The Real Fundamentals
Over the last few years, I’ve come to realize fundamentalists might not be so fundamental to the faith after all.
When you think of biblical literalists, young-earth creationists likely come to mind, who think God created the world in six literal, 24-hour, sun-revolving days. And you know what? An infinitely powerful being could certainly create a universe in a snap. A flash of a second.
But something doesn’t add up here. Notice God says the Earth will do this, the Earth will do that repeatedly in the text of Genesis 1 and 2.
Genesis 1:24 “Then God said, ‘Let the Earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the Earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so.”
God is the being doing the creating here, but the Earth is what is doing the action. It’s the same with the plants on the planet. We, as beings trapped in the mortal coil of existence, often forget we serve an all-powerful God who is outside of time. What is a minute to Him, or ten billion years?
The James Webb Space Telescope is showing us mature galaxies at distances where the normal Big Bang theory falls apart in some ways. However, unlike a young-earth creationist mindset, one could just as easily say the universe must be at least double in age, around 26 billion years, rather than young. There is a cosmic horizon blocking our view out so far.
I’ve heard young-earth believers say we can’t be saved if we don’t believe in the six literal days of creation. That’s preposterous and dangerous. The gift of Yeshua (Jesus) is for all of humankind.
Jesus taught Adam and Eve as literal creations living in a literal garden at the beginning. But what isn’t mentioned in the entire narrative of the Scriptures is what happened before Eden. It simply says God planted a garden eastward in Eden. When did He do this? On the sixth day of creation, He planted the Garden of Eden.
On this sixth day, Adam and Eve are formed. But Eve, his counterpart, seems to come some time later. Adam even names animals during this day, which, if you look at the biodiversity of planet Earth, would be impossible for a human being to do in one 24-hour period.
The real kicker here is God rested on the seventh day. But this day does not have an evening and a morning. It is continual, and we’re even in the seventh day now. Every other day of creation has a beginning and an end, save for this one, the Creator’s Sabbath rest. The writer of Hebrews even alludes to this in his letter, saying: Hebrews 4:4 “For He has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.’”
Hebrews 4:6 “Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again He appoints a certain day, ‘Today…’”
The overarching context of this section of Hebrews isn’t about cosmology, but the point is, God’s seventh day hasn’t ended yet. And it includes the 1,000 year reign of Jesus after the events of the End Times.
Some people take offense to this idea of extended periods of time. But we use cars today that drive from fossil fuels, which were laid down so long ago, by creatures that didn’t exist alongside humankind.
There were dinosaurs and huge insects that would make us shudder today during these times. And we have a fossil record that shows these things. However, what we don’t see is transitional fossils and in-between species. We have fossils that are named transitional, but I have yet to see anything convincing like a half-bird, half- reptile dinosaur thing that has traits of both extensively. It’s a bit like wondering how an animal evolved to fly over many attempts when the animal jumping off the cliff would have died every time, thus ending the apparent evolution of flighted animals.
I don’t believe in the “fact” of evolution, because the “fact” isn’t factual. When I see an array of interspecies beings in rock layers, then we can talk. I love science, but I don’t think scientists are keen on leading where the evidence goes. We can interpret a fossil all we want, but if it doesn’t have the characteristics of advanced life to a sufficient degree to show intermittent forms between stages of evolution, you have a fairy-tale logic behind it.
I understand that creationists can be hard to deal with from a secular standpoint. And it’s not that atheists don’t believe there’s a God because of rebellion every time. They often say they see no such evidence from a material, scientific standpoint. They concede there could be a Creator outside of scientific discoveries, but they don’t believe in a personal God such as Yahweh. Any honest atheist is agnostic, not militant that there aren’t supernatural beings out there. Also, what does supernatural mean from a scientific standpoint, anyway?
An interdimensional being outside of our time-space continuum might have technology so superior they could be perceived as supernatural. The Bible often mentions the chariots of God and His angels, and not all angels have wings. It isn’t an illogical conclusion to think there is something technological going on there.
But mankind likely didn’t live alongside most dinosaurs, though you might say we have the dragon legends from such beings. I don’t even think a unicorn is a ridiculous idea, because if a narwhal can exist, why not a horse with a horn?
The truth is, the Bible isn’t saying the Earth is 6,000 years old. And that’s okay.
The thing that matters the most?
The gospel message—the salvation of humankind in the death and resurrection of the Son of God.
We don’t get to play gatekeeper because we don’t subscribe to the 24-hour day interpretation of Scripture.
The Bible opens with, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.”
It then uses allegorical poetry mixed with narrative to make sense out of the noise of creation, to make order out of the chaos.
What it does not say is: “God created the world in six, literal days. There’s no sun yet, mind you, but it’s 24-hours. Trust us on this.” Not to get Good Omens about it, but it’s true.
The fundamentals of the faith shouldn’t be science-based. The Bible is not a science textbook. It is a spiritual book about spiritual creatures who have fallen and need a Savior.
I don’t see anything showing the Bible is supposed to be read as completely literal in some cases. The days are likely longer times, meant to show the first humans where they came from.
Let’s remember the words of Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
Leave the dogmatic theological dissertations to the side for a moment and realize we are all made in God’s image and worthy of His love, and the love of others.
