Comments written on this page will be moved to a more approriate place, typically Creation Conundrums (see next paragraph).
I’ve added a page specifically for the people who will be attending the Sunday school class this fall. See Creation Conundrums.
I’m looking for help. This whole study is based upon Scripture, but it also raises a lot of questions. If you see something that makes you question things, please take the time to ask your question in the comment section of that post (it’s at the bottom). Just remember that you should use a nickname/handle. However, you must use a real email address. I get so many spam posts that I filter them all by sending an email to the address quoted. If I don’t get a reply, it gets deleted.
Also, the above request applies to anybody, including proponents of theistic evolution, day/age creation, other long-age views, or even secular evolution.
The Foundation on Which Our Faith Is Built
Creation is one of my biggest passions. Specifically, what I’ll refer to as young-earth creation (YEC).
Now, the term young isn’t really accurate, for the universe is ancient; it’s over 6000 years old. No, the term young is used to be in contrast with other, old-earth (OE), models like day-age creation, theistic evolution, and secular evolution. Those models hold that the universe is much more ancient than the YEC model holds: billions vs. thousands of years.
NOTE: There are other models than the three I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Those three are catch-all titles for general ways of thinking about creation, but of necessity are overly-broad. There are theories like the Gap Theory that don’t fit into any of the above categories.
But, the Bible tells us how old the universe is. We can map out the whole history of the earth to a fair degree of accuracy by adding up the numbers from Adam to Solomon’s time. Solomon’s time is fairly well accepted. Bishop Ussher did it in the 1600s, and came up with a date of 4004 BC for creation. Others (including me) have come up with slightly different dates, but they’re all in the same range of around 6000+ years ago.
Even Jesus, the Creator Himself , knew that the creation happened recently. Teaching on marriage He said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” (Matthew 19:4-5 NASB, bold emphasis mine, italics in original) “From the beginning” does not fit into any of the other models. To the other models, Mankind’s entire existence is a barely noticeable blip on a timeline of the universe/earth.
NOTE: The material linked below is intended to become a Sunday school class that I plan on teaching this fall (2019) and beyond. It will follow Genesis 1-11 pretty tightly. The links are for that class.
Genesis One
- It all starts in the beginning.
- On the second day, God separates the waters.
- For the third day, God really rolls up his sleeves.
- On the fourth day, God creates the rest of the universe.
- On the fifth day, God fills up the waters and the atmosphere.
- On the sixth day, God creates animals and finally the first people.
- On the seventh day, God declares His creation complete, and rests.
Genesis Two
- There’s a break called a Toledot at the beginning of the detailed story of the creation of Mankind.
- The story continues with a retelling of the day Man was created.
- Then God plants a garden.
- Adam gets a job and a wife. Life is gooood!
Genesis Three
- Uh-oh. There’s trouble in paradise.
- There are consequences.
- And, there’s the Curse.
Genesis Four
- Adam and Eve start a family when Cain is born.
- Cain is not the Messiah.
- Cain proves to be a cheapskate.
- Adam and Eve lose their first son, Abel.
- Confronted by God, Cain produces excuses.
- Finally, we’re given the names of some of Cain’s descendants.
- Then comes the end of partial Paradise.
Genesis Five
- Genealogy. Boring?
- More on genealogies.
- An interesting note on Methuselah, the man who lived longer than anybody else.
Genesis Six
- Sons of God … and Women???
- Sons of Man … and Judgement!
- ONE Son of Man … Noah.
- And a boat. A really BIG boat!
Genesis Seven
- Animals, animals, LOTS of animals.
- Only ONE man was just: Noah.
- Entering the Ark.
- The second-saddest day in earth’s young history: the door of the ark is closed.
- The flood crushes the earth.
Genesis Eight
- God remembers Noah, and the flood ends.
- In Noah’s shoes, what would I do?
Genesis Nine
- The Dominion Mandate is changed.
- Blood and Murder. And murderers.
- Deluge: never again!
- Noah gets into a drunken stupor.
- Canaan is cursed.
Genesis Ten
- Another set of genealogies.
- The lineage of Shem.
Genesis Eleven
- Languages are changed at Babel.
- The messianic line continues through to Abram (Abraham).
Most of the pages referenced in the links above will also have what I’m calling “callouts”. Callout is a magazine term for those boxes of text or pictures placed in the middle of articles (usually on the side of the page or some other noticeable but not intrusive locations.) In a blog, I link instead of having colorful boxes.
This page below is a master list of all off the callouts linked to in these creation pages. I don’t expect it will be finalized until late summer (2019).
June 2019: the page is not yet created.