Difference between revisions of "Creationism"

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Creationism is a term with a variety of meanings. Most generally, creationism is the belief that the universe was originally created by God.[3]. Creationism can also mean a belief in a creation according to a literal interpretation of Genesis. Some forms of creationism (especially the more literal forms) conflict with evolutionary ideas while others do not.[4]. Not all Christian denominations embrace creationism, for example, Pope Pius XII stated that "there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith" ^[1]. Many non-Christian sects also have creationist origin stories, including American Indian religions, Hindus, and the Classical Greek and Egyptian polytheistic religions.

Types of Creationists

There are many different types of creationism, and this list is not meant to be exhaustive but to deal with only the major categories.

• Young Earth Creationists generally accept a literal or nearly literal interpretation of Genesis and insist that the world is around 6000 years old. Traditionally, Judaism supported young earth creationism. [5] In addition, a majority of the early church fathers supported the idea the young earth creationist view. [6] An example of a Young Earth Creationist ministry today is Answers in Genesis.[7]

• Old Earth Creationists Agree with the common scientific age of the earth at around 4.5 billion years but generally do not accept that all life on earth evolved from a common ancestor. Old Earth Creationists generally reconcile the age of the earth with Genesis by positing that the days in Genesis were not 24 hour days or by inserting gaps between various verses in the Bible. There is no general agreement among Old Earth Creationists on whether or not there was a global flood. An example of a major Old Earth Creationist ministry is Reasons to Believe [8].

• Theistic Evolution is the belief that God created the universe and did not intervene directly in physical evolution. In general, theistic evolution accepts the age of the earth and common descent. Theistic evolutionists believe that at some point God intervened in a metaphysical fashion to give souls to some small group of human ancestors. This is the position proposed by Catholic theologians ^[2]: "The Roman Catholic Church has accepted evolution as long as it doesn't exclude God from the creative process, in particular from the creation of the human soul."

Controversial Classification

It is unclear if Intelligent Design amounts to a form of creationism and if so, where to place it in comparison to the other forms of creationism. This is due to the concept having many different definitions and proponents espousing different ideas. For example, one major proponent of Intelligent Design is Paul Nelson who a Young Earth Creationist, while Michael Behe, another major proponent, accepts common descent. William Dembski has stated unequivocally that Intelligent Design is not theistic evolution and they should not be considered the same^[3] and that Intelligent Design is the Logos in terms of information theory^[4], while Dembski and others have given other definitions that do not include any specific theological references. Arguably, intelligent design can be summarized as the notion that at some point in the past, in some way, some entity(possibly God) created life, or altered life at some point, or created the universe to be compatable with life. Behe and others have stated that Intelligent Design is not religious in nature but in the Dover trial, a US Federal District Judge (the lowest level federal judge of a general jurisdiction court) ruled as a one of his findings that Intelligent Design was essentially religious in nature. However, the conservative publication WorldNetDaily wrote, "A historic judicial ruling against intelligent design theory hailed as a "broad, stinging rebuke" and a "masterpiece of wit, scholarship and clear thinking" actually was "cut and pasted" from a brief by ACLU lawyers and includes many of their provable errors, contends the Seattle-based Discovery Institute." [9]

Attempts to Criticize Creationism

(1) Some critics of creationism assert that St. Augustine of Hippo disfavored some literal interpretations of the Bible. For example, they claim that St. Augustine, in his On Christian Doctrine, discussed the multiple layers that Biblical interpreters should sometimes engage in. Under the view of these critics, the seven-day creation in the Book of Genesis should be taken as symbolic.

In fact, St. Augustine did not reject creation or creationism. He did not propose or accept any view of man as anything other than a creation of God in the image of God, exactly as the Bible says.

(2) Young-earth creationism, which holds that the earth is about 7000 years old, is consistent with many observations, such as the existence and nature of the freshwater Great Lakes, the young moon and the Grand Canyon. Opponents repeatedly attempt to censor the sale of publications by the U.S. Parks Service near the Grand Canyon containing differing views of its development.

(3) Creationism is accepted by most Americans and by the most significant scientists in history. Intolerance by opponents of creationism has led to a silencing of contemporary scientists on this issue, but many risk their careers by speaking out against theories that earth is somehow billions of years old.

External links

• Answers In Genesis - Get Answers
• Creation Ministries International
• Institute for Creation Research
• CreationWiki
• Reasons To Believe

References and Footnotes

1. ↑ John Paul II, "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth, 1996
2. ↑ [[1]]
3. ↑ What every theologian should know about creation, evolution, and design Center for Interdisciplinary Studies Transactions 3(2), William Demsbki
4. ↑ [2] Signs of Intelligence: A Primer on the Discernment of Intelligent Design Touchstone Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 4 July-August 1999