Was the World Created in Six Days?

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Even the most recent portions of the Christian Bible are thousands of years old, and written in languages not commonly spoken today. The interpretation difficulty this presents to Christians is reflected in the hundreds of Christian denominations and sects, many violently opposed to one another. An even greater problem is the proper interpretation of texts far older which were written in languages no one living has ever heard spoken.   

The six day creationists typically make the following claims; the Book of Genesis is a perfect, inerrant and historical text that can be readily understood from the “plain reading” alone. They will also insist that if their interpretation is rejected, then the entire text of the Bible must also be rejected. In public lectures, I hold up a King James Bible by the 3 physical pages which contain Genesis 1-11 and point out, “Young earth creationists say you have denied all the rest of the Book if you don’t like their interpretation of these three pages.” I am fascinated by the fact that the only other people to make this argument are atheists attempting to discredit the Bible by pointing to the obvious failure of Genesis to conform with scientific observation.

Popular books by “the new atheists” such as Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, or Richard Dawkins make the same core argument as young earth creationists Ken Ham or Jonathan Sarfati; the truth or falsity of the Bible is to be evaluated by how well the text conforms to modern observations of the physical universe. Where they differ is that the creationists reject science. The Answers in Genesis statement of belief insists that, "No apparent, perceived, or claimed interpretation of evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record." Of course, they mean by "Scriptural record" their particular interpretations.

This central irony is why a more thoughtful theologian such as John F. Haught can appear as a pro-science witness in the Dover, Pa. Intelligent Design creationism trial and also author a book, “God and the New Atheism” (2008) challenging Harris, Hitchens, and Dawkins.

This is not a new problem. Thomas Aquinas (c.a. 1225 – 1274) wrote in “Summa Theological” (1273), "In discussing questions of this kind two rules are to be observed, as Augustine teaches.   The first is, to hold to the truth of Scripture without wavering. The second is that since Holy Scripture can be explained in a multiplicity of senses, one should adhere to a particular explanation only in such measure as to be ready to abandon it if it be proved with certainty to be false, lest Holy Scripture be exposed to the ridicule of unbelievers, and obstacles be placed to their believing."