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Creation Compromises CREATION COMPROMISES by Bert Thompson, Ph.D. DEDICATION To Chad and Cody— Two sons whose lives have been a continual blessing to their parents, a good example to their peers, a source of encouragement to their friends, and an inspiration to all who know them. In the hope that you always will love and defend the Truth, regardless of the consequences. APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC. 230 Landmark Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117-2752 Second Edition © Copyright 2000 ISBN: 0-932859-39-9 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or critical reviews. -i- TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .....................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF ORIGINS .....................1 The Implications and Consequences of Belief Systems .........................3 Evolution and Ethics..........................................................................4 Evolution and Morality......................................................................5 Evolution and Hedonism ...................................................................6 Evolution and the Value of Human Life ...........................................6 Conclusion............................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2 ORIGINS AND ATHEISTIC EVOLUTION........................................11 Atheistic Evolution Defined .................................................................11 Is Atheistic Evolution Popular?............................................................13 Why do People Believe in Evolution?..................................................13 Is Evolution a “Fact” of Science?.........................................................18 CHAPTER 3 ORIGINS AND CREATION..................................................................29 Creation Defined...................................................................................29 Is Creation Popular? .............................................................................30 Why do People Believe in Creation?....................................................33 Is Creation a “Fact” of Science?...........................................................33 CHAPTER 4 VOICES OF COMPROMISE ................................................................37 The Double-Revelation Theory ............................................................38 Theistic Evolution.................................................................................42 Is Theistic Evolution Popular?..............................................................43 Why do People Believe in Theistic Evolution?....................................44 Theistic Evolution and the Voices of Compromise ..............................47 CHAPTER 5 “EITHER...OR,” NOT“BOTH...AND” .................................................51 “Logical Illiterates, Scientific Simpletons, Fools, and Menaces” ........52 CHAPTER 6 GENESIS 1-11: MYTHICAL OR HISTORICAL?..............................59 Is Genesis 1-11 Mythical or Historical? ...............................................60 Is Genesis 1-11 Mythical?...............................................................60 Is Genesis 1-11 Literal?...................................................................64 Are There Two (Contradictory) Accounts in Genesis? ........................68 Stylistic Variations ..........................................................................69 So-Called Contradictions.................................................................69 The Real Explanation ......................................................................70 CHAPTER 7 THE BIBLE AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH— TIME, EVOLUTION, AND BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY..............73 The Importance of Time to Evolutionists and Those Sympathetic to Them.......................................................74 Does Time Itself “Perform Miracles”? .................................................74 The Age of the Earth—“Wait and See..................................................76 Chronology and the Bible.....................................................................77 -ii- CHAPTER 8 THE BIBLE AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH— THE DAY-AGE THEORY ...................................................................83 Why the Need for the Day-Age Theory?..............................................84 Is the Day-Age Theory Popular? ..........................................................84 Do All Those Who Advocate the Day-Age Theory Believe in Evolution?............................................85 Is There Lexical and Exegetical Evidence to Support the Day-Age Theory? ......................................................86 Evidence Substantiating the Days of Genesis as Literal, 24-hour Periods ................................................................88 Objections Considered..........................................................................93 “One Day is with the Lord as a Thousand Years”...........................93 Too Much Activity on Day Six .......................................................94 God’s Sabbath Rest Still Is Continuing...........................................97 CHAPTER 9 THE BIBLE AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH— THE GAP THEORY ...........................................................................101 Summary of the Gap Theory ..............................................................102 The Gap Theory—a Refutation ..........................................................103 CHAPTER 10 THE BIBLE AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH— BIBLICAL GENEALOGIES .............................................................115 CHAPTER 11 THE BIBLE AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH— ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................119 “From the Beginning of the Creation”/ “From the Creation of the World ....................................................119 “From the Blood of Abel” ..................................................................120 How Long Were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?...................120 The Doctrine of Apparent Age ...........................................................123 CHAPTER 12 MISCELLANEOUS COMPROMISES OF THE GENESIS RECORD..............................................................129 Progressive Creationism .....................................................................129 What is Progressive Creationism?.................................................129 Is Progressive Creationism Theistic Evolution?............................130 Is Progressive Creationism Acceptable? .......................................131 The Modified Gap Theory..................................................................132 What is the Modified Gap Theory? ...............................................132 A Response and Refutation ...........................................................134 The Non-World View of Origins........................................................139 What is the Non-World View of Origins?.....................................139 A Response and Refutation ...........................................................140 The Multiple Gap Theory ...................................................................140 What is the Multiple Gap Theory? ................................................141 A Response and Refutation ...........................................................142 The Framework Hypothesis [Artistico-Historical] Theory.................142 What is the Framework Hypothesis?.............................................142 A Response and Refutation ...........................................................144 -iii- CHAPTER 13 WHAT IS WRONG WITH CREATION COMPROMISES.............147 The Error of Creation Compromises ..................................................148 “The Blindness of Preconceived Opinion”.........................................148 Turning the Savior into a Liar ............................................................149 Making Man “the Naked Ape”...........................................................149 The Problem with Eve ........................................................................151 A “Soul-less” Naked Ape? .................................................................152 Did Man “Fall”—or “Rise”? ..............................................................152 A Million Contradictions—not a Million Years.................................152 Evolution and God’s Nature ...............................................................154 CHAPTER 14 COMPROMISE—PRELUDE TO APOSTASY.................................157 Compromise—Prelude to Apostasy ...................................................158 Compromise is a Prelude to Religious Liberalism and Modernism.........................................................159 Compromise is a Prelude to the Loss of a Person’s Soul ..............159 Conclusion..........................................................................................160 APPENDIX 1 THAT “LOADED” QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................163 Introduction: History of This Inquiry .................................................163 The Sears-Thompson Debate..............................................................164 That “Loaded” Questionnaire.............................................................165 APPENDIX 2 THE BIBLE, SCIENCE, AND THE| AGES OF THE PATRIARCHS
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