The
Creation Resources Trust has seven statements of belief, 1 of which
these are two:
The acts of creation described in
Genesis took place a few thousand rather than millions of years ago. This means
that the earth and universe are quite young, which is consistent with much
scientific evidence and biblical chronology.
The great flood described in Genesis
was an historic event, world-wide in its extent and its effect. Most of the
earth's fossil-bearing sediments were formed during this great cataclysm.
Among
Christian Creationists, there is agreement that life on Earth began
approximately 6,000 years ago, whereas those who accept that evolution provides
the best explanation of the diversity of living organisms propose that life
began with an original single cell about 3,500,000,000 years ago. I give the
numbers in full to get a better sense of the difference between the time scales
of the two opposing views.
Two
further statements from the Creation Resources Trust are fundamental to the
views of Christian Creationists - their absolute belief in the literal truth of
The Bible:
The whole Bible is the written word of
God, divinely inspired and without error in its original manuscripts. Therefore
all its assertions are scientifically and historically accurate, including the
account of the origin of the universe, the earth and the life upon it recorded
in the book of Genesis.
All the basic types ('kinds') of
living things, including human beings, were created by direct acts of God
during six literal days, as described in Genesis chapter 1. There was potential
for wide variation within those types, but no possibility of evolution from one
type to another.
Thus,
The Bible, as the word of God, is absolute, so there cannot be any question as
to its veracity on all points. The account of Creation in Genesis seems
improbable and I am astonished to read that: “The theory of evolution, despite
being widely believed and taught, has not been scientifically proven, the
available evidence being overwhelmingly in favour of the biblical record of
creation.” 1 Really?
I
wonder what contemporary Creationists make of the account given by Philip Henry
Gosse in Omphalos? 2 He is
the sole Creationist that I have come to know well, although only through his
writings and those of his biographers, as he died in 1888. Henry Gosse was a
member of the Brethren, a believer in the literal truth of The Bible and
someone who found developments in geology during the mid-Nineteenth Century
to challenge his beliefs. That is why Omphalos
is sub-titled an attempt to untie the
geological knot. In the book, Gosse shows his excellent knowledge of geological
time periods and accepts that many thousands of years were needed to produce
coal seams, with many rock strata taking much longer to form. Gosse then
introduces his theory of prochronic and diachronic existence to resolve the
conflict between those that believe in geological time scales and those who do
not. Diachronic refers to all matter and organisms that have existed since the
Creation, whereas rock strata, fossils, etc. that are more than a few thousand
years old, provide evidence of an existence before time - before the act of
Creation. Gosse’s explanation is now rarely mentioned and the current view, as
in the statement from the Creation Resources Trust, is that
strata and fossils result from the Great Flood, events that would
have been impossibly cataclysmic. It was a view with which Gosse would have been familiar, but was seemingly unable to accept. I have affection for Henry Gosse and know well
the challenges brought by his absolute faith; 3 a faith that
provided support and meaning, but made him a prisoner, unable to accept views
that challenged his narrow interpretation of The Bible. It didn’t help that he was part of a
small, and isolated, group of believers who reinforced each other’s restricted
views.
Creationists accept that evolution occurs, 4 but
only in providing small shifts resulting in varieties of organisms whose basic
structure is unchanged. In a World that has existed for c 6000 years there will
be many such changes, but what about changes that happened over, say, 1,000,000
years or 1,000,000,000 years? There are many varieties of domestic animals -
look at the range of types of dogs, sheep or cattle, for example - and these result from selective breeding.
Is it possible for Creationists to accept (theoretically, of course) that such changes can also result
from natural barriers to reproduction, allowing separate and distinct
populations to result?
Whether
one is a Creationist or an Evolutionist, we must all accept that individual
organisms are the result of genes which provide the code for an individual's
structure and function and it is the genetic blueprint that is passed from one
generation to the next. We must also all accept that, during the replication of
genetic material, mutations occur and these may affect the biology of the organism.
If mutations result in changes that make an individual more successful in its environment,
it follows that these mutations are likely to be passed on to offspring and
thus spread through successive generations. It is this sequence that controls
the microevolution accepted by Creationists and the whole process of evolution
accepted by those who see this as the mechanism whereby new types of organisms
occur over long periods of time.
The
main conflict between Creationists and Evolutionists is caused by religion; some
Christians finding it impossible to accept that changes occur without the need
for a Creator. It was this view, accepted increasingly in the Nineteenth
Century, that so offended Henry Gosse. His theory of prochronic existence has
now largely disappeared, and it was criticised by both the contemporary scientific and
religious communities, but he still had his absolute Christian
faith. There have certainly been changes of opinion among Christians over time
and there are many who can accept evolution without feeling that this is a
threat to their belief in Christ and His message. Of course, questioning the literal
truth of The Bible then brings problems of exegesis, in that decisions need to be made about what is
factual and what is metaphorical.
I am firmly in
the Evolutionist camp, but I have no idea how the first cell came into
existence and cannot imagine what mutations led to all the changes that
resulted in the diversity of life forms that exist, or have existed. I
accept my ignorance and know that I will never get answers, as I cannot understand
the time scales involved and cannot comprehend all the changes that have
occurred in the environment to allow the selection of mutations. I have no “truth” to defend.
1 http://www.c-r-t.co.uk/about_us.html
2 Philip Henry
Gosse (1857) Omphalos: an attempt to
untie the geological knot. London, Van Voorst.
3 Roger S Wotton
(2012) Walking with Gosse: Natural
History, Creation and Religious Conflicts. Southampton, Clio Publishing.
4
http://www.creationism.org/topbar/evolution.htm
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