young earth or old earth?
young earth or old earth: do answers exist?
young earth or old earth: answers do exist
young earth or old earth revealed
young earth or old earth revealed, part two
young earth or old earth: the testimony of theology
young earth or old earth: the testimony of theology, part two
young earth or old earth: theistic evolution
The gap theory states that there was literally a long gap of time between Gen 1:1 and 1:2, as the only place in the creation narrative of Genesis where long ages can fit in without doing violence to the narrative.
1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
[possible gap of time here to accomodate a long age of the earth …]
1:2:And the earth was without form and void …
This would mean that space, matter, time, and energy were all created in verse one, as well as the earth and its rock; to satisfy an old age for the universe (since we see light from distant stars which are billions of light years away) and for earth’s geology. Then in verse two, the narrative picks up the history of the creation beginning about 6000 years ago.
So let us look at the first day of creation:
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Gen 1:3-5
For the gap theory to remain logically consistent, light did not exist billions of years ago, for it was not created until the first day, which was 6000 years ago. However, according to the gap theory, light must be as old as the old age of the universe. The only reason for an old age of the universe is to give light enough time to travel to earth from billions of light years away.
But that is not the only problem with the theology of the gap theory …
Continued in young earth or old earth: the gap theory, part two