{"id":36168,"date":"2012-12-18T21:51:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T03:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=36168"},"modified":"2021-06-25T21:58:39","modified_gmt":"2021-06-26T02:58:39","slug":"is-the-biblical-account-of-creation-not-meant-to-be-taken-literally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-biblical-account-of-creation-not-meant-to-be-taken-literally\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the biblical account of Creation not meant to be taken literally?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I actually once wrote an article my junior year of high school titled “Creationism vs. Evolution”, and my entire paper was about how Creationism was right and Evolution was wrong. However, over the years I’ve come across so much evidence arguing for the sake of evolution in the world. I also have come to the conclusion that\u00a0Creationism would read the biblical creation account as science, and we both know that it was not written by the Hebrews as a scientific account of the creation of the world, but rather a poetic and beautiful account of the creation of the earth by God (both of us agree to this) and of the creation of man in His image and likeness. Creationism would suggest that it was a literal six day time period, among other scientifically dangerous assertions that are clearly contradicted by empirical evidence. I think it would seem slightly narrow-minded to believe that the world was created in six days; however, I have listened to a sermon by John MacArthur that made the six-day-creation reasonable. And yes, “evolutionism” hasn’t been fully proven to be a fact, and I feel as if I need to keep that in mind.<\/p>\n

However, my question to you is, is there a problem with being a “theistic evolutionist”? As in believing that it was God who directed evolution to do exactly what he wanted? Here’s a quote I got from the debate of William Lane Craig vs. Christopher Hitchens:<\/p>\n

Howard Van Till of Calvin College asks:\u00a0“Is the concept of special creation required of all persons who profess trust in the Creator-God revealed in Scripture? . . . most Christians in my acquaintance who are engaged in either scientific or biblical scholarship have concluded that the special creationist picture of the world’s formation is not a necessary component of Christian belief . . .”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m wondering if it’s “okay” to believe that it was God who directed evolution, and the biblical account of Creationism in Genesis isn’t to be taken literally, as with a lot of things in the Bible that aren’t to be taken literally.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

I have a science degree and I read through the evidence. It isn’t that evolution hasn’t been fully proven — it hasn’t been proven at all. It remains a theory waiting for the proof to show up; yet the evidence continues to mount against it. That is why “Intelligent Design” has gained a strong foothold in the science community.<\/p>\n

A literal six-day creation contradicts no currently known facts, though it does contradict evolution. It is not a “dangerous” view either. A huge number of scientists who have made great discoveries were creationists.<\/p>\n

What is narrow-minded is to refuse to look at evidence that might not fit your personal beliefs. I have a number of folders of evidence that contradicts evolution — about five inches thick and growing.<\/p>\n

Things in the Bible are not called literal or figurative arbitrarily. There are reasons behind the designations. So to examine whether the Bible literally means that Creation took place in six days, see:<\/p>\n