July 15, 2003, Vol.3, No.14.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "The
Creation Model" (see below)
and "God or Evolution?"
The Creation Model
guest article by A.E. Proctor
The Creation Model has been developed over a number of years
by scholars associated with the Creation Research Society. It
is an attempt to reconcile the account of creation described
in the book of Genesis with the observed facts found in the natural
world, using the methods of science wherever possible. This article
will summarize the main features of the model. For a more detailed
account of the Creation Model, the reader is directed to the
book "The Genesis Flood" by John Whitcomb and Henry
Morris. It is available through most Bible bookstores.
 The model begins
with the assumption that the account of creation in the book
of Genesis is literal. The world was created in six twenty-four
hour days. Even though a day with the Lord is as a thousand years
(2 Peter 3:8), the language demands that a very short time period
was involved in the acts of creation. It is also assumed that
the forces God used during the acts of creation are completely
different from the forces which we now observe at work in nature.
Apart from the word of God, it is impossible for man to learn
anything concerning the creation by observation of nature. The
created world was perfect in every way. There was no death, as
both man and animals were given every green herb for food. God
himself pronounced all of his work "good." Man was
given dominion over all animals and was instructed to tend the
garden of Eden. There was no sin, as man did not know the difference
between right and wrong. During the period before the fall of
man into sin, the model assumes that the second law of thermodynamics
(all things decay and die) was suspended, as the Bible indicates
man had the power to eat from the tree of life in the garden
of Eden and live forever (Genesis 2:9). After man sinned, he
was removed from the presence of the tree of life. The second
law of thermodynamics then became active, and man began to age,
and in time, die.
Genesis 2:5 states that there was no rain on the earth during
the period after creation, but that a mist went up from the earth
and watered the whole face of the ground. To meet this requirement,
it is assumed that the earth had a thick layer of water vapor
suspended in the atmosphere, known as a vapor canopy. The atmosphere
would have been completely saturated, as there was no dust or
sea salt present to provide a nucleus of condensation; hence
there was no rain. This would also imply that there were no clouds.
The vapor canopy increased the ability of earth's atmosphere
to retain solar energy, (commonly known as the greenhouse effect)
so temperatures would be warm and moderate over the entire globe.
As the temperatures did not significantly differ, there would
be no wind or storms as we now know. This canopy, created in
perfect equilibrium, could have held the majority of the water
which flooded the earth. This canopy is considered to be the
water above the firmament described in Genesis 1:7.
There would have been other benefits to mankind from this
canopy. It most likely provided a shielding effect from the various
types of radiation reaching earth today. It is possible that
the absence of some forms of radiation contributed to the long
life span of men who lived before the flood. We would expect
the life span to drop if the canopy were gone, which is what
happened after the flood. If we assume that the genetic structure
of all life was perfect at the time of creation and that men
enjoyed extraordinary vitality throughout their long lives, there
were few diseases known to the early man which came from mutation
of the genetic structure of the cell, but the incident of these
diseases would increase during the time period after the flood.
Thus, man is not evolving, that is, becoming a stronger, more
viable creature, but decaying. The greater the distance from
Adam, the more we see genetic related diseases, such as some
forms of cancer or heart disease, increase.
In addition to the vapor canopy, it is assumed that the concentration
of C02 was much higher in the pre-flood atmosphere. This higher
concentration would assist in maintaining the greenhouse effect
providing warmer and more even temperatures over all the surface
of the globe. (It would also make our present methods of radiocarbon
dating useless, for the ages of samples from before the flood
would have a much higher age indication than actual.)
We are told that the plants were watered by a mist which rose
from the ground. The model assumes that water not only existed
in the rivers and seas, but that substantial water was trapped
below the surface in the "fountains of the great deep."
(Genesis 7:11) The warming effect of both the atmosphere and
the earth's crust may have contributed to movement of this mist.
The necessary pressures to hold the subterranean waters require
that land mass be relatively constant over all the globe, thus
mountains were very low and the seas were very shallow.
The universally warm climate contributed to lush growth of
plants, which in turn provided large amounts of food for an increasing
animal population. It is also most likely that the soil of the
old world was thoroughly mixed with all nutrients, and was not
separated into distinct layers until after the flood. This lush
growth of plants was world-wide, including the regions we now
know as arctic and cold. The model also theorizes that this lush
plant life is the primary source of oil and coal in our world.
The warm and gentle climate provided a perfect environment
for the growth of large men and animals (possibly the Nephilim
of Genesis 6:4). The King James Bible indicates that there were
some 1,656 years between the creation and the start of the flood.
If we assume that each father begat an average of six children,
the pre-flood population would be over one billion people. This
would be a rate of increase of 1.5 percent. (The present rate
of increase of earth's population is 2 percent).
The year of creation was calculated in 1650 by Bishop Usher
of Armagh as 4004 B.C. He obtained this date from calculations
based on the genealogies listed in the King James Bible, and
it is the one most commonly used. Whitcomb and Morris however
make a strong case for a date somewhere between 8600 B.C. and
6000 B.C. Although the year 4004 B.C. is not necessarily the
date of creation, the Creation Model assumes that the world is
several thousand years old, not hundreds of thousands or millions
of years as required by the theory of evolution.
The word "kind" in the Bible is used to define groups
of animals that are able to breed with each other. If two differing
types of animals are not able to procreate they are not considered
to be biblical kinds. The Creation Model does provide for variation
within kinds. As an example, there may have been only two or
three kinds of dog ancestors in the ark, but the years of separation
after the flood, together with cross breeding would produce animals
that ranged from the Fox, or the Wolf, or Great Danes, to the
lowly hound. A biologist might classify several of the animals
under different species, and claim the variation from one species
to another is proof of evolution, but that's not what evolution
teaches. No matter how many types of dogs you may breed, you
still have dogs. No horses, or cats or rabbits will ever come
from the breeding of dogs. Each kind only will reproduce with
another of its kind, and the offspring will always be of the
same kind. Evolution teaches that if you breed enough dogs enough
times under different conditions, given a million or so years,
you will get some animal that is not a dog. The Creation Model
flatly denies this. Kind always begets of the same kind. Noah
would not have had to carry all the animals we know today in
the ark, but only a male and female of each kind. One other thing
concerning variation within kinds: The Creation Model predicts
that the second law of thermodynamics will apply to all such
breeding. No matter how strong the offspring may be in one characteristic,
such as improved sense of smell, it is weaker overall than its
ancestor. Put another way, the offspring is likely to have more
genetic defects than either of its parents.
The flood came about when the fountains of the deep were opened,
most likely by volcanic action. Great quantities of dust and
ash were carried high into the vapor canopy and condensed into
rain. Enough rain to last for forty days and forty nights. The
combination of volcanos, earthquakes and flooding would completely
pulverize the surface and every thing that was on it. As the
flood waters increased, the stronger and more mobile creatures
may have fled to higher ground, but in time all were destroyed.
The churning action of the water separated the rich earth into
component parts, and gathered large amounts of plant and animal
life into clumps. During the year following the rain, the first
of many sediment beds were laid down. Then as the mighty wind
blew upon the earth for the first time, parts of land began to
rise, and erosion cut away many sediment beds and redeposited
them. The same churning action would bury much of the plant and
animal life, producing fossils and fuel.
Genesis 8:3 states, "and the waters returned from off
the earth continually." The language indicates that this
is not one drainage, but many. That is, parts of the land might
rise, then decline and be flooded again, and rise again, producing
the mixed sediment beds and geological faults we see today. Eventually,
the ark rested in the mountains of Ararat. From this point, animals
and later man began to disperse over all the globe. This movement
may have taken as much as 1,000 to 3,000 years. It is assumed
that during this time, much movement was still going on in the
crust of the earth, and that land bridges existed to provide
access to all continents of the globe. At a later time, the land
bridges sank. Separated from others of their kind by language
at the tower of Babel, and by geography, men were restricted
to mating among a small group. The result was the rise of different
nations and ancestors.
This is a broad sketch of the model. I have simplified many
concepts to the point where some may think I misrepresent the
information. I apologize if this is the case, for it was not
my intent. My desire was to bring a new perspective to the subject,
and to challenge the reader to study for himself.
---
(Note: This "creation model" ably sketched by
Brother Proctor is, admittedly, not proven in detail by the Scriptures.
Rather, it constitutes a harmony of facts derived from the Bible
with facts gleaned from natural science and demonstrates that
God's Word does indeed provide an answer to the question of origins
that is in harmony with the facts of science. - Keith Sharp)
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