Young Earth (Creation)

Many questions arise when trying to contemplate the age of the earth. Do we subscribe to the evolutionary viewpoint that the earth is billions of years old? Or do we hold to believe what the Bible says? In the book of Genesis we find that God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. Many Biblical scholars and I subscribe to a young earth belief. According to most theologians the earth is approximately 6,000 years old. How was this number figured out? It was in part by the genealogy found in Genesis 5-11, combined with the life of Abraham and combined again with exodus experience. The word for day in Genesis is a literal one solar day which equals 24 hours. The word that was used for day is not an allegory and it did not refer to a day as figuratively.

1. Day one – Heaven, Earth, Light, Dark
2. Day two – Firmament (sky)
3. Day three – Land and plants
4. Day Four – Celestial Bodies, Sun and moon, stars
5. Day Five – Sea creatures and birds
6. Day Six – Land animals, man and woman (Man & Woman made in image of God)
7. Day Seven – God rested on the seventh day and blessed it.


Archbishop James Ussher determined that the earth was created on October 23rd, 4004 B.C. Ussher was a renowned historian of his day and wrote the Annals of the World, covering ancient history with miraculous clarity. Many have dismissed this date, thinking that Ussher pulled it out of thin air; however there is some scientific explanation for this date. David Dewitt explains it as follows:


Select image for more information about Ussher

Ussher developed his chronology assuming that the ages listed for people in the genealogy were accurate and that there were none missing. This gave the year of 4004 B.C. That seems reasonable enough, but why would anyone pick
October 23rd date?
The section of the date makes more sense when we understand the rationale and its relationship to the Jewish calendar. The Jewish people started their week on Sunday and their days began at sundown. Therefore, it would be a reasonable assumption that the beginning of creation would be on the evening before a Sunday.

This would make the seventh day a Saturday which Jews recognize as the Sabbath. Importantly, October 23 would have been the date of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in 4004 Day 1, the date of the Jewish New Year is probably the most reasonable one to choose. Besides suggesting the date for creation, Ussher also posited that the fall took place on the tenth day. The tenth day also seems arbitrary at first glance. However, this corresponds to Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement. (David A. Dewitt, 2007)

There is no way of course to prove this, but it is intriguing to think about and I would encourage a dialogue to discuss this issue critically.

Worldviews Make the Differnece

Until 4 years ago, I took the world view of evolution instead of a Biblical worldview. When I became a Christian my world view was seriously and intentionally altered by God Himself. I remember when I first was saved; God led me down a road of discovery. During that journey, He provided every answer I had to the question of His existence, the proof that is available and most importantly, that His Word (Bible) is inerrant and trustworthy.

My previous world views did not believe everything in the Bible. In fact, I attempted on many occasions, to make the theory of evolution mesh with the Genesis experience described in the Bible. This was of course a futile attempt on my part, because both views are extremely incompatible.

Prior to becoming a Christian, I was okay with abortion and I thought nothing about subjects like eugenics. This is an extremely scary subject. It has been argued that Darwin’s theory of evolution helped to pave the road to the eugenics era, as well as euthanasia, infanticide, abortion and racial extermination. Although not under the banner of eugenics this did provide Hitler and Nazi Germany a justified path to follow: The extermination of all who are inferior to them.

“How does an evolution worldview or a creation worldview impact the way that human life is valued.” I think that two case studies speak for themselves as to how we would treat others according to our own world view.




Carrie Buck was the first to be forcibly sterilized due to feeblemindedness. She had a child out of wedlock and was considered promiscuous and incorrigible. Later, it was discovered that she was actually raped by a relative and conceived a child as a result of the rape. What particularly grieves me on this subject is that during the lectures they said that 75% of the fetuses in the UK are aborted when there is any discovery that the child has Down syndrome. This was particularly hard for me, because I have a cousin who has Down syndrome and she is the most loving, trusting and perfect person I have ever had the privilege to know.



The second case study on Ota Benga, is a second demonstration of how we would treat someone with the world view that is other than a Biblical or Christian worldview. We would take human beings and put them on display at a zoo or pack them like fish in a small ship and hope that some of them survive so there is a profit.

Denial

You may be here because of an addiction, but I would like to address a specific topic, denial. The most important aspect of recovery is honesty. I found that if a person is completely honest with themselves and others they are well on their way to a life of peace and serenity.

Denial can be seen as a defense mechanism, it protects us from emotional pain. Letting go of denial is an essential step in the recovery process. This is generally brought about in a person’s life through hitting a bottom. This can be a physical bottom, like contracting a STD from sexual encounters due to our addictions. Emotional bottoms, where you just come to the end our yourself and the feeling of dread and hopelessness follows. And lastly, a spiritual bottom, which can be a feeling of separation from our higher power.

A friend of mine named Dennis wrote a step study book and he states some common denial messages with which we may delude ourselves.

Common Denial Messages
1. I can stop any time I want to.
2. I only practice my addiction because I want to.
3. Things aren’t that bad.
4. When things get better (or worse), I’ll stop my…


Projecting Blame
1. You make me do what I do!
2. If only ______ would ______ then I would be happy.
3. I would be okay if _____ stopped acting out.
4. If _____ stops drinking I will be happy.

Subtypes of Denial
1. Projection – I don’t have a problem – you have a problem.
2. Minimizing – He doesn’t drink or drug that much.
3. Rationalization – I drink because of my crummy job/life/wife/parents etc., or he drinks because of his job/life/me.
4. Intellectualizing – being too much “in your head” about your problems – those constant conversations – the committee in your head.
5. Withdrawing – leaving relationships, jobs, etc. rather than facing our problems.
6. Geographic escape – my life is unmanageable – but it’ll get better if I move to another place, or if we move he won’t have these friends and he will stop.
7. Blame – I am miserable, it is your entire fault. If you would change, I would be happy again.
8. Fear of losing control – I can’t just sit here and do nothing. He/She needs me now more than ever. No one understands him/her like I do. I’m his/her only hope.
9. Suppression – don’t talk about it, it only makes it worse.

Welcome

My name is Joe Searles and I am starting this Blog to help those who struggle with life's hurts, habits and hang-ups. My life was transformed through an organization called Celebrate Recovery combined with finding my faith in a higher power, Jesus Christ. As I continue to write on this blog, I hope to be able to share a little of my personal story and my triumphs and failures in order to bring hope to the hopeless.