Re: 5 Models #2 - Fiat Creationism

Stephen Jones (sjones@iinet.com.au)
Mon, 05 Jun 95 07:42:28 EDT

All

Here is the second installment of Erickson's 5 models of the origin of
man (ie. Creation - Evolution):

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Fiat Creationism

At the opposite end of the spectrum is what is sometimes termed fiat
creationism. This is the idea that God, by a direct act, brought into
being virtually instantaneously everything that is. Note two features
of this view. One is the brevity of time involved, and hence the
relative recency of what occurred at creation. While there were
various stages of creation, one occurring after another, no
substantial amount of time elapsed from the beginning to the end of
the process. Perhaps a calendar week or so was involved. Another
tenet of this view is the idea of direct divine working. God produced
the world and everything in it, not by the use of any indirect means
or biological mechanisms, but by direct action and contact. In each
case, or at each stage, God did not employ previously existing
material. New species did not arise as modifications of existing
species, but they were fresh starts, so to speak, specially created by
God. Each species was totally distinct from the others.
Specifically, God made man in his entirety by a unique, direct
creative act; man did not come from any previously existing organism.

It should be apparent that there is no difficulty in reconciling fiat
creationism with the biblical account. Indeed, this view reflects a
strictly literal reading of the text, which is the way the account was
understood for a long time in the history of the church. The
statement that God brought forth each animal and plant after its kind
has traditionally been interpreted as meaning that he created each
species individually. It must be pointed out, however, that the
Hebrew noun ... (min), which is rendered "kind" in most translations,
is simply a general term of division. It may mean species, but there
is not enough specificity about the word to conclude that it does.
Therefore, we cannot claim that the Bible requires fiat creationism;
nevertheless, it is clear that it most certainly permits it.

It is at the point of the scientific data that fiat creationism
encounters difficulty. For when those data are taken seriously, they
appear to indicate a considerable amount of development, including
what seem to be transitional forms between species. There are even
some forms which appear to be ancestors of the human species.

(Erickson M.J., "Christian Theology", 1985, Baker, Grand Rapids, MI,
pp479-480)
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If you wish to indicate which position is closest to your view, I will
tabulate same and post it later.

Regards.

Stephen