Creation

The Bible's record of creation is laid out in Genesis 1 and 2. It is confirmed elsewhere in Scripture. Jesus speaks of the events of Genesis, of creation, of Noah and Sodom as real events and real people. Paul speaks of sin entering the world through one man, Adam, and that Jesus Christ came to redeem us from sin.

John 1:1-3 confirms the Son of God, Jesus, as the Creator. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
In verse 14, it goes on to identify Jesus as the Word. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Many people, however, want to 'interpret' these passages in the light of 'science'. Often they don't realise that the 'big-bang' or 'punctuated equilibrium' or even 'evolution' itself are just theories. They have not been 'proven'.

Jesus himself speaks of Adam, Noah, the flood and creation. Jesus was there at the beginning, as it says in John 1:1. The Bible tells us, in John 1:3, that everything was made through Jesus.

Prior to starting Salt Shakers we were led to investigate the matter of creation - in the end, it comes down to "What do we believe?", "Can we rely on the truth of Scripture?" and "Where do we think the Bible starts being actual history?"

In other words, if we reject a 6-day creation, do we believe in a literal Adam and Eve, do we think there was Noah and a global flood, was there a Tower of Babel, was there a literal resurrection, etc...
[On the matter of the historical Adam and Eve, read this article]

In claiming the authority of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, we must believe the Genesis account of creation as it is written, 'in six days' as re-iterated in Exodus 20 when God gave the Ten Commandments. In verses 9-11 it speaks of the model of the week and refers to the days of creation.

Fifty PhD scientists have written about their belief in a 6-day creation. The book is available and each chapter is also online at the following link:
In Six Days - Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation
Edited by Dr John Ashton.
Read the Preface.

Creation, Sin and Jesus

Importantly, there are crucial questions that must be considered in terms of theology and Christan doctrine. If one rejects Genesis as 'myth' then one has to ask 'Why did Jesus die?'. Where did sin come from and so on...

Roger Birch has written on this important topic in our December 2009 journal. Roger has taught Greek and Theology in Bible Colleges.
He addresses the question of sin and the reason for Jesus' death.
Roger didn't used to be a 6-day Biblical Creationist - however, this article explains how he came to see that the key message and claims of the gospel itself hinge on the whole of Scripture, including Genesis.
Just click on the title to read this vital article! Why Did Jesus Die? The Sacrificial System and Creation

Various beliefs about 'creation' . . .

Amongst Christians there are varying beliefs about 'creation' and how God created the world.
[Some might not believe God created it, which leaves us asking what they DO believe!]

For more information, click here for a webpage from Creation Ministrieswhich has articles on all of these compromise appraoches to creation.

Long-age creation:
Some Christians adopt a 'long age' view of creation - God created everything but he took a long time for each 'supposed day' in Genesis 1.
Sometimes this is called the 'Day-Age' view.
The 'Progressive creationism' view is another version.
Why do they adopt this idea of long ages?
Because they think science has proved that the earthis millions or billions of years old and that in order to harmonise the Bible with 'science' they need to accept that the earth is millions, or billions, of years old.
But that is just a theory, not fact!

Framework Hypothesis
This literary framework approach sees the creation account as 'symbolic' - and not real history.
Read more at Creation Ministries - see here.

The Gap Theory
The 'Gap Theory' generally puts a long gap in between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It promotes the view that there was an original creation that God made by that it was destroyed an a 'new creation' made. It is often called the 'Ruin-Reconstruction' view.
The Gap Theory was almost unknown until Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), founder of the Free Church of Scotland and popular evangelical preacher, started promoting it. It became even more well-known when C.I. Scofield included it in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.

Again, there is no Biblical evidence that this view is valid.
These articles explain why the Gap Theory is not valid:
From Christian Answers: What is the “Gap Theory”? its origin and history? [provided by Creation.com]
From Creation.com - A4 tract - The Gap Theory - why it fails on all counts
From Creation.com - Chapter 3 - The Answers Book - What about gap theories?

Creation (young-earth):
The other major view is taking the Bible as it reads. That God created the world in six days by His word and that He rested on the seventh day. This is generally known as 'young earth creation'. It is also taking the Bible as it reads.

Having analysed the options, we believe this is the most straightforward reading of the Scripture - and science actually confirms it!

About two years before we started Salt Shakers, we felt led to attend an Answers in Genesis seminar in Melbourne. That laid a foundation for what we do now, in trusting the reliability and infallibility of Scripture in every area.

The influence of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin is noted for writing the book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. [Click here to read book online - page view or plain text.]

It was published on 24 November 1859. Darwin's major idea was that populations evolve by a process of natural selection. Now natural selection itself, or microevolution, or small changes within species, is not the problem - it is the idea that man evolved from apes and that everything evolved out of nothing that is the problem.
Darwin also wrote of the inferiority of some 'races, and this led to the Social Darwinism and the false belief of indigenous people being inferior. [See this essay on aboriginal history in Australia.]
Darwin also wrote about the inferiority of women - this article by Jerry Bergman PhD highlights Darwin's own statements about women:
Darwin's Teaching of Women's Inferiority

In 2009, many people celebrated the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's book. In the UK, the Church of England issued an 'apology' for not accepting Darwin's ideas. However, the film The Voyage that Shook the World highlighted all the scientific facts we now know - that were unknown in Darwin's time. It asked 'Would Darwin have written his book if he knew what we know today?' 

Ministries dealing with the issues of Creation, Evolution and Science

Creation Ministries International
CMI is based in Australia but has branches around the world. They produce a great magazine called Creation (plus a more technical journal). CMI has a very informative website with lots of articles and resources (books, DVDs, pamphlets, etc).
In January 2009, CMI held a Supercamp at Phillip Island.

CMI has posted a number of their key books ONLINE at no cost. . .
These are Refuting Evolution 1 & II, Refuting Compromise, In Six Days (50 PhD scientists who believe in 6 day creation and not in evolution), One Blood and the Skeptics v Creationists booklet.
Click here to read them!

Russ Miller - Creation, Evolution and Science Ministries
After he became a Christian, Russ was a theistic evolutionist for 10 years. He then watched several creation videos and started searching for the truth. Russ now works full-time with his wife Joanna running seminars and teaching about young-earth creation.

Answers in Genesis
USA, Ken Ham
Ken Ham was a science teacher in Queensland. He now lives and works in the USA teaching on creation. The ministry has recently opened a Creation Museum in Kentucky.

Institute for Creation Research
"ICR began as the research division of Christian Heritage College, now known as San Diego Christian College. The heart of ICR and the vision of our late founder, Dr. Henry M. Morris, is to conduct scientific research and gather evidences in support of Biblical truth, especially on the issue of origins."
Research on creation-related topics is undertaken. One exciting area of research is the RATE Project (Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth).

Intelligent Design
The 'Intelligent Design' movement does not address the question of God or religion - it deals with ideas such as the 'irreducible complexity' of the cell. The cell is so complex and needed every part in order to operate at all - and could not have 'evolved' one part at a time.

Click here for our separate 'Intelligent Design' page.