Creation Compromises (The “Day-Age Theory”)

A compromise is defined as the means by which two (or more) disagreeing parties reach an agreement. In a compromise each party gives up something it wants in order to “meet in the middle,” neither party getting everything it wanted but both parties getting something.

The Bible believer who wants to accommodate evolutionary theory has three basic choices for inserting vast geologic time periods into the Biblical text of Genesis, chapter 1. He can try to insert it 1) during the creation week, 2) before the creation week, or 3) after the creation week. Those who adhere to the so-called “Day-Age Theory” attempt to insert these geologic ages during the creation week.

This theory is viewed by many as a compromise between those who believe in a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of Creation and those who adhere to the evolutionist theory of the origins of life. However, it would seem to me that acceptance of this “theory” costs the evolutionist nothing while it costs the Bible believer everything.

Basically, the Day-Age Theory states that the Biblical account of Creation is not literal in that God did not create the universe in six literal, 24 hour, days, but rather that each of the Biblical “days” of creation are actually ages, or eons, each lasting millions, or, in many cases, billions, of years (e.g. Proterozoic Eon, 2500 – 542 million years ago; Paleozoic Eon, 542 – 251 million years ago, etc.). The theory is usually presented as God creating everything, but using a long, drawn out evolutionary process to complete the work. That, it seems to me, is not much of a compromise. In that scenario the Bible believer has simply ceded his position to the evolutionist because everything the Bible says about Creation points to literal days.

Part of the reasoning behind this theory rests primarily on two ideas: 1) That “one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day” (cf. 2 Pet 3:8) and 2) that the sun, moon, and stars were not created until the fourth day (cf. Gen 1:14-19). Thus, there was nothing to determine a “chronology” until that time. Such arguments, of course, will not withstand the light of scrutiny.

For example, we know that green plants require sunlight in order to live and grow. According to the Biblical account God created plants on the third day. Specifically grass, herbs, and fruit bearing plants (Gen 1:11-13). However, it was not until the fourth day that He created the sun (Gen 1:14-19). How did the plants survive without sunlight for millions (or billions) of years? Furthermore, many of those kinds of plants require pollination in order to reproduce. But it was not until the sixth day that land dwelling animals (which would include pollinating insects) were created. Again, how did the plants survive?

We notice also that God created Adam and Eve on the sixth day (Gen 1:26-30). From the very first God was communicating with Adam and Eve. Yet, according to evolutionary theory it took millions of years for “humans” to develop into humans and for those humans to develop language. So how is God communicating if there is no language?

The Bible uses the words evening and morning in connection with the word day (Hebrew – yom) more than 100 times in non-prophetical literature. Each time the word refers to a 24-hour day. The Bible is adamant that God did and completed His work of creation in six literal days (e.g. Exo 20:11; 31:15-17; Josh 10:14; etc.).

The evolutionist would argue that human beings are relative late-comers to our present existence. Yet, abundant evidence, both Biblical and archaeological, exists to show that human beings have been present since the beginning (Mk 10:6; Mat 19:4; Rom 1:20; etc.). There is also archaeological evidence that presents such things as fossilized human footprints in the same strata of rock as dinosaur footprints.

Finally, it should be pointed out that every New Testament writer makes reference to something in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Jesus also made reference to something in each of the first seven chapters of Genesis. If you believe the New Testament you must also believe the Genesis account.

Much more could be said concerning the “Day-Age Theory.” In fact, whole books have been written on the subject. But hopefully this will suffice to prove that such a “compromise” is actually no compromise at all, but a complete relinquishment of the Biblical account of Creation to the evolutionist who would completely deny the Biblical account as well as the existence of an almighty, creator God.

Never doubt God.

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