I came across a recent debate that R. Albert Mohler and C. John Collins had at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on the topic: “Does Scripture Speak Definitively on the Age of the Universe?” Here is a link to the video of the debate.
The 2 hour long debate is worth watching, particularly the contributions of C. John “Jack” Collins, OT professor at Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO). Skip the first 10 minutes of the video, which is just preliminary info about the debate programs at TEDS). Collins’ presentation starts at 47:43 on the video.
Listening to the whole thing, I thought that Mohler’s presentation argued more from a theological standpoint — staying in the tradition of Christian thought down through the ages, and alarmed at the potential slippery slope that allowing for an old earth presents. He marshals Scriptural arguments but not in a cogent and forceful manner. Most of the observations Jack Collins gives are agreed to in principal by Mohler but then they are just not enough to push him out of a literal 24 hour day/young earth view.
Collins is no friend of evolutionary creationism (or Biologos). He comes off every bit the conservative churchman he is, as a subscriber to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Yet Collins takes pains to read the text in a way the Text wants to be read. He doesn’t twist the meaning of “day” but sees the days as an analogy and thus not meant to be taken literally. He argues compellingly that the Scripture does not aim to speak definitively on the age of the universe or the age of the earth. I found his presentation winsome and very carefully laid out. The debate bogged down at the end with Mohler taking most of the time and some important points being skipped for lack of time.
Collins’ emphasis on precision of language and his overall thoughts about the science and faith debate refreshing. Here is a faithful scholar who is thinking deeply on this matter and offering some helpful thoughts. This debate spurred me to pick up my copy of his Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care. The book is excellent and I hope to search out other materials Dr. Collins has written on this overall topic.
351 footnotes will either make or brake a 100-page book. In this case, it is the footnotes (which document the many quotes) which make the book so interesting. The books full title is Reclaiming the Two Books of God: Restoring Moral Sanity to the Church. And the book’s author is Don Sailer. Some of you might recognize the author’s name from his interaction in the comment threads over at Sharper Iron. Yes, he is a fundamentalist, but he also has a doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and currently pastors an Evangelical Free Church, so he is not your ordinary guy.
And it takes an unordinary guy, sometimes, to take on an unpopular topic. His book focuses on the widespread rejection of Biblical authority in both church and mainstream culture. He traces the issues which led to the abandonment of Biblical inerrancy and one by one, all the cardinal doctrines of Christianity.
For such a difficult topic, the book is helped immensely by the opening discussion of the Scopes’ trial. With that colorful event as a backdrop, Sailer moves on to tackle the growth of modernism and the advancement of Darwinism. He then details both the fundamentalist defense of the Bible’s authority in the face of modernism and the extreme humanist reaction against naturalism. In all of this, Sailer is sounding a call for today’s church to return to a firm position on the Bible’s authority.
While there is obviously much that could be said about these subjects, Sailer focuses in on the intersection of the two books of God: Creation and Revelation. Using the Puritan imagery of two books, Sailer discusses how science and the Bible complement each other. He focuses on the arguments that stem from the Darwinian view of science — ultra naturalism, if you will. And he contrasts that view with the Fundamentalist view of Scripture.
Sailer aims to accomplish his impossible mission through the use of numerous quotes. These often help the book, by letting historical figures speak to the issues themselves. He quotes, for instance, many of the leading fundamentalists and modernists of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sometimes, though, I must admit, the quotes tend to weary the reader. And at times Sailer seems to jump from contemporary authors to those of yesteryear without properly alerting the reader. All in all, though, the value of the book is in the many quotes.
A secondary main point of the book is to demonstrate how the two books of God do not contradict each other. Rather than attempting a full fledged creationism discussion, Sailer focuses in on one key point: the age of the earth. Leaning heavily on Gorman Gray’s book The Age of the Universe: What are the Biblical Limits?, Sailer presents a strong case for a mediating position. He defends six literal days of creation, but claims that the universe and the planet earth were actually created before those six days: there is an unspecified amount of time between Gen. 1:1-2 and 1:3ff, he argues (cf. Is. 45:18). He also notes that Scripture merely teaches that God created and ordered life on earth in the six days. This position avoids the problems of the Gap Theory (death before Adam), and joins young earth creationists in denying evolution and affirming a literal view of Genesis. At the same time, it allows for the scientific findings of the speed of light in relation to the size and age of the universe.
I must admit that two things struck me as odd in Sailer’s discussion of the age of the earth. First, I could see how strict Biblical literalists who claim the chronology in the Bible would point to the earth being only at most 10,000 years old, would argue that Don is doing the same thing the modernists did with science: accommodating his view of Scripture to science’s claims. Second, I thought it odd that the book which had hitherto spoken largely in generalities and affirmed all those who resisted modernism, now became so specific as to dismiss old earth creationist views (like the Day Age theory) and strict young earth views out of hand.
Yet this view of creation appeals to me. I admit that I can see how astronomical and geological claims for the age of the earth and universe would be a stumbling block to people’s faith if they are told the bible teaches expressly a young earth. But the Bible does not teach this directly, and so it is a needless stumbling block. (I know evolution vs. creation is a big enough stumbling block of its own, but lets not discuss this here.) So I can see how this view does much to “reclaim the two books of God”. I haven’t come to a definitive conclusion on this issue yet, but if you are interested in a short article defending a Day Age view of an old earth, check out this one by Justin Taylor. And then check out Gray’s book (the first few chapters of which are online).
In conclusion, I would heartily recommend Don Sailer’s book. It is only 109 pages and is quite easy to read, and the historical quotes he pieces together are worth the price of the book. Consider, for example, this gem from William Jennings Bryan:
They first discard the Mosaic account of man’s creation, and they do it on the ground that there are no miracles. This in itself, constitutes a practical repudiation of the Bible: the miracles of the Old and New Testament cannot be cut out without a mutilation that is equivalent to rejection…. (pg. 18)
His discussion of the Scopes’ trial is enlightening, and you will be fascinated by his discussion of the age of the earth. Through it all, Sailer stresses the importance of Biblical inerrancy and succeeds in making his case that we cannot abandon the Bible’s authority, or else we are left without any Christianity at all. And considering the issues facing today’s church, this is a case worth hearing.
Disclaimer: this book was provided by the author for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
This book may still available for purchase at Amazon.com.
I came across a recent debate that R. Albert Mohler and C. John Collins had at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on the topic: “Does Scripture Speak Definitively on the Age of the Universe?” Here is a link to the video of the debate.