One of the most difficult issues facing Christianity is this: The Bible says the Earth is 6,000 years old, while science says the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, while the universe itself is a staggering 13.5 billion years old. The choice appears to be clear. Either science is correct and the Bible is wrong, or the Bible is correct and modern science is a falsehood. The choice frequently puts Christians in a very difficult predicament.
However, a careful interpretation of the Biblical creation account from a Preterist perspective reveals that not only does the Bible not make a literal claim for a young Earth, but that modern science is fully compatible with the Genesis story.
Preterism and the End-times
Preterism is the belief that all the Biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, and refer to identifiable historical events. A study of the Book of Revelations in light of what we know about first-century A.D. Roman history proves this to be the case down to the smallest detail. If this can be said of the events of the ‘end of the age’, then a similar interpretation is likely to bear fruit for the Bible’s creation story.
The Garden of Eden
Young Earth Creationists overlook a vital point about the Garden of Eden, namely that no place like it exists on Earth. This makes sense when it is considered that the Bible depicts the Garden as a heavenly or spiritual reality. At the fall, Adam was expelled from the heavenly realm into the world we recognize, one that had been created in the way we know it eons before. At this time, Adam’s purely spiritual body was transformed into a corruptible, human body. The resurrection is thus a return to the spiritual state of the heavenly Eden.
Coming of Age
There is also a deeply personal interpretation of Genesis chapters 1-2 that makes it relevant to every one of us. The story is an allegory of childhood; a realm of innocence that is abandoned in the temptations and trials of adulthood. The gift of Christ calls on people to return to the state of youthful innocence when spiritual man walked with God.
The examples given above merely scratch the surface about how Young Earth Creationists have sadly misinterpreted the Bible, and thus missed out on some of its most profound truths.
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