Lutheran Science Institute - Old Earth Creationism

Old Earth Creationism

Did God use evolution to create? (artistic text)

Confessional Lutheran Resources
on Theistic Evolution

Did God Use Evolution to Create?
Mark Bergemann, 2016
video and trascript

-- Why do some Christians believe in millions of years?
-- How do they attempt to make the Bible conform to millions of years?
-- Scripture shows these Christians place their Christian faith in jeopardy.

Presented to the Metro-Milwaukee Pastors' Conference meeting at Nain Lutheran Church in West Allis WI on October 10, 2016. Presviously presented at Luther Days at Shoreland Lutheran High School in Somers WI on September 17, 2016.

Evolution and Genesis
Dr. Siegbert W. Becker, 1980, 9 pages
Section Titles:
The Days of Genesis One
Evolution and the Biblical Doctrine of Man
Evolution and Original Sin
Evolution and the Fall
Evolution and Actual Sin
Evolution and Law
Evolution and the Biblical View of Death
Evolution and the Vicarious Atonement
Genesis and the Age of the Earth
The Mythological Interpretation of Genesis One and Two

Why Do Some Believe in Millions of Years?
Mark Bergemann, LSI video, 2013.
A multimedia presentation, which compares evolution and creation, looks at a few of the scientific problems evolution faces, and shows why evolution is incompatible with the Christian faith. This video can be shown in three sections of 8-10 minutes per section. Transcript of this video

A Case Study: The Creationism of Hugh Ross
and Reasons to Believe
Patrick Winkler, LSI Journal, 2011

Excerpt: "One of the more well known characteristics of Ross and RTB’s position is the interpretation of "yom" (Hebrew for "day"). ... Ross continues, 'According to the Bible, God’s unlimited power meant he could have chosen any time scale, short or long, to perform his creative work.' ... RTB makes a distinction between pre-human bipedal primate species and humans. Whereas pre-humans are animals, specially created by God, humans are distinct in that they are God’s crown of creation, supernaturally created and made in God’s image. ...RTB continues with their day-age assertions in determining when Adam and Eve were created by God and conclude from the fossil record that Adam and Eve were created approximately 50,000 years ago."

No Gardeners
Mark Bergemann, LSI Journal, 2016.
Attempting to write God into the evolution story.

The Doctrinal Conclusions of Evolution
C. W. Spaude, 9 pages, 1972.

Excerpt: "What, then, are THE DOCTRINAL CONCLUSIONS OF EVOLUTION? If evolution were true, if people,even so-called Christians, persist in accepting it as true, what are its logical conclusions for the main body of Christian doctrine? They are the following: 1. There is no God. ...2. There Is no divine revelation of truth....3. There is no sin....4. There is no soul in man....5. There is no eternity. ...6. There is no Savior."

How Atheistic Evolutionists View
Theistic Evolution
Darrel Kautz, LSI Journal 1988, republished 2008, 1 page.

Excerpt: "To an atheistic evolutionist the entire notion of theistic evolution is absurd. The theory of evolution was designed to escape God and theistic evolutionists make God a part of evolution! When a person accepts evolution as a process used by the Creator, says the atheistic evolutionist, he should go all the way and reject the supernatural completely."

Disclaimer

Views expressed on this website are those of the author and not necessarily the view of LSI.

Creation-Evolution Q&A
Warren Krug, LSI Journal 2013.

Question #2: Can’t the creation “days” be interpreted as representing long ages?

Excerpt: Some Bible scholars who wish to accommodate the long ages of evolutionary theory refer to 2 Peter 3:8 (“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years...”) as giving them permission to interpret the creation days as representing very long time periods.

Question #3: What is the “gap theory” and is it legitimate?

Excerpt: Some people believe there is a long period of time between Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”) and Genesis 1:2 (“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”) In general, they seem to allow for this gap in order to accommodate the billions of years that secularists believe the earth has existed.

Question #4: What theological problems are encountered in theistic evolution?

Excerpt: Theistic evolution, the idea that God used the process of evolution to create the world and its creatures over millions and billions of years, poses serious theological problems. Sadly, many denominations and churches seem to have accepted this theory. However, if evolution is real, then the creation account in Genesis is not a true account of our origins. It also means it is not a true account of how sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were not real people. They cannot be blamed for the first sin if they didn’t even exist.

Why Confessional Lutherans Believe
that Genesis 1-3 Describes Real History
John F. Brug, 2014

Excerpt: "If someone tried to write a creation account for the specific propose of rejecting evolution as an explanation of human origins, it would be hard imagine how anyone could do this any more thoroughly than Genesis 1-3 does. Genesis 1-3 rejects evolutionary theory point by point, and it does it repeatedly and emphatically. Let us look at just a few of the main points in Genesis 1-3."

Essays on Origins
Dr. David Menton, 1996
Essay #20: What A Difference A Day Makes!

Excerpt: "The major problem with accepting the geological column and its fossils as evidence of God's "creative work" is that all fossils (including human fossils) are dead - stone-dead, in fact. This requires us to believe that suffering and death (for both man and animals) have been with us from the very beginning of Creation; indeed, that God intended for us to suffer and die. But the Bible teaches that God created everything perfectly and pronounced it "good." Suffering and death are not natural, but rather came into the world through the sin of disobedience. This is the very essence and meaning of the Bible, and the purpose of Christ's redemptive work."

The Genesis 1 Creation Account
Darrel Kautz, LSI Journal 2008, 2 pages
This is a reprint of a much older article. Darrel Kautz went home to the Lord in 1993.
Reasons are given why a day is 24 hours long in Genesis chapter 1.

The Gap Theory
Darrel Kautz, LSI Journal, 1988, reprinted 2008

Excerpt: "The view of origins known as the "Gap Theory" is an attempt to harmonize the long ages of evolution with Genesis 1:1-2. It originated in 1814 with Dr Thomas Chalmers of Edinburgh University, Scotland. The theory was popularized in the Scofield Reference Bible of 1917."

Evolution's "Dirty Little Secret"
is Satan's "Clever Little Trick"
Warren Krug, LSI Journal, 2014, 1 page.

Excerpt: "Science and religion are really not compatible, but for many scientists it is advantageous to claim that they are. Because liberal religious people have been such important allies in scienc's struggle against creationism, groups such as the National Academy of Sciences state that religion and science are not in conflict."