It's no secret that Christians believe in the doctrine of special creation. This is the idea that our world is not eternal but was created by God some time ago.
Furthermore, many of us who hold to a straight forward interpretation of Genesis 1-11 would conclude that God created the world in a mature state. This would be to suggest that the world could be much younger than it looks. Without presupposing special creation it would appear that the stars in the sky have been there for millions and billions of years, that the earth itself is billions of years old, that all life originated from non-life and evolved over a long period of time, etc... But if we suppose special creation then we would have to admit that God created the world in a mature state appearing older than it actually is.
This wouldn't be totally without Scriptural warrant. Adam was created by God as a fully mature man. The wine that Jesus made at Cana by all accounts appeared well aged.
But non-Christian types find this explanation implausible. Furthermore, they claim that they have arrived at their positions through a cool examination of scientific evidence without any presuppositions about God or creation. The evidence has led them to conclude that the universe is old, so is the earth, and life evolved. If the evidence pointed toward special creation then perhaps they would tend toward that view. But it doesn't, so say them.
I contend that there is no conceivable way in which God could have created without the appearance of age. Not to put restrictions on God, but I can't imagine how, if special creation is true, God could have created an immature world without the appearance of age. So here's my question:
Imagine a world in which special creation were true. What would the evidence for special creation look like as opposed to what we find in our world?
Furthermore, many of us who hold to a straight forward interpretation of Genesis 1-11 would conclude that God created the world in a mature state. This would be to suggest that the world could be much younger than it looks. Without presupposing special creation it would appear that the stars in the sky have been there for millions and billions of years, that the earth itself is billions of years old, that all life originated from non-life and evolved over a long period of time, etc... But if we suppose special creation then we would have to admit that God created the world in a mature state appearing older than it actually is.
This wouldn't be totally without Scriptural warrant. Adam was created by God as a fully mature man. The wine that Jesus made at Cana by all accounts appeared well aged.
But non-Christian types find this explanation implausible. Furthermore, they claim that they have arrived at their positions through a cool examination of scientific evidence without any presuppositions about God or creation. The evidence has led them to conclude that the universe is old, so is the earth, and life evolved. If the evidence pointed toward special creation then perhaps they would tend toward that view. But it doesn't, so say them.
I contend that there is no conceivable way in which God could have created without the appearance of age. Not to put restrictions on God, but I can't imagine how, if special creation is true, God could have created an immature world without the appearance of age. So here's my question:
Imagine a world in which special creation were true. What would the evidence for special creation look like as opposed to what we find in our world?
