Gap Creationism
Encyclopedia
Gap creationism is a form of Old Earth creationism
that posits that the six-day creation, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved literal 24-hour days, but that there was a gap of time between two distinct creations in the first and the second verses of Genesis, explaining many scientific observations, including the age of the Earth
. In this it differs from Day-Age creationism
, which posits that the 'days' of creation were much longer periods (of thousands or millions of years), and from Young Earth creationism
, which although it agrees concerning the six literal 24-hour days of creation, does not posit any gap of time.
had determined that the Earth was far older than a literal interpretation of Genesis and the Bible-based Flood geology
would allow. Gap creation allowed religious geologists (who comprised the majority of the geological community at the time) to reconcile their faith in the Bible with the new authority of science. According to the doctrine of natural theology
, science was in this period considered a second revelation, God's word in nature as well as in Scripture, so the two could not contradict each other.
Gap creationism was popularized by Thomas Chalmers
, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, founder of the Free Church of Scotland, and author of one of the Bridgewater Treatises, who attributed it to 17th century Dutch Arminian
theologian Simon Episcopius
. Other early proponents included Oxford University geology professor and fellow Bridgewater author William Buckland
, Sharon Turner
and Edward Hitchcock
.
It gained widespread attention when a "second creative act" was discussed prominently in the reference notes for Genesis in the influential 1917 Scofield Reference Bible
.
In 1954, a few years before the re-emergence of Young Earth Flood geology
eclipsed Gap creationism, influential evangelical theologian Bernard Ramm
wrote in The Christian View of Science and Scripture:
This book by Ramm was influential in the formation of another alternative to gap creationism, that of progressive creationism
, which found favour with more conservative members of the American Scientific Affiliation
(a fellowship of scientists who are Christians), with the more modernist wing of that fellowship favouring theistic evolution
.
Proponents of this form of creationism have included Cyrus I. Scofield, Harry Rimmer
, Jimmy Swaggart
, G. H. Pember
, L. Allen Higley, Arthur Pink
, Donald Grey Barnhouse and Clarence Larkin
.
Canadian physiologist Arthur Custance has argued that the belief can be traced back to biblical times, citing the Targum of Onkelos
(2nd c. BC), Akiba ben Joseph's Sefer Hazzohar (1st c. AD), Origen
's De Principiis (3rd c. AD), and Caedmon (7th c. AD).
has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Earth
is far older than can be accounted for by, for instance, adding up the ages of Biblical patriarchs
and comparing it with secular historical data, as James Ussher
famously attempted in the 17th century when he developed the Ussher chronology.
To maintain that the Genesis creation account is inerrant in matters of scientific fact, Gap creationists suppose that certain facts about the past and the age of the Earth have been omitted from the Genesis account; specifically that there was a gap of time in the Biblical account that lasted an unknown number of years between a first creation in and a second creation in . By positing such an event, various observations in a wide range of fields, including the age of the Earth
, the age of the universe
, dinosaur
s, fossils, ice core
s, ice age
s, and geological formations
are allowed by adherents to have occurred as outlined by science without contradicting their literal belief in Genesis
.
Old Earth creationism
Old Earth creationism is an umbrella term for a number of types of creationism, including gap creationism and progressive creationism...
that posits that the six-day creation, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved literal 24-hour days, but that there was a gap of time between two distinct creations in the first and the second verses of Genesis, explaining many scientific observations, including the age of the Earth
Age of the Earth
The age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples...
. In this it differs from Day-Age creationism
Day-Age Creationism
Day-age creationism, a type of old Earth creationism, is an interpretation of the creation accounts found in Genesis. It holds that the six days referred to in the Genesis account of creation are not ordinary 24-hour days, but rather are much longer periods...
, which posits that the 'days' of creation were much longer periods (of thousands or millions of years), and from Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
, which although it agrees concerning the six literal 24-hour days of creation, does not posit any gap of time.
History
Gap creationism became increasingly attractive near the end of the eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth century, because the newly established science of geologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
had determined that the Earth was far older than a literal interpretation of Genesis and the Bible-based Flood geology
Flood geology
Flood geology is the interpretation of the geological history of the Earth in terms of the global flood described in Genesis 6–9. Similar views played a part in the early development of the science of geology, even after the Biblical chronology had been rejected by geologists in favour of an...
would allow. Gap creation allowed religious geologists (who comprised the majority of the geological community at the time) to reconcile their faith in the Bible with the new authority of science. According to the doctrine of natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
, science was in this period considered a second revelation, God's word in nature as well as in Scripture, so the two could not contradict each other.
Gap creationism was popularized by Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers , Scottish mathematician, political economist, divine and a leader of the Free Church of Scotland, was born at Anstruther in Fife.-Overview:...
, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, founder of the Free Church of Scotland, and author of one of the Bridgewater Treatises, who attributed it to 17th century Dutch Arminian
Arminianism
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
theologian Simon Episcopius
Simon Episcopius
Simon Episcopius was a Dutch theologian and Remonstrant who played a significant role at the Synod of Dort in 1618...
. Other early proponents included Oxford University geology professor and fellow Bridgewater author William Buckland
William Buckland
The Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...
, Sharon Turner
Sharon Turner
Sharon Turner was an English historian.-Life:Born in Pentonville, Turner was the eldest son of William and Ann Turner, Yorkshire natives who had settled in London upon marrying. He left school at fifteen to be articled to an attorney in the Temple...
and Edward Hitchcock
Edward Hitchcock
Edward Hitchcock was a noted American geologist and the third President of Amherst College .-Life:...
.
It gained widespread attention when a "second creative act" was discussed prominently in the reference notes for Genesis in the influential 1917 Scofield Reference Bible
Scofield Reference Bible
The Scofield Reference Bible is a widely circulated study Bible edited and annotated by the American Bible student Cyrus I. Scofield, that popularized dispensationalism at the beginning of the 20th century...
.
In 1954, a few years before the re-emergence of Young Earth Flood geology
Flood geology
Flood geology is the interpretation of the geological history of the Earth in terms of the global flood described in Genesis 6–9. Similar views played a part in the early development of the science of geology, even after the Biblical chronology had been rejected by geologists in favour of an...
eclipsed Gap creationism, influential evangelical theologian Bernard Ramm
Bernard Ramm
Bernard L. Ramm was a Baptist theologian and apologist within the broad Evangelical tradition. He wrote prolifically on topics concerned with biblical hermeneutics, religion and science, Christology, and apologetics...
wrote in The Christian View of Science and Scripture:
This book by Ramm was influential in the formation of another alternative to gap creationism, that of progressive creationism
Progressive creationism
Progressive creationism is the religious belief that God created new forms of life gradually, over a period of hundreds of millions of years. As a form of Old Earth creationism, it accepts mainstream geological and cosmological estimates for the age of the Earth, but posits that the new "kinds" of...
, which found favour with more conservative members of the American Scientific Affiliation
American Scientific Affiliation
The American Scientific Affiliation is a Christian religious organization of scientists and people in science-related disciplines. The stated purpose is "to investigate any area relating Christian faith and science." The organization publishes a journal, Perspectives of Science and Christian Faith...
(a fellowship of scientists who are Christians), with the more modernist wing of that fellowship favouring theistic evolution
Theistic evolution
Theistic evolution or evolutionary creation is a concept that asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution...
.
Proponents of this form of creationism have included Cyrus I. Scofield, Harry Rimmer
Harry Rimmer
Harry Rimmer was an American creationist, evangelist and writer of anti-evolution pamphlets. He is most prominent as an early pioneer in the creationist movement in the United States.-Early life:...
, Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
, G. H. Pember
G. H. Pember
George Hawkins Pember , known as G. H. Pember, was an English theologian and author who was affiliated with a branch of Protestant Evangelical Christianity that is known as the Brethren Movement or is also sometimes identified as the Brethren Assemblies, Christian Brethren, or Plymouth...
, L. Allen Higley, Arthur Pink
Arthur Pink
Arthur Walkington Pink was an English Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar known for his staunchly Calvinist and Puritan-like teachings.-Biography:...
, Donald Grey Barnhouse and Clarence Larkin
Clarence Larkin
Rev. Clarence Larkin was an American Baptist pastor, Bible teacher and author whose writings on Dispensationalism had a great impact on conservative Protestant visual culture in the 20th century...
.
Canadian physiologist Arthur Custance has argued that the belief can be traced back to biblical times, citing the Targum of Onkelos
Targum Onkelos
right|thumb|Interlinear text of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6.3–10 with [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] Targum Onkelos from the [[British Library]]....
(2nd c. BC), Akiba ben Joseph's Sefer Hazzohar (1st c. AD), Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
's De Principiis (3rd c. AD), and Caedmon (7th c. AD).
Interpretation of Genesis
Gap creationists believe that scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
is far older than can be accounted for by, for instance, adding up the ages of Biblical patriarchs
Patriarchs (Bible)
The Patriarchs of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, the ancestor of all the Abrahamic nations; his son Isaac, the ancestor of the nations surrounding Israel/Judah; and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites...
and comparing it with secular historical data, as James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
famously attempted in the 17th century when he developed the Ussher chronology.
To maintain that the Genesis creation account is inerrant in matters of scientific fact, Gap creationists suppose that certain facts about the past and the age of the Earth have been omitted from the Genesis account; specifically that there was a gap of time in the Biblical account that lasted an unknown number of years between a first creation in and a second creation in . By positing such an event, various observations in a wide range of fields, including the age of the Earth
Age of the Earth
The age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples...
, the age of the universe
Age of the universe
The age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model...
, dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, fossils, ice core
Ice core
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet, most commonly from the polar ice caps of Antarctica, Greenland or from high mountain glaciers elsewhere. As the ice forms from the incremental build up of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper, and an ice...
s, ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s, and geological formations
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
are allowed by adherents to have occurred as outlined by science without contradicting their literal belief in Genesis
Biblical literalism
Biblical literalism is the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary sense of words in the Bible. A literal Biblical interpretation is associated with the fundamentalist and evangelical hermeneutical approach to Scripture, and is used almost exclusively by conservative Christians...
.
Biblical support
Because there is no specific information given in Genesis concerning the proposed gap of time, other scriptures are used to support and explain what may have occurred during this period and to explain the specific linguistic reasoning behind this interpretation of the Hebrew text. A short list of examples is given below:- The word "was" in is more accurately translated "became". Such a word choice makes the gap interpretation easier to see in modern English.
- God is perfect and everything he does is perfect, so a newly created earth from the hand of God should not have been without form and void and shrouded in darkness. ,
- The Holy SpiritHoly SpiritHoly Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
was "renewing" the face of the earth as he hovered over the face of the waters. - Angels already existed in a state of grace when God "laid the foundations of the Earth", so there had been at least one creative act of God before the six days of Genesis.
- SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
had fallen from grace "in the beginning" which, since the serpentSerpent (Bible)Serpent is the term used to translate a variety of words in the Hebrew bible, the most common being , , the generic word for "snake"....
tempted Adam and EveAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
, had to have occurred before the Fall of man. , , - Space, time, water, and the rock which constitutes the main body of the earth, existed before the period of six days began in .
See also
- CreationismCreationismCreationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
- Dating CreationDating CreationCultures throughout history have attempted to date the beginning of the the world in the past, so methods of dating Creation have involved analysing scriptures or ancient texts.-Ancient creation dates:...
- Day-Age CreationismDay-Age CreationismDay-age creationism, a type of old Earth creationism, is an interpretation of the creation accounts found in Genesis. It holds that the six days referred to in the Genesis account of creation are not ordinary 24-hour days, but rather are much longer periods...
- Old Earth CreationismOld Earth creationismOld Earth creationism is an umbrella term for a number of types of creationism, including gap creationism and progressive creationism...
- Answers in GenesisAnswers in GenesisAnswers in Genesis is a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry with a particular focus on supporting Young Earth creationism and a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. The organization has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States...
- Answers in Creation
Suggested Reading
- Sailhammer, John Genesis Unbound (Multnomah Books, 1996, ISBN 0-880708-68-9).