Creationism - National Center for Science Education

Faith, he says, is not dependent on science, which changes. He also argues that
Bible interpretations based on silence, such as Gap Theory creationism, or based on loose
and unwarranted exegesis (Day-Age creationism), cannot be proven. The Bible doesn’t
give us the age of the earth, and there is no biblical reason to insist upon Flood Geology
or recent creation (though the earth may be quite young). “Genesis One reads like
history, and it is taken to be factual, yet not exhaustive, account of creation events.” The
Bible does, however, clearly refute evolution:
There is no way, allegorically or otherwise, by which the Genesis account of the origin of the first man and
the first woman can be brought into harmony with modern theories on the origin of man as expressed in
general biological evolution. [1983:156]
Russell Maatman, a chemistry professor and natural science chairman at Dordt
College, a Reformed Fellowship school in Iowa, agrees that the Bible does not contain
allusions to modern scientific discoveries and inventions, and dismisses most such Biblescience
claims. In The Bible, Natural Science, and Evolution he says that science should
not be used to prove the Bible, but he does strongly affirm the absolute truth and
inerrancy of the Bible. Science and the Bible are not equal sources of truth; the Bible
must always be accorded primacy.
Throughout the evolution discussion in this book, an attempt is made to discover first what the Bible
teaches. This procedure should be followed in the study of any question upon which the Bible sheds light.
If this is not done, and one uses another source first, he might sin by contradicting what God states in the
Bible. [1970:75]
Maatman, who agrees with scientific evidence which shows the earth to be
billions of years old, advocates Day-Age creationism—though, he adds, “there is no
doubt that each creation event was instantaneous” and ex nihilo. The origin of life from
non-life would be as miraculous as divine creation, he argues, and the evolution of
animals and plants is, simply, “not proved.” “The Bible may allow for a miraculous
conversion of one animal or plant into another animal or plant, but it does not allow for
the miraculous conversion of an animal into man” (1970:155).
This conservative Reformed tradition was earlier expressed by Enno Wolthuis, a
chemistry professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in Science, God and
You (1963). “This book sets forth our view of the way in which one can profess the
Christian faith and at the same time welcome and promote scientific progress.” Wolthuis
reviews the history of natural science, stressing the contribution of Calvin and other
Reformers, and criticizes the temptation fostered by modern science to rely solely on
naturalistic explanation. In discussing various positions regarding the relation of science
and faith, he rejects the “mechanist” view, the “dualist” view (the assumption that science
and faith are unrelated), and also the “ascetic” view (the denial of the physical world).
Wolthuis stresses the sovereignty of God over His creation, and says science is a
“Christian duty” (referring to God’s command to have “dominion over the earth”).
However, it is not clear what the Bible teaches about “the scientific significance of the
Genesis account.” He points out that Genesis is “not a detailed account of creation in
scientific language.” What is clear is that “any theory of origins is false which fails to
anchor this universe in the will of God.”