Creation Sunday School Series

Church History up to Darwin
by Lee Johnson

The Early Church Fathers were unanimous in their assent about God being the creator. The Apostles Creed itself states, "I believe in God the Father Almight, Maker of Heaven and Earth." This document, which probably started as a baptismal creed in the early 100's, had the assent of the church community. There was not a real controversy within the church concerning the days of creation, so there is no creedal declaration upon the subject. The fathers basically all assented to six literal days.

Irenaeus the Apologist spoke on creation. He is often quoted by people as believing in ages of creation, but this is from a faulty reading. He always spoke of creation in days, but did think that the days modeled the future. He believed that the days were literal, but they stood as a type for the future, which he then interpreted as ages of 1,000 years. Many people followed such a model in the early church. Tertullian seems to have a similar view of creation with the days being literal, but also being a type of ages that the earth would endure.

Hippolytus followed this model. He thought that the earth would continue 6,000 years, which also proves he thought the earth younger than 6,000 years. He specifically states that the earth was created in 6 days. This can be seen in the creation position paper.

Ambrose of Milan taught strict 6 day construction of Genesis 1:1. In fact, as can be seen in the paper, Ambrose taught that the meaning of day and night and a literal day rests on God's Word. He wrote, "The beginning of the day rests on God's word: 'Be light made, and light was made.' The end of day is the evening. Now, the succeeding day follows after the termination of night. The thought of God is dear. First He called light 'day' and next He called darkness 'night.' In notable fashion has Scripture spoken of a 'day,' not the 'first day.' Because a second, then a third day, and finally the remaining days were to follow, a 'first dav' could have been mentioned, following in this way the natural order. But Scripture established a law that twenty-four hours, including both day and night, should be given the name of day only, as if one were to say the length of one day is twenty-four hours in extent" (Hexameron, pp. 42-43)

Basil one of the fathers of the Council of Constantinople, taught a 24 hour day. His quote can also be found in the paper. It is a powerful proof that many people believed it was literal. It also comes from one of his sermons, which means he taught the masses to believe in a literal day.

The next stage in development was the schools. There stood two major schools of thought in the early eastern church. The Antioch school and the Alexanderian. The Western church is really exemplified by Ambrose who we have already looked to as a 6 day man.

The Antiochene school began the method of interpretation that we follow today, the Greammatico-Historical method. Here we see Theophilus. Theophilus, around 180, stressed a literal 6 day creation point of view, and that thought carried through the years of the Antiochene school. This view continued down to Theodoret, who beautifully laid the foundation of a grammatical-historical method of interpretation. This school strongly stands in the tradition of 6 literal day.

The Alexandrian school was the school given to allegory. This school definitely believed in creation ex nihilo. Both Clement of Alexanderia and Origen asserted creation out of nothing. These men seem to lean to a creation in an instant, but deny age long days. Clement and Origen both state that the earth is younger than 6,000 years old. Origen quoted that in response to Celsus, who obviously thought of an ancient earth.

Cyril of Jerusalem, who could probably be considered under this category, taught his students creation in 6 literal days. So, the entire Alexandrian school was not affected with instantaneous creation, yet they all affirmed creation by God out of nothing, and rejected long earth theory. Meaning they thought the Biblical chronology to be accurate.

Augustine does not teach a day age theory either, but he does give into immediate creation. Augustine tried to defend the almighty power of God, and shows the beginning of medieval church with his fascination of numerology, and speculation. His desire to philosophically defend God from the charge of weakness in needing 6 days, led him to proclaim immediate creation and follow the Alexandrian school down the path of slavery to philosophies. Augustine does deny an ancient earth and affirms the Biblical chronology of the earth by affirming a less than 6,000 year old earth.

The Medieval church was languishing in ignorance and slaves to allegorical interpretation. So, people can be found to support every possible view in the Middle Ages. Yet, there stood among the church a cloud of witnesses for 6 literal days. St. Bonaventura, Albertus Magnus, Henry of Ghent, and most of the scholastics affirm 6 day creation. Some affirmed that God had been eternally creating, a position closest to the Day Age theory of today. These men remain mostly in the camp of Nominalism. Men such as Duns Scotus and Biel believed eternal creation. Thomas Aquinas seems to have held this position as well. Anselm seems to indicate that the days of Genesis might be different from the days we have today, but does not go into more detail or even imply how they would be different or that it was even necessary to do so.

Then comes the Reformation. Here the church returns to the belief that the Bible is not an allegorical book, and with it comes the return to unanimous 6 literal days. Calvin in his commentary is crystal clear. For the correction of this fault, God applied the most suitable remedy when he distributed the creation of the world into successive portions, that he might fix our attention, and compel us, as if he had laid his hand upon us, to pause and to reflect" (Commentary on Gen. 1:5). He also makes it clear that the days of creation were "natural days": "To divide the day from the night. He means the artificial day, which begins at the rising of the sun and ends at its setting. For the natural day (which he mentions above) includes in itself the night. Hence infer, that the interchange of days and nights shall be continual: because the word of God, who determined that the days should be distinct from the nights, directs the course of the sun to this end" (Commentary on Gen. 1:14). Finally when he considers the sanctifying of the seventh day he notes that with God one moment is as a thousand years. Thus he concludes that God took six days for our benefit not his. Calvin even mentioned the verse so often quoted in defense of long earth or day age theory that one day is as a thousand years, but concludes that means that God took 6 days to benefit us and the Sabbath on the 7th day proved that. The institution of the Sabbath shows that they were real 6 days, and that God took 6 days when he could have done it quickly so that we might have a pattern of life.

Dort, which I believe stands as the height of the Reformation and begins the time of Confessionalism, clearly believed the 6 creation. Dort did not discuss the matter of creation, but did authorize the making of Dutch Translation with study notes. One of the major translators of this Bible was the moderator, Johannes Borgman. The study notes clearly state a 6 day view. This can be attributed to the entire Synod or at least its moderator and those other men on the committee. This included multiple translators and a multiple checkers for each translator, plus group meetings. These men were professors in the schools as well as ministers of the gospel.

Also, William Ames, a famous Puritan theologian, attended Dort. He was a non-voting member, but served as a special counsel to the moderator. Ames in Marrow of Theology indicates his assent to 6 day creation and discuss them as days. No evidence for ages rather than days can be found. This book was influential. In fact, for years it was the only theology text book at Harvard and Yale.

The Westminster Divines were also 6 day men. The Confession States "in the space of 6 Days". Yet, a controversy has since arisen concerning the phraseology of "Space of" . So, Rev. David Hall has done a great deal of research. The fruits of it can be seen in summary in the paper. He failed to discover one single divine who even seemed to lean in any other direction than 6 literal natural days. John White, John Ley, John Lightfoot all held 6 literal day beliefs.

It can also be deduced from discussions on the Sabbath or Lord's Day that most of the Reformers believed in literal days. Bullinger bases his belief of Sabbath observance on the antiquity of the Sabbath observance, pre-dating the 4th Commandment going back to the literal days of creation. So did most puritans such as Hugh Latimer and John Dod important pre-Westminster Reformers. These men argued that the Sabbath had its roots in the example of God. A resting on the seventh day of creation. Herman Witsus also discuss the sacramental role of the Sabbath in his book the Economy of the Covenants, where no evidence of age long days can be found. In fact, it seems that the sacrament of Sabbath observance was founded on the resting of God on a particular day. Witsus quotes others who agree with this position including a man he calls Martyr. This man I believe is the Peter, the Martyr, Vermingly, but one cannot be certain. Thus, the overwhelming evidence of the Reformers shows them to be followers of literal six day creation.

Lest we think that America was different allow me to quote John Thomson, a Presbyterian minister in the 1700's. He wrote an Explication of the Shorter Catechism in the 1740's while a minister in the backwoods of Virginia to help explain the answers to children. Question 9 of the Shorter Catechism reads, "What is the work of Creation? A. The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good." Thomson's book is a catechism about the catechism of sorts. His 3rd Question regarding SCQ9 begins, "How long was God in creating all things? A. Six days. Exodus 20:11 Q4. Could not God have created all things in shorter time? A. He could have created all things in one moment as easily as in six days? Q5. Why did God take six days to make all things in, and not more nor fewer? A. To give us an example to work six days and rest on the seventh or sabbath." Clearly here Thomson as an example of the colonial beliefs stands on solid six literal day ground. The belief of Day Age or long day or Framework beliefs do not come into the church until the time of Darwin when they make quick in roads. Why that happens we will examine next week, and we will see that it did not take the entire church, and why that happened as well.

Sources:
Berkof's Systematic Theology
Turretin's Elenctic Theology
William Ames' Marrow of Theology
Witsus' Economy of the Covenants
Pipa's The Lord's Day
John Thomson's Explication of the Shorter Catechism
John Dod's Plaine and Familiar Exposition of the Ten Commandments