Was the World Created in Six Days?

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In The City of God, Augustine of Hippo wrote “But simultaneously with time the world was made, if in the world's creation change and motion were created, as seems evident from the order of the first six or seven days. For in these days the morning and evening are counted, until, on the sixth day, all things which God then made were finished, and on the seventh the rest of God was mysteriously and sublimely signalized. What kind of days these were it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible for us to conceive, and how much more to say .” It is here, that we can come to appreciate the varied meaning behind the word “day.” Although it is easy for us to accept this word in its commonly accepted meaning of today, it is imperative that we acknowledge the fact that we do not truly understand the precise amount of time which the use of “day” in the Book of Genesis actually refers to. Augustine offers us an opportunity to understand “day” as referring to a greater period of time than twenty-four hours, whether that be weeks or years.

It is through thoughtful appreciation of Biblical theology’s synthesis with modern reason that we can come to embrace as the Catechism states “ the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers” (CCC 283). Faith cannot fight science; faith gave birth to science. It is for this very reason that these two great phenomena can coexist so as to appreciate the theology of creation while also appreciating the incredible findings of those researchers who have been inspired by the Holy Spirit in the furtherance of understanding the beauty of the Lord’s creation.

Therefore, although there may have been a point in the "history of theology," that the six days could be utterly accepted as true, it would be contrary to God-given human reason and the scientific findings that can be credited to God, to accept this theory as being true. Instead it is important to accept the findings of science inspired by the Holy Spirit, while still acknowledging the biblical theology of life that is so eloquently shared in the Book of Genesis. It is here that we come to find meaning in the nothingness that once existed; it is here, that we can come to value the millenia that have passed while preparing for the many that are yet to come. Instead of arguing against the science of the present, we should embrace as being a part of the Lord's plan and together work to bring the theology of life that is made evident in Genesis to those around us.

Whether the world was truly created in six days, or if it was thousands of years worth of thoughtful and artistic masterwork on behalf of the Lord and Creator, one thing can be for sure as Gordon Glover’s Theology of Creation makes clear, “ Genesis is not giving us creation science. It is giving us something much more profound and practical than that. Genesis is giving us a Biblical Theology of Creation.” It is through appreciating the essence of the Story of Creation, that we come to understand the essence of our own lives.