The word “creationist” is an incendiary label in discussions about human origins. Creationists are charged with being anti-science, dogmatic fundamentalists and just a plain nuisance.

Evolutionists are credited with being the enlightened and scientific people who want to uphold the academic integrity of our educational system. The issues involved here run deep.

The debate between creationists and evolutionists is not simply one of how a science class should be conducted. It is a collision of two different worldviews.

If the discussion does not begin at this point, critical issues will be obscured and faulty conclusions will be drawn.

Evolutionary theory believes (this is an important verb) “that all life forms on Earth, including humans, share common ancestry and developed over millions of years through the mechanisms of natural selection and random mutation.”

The creationist believes that God is the Maker of all things. To be a creationist is a commitment to belief in the Triune God, a central plank in orthodox Christianity.

However, to call oneself a creationist opens up another issue. For the purposes of brevity and succinctness, Christians fall into different camps of interpretation of the Bible when it comes to origins.

Some believe in what is known as theistic evolution. In this view God is integrated into the evolutionary philosophy.

There are others who subscribe to what is known as progressive creationism. It teaches that in the “Big Bang” origin of the universe over 16 billion years ago, death, bloodshed, and disease existed before Adam and Eve, the days of creation were long periods, and Noah’s Flood was a local event.

It is my view that theistic evolution and progressive creationism qualify as lamentable creation compromises.

My intention is not to critique these interpretations of human origins, but to set forth my reasons for being a biblical creationist.

I am of the conviction that God created the earth in six literal days.

My first reason is a belief in the absolute trustworthiness of the Bible, that it is God’s infallible, inerrant, and all-sufficient Word. This is the claim of the Bible for itself (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21). This is also the historic view of the church.

Jesus Christ has given witness to the absolute authority of the Scriptures, Old Testament and New Testament (Jn. 10:35; 16:13).

Either the Bible is our final authority for life and godliness, or it is not. This battle over the Bible has been fought by every generation of believers since God spoke to Adam and Eve. Satan’s “has God said” has seduced its millions.

Resistance to the belief that God is our Creator will be fought on the hill of biblical authority. Any compromise here will result in unbelief strutting through a short-lived victory.

I am a creationist because the Genesis account of creation, when interpreted by a consistent literal, historical, grammatical method (the way the Bible interprets itself), is perspicuous (lucid or clear) in its teaching.

It is, at best, misguided desperation to attempt to shoe-horn into the text and chronology of the Bible millions or billions of years. The days of Genesis 1 and 2 are not elastic numerals. The six-day creation week was established as a model for man’s work week (Ex. 20:11). The literal 24 hour-day-view is the clearest reading of the text.

One wonders if interpretations that deny this (e.g., each day equivalent to an age) have been developed in response to the pressures of evolutionary philosophy.

I am a creationist because Jesus Christ was a creationist. He believed that the creation was God’s work (Mk. 13:19). He believed Adam and Eve were created by the hand of God (Matt. 19:4-5).

It is evident from the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels that the creation record is historically true and divinely inspired. Jesus was a creationist because He did the creating (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16).

Every created thing “passed through the intelligence and will of the Son of God. All nature dances to His tune by His sustaining power” (Mk. 6:39; Heb. 1:3). The miracles of Jesus Christ in the Gospels tell us much about His miracles at creation.

I am a creationist because nature has God’s finger prints all over it. The grass and the lilies of the field are the product of His design and decoration (Matt. 6:28-30). He is the Intelligent Designer and creation’s complexity is a witness to the Creator’s infinite knowledge and power, not chance through vast periods of time.

When I look at the stars against the black velvet of the night sky for some reason my first thought is not “what a glorious accident.” All nature sings of God’s glory (Psa. 19:1). Sin-blinded mankind looks at the wonders of nature and worships it. And in so doing, condemns itself (Rom. 1:18-32).

I am a creationist because of the tragic alternative. Evolution says that we exist because of some cosmic accident that occurred billions of years ago. It tells us that we are a mere collection of molecules caught up in a brief, meaningless experience on this imperiled planet. Death is the end of it all, so get used to it.

Glorified road-kill, that’s what we are. As Richard Dawkins, the high priest of the First Church of evolutionary thought, has said, “Charles Darwin hit upon a brilliant idea that elegantly explains all of life on earth without any need to invoke the supernatural or the divine.”

I refuse to yield to the intellectual bullies and thought police of our age. Evolution does not stand on scientific merit. It is at its core a philosophy placing its own spin on fossils, mutating viruses, and molecular biology. We were made to worship the Creator and any attempt to deny that, no matter what the form, is idolatry.

Dr. Howard E. Dial, pastor
Berachah Bible Church
Fayetteville, Ga.

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