Creationism, Science and Scripture

We believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, aside from where it obviously uses literary metaphors or hyperbolic statements.

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,Psalm 17:8

And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.2 Chronicles 1:15

I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.Psalm 6:6

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.Matthew 5:29

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.Matthew 19:24

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.John 21:25

There are other incredible claims that can only be explained by supernatural intervention.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.Exodus 14:21-22

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.Jonah 1:17

When not immediately discernable and when not contradicted by other Scripture, we must take the Bible at face value.

We venture into dangerous territory when we dismiss all hard teachings as allegory or explain why that part of Scripture doesn’t apply today.

We believe in a literal six-day creation of the universe, as stated in Scripture.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.Genesis 2:1-3

The need to understand how the Bible fits into scientific theory causes us to develop extrabiblical theories for the creation account of Genesis. These theories attempt to harmonize the biblical account with scientific evidence suggesting the Earth is billions of years old.

Unsupported Views of Creationism

Day-Age Theory: Proposes that the “days” mentioned in Genesis 1 are not literal 24-hour periods, but rather long ages or epochs of time. Each “day” of creation is interpreted to represent millions or billions of years, corresponding to geological ages.

Atheistic Evolution: The scientific theory of biological evolution occurring through natural processes without any divine intervention or guidance. It posits that life on Earth developed over billions of years solely through mechanisms like natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation, without the involvement of any supernatural creator or deity.

Theistic Evolution: The view that God used evolutionary processes to create life on Earth over billions of years. It attempts to reconcile religious beliefs about divine creation with scientific evidence for biological evolution, proposing that God guided or initiated evolutionary mechanisms rather than creating species individually through separate acts.

Gap Theory: Proposes a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, allowing for an old earth while maintaining six literal creation days.

Progressive Creation: Suggests God created in stages over long periods, intervening at key points to create new species.

Historic Creationism: Interprets Genesis 1:1 as an initial creation event potentially billions of years ago, followed by six literal days of God preparing the earth for human habitation

Framework Interpretation: Views the creation account as a literary framework meant to convey theological truths rather than a literal chronological sequence.

While geological formations may date millions of years old, we believe God created the Earth with age, just as He created Adam as an adult.

The Genesis account of creation is a literal, historical record of what actually occurred, rather than an allegory or metaphor.

The Flood was an event that caused most extinctions and deposited much of the geological strata we see today.

Evolution between “kinds” of organisms (macroevolution) does not occur, though they may accept small changes within “kinds” (microevolution).

Were dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.Job 40:15-24

Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.Psalm 74:13

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?Job 41:1

Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.Psalm 74:14

We reject the evolutionary timeline that places dinosaur extinction millions of years before human existence. This would require dinosaurs and humans to coexist on Earth within the same time period.

All views of creation are based on faith, as none of us were there. Creationism is faith in God and His Word, any other explanation is faith in another theory.

Many concepts are labeled as science, even though they are merely scientific theories.

Creationists often face criticism for attempting to align biblical accounts with scientific explanations. The Bible doesn’t require scientific validation as it is the Word of God.

To explain the universe apart from an intelligent Creator takes more faith than believing in a purposeful Creator.

When it comes to matters of faith and the Bible, it’s okay to say, “I’m not really sure, but if the Bible says it, I believe it.” That’s what makes it faith.