Hi JBMM,
I'm an 'if not'. I support the app. 6,000 year old creation by God's inclusion of the geneologies of Adam's line to Abraham. Most all those who have seriously studied the Scriptures find extrabiblical evidence to support the time of the Exodus. God, in His infinite wisdom knew that we would be able to always support the app. date of the Exodus and so only had need to show His 'proof' of time from the beginning to the Exodus. Therefore, He included the previously mentioned geneologies.
Secondly, while so many get caught up in the argument that we can't know what a 'day' was in the time that the Genesis account records for us, I also find that God has answered that argument. He repeats twice in the Exodus account, and we know that by that time of our history that everyone knew what a day was, that He created the world in six days and then rested and it is what He sets as the example of the Sabbath. Six literal evening and morning days and then a literal evening and morning Sabbath. So, for me, I don't even argue the issue of what a day was considered in the Genesis account.
Thirdly, God closes out the description of each day of the creation as being an evening and then a morning. Just exactly what we think of as a day, today. However, that is not really what a 'day' is. We would still have 'days' even if there were no sun and moon, because the event that literally defines a 'day' upon the earth is one rotation of the earth. Whether or not the sun stands in the sky or the moon rises at night, a day is defined as app. 24 hours and that 24 hour period is marked by the planet earth making one full rotation around its axis. The sun may fall away into space and travel clear across to the other side of our galaxy or even beyond and our earth will continue to spin on its axis marking 'days'.
We have become accustomed to a 'day' being defined as the rising and setting of the sun and moon on the horizon of our earth, but in actuality they have nothing to do with the proper and excact definition of a 'day'. Just as we improperly refer to the sun coming up as its rising, in actuality the sun doesn't move from it's position in the center of our solar system. It is the earth which spins and as it spins the sun is revealed to different 'sides' of the earth and it appears as a 'rising' to us. Similarly, over thousands of years man has become accustomed to a day being seen as the 'rising' of the sun to make it daylight outside and then the 'setting' of the sun which brings on darkness which we call night, but the true event that creates the 'day' for us is really neither of these events, but rather the turning of the earth upon its axis. One full rotation makes a day and the moment that God spoke the earth into existence, so long as it was spinning when it was created, there would have been a day followed by a day and followed by another day, etc.
When the Sun was created then we would have had daylight to govern the time we think of as day followed by nightime as the earth continued to spin and half of the earth was plunged into darkness. This is exactly what God tells us was His purpose in creating the greater and the lesser light. Keep in mind that this 'theory' that a day is made up of a period of sunlight and moonlight is not able to be considered, because in reality there is always sunlight still somewhere on the earth. So, for a 'day' to be defned as a period of light and then darkness one must stand in a particular spot to see this, but for the earth to rotate a full turn has nothing to do with where one stands upon the earth.
God is wise. Did you ever wonder why the Scriptures say that our sin is as far as the east is from the west and not the north is from the south? You can start anywhere on the earth and walk north but you will eventually crest the pole of the axis and begin walking south. However, you can walk east from any point on the earth and you will always and forever be walking east. You will never be walking west unless you change your direction.
Fourth, I rest my support on the Scriptural claim that God is the God of the impossible and so when scientists and evolutionists make claims that this understanding of mine is 'impossible', then I'm fairly assured, "Well, then I know God could well have done it!" God is the God who can create miracles and only the 6,000 year creation account holds up to the 'miracle' test. All the others have a logical and reasonable explanation for what they hold as truth.
Finally, I have discussed with many who are called Christians and those who do not claim that name who try to assure me that the god of theistic evolution is the same God of the 6,000 year creation and I'm very sorry, but that just isn't true. The god of theistic evolution, while certainly a very powerful and wise god, does not display the same power, omniscience, wisdom, and glory as the God who created everything perfect in the beginning. The theistic god started perhaps the universe which through natural and logical selective processes became what it is today. He then started the earth and to be completely honest I have quite a bit of trouble understanding where He stepped in and began working with the plants and animals of the earth and what all of 'created as its kind' really means if God actually just started some amoebe like living organism that through natural and logical processes made its way to become a bear or dog or elephant or whatever.
The God of the 6,000 year creation created in practically mere moments the perfection of the universe and the perfection of the earth and all that is in it and on it and curiously when we read and understand the God of the 6,000 year creation we see that He actually created the earth as the first physical piece that we now call the universe and then surrounded it with the remaining universe. This, of course, is the earth 'centric' understanding of the creation which I believe is correct. Not that the earth is the physical 'center' of the universe, but that the creation of this realm began with the earth and was all about making the earth a place where flesh could live and worship and love God. God is love and His entire purpose for creating this realm was to create a creature that He could love and would return that love to Him. The entire realm of this creation was for God's pleasure and God's desires. He is the God who can speak all of this into near immediate existence and I firmly believe and am convicted that the Genesis account, while not readily accepted by the scientific community due to the very fact that he first 'law' of science is that there are no miracles, is the true account of how He did it.
One thing that both scientists and lay people need to comprehend is that 'miracles' cannot be explained. Period!! If it can be reasonably and logically explained, then it is not a miracle. Of course, that doesn't stop us from trying and we use the physical properties of the creation to try and explain how we got here, but it can't be explained. If it can be explained then it is not a miracle.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
