Category Archives: Creation

IN THE SPACE OF SIX PAGES (2)

Creation September 8, 2020 Comments: 2

six-daysPMW 2020-071 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

This is the second in a three-part series on the creation statement in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Six-day creation is an embarrassment to many evangelical and Reformed theologians. It is such an embarrassment that some will even re-interpret historic Reformed statements on the matter. One such re-working of the meaning of the Confession has been attempted by Reformed theological writer Lee Irons. Let’s continue my critique of his effort.

Irons opens his actual response to Hall’s research in the writings of the Westminster divines with this rather surprising comment, a comment that exposes a fundamental flaw in Irons’ effort: Continue reading →

IN THE SPACE OF SIX PAGES (1)

Creation September 4, 2020 Comments: 2

creation-beginningPMW 2020-070 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The power of God and the clarity of his revelation are on trial in the courtroom of Reformed theological opinion. Despite the clarity of the statement on creation in the venerable Westminster Confession of Faith, some theologians attempt to re-interpret it to allow for evolution. In this three part series I will analyze one effort to this end.

Lee Irons has provided us with a Framework Interpretation response to David Hall’s important speech to the PCA General Assembly a few years back. In that speech Hall dealt with the Confessional meaning of creation “in the space of six days.” In his response titled “In the Space of Six Days: What Did the Divines Mean?”1 Irons mounts a vigorous assault on Hall’s historical research into the original meaning of the Confession of Faith’s statement. Continue reading →

IS SIX-DAY CREATION NAIVE FUNDAMENTALISM?

Creation September 1, 2020 Comments: 28

PMW 2020-069 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Many academic evangelicals decry Six-day Creation as naive fundamentalism. They reject it as beneath the dignity of serious exegetical theology. Of course, this is quite mistaken. For a compelling, sophisticated exegetical argument can be made in defense of this view.

As a Reformed Christian trained in exegetical theology, I do not tenaciously hold to an approach to Scripture more in keeping with a “naive fundamentalism.” Rather my view of creation continues an exegetical tradition with a well-argued, long-standing, traditional orthodoxy — an orthodoxy including many noteworthy biblical and exegetical scholars from the past and the present.

Though counting noses is not the way to argue a theological point, I do want to point to many world-class scholars who have held and continue to hold to Six-day Creation. Continue reading →

SCIENCE AND BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

Creation, Science March 22, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-024 By Stephen Geard (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

Gentry: Eschatology is a major feature in a biblical worldview. Eschatology works toward the consummate, eternal New Creation. But in order to get there, we must understand another foundation stone of the biblical worldview: Creation. This is a helpful article on the integrity of Scripture as it endures the attackes of humanistic science.

THE CLASH OF SCIENCE AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE
By Stephen Geard

Modern science arose in harmony with Christian creationist beliefs. But in recent years science has adopted an assumption that is not founded on Christian doctrine. What has happened?

The creation vs evolution controversy is seen by some as a conflict between the Bible and modern science. Another area of contention is the matter of miracles vs the laws of science. Why do such conflicts arise? And what can we learn from them about the Bible and about science? Continue reading →

EVOLUTION: A MESSAGE OF HOPE?

Creation, Ethics, morality, Pessimism, Worldview February 12, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-014 by Philip Bell (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

The hope of the Christian faith is inextricably linked with a belief in purpose. The Apostle Paul famously waxed lyrical with the words, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). By virtue of His incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection, the Universe’s Creator and Sustainer (John 1:1–3, Colossians 1:16–17) became the Saviour. Having a personal relationship with God—through repentance and faith (e.g. Mark 1:14–15)—guarantees us a place in heaven. We have a confident, certain hope of eternal glory. But can this message be sustained if, as a consistent belief in evolution requires, humankind’s special creation by God is overturned?

“We are the one creature to whom natural selection has bequeathed a brain complex enough to comprehend the laws that govern the universe. And we should be proud that we are the only species that has figured out how we came to be.”1 So concludes evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne in his book Why Evolution is True. Continue reading →

SIX DAY CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTION

apologetics, Creation February 5, 2019 Comments: 6

PMW 2019-011 by Gabriel Rench (CrossPolitic Studios)

Gentry Note:
Postmillennialism is one feature of a Christian worldview. Another feature is the doctrine of Creation. In our modern world the doctrine of Six-day Creation is as hard to accept as is the postmillennial hope. But it is just as important. The world for which the postmillennial hope is designed is the world created by God — in the space of six, literal days. This article by Rench is largely a review of my book As It Is Written, but which is put in our current anti-God environment.

Most of us have been pulled over by a cop. Imagine for a moment that this happens to you. The cop flashes his lights, you dutifully pull over, hand over your license and registration. He informs you that he pulled you over because you didn’t stop at the stop sign. You respond with, “But officer, I interpreted the stop sign to mean, ‘Stop pressing the brake,’ so of course I drove faster!”

Pretty absurd right? Everyone knows the cop would slap you with a ticket. We all recognize shenanigans when people behave this way with mundane activities. But this behavior isn’t any cuter when theologians do it. And we see this sort of thing when it comes to the meaning of the creation week. Continue reading →

THE MYTH OF APE-TO-HUMAN EVOLUTION

Creation November 20, 2018 Leave a comment

PMW 2018-093 by Peter Line (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

Gentry note:
This article from Creation Ministries, Intl., provides an excellent, brief rebuttal to the idea of human evolution. I republish this article because the postmillennial worldview not only deals with eschatology but has its foundation in protology, the study of origins. The end is rooted in the beginning. Christians need to be alert to the errors of evolution from nothing and commit to creation by God.

The public is frequently led to think that the evidence of humans evolving from an apelike common ancestor with chimps is simply overwhelming. The claim is often made in bombastic, even intimidating terms, such as in this example of `elephant hurling’ tactics by a prominent evolutionist:

“There are now tens of thousands of hominid fossils in museums around the world supporting our current knowledge of human evolution. The pattern that emerges from this vast body of hard evidence is consistent across thousands of investigations. All models, all myths involving singular, instantaneous creation of modern humans fail in the face of this evidence.” Continue reading →