Reinterpreting Genesis

Did the days of creation represent long ages instead of normal 24-hour days? Is there room in Genesis,
chapter 1, for the “gap theory” that could accommodate the billions of years demanded by evolution?

The author of a new book, Creation in Six Days. A Defense of the Traditional Reading of Genesis One by Dr.
James B. Jordan, makes some interesting points on who it is who really thinks such thoughts. The book was
reviewed in the February 19 edition of Christian News.

For thousands of years few believers doubted that the six days of Genesis 1 were anything but ordinary 24-hour
days, writes Dr. Jordan. Our forefathers saw no need for reinterpreting Genesis.

With the rise of modern, evolution-based science, many have gone about rethinking Genesis 1. Some people
now see “gaps” in the Genesis chronology and/or now define the days of Creation as long ages when this had
never been done before.

Who really holds these views? It isn’t modernists or unbelievers, writes Dr. Jordan. In general, these skeptics
have no problem accepting the fact that Genesis portrays a six-day creation. These people simply dismiss the
Creation account as a myth. The undersigned once heard a liberal Lutheran assert that God allowed the
Creation account into the Bible in order to satisfy the curiosity of ancient peoples who were too unsophisticated
to understand any theory of evolution.

The reinterpreters surely also don’t include us “traditional conservative believers.” As did our forefathers, we
see Genesis as a straight-forward literal account of the beginning of the world.

No, it is a segment of the conservative Christian community which is trying to remain faithful to the Bible on the
one hand while at the same time allowing itself to be impressed by the “findings” of modern science. These
Christians go to any length to try to harmonize Genesis with evolution and long ages.

For these misguided believers, it is crucial that they spend time studying the writings of creationists. Those of us
who have done this know there are absolutely no scientific reasons or any other reason why Genesis needs to
be reinterpreted. “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth.” Ex. 20:11a (NIV) LSI

—Warren Krug, editor