Creation apologetics
Creation apologetics are the apologetics (defenses) used to support the belief that the universe and/or life on Earth were created by a supernatural deity. While logic and theology have historically sufficed for many, creation science has arisen in modern times to be the principal source of information used by those engaged in defending creationism. The reason for the shift towards science to support these beliefs is that almost all attacks upon the truth of the creation are from the scientific community, which is now overwhelmingly dominated by an atheistic majority.
There is a spectrum of creationist views, with two main schools of thought, known as religious creationism and intelligent design. While both rely heavily upon creation science to substantiate their views, the former uses historical religious texts (i.e. Bible, Qur'an) when forming theories regarding the act of creation or the age of the Earth.
Science Disciplines
Creation Cosmology
- Main Article: Creation cosmology
Creation cosmology is the study of the origin of the universe that stems from the belief that an almighty deity formed it ultimately for human habitation on Earth. Current estimates by the scientific community for the age of the universe are far beyond what a typical creation scientist would countenance. In response, several young universe creation cosmologies have been proposed.
Creation Geology
- Main Article: Creation geology
Creation geology is largely based on the philosophical interpretation known as catastrophism. Also known as flood geology, it provides clear evidence of the global flood of Noah, which strongly supports a young earth and contradicts the long ages the theory of evolution requires to operate.
The idea of an old earth is based on the opposing principle of uniformitarianism, which is the doctrine that geologic processes have acted in the same regular manner and intensity throughout geologic time.
Creation Biology
- Main Article: Creation biology
Creation biology is the study of biological systems under the inference that God created life on Earth as described in Genesis. As the theory of evolution is found as an integral part of all secular biology fields, it is critical that creationists have a thorough understanding of biology.
Creation biology is premised on the idea that God created a finite number of discrete created kinds or baramin. While these forms of life have the ability to vary, and even undergo speciation, they cannot arise spontaneously from non-life, cannot interbreed outside of their kind, and cannot increase in genetic complexity.
Scientific Evidence
Intelligent Design
- Main Article: Intelligent design
Intelligent design (ID) is a creation science perspective which infers that natural laws and chance alone are not adequate to explain all natural phenomena. ID is not religious in nature, and ID theories are ultimately inferred from empirical evidence in nature, not deduced from scripture or religious doctrines. Many ID advocates are not Christians, Jews, or Muslims, and some ID theorists entertain the idea of common descent. ID is most clearly distinguished from religious creationism in that it makes no claims about who the creator or designer is, nor does it use references from scripture when forming theories about the history of the world. ID simply postulates that the cosmos possesses evidence that it was intelligently designed.
Young Earth
- Main Article: Young earth
Many scientific arguments can be used to show that geological and physical evidence is more consistent with a recent creation than with an old Earth. Some arguments put forward in support of a recent creation simply put an upper limit on the age of the Earth, solar system, or universe, which are inconsistent with an ancient creation. For example, Russell Humphreys's argument based on the amount of salt in the ocean is designed to show the maximum possible age of the oceans based on uniformitarian assumptions, and thus shows that the oceans could not be as old as claimed; it is not designed to show the actual age of the oceans, and as such the resulting age, although far too great for the young Earth view, is not inconsistent with it.
Biblical Support
Genealogical Record
- Main Article: Biblical genealogy
The Bible contains a genealogical record from Adam to Jesus, and specifies the age of each man (from Adam to Jacob) in this lineage at the time he had his first son. Using this detailed Biblical chronology from the beginning of creation, Bible scholars have been able to calculate the age of the earth.
Chronological Record
- Main Article: Biblical chronology
The Bible is remarkably detailed in its chronology, giving precise dates and years for many important events and Biblical genealogies, for the events spanning from the first day of Creation to the death of Abraham. The post-biblical chronology from Jesus to the present day is also easily available from European historical record.
Archaeological Record
- Main Article: Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology is an important creation science discipline that substantiates the Bible as a valid historical document, and the Biblical chronology as an accurate time-line. Each year new discoveries are made, and creationists are encouraged to keep themselves informed of progress in this field.
See Also
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