Once again, even a cursory study of historical theology
disproves these claims, and a study of Martin Luther’s teaching makes it
clear.
“We know from Moses,” Luther writes already in the third
paragraph
of his first lecture, “that the world was not in existence
before 6,000 years ago. Of this is it altogether impossible to convince a
philosopher, because, according to Aristotle, no first man or last man
can be conceded.”
My point is, first of all, that “young earth creationism” is no
novel idea; far from being the product of an American fundamentalist
response to evolutionism, this has been the default view throughout the
history of the church.
Luther turns his attention to this topic in his discussion of the
creation of human beings on the sixth day, and declares his opposition
to “Hilary and others, who maintained that God created everything at the
same time”: “Here our opinion is supported: that the six days were truly six
natural days, because here Moses says that Adam and Eve were created on
the sixth day. One may not use sophistries with reference to this text.
But concerning the order of creation of man he will state in the
following chapter that Eve was made sometime after Adam, not like Adam,
from a clod of earth, but from his rib, which God took out of the side
of Adam as he slept. These are all works of time, that is, works that
require time. They were not performed in one moment; neither were these
acts: that God brings to Adam every animal and that there was not found
one like him, etc. These are acts requiring time, and they were
performed on the sixth day.”
----We have received the Word of Truth, and we need to do our utmost to “rightly handle” that Word (2 Timothy 2:15). "
JimWhitiveen
