the cycle just concluded, it is also the beginning point of the next.  Therefore the days in Genesis 1 are from dawn to dawn.

Granted there was darkness on the face of the deep before God commanded light.  However, that indefinite period of time when “darkness was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” is not part of the day and night cycle described in the verses that follow:  “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”  The regular day and night cycle begins with the advent of light – that is, with the dawn – and is consistent in length.

5. Does a straightforward reading of Genesis 1 point to a young earth or an old earth, or does it leave this question open?

This answer to this question hinges on the meanings in the original language of the words translated “the heavens and the earth” in verse 1, and “made” in verse 16.  “The heavens and the earth” can mean the whole universe including earth, sun and stars.  The Hebrew word translated “made” can also be translated “did” of “set” or “established”.  So in this view, the sun, moon, earth and stars were created in verse 1, and after an indefinite length of time, God commanded light to reach the earth, through the watery atmosphere.   Then in verse 16, God made the sun, moon and stars visible by making the atmosphere transparent.   Gorman Gray does a masterful analysis of this question in his book, “The Age of the Universe: What are the Biblical Limits?”, July, 2010, Morningstar Publications, Washougal, WA.

6. Does a straightforward reading of Genesis 1 point to a recent creation of life on earth?

Very definitely, according to the genealogies from Adam to Abraham.  Since all forms of life including man were created in the same week, they are all created recently – approximately 6,000 years ago.  This perspective is called “Young Biosphere Creationist”, as opposed to “Young Earth Creationist”.

7. What stands out most to you in Genesis chapter 1?