You! MC O-Rigins (Wesley the Creationist)

In 2006 Abingdon Press (Methodist publisher) put out Can You Believe in God and Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed by Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett. They discuss creationism, intelligent design and evolutionary theism. If they follow the example of John Wesley (d. 1791) they will join the ranks of Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN, “opgane”) who believe that creation took place in six regular days and that the Global Flood of Noah’s time was a significant geologic event.

Regarding the Fourth Day of Creation Week, John Wesley comments, “This is the history of the fourth day's work, the creating the sun, moon and stars.” Note that we have the creating of stars and not just their appearance (as progressive creationists claim). Often it is stated that Genesis tells us the “Who” of creation but not the “How.” In contrast, we read in Wesley’s commentary on Genesis, “The work of creation not only proceeded gradually from one thing to another, but advanced gradually from that which was less excellent, to that which was more so.” The six days of Creation Week go from less complex to more complex. Even the most basic atom is complex if we go down to the quark level.

Wesley comments on the sixth day and the how of creation:

The evening and the morning were the sixth day - So that in six days God made the world. We are not to think but that God could have made the world in an instant: but he did it in six days, that he might shew himself a free agent, doing his own work, both in his own way, and in his own time; that his wisdom, power and goodness, might appear to us, and be meditated upon by us, the more distinctly; and that he might set us an example of working six days, and resting the seventh. And now as God reviewed his work, let us review our meditations upon it; let us stir up ourselves, and all that is within us, to worship him that made the, heaven, earth, and sea, and the fountains of waters. All his works in all places of his dominion bless him, and therefore bless thou the Lord, O my soul [emphasis added].

Wesley said that numerous geologic formations were “doubtless formed by the general Deluge.” [1] Wesley held that the original “very good” creation held no death, disease or destruction. [2] Wesley tells us that at the perfect beginning, “there were no agitations within the bowels of the globe, no violent convulsions, no concussions of the earth, no earthquakes…” [3] Thus, the evidence of death and devastation in the fossil record must be post-Fall. Originally, man and beast were vegetarian (Ge 1:29-30). Wesley comments, “there were no birds or beasts of prey; none that destroyed or molested another; but all the creatures breathed, in their several kinds, the benevolence of their great Creator.” [4] There are fish eating fish in the fossil record, so it must be post-Fall. Regarding the Lord’s promise not to send another worldwide flood, Wesley said, “God had drowned the world once, and still it is as provoking as ever; yet he will never drown it any more, for he deals not with us according to our sins.”

The topic of creation was so important to Wesley that he wrote the two volume work Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation (1763). [5] Wesley was a creationist and held that creation occurred about 4000 years before Christ. [6]

If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God? (Jn 3:12, Message)

May your heart also be "strangely warmed."

Notes:
1) Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati (Master Books, 2004), p. 130.
2) ibid.
3) ibid., p. 199.
4) ibid., p. 206.
5) The Great Turning Point by Terry Mortenson (Master Books, 2004), p. 42.
6) ibid.

Adam to Abraham (A2A): The Dating Game

Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN, “opgane”) believe the Genesis record gives us a clear chronology from Adam to Abraham. There is no evidence of gaps. [1] Seth named Enosh (Ge 4:26) so he was his direct descendant and not a distant relative. In Jude 14 we are told that Enoch was the seventh from Adam, so no gaps are possible there. Lamech named Noah (Ge 5:29) so he was his biological father and not his great great grandfather. Arphaxad must be the son of Shem and not his grandson since he was born just two years after the flood. Methuselah’s name means “when he dies it shall be sent” and the year of his death is when the Global Flood started. This shows how accurate and tight the historical chronology from Genesis is - Methuselah could not have died after the Flood!

Adam and Eve lived at the beginning of creation not millions of years later (Mk 10:6). Since the beginning of creation man has been able to see God’s eternal power and divine nature through observing creation (Rom 1:20) – man has existed since the beginning and is not a latecomer in cosmic history. If millions of years really existed before the Flood, scripture could have made that plain. Second Chronicles 14:9 refers to a million man fighting force.

Jacob told Pharaoh that his life so far was short (130 years) compared to his forefathers (Ge 47:9), thus confirming the long ages of the antediluvians (900’s). The Sumerian King List also documents long ages before the Global Flood and a drastic reduction in life spans afterward. The Sumerian King List shows eight kings before the flood and if we don’t include Adam and Noah, this matches the historical chronology from Genesis. The Sumerian system of math was based on 60 instead of the decimal system (base 10). If we convert the life spans of the line of Seth from decimal to base 60 we can see that the Sumerian King List is somewhat close to the actual values from Genesis. For Mahalalel we have 8*3600=28,800 and 9*60=540. The totals for all eight differ by only 5%.














To many, long life spans seem incredible. Just think of the number of dreams Adam had in 930 years. One way to live longer is to avoid disease. A group of dwarfs in southern Ecuador get neither cancer nor diabetes due to their unique genetic makeup.

We can see from this chart by Walt Brown (click to see larger image) that Adam lived at the same time as Methuselah, Methuselah lived at the same time as Shem and Shem lived at the same time as Isaac! So Isaac could have verified Shem’s first hand knowledge of the genealogy, Shem could have done the same with Methuselah and Methuselah could have checked his facts from Adam himself! A chronology you can trust from the man made from dust. Adam and Eve had plenty of practice with number theory when they counted the thousands of stars at night. Bookkeeping the “begats” would be no problem for the first Edenite.

From Adam to the Flood is 1656 years. For hundreds of years people could chat with the perfect couple (initially) who once lived in a utopia named Paradise. Both Genesis and Josephus agree that Abraham was born 290 years after the Flood. [2] Abraham could have compared his genealogy with Shem, who was still alive in his time. Abraham is generally considered to be living around 2000 BC. Therefore, the traditional date of creation of around 4000 BC seems correct. The Mayan calendar places creation at 3114 BC which is not that far from the date of 4004 BC given by Ussher.

Some reply that radiometric dating forces a lengthening of the Genesis chronology. The book and DVD “Thousands not Billions” provide decisive evidence that radioactive dating actually supports the Young Earth Science (YES) position. This book, which summarizes the findings of the RATE project includes both scientific and biblical evidence.

All the men named in these genealogies were sinners: “Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One” (1 Tim. 1:15, Message).

NOTES:
1) Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati (Master Books, 2004), pp. 289-297.
2) ibid., p. 291.