Young-Earth Creationism Defies the Bible's Affinity with Science

"Blessed are your eyes, for you see." (Matthew 13:16a)                           

                Despite my title, I do affirm that young-earth creationism (YEC) is right about the Bible in one aspect.  From its premise (which I share) that Genesis 1 is part of biblical revelation, it follows that since its omniscient author is God (2 Tim. 3:16), Scripture is accurate.  Since God also declares Himself the creator of the universe (Gen. 1:1) we can hold that God is infinitely better-informed about our cosmic-beginning than are scientists.  So the Bible merits our trust as the final authority on matters of creation.  NONETHELESS, on this very foundation, unsettling as it may seem, it is NOT to Genesis that the Bible directs people, in order to possibly become persuaded witnesses of God’s compelling creative powers.  Stay tuned then to see the Bible’s preferred means to that end.

A recent Gallup survey says 40% of Americans are YECs. They hold that the creation days of Genesis were 24-hours each, the “two great lights” were made on the 4th Day, and that creation was “finished” less than 10,000 years ago.  They also claim that Noah’s flood formed our globe’s every surface feature except for recent volcanics.  Yet in reality the minimal requirements of just fossil-formation alone, renders that view impossible.  By contrast those of us who embrace the Big Bang (BB) creation of the cosmos some 13.75 billion years ago, declare that that momentous event stands as the most unassailable scientific proof ever, for God’s existence.  The reason is that the events entailed in Genesis 1:1 fully reconcile with the entire array of scientific facts.

Nevertheless, American Christianity is increasingly declining in numbers.  A separate Gallup poll notes that while two decades ago, 42 % of adults worshiped regularly, by contrast today only “30%” do.  Pew Research says, “Nones” [atheists, agnostics, apathetics] now comprise the largest cohort in America” (28%), having nearly doubled from 2007 to surpassing Catholics (23%) … and Evangelicals (24%) today. In seeking to reverse this trend, JW Montgomery urges Christians to both expose society’s rampant ignorance and substantiate as factual the historical claims that demonstrate Jesus Christ (JC) was raised from the dead as indeed the Bible portrays Him:  

“[Christ’s resurrection] is a factual claim…that can be supported by the very approach[es] we…use every day to distinguish truth from fantasy.  [Often] the 21^st Century Christian community [refuses] to present … the Gospel as a matter of [evidence-based] truth.  And I firmly believe that this reductionism of reducing [it] as non-factual…subjective, and emotional, is one of the most important reasons for the decline of the … Christianization of our modern societies.” (boldface mine)  

 Indeed both the scientific case for the BB and the historical facts that affirm JC, fully discredit YEC methods.  Because YEC picks just the “fruit” they seek,” it obfuscates the truth that biblical claims thrive from being evaluated by factual-scrutiny. 

My entire article, together with footnotes can be accessed at my website: www.christianityontheoffense.com/articles