The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Challenge of Evolution: Melded With Creationism

The Challenge of Evolution


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Can Evolution be melded with Creationism?

Lamb & Lion Ministries conducts a number of Bible conferences in the Dallas, Texas area each year. Our June 2011 conference theme was Christianity Under Attack.

On of our speakers was Dr. John Morris, the president of the Institute for Creation Research. He has a doctor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma in geological engineering. He is the author of numerous books, including The Young Earth. He has also led numerous expeditions to Mt. Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark. Dr. Morris’ topic at our conference was “The Challenge of Evolution” (watch).

Attempts to Meld Evolution With Creationism

Some people will make the wild claim, “That word ‘day’ might mean an ‘indefinite period of time.'” Millions and billions of years of geologic time they’ll equate then with a single day creating the Day-Age Theory.

Well, I don’t think so. Right there in Genesis 1:3-5 the first time the word day is used, and the Hebrew word for day is “yom,” can sometimes be translated as an indefinite period, but it normally is translated as a day like today. Still, the first time God uses “yom” He defines it. On Day One God creates light and defines the light from the darkness and the light He called day. There’s our word. The darkness God calls night. God defined His term and then he uses it throughout the rest of the chapter: Did this on Day One, created this on Day Two, made that on Day Three. He defined His term so that we couldn’t get it wrong.

Unfortunately, a lot of lay Christians, Christian leaders, and even a lot of seminary and Bible college professors, along with a lot of preachers get God’s use of the word “yom” wrong. They say, “Oh, no, Carl Sagan has proven that the earth is billions of years old. Therefore, I’ve got to fit that into Scripture. Maybe the days were billions of years long.” I’m sick and tired of having Carl Sagan tell Christians how to interpret Scripture. Let Scripture interpret itself!

That word “yom” is quiet common in the Old Testament. It’s the word day and in almost every case it’s used in the Old Testament outside of Genesis 1 a couple thousand times. In almost every case it means a day like today. There are a few places where it says “the day of the Lord.” There’s once where it says “in the days of Abraham.” That’s obviously a period of time. But, in the great majority of cases it is a day like today.

In the Bible, whenever the word day is used in the plural like three days, or forty days, or forty day fast, or three days journey — it always means without exception a literal day. Genesis 1 is not the exception. It too means a literal day.

In Genesis 1, day as a literal 24-hour day is described even in further detail by adding the terms evening and morning. Evening and morning are included with the description of the first day and the second day and the third day. That word is modified by “evening and morning” quiet a number of times in the Old Testament. In every case it’s always a real day. You can tell from the context. Whenever day is modified by a number like first day, second day, third day, or forty days, it always means a literal day. There’s no exception.

I think Scripture is clear that God is saying He created everything in six days, with a day being just like today. That’s what He says and that’s what we need to believe.

I think the lid is nailed on the coffin of the Day-Age Theory in the book of Exodus which is the very next book in the Bible after Genesis. Exodus is about the people of Israel who were held in captivity and then God led them out of Egypt. They went to Mount Sinai where God gave them some information that He really wanted them to have. It was so important to God that He wrote it in stone. Now, I’m a geologist so I like stone. So, I like this passage. He wrote it on stone. That’s where we get our expression “written in stone.”

In that stony passage one of the 10 Commandments has to do with worship on the Sabbath day, and there again is our Hebrew word “yom.” The Fourth Commandment then goes on to describe that you will work six days and rest one day. There in verse 11 God gives the reason right there on the rock. It says you work six days and rest one day because in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything that lives in them, and He rested on the seventh day. How could anything be more plain? I work six days and rest one day. You work six days and rest one day. In those literal six days God then created everything.

If we are going to call ourselves Bible believers I think we’ve got to believe especially what is written in stone.

In the next part of Dr. Morris’ presentation on the challenge of Evolution, he’ll explain why Evolution is really a religion.

Resource

Christianity Under Attack 2011 Conference DVD Album

The Christianity Under Attack 2011 Bible Conference takes an in-depth look at some of the attacks on Christianity. Learn how to counter these attacks in this 6-part conference album!

  1. “The Challenge of Islam” – Kerby Anderson
  2. “The Challenge of Humanism and Atheism” – Ron Rhodes
  3. “The Challenge of Evolution” – John Morris
  4. “The Challenge of Apostasy” – James Walker
  5. “The Challenge of Government” – Frank Wright
  6. “The Promise of Victory” – David Reagan
Christianity Under Attack
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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

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