I am going to Thailand November 5th through the 17th. We are speaking to kids at 4 differents christian schools, a college, and a conference at a church. We speak on the evidence for young earth creation. I would love prayer for hearts of the attendees and kids. Prayer for salvations. Prayers that the information will inspire and encourage the christians there. Of course, for safe travel.
Trip to Thailand
- Thread starter GenOne1
- Start date
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Hi @jacko
It is definitely biblical. We want to take God's Word in context, understanding the original language, keeping in mind the type of writing that it is. Genesis is written as historical narrative so we should be taking the words for their normal meaning. It is not a secret code, metaphor, or poetry.
God defines the word day in the same sentence in Genesis by saying, "the evening and the morning". He was very specific. Plus later in Exodus we are told that we should work 6 days and rest on the 7th just like God did. If we understand those days in Genesis as anything other than days we are in trouble.
Most importantly we malign the character of God and make the Cross of Christ irrelevant if we add millions of years to the bible. If you have millions of years of evolution in those days you have millions of years of death, disease, and suffering. However, Romans 5 says death entered because of Adam's sin, not before. So, if you have millions of years of death, disease, and suffering and God looks out over it on "Day 1" what does He say? It is good. Would the God of the bible look out over millions of years of death, disease, and suffering and proclaim, "It is Good"? We malign the character of God if we say that. Plus if death is an everyday occurrence and not a special punishment for sin.......why did Jesus die on the cross? You make Christ's death on the cross irrelevant.
This doesn't even touch the scientific evidence that shows a young earth. Institute for Creation Research employs PhDs that do research showing science confirms the bible. You can check them out at ICR.org. Feel free to ask any questions.
Really! I will be mostly in Bangkok. We will go to Kohn Kean for a couple of days. We will also go to a dinosaur museum and a dinosaur dig somewhere. I just know it's about 4 hours away. The mountains look beautiful!!!
Biblical Arguments USED by Young-Earth Creation (YEC)These are the verses/points YEC proponents emphasize:
1. Genesis 1 uses “evening and morning”
“And there was evening and there was morning, the first day…” (Gen 1:5, etc.)
Young-earth interpreters argue that in the Old Testament, “evening” + “morning” always means a normal 24-hour day.
2. The Hebrew word yôm (“day”) with a number
When yôm has a number (“first day,” “second day”), it usually means literal days.
3. Exodus 20:11
“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth…”
God models Israel’s weekly pattern off His creation week. YEC says this implies literal days.
4. GenealogiesGod models Israel’s weekly pattern off His creation week. YEC says this implies literal days.
Genesis 5 & 11 give lifespans with ages when sons were born. Adding them yields only thousands, not millions, of years.
5. Death enters through Adam (Romans 5:12)
YEC argues there was no animal death before sin because in Genesis 1:31 creation was “very good.”
If there were millions of years of fossils (containing death, disease, cancer) prior to Adam, how can death be a consequence of sin?
Biblical Arguments for an Old Earth That Are Still OrthodoxThese Christians believe Scripture allows another interpretation:
1. Genesis “days” could be long periods
Yôm sometimes means a season or era (e.g., “the day of the Lord”).
2. Genesis 2:4 uses yôm to mean an entire creation period
“in the day the LORD God made the earth and heavens”
3. The sun and moon weren’t created until Day 4Which makes defining the first three days as solar 24-hour periods less obvious.
4. The genealogies may be telescoped
Hebrew genealogies sometimes skip generations (common in ancient literature), meaning you cannot reliably calculate exact ages.
5. Scripture teaches spiritual death
Romans 5 contextually deals primarily with human death, not all animal death.
Historical Christian InterpretationImportant: Young-earth creationism dominated among ordinary Christians historically because:
- The text reads “plainly” as six days.
- They didn’t yet know about deep time, astronomy, etc.
BUT many Church Fathers and theologians did not take Genesis 1 as literal days:
Examples of non-24-hour views BEFORE modern science:
- Origen (3rd century): saw days as figurative.
- Augustine (4th–5th century): believed God created everything “instantaneously,” not in six 24-hour days.
- Athanasius, Basil, and others discussed nonliteral possibilities.
This shows you don’t need modern Darwinism to read Genesis symbolically.
Is young-earth the default reading?A plain Hebrew reading naturally suggests sequential days.
Many scholars (including conservative ones) acknowledge the normal reading points to quick creation.
That’s why the young-earth position feels biblical to many.
The Bible’s PRIMARY emphasisRegardless of age:
- God alone is Creator
- Creation is purposeful
- Humanity has dignity & responsibility
- Sin brings death, curse, decay
- Sabbath rhythm reflects creation
The Bible simply does not stake doctrinal salvation on the earth’s age.
So… is young-earth biblical?Yes — you can build a consistent, text-driven argument entirely from Scripture.
BUT:
No — the Bible never explicitly says:
- the earth is 6,000–10,000 years old,
- fossils post-date Noah,
- no death before Adam’s sin for animals.
Those are inferred.
What most theologians conclude todayThere are three faithful lanes inside orthodox Christianity:
- Young-earth creation
- 6 literal days, global flood geology.
- Old-earth creation
- Days are eras, literal Adam, still miracle-based.
- Evolutionary creation
- God sovereign over process, Adam as historical or representative.
All three are held by Bible-believing Christians.
What makes an interpretation unbiblical?- Denying God as Creator
- Denying human uniqueness
- Denying historical sin & fall
- Denying the need for Christ
Those are theological foundations.
The age of the earth is secondary.
My concise answerYoung-earth creationism:
- Is fully compatible with Scripture
- Has strong textual support
- Is not the only biblical possibility
- Should not be used as a salvation test
Christians can agree on Who made the world even if they differ on how long it took.
Oh no!!! That stinks. I am here now. We are heading to the Rama 9 museum tomorrow with 100 kids. Should be fun!
