A growing debate within the Church concerning the age of the earth has mounted in recent years creating some controversy. Did God create the universe instantly, or was the Big Bang involved? Some believers try to link naturalistic theories of creation with their belief in God. They hold to the belief the earth must be billions of years old, allowing time for naturalistic processes to take place.
Still, others base their beliefs about the age of the earth on the historical account of creation in the book of Genesis. These two competing views have attracted the attention of both believers and non-believers, creating some frustration and confusion. So, the question must be asked; did God spend one, literal, seven-day week creating the universe, or did the universe evolve over billions of years?
Genesis a Historical Account
As Christian believers, finding an answer to the frequently debated topic depends on how we approach the book of Genesis. Is Genesis a factual historical account of how the universe came into existence? Or is it possible Genesis is intended to be read as poetry, hyperbole, or mythology? Is the Hebrew word for “day” (yôm) a literal 24-hour day, or a much longer period of time? Let’s take a look to see if we can shed some light on the subject.
Moses wrote the book of Genesis as a historical narrative that recorded the beginning of all creation. Genesis records the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write the book of Genesis was present during the creation event. And apparently had something to say to mankind about the creation of the Universe.
One might wonder, is Genesis really a historical narrative that recorded actual events in history? Close inspection of Genesis shows the same literary characteristics of a historical narrative as do many other books of the Bible. The book of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, etc., all share the same literary characteristics of a historical narrative.
Compare Scripture with Scripture
By comparing, t becomes clear how remarkably distinct the writing characteristics from historical biblical writings differ from others intended to be poetry, allegories (parables), or prophetic style writings. Upon close inspection, the evidence certainly points to the book of Genesis being a historical narrative, and honestly, there is not much debate on this point. Almost every Christian agrees that Genesis is historical biblical writing.
Therefore, if Genesis is to be viewed as a historical account, major differences arise with other views about the origins of the universe.
God’s Creates Complete and Orderly
Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”, this is in stark contrast to the Evolution and Big Bang theories. Did God create the universe or the Big Bang?
The creation story in Genesis provides an orderly description of God creating instantaneously and supernaturally (Genesis 1:1—2:3). Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God’s very words created something from nothing. The fully matured heavens and earth instantly came into existence.
Gen 1:11 reads, “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.” (emphasis added). Genesis records plants, animals, and human beings were created mature and prepared to multiply and reproduce. According to Genesis, it didn’t take billions of years for various forms of bacteria to eventually evolve into plant, animal, or human life. When God spoke, things began to exist instantly.
Ponder the Question
Take a moment to meditate and ponder the issue, clarity can be found. God created all life on Earth mature prepared to multiply and reproduce, it makes reasonable sense that God created the universe mature from its very inception as well.
If the words penned in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created…” are to be considered a historical and truthful statement; then we must accept the possibility that God created the entire universe fully matured. For instance, Adam was not created as an infant, but rather a fully grown intelligent man. Secondly, land animals were not created as infants, calves, pups, cubs, or hatch lings, but as mature adult creatures ready to multiply and fill the earth as God instructed.
How do we see this “mature” creation in the stars? We now know that the galaxies and stars are moving away from each other. Rather than being caused by an accidental “Big Bang”, the scriptures indicate that God spread out or stretched out the heavens (Isaiah 40:22; 45:12; 48:13; 51:13; Job 9:8; Psalm 104:2).
God created the universe!
Isaiah 45:12 clearly identifies God’s work in the expanding universe, “It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.” This explains the movement of the heavens and how we can see starlight from distant stars today. Certainly, The light we see actually happened, but it didn’t take billions of years for starlight to travel to Earth for us to see. At Creation, God spread out the stars and their light trailed from them as the universe expanded outward.
Much more could be said about the evidence supporting that God created the universe.
Final thought, I do want to point out the age of the earth is not a salvation issue. Keep in mind one’s view on the age of the earth has no bearing on whether or not a person can be or is saved. I believe Christians should avoid making this issue a test of their faith. As Christians, we should love each other and not let this type of issue divide the Church. We can disagree in love and remain united in Christ.
After all Hebrews 11:1-3 describes faith in this way, “(1) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (2) This is what the ancients were commended for. (3) By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
Guy Baker
Hello, I am married to my wonderful wife, Kimberly Baker. We have three adult children and one granddaughter. I am a Supervisory Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security and have been a Federal Agent for twenty-five years. I enjoy reading, writing and serving my savior Jesus Christ.
I love the readings!! You have beautiful insight into the word!! Loved it!
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. I’m will be posting a followup article on a similar topic in a day or so. Be sure to take a look. And we are looking for others that would like to contribute…just thought I would offer. I hope you have a great day today. I will be praying for you always!