Thursday, August 25, 2022

Creation Moment 8/26/2022 - "YoungEearth Creationism" long before American Fundamentalism arose

"........the claim that “young earth six-day creationism” is a relative newcomer on the theological scene, and specifically the product of Americanfundamentalism.” 
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