When I was a Biology major at a Christian college in the 1990s, we had some class discussions about creation and evolution. One Biology professor openly admitted that he did not believe Adam and Eve were two literal people. At the time I thought that was odd, but I realize now that belief is more common among Christians than one might think. I recently read Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (2017), which includes chapters from Ken Ham on Young Earth Creationism, Hugh Ross on Old Earth (Progressive) Creationism, Deborah Haarsma on Evolutionary Creation, and Stephen Meyer on Intelligent Design. I’ve also been listening to the Wonderology podcast from Christianity Today and J. Warner Wallace’s Cold-Case Christianity podcast.
I will say up front that my own beliefs vary depending on who I’m listening to. There are strong arguments on all sides, though some are better than others. My goal today is simply to provide some pointers and questions for others to consider based on the book and podcasts.
1) How we interpret the Creation narrative in Genesis 1-2 is not, in and of itself, a measure of Christian orthodoxy. It is an area where faithful Christians can and do disagree. As illustrated by the names above, there are Christians who believe Creation happened in 6 literal 24-hours days approximately 6000 years ago. There are other Christians who believe that the earth is billions of years old and humans evolved over time, and there are many other variations in between.
2) The Bible does not claim to make scientifically precise statements about the earth and its inhabitants. Although all Scripture is inspired by God, it was written down by men in a specific historical context, who would have been very confused to be told something like “God created gaseous bodies known as stars and then created single- and multi-celled organisms.” We should always interpret Scripture according to its primary purpose. The Westminster Catechism states, “The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.” We should also take into consideration the genre of specific passages. The psalms are clearly poetic and should be read as such. Deuteronomy is historical narrative. But theologians disagree whether Genesis 1 is purely historical or somewhat poetic.
3) As you choose your interpretation of Creation, you also end up with difficult questions which that particular interpretation cannot fully answer. If the earth was created 6000 years ago, what do you do with all the fossil evidence that appears to be much older? Would God intentionally create misleading details, or is science misinterpreting what they have found? Conversely, if humans evolved over time, or if Adam and Eve were not literal people, how does the Fall in Genesis 3 come into the story? Was the Fall the source of physical death for man and animals, or is Genesis 2:17 referring only to spiritual death?
Other questions that are hotly debated include: Does the Hebrew word translated “day” necessarily mean a 24-hour period, or might it mean “age”? Second Peter 3:8 tells us that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,” so could that also apply to Genesis 1? Did the flood in Genesis 6 truly cover the whole globe, or just the portion that was inhabited by the biblical witnesses at that time? How can science state the half-life of certain atoms as billions of years when they can’t prove their basic assumption that conditions on earth have remained constant for that long?
Reading a book like Four Views can be helpful for a couple of reasons. It is a reminder that Christians can disagree with one another on issues like creation and evolution and yet remain brothers and sisters in Christ. (Whether they disagree graciously is a different question.) It’s also helpful to look at different positions to weigh the evidence for or against them. Unfortunately, it can also leave you feeling like you need to be an expert in biblical Hebrew, ancient cultures, biology, and physics in order to hold an informed opinion. The experts in those fields don’t even agree, so we all just do the best we can by the grace of God.
In the long run, what matters for the Christian is that God is the Creator and Sustainer of life in our universe, even if we don’t understand exactly how it came about. Those who are considering the Christian faith need not be turned away because of their scientific assumptions. If we believe Scripture, the very existence of this earth is sufficient to point people to the reality of a Creator. May we trust that He is truly in control.
“For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
© 2026 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
