Sunday, October 18, 2015

Creation Theories


When discussing religion with my non-Christian friends, the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution are invariably at the forefront of our discussions. Christians should be aware of the common interpretations of the Genesis creation story:

(a) The Gap Theory suggests that there was a considerable gap of time between the first two verses in the Book of Genesis. Genesis 1:2 should read, “And the earth became formless and void…” That gap, of perhaps billions of years, was a period when dinosaurs and a race of beings called demons roamed the earth.

(b) The Day-Age Theory suggests that each day in the creation story represents a geological age of indefinite duration, perhaps hundreds of millions of years.

(c) The Appearance of Age Theory suggests that God created the earth with the appearance of great age. God’s creation included fossils preserved in rock formations in the earth’s crust.

(d) The Young Earth Theory suggests that the days in the creation narrative should be interpreted as literal, twenty-four hour days. Jewish tradition dates the Creation at 3761 BC while seventeen century Archbishop James Ussher dated the creation of the world at 4004 BC.

It should be understood that none of these theories has been proven beyond doubt and that belief in any of these theories is not essential for salvation.

Notably: Tishri 1, 3761 BC is the traditional date of the Creation of Adam and Eve. The Jewish calendar is reckoned from the Creation.

Tishri 1 is the first day of the Jewish year. Most often, Tishri 1 falls in late September or early October on our modern, Gregorian calendar. Hence, Tishri 1 can be equated with October 1 on our contemporary calendar. Because the Gregorian year starts 9 months before the Jewish year, the Jews add 3760 to the current Gregorian year, if the date is before October 1, to determine the Jewish year. On, or after, October 1, they add 3761 to the current Gregorian year. Today’s date is October 18, 2015. 3761 + 2015 = 5776. According to Jewish reckoning, we are in the 5,776th year since the Creation of Adam and Eve.

1 comment:

  1. The Gap Theory was popularized by the 1917 edition of the Scofield Reference Bible. Interestingly, the Scopes Monkey Trial took place about 8 years later in July, 1925. Thus the Gap Theory was not a Christian reaction to the Theory of Evolution.

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