Progressive creationism is the belief that God created the universe and life on Earth over an extended period of time, through a series of creative acts. This view stands in contrast to young earth creationism, which holds that God created the universe and life on Earth in six literal 24-hour days a few thousand years ago. Progressive creationism accepts mainstream scientific estimates of the age of the universe and Earth of billions of years but holds that God intervened at key points over these vast timescales to create new forms of life. Some of the key aspects of progressive creationism include:
- Acceptance of the big bang theory and that the universe is over 13 billion years old.
- Acceptance that the Earth is ancient, around 4.5 billion years old.
- Acceptance of most of the fossil record and geologic column as generally accurate.
- Belief that biological evolution via natural selection and random mutation alone cannot explain the origin and development of life on Earth.
- Belief that God supernaturally intervened at critical points over billions of years to create new life forms or introduce new biological information.
- Progressive creationists believe God specially created: the first living cell, the major animal body plans or phyla in the Cambrian explosion, the first humans, and sometimes major new groups like flowering plants. They accept common ancestry within the Genesis “kinds” God originally created.
- Days in Genesis 1 refer to long periods of time rather than literal 24-hour days.
- Adam and Eve were real historical people specially created by God, but they lived much longer ago than a few thousand years. They may have been created after millions of years of animal death and extinction had already occurred.
- The fall in Genesis 3 was also a real historical event, but its effects on creation such as animal carnivory predate Adam and Eve’s existence.
- The flood in Genesis 6-8 was likely a local rather than global event.
Progressive creationism attempts to reconcile mainstream science with a literal reading of Genesis while upholding biblical inerrancy. It accepts the validity of science while believing God intervened at critical junctures to create new life. This allows progressive creationists to adopt a much more old-Earth view of natural history than young earth creationists.
Progressive Creationist Interpretation of Genesis 1
Progressive creationists offer an old Earth interpretation of Genesis 1 that differs significantly from the young Earth view. Some key aspects include:
- Each “day” refers to an extended period of time such as millions of years rather than a literal 24 hours.
- There are gaps between the days-long epochs of creation. Genesis 1 narrates just the highlights, not every single event.
- God created new life forms at the start of each epoch, but then they diversified naturally within their “kinds” later on.
- Land was already submerged when God said “let the waters under the heavens be gathered together” on day 3. This refers to uplift of existing lands rather than creation from nothing.
- Sun, moon and stars were already created earlier, but just became visible from Earth’s surface on day 4 when the cloud cover cleared.
- Sea creatures and birds were created on day 5, not during day 3 as some young Earth groups argue.
- Day 6 saw the creation of land mammals and first humans, distinct creations after millions of years of earlier animal death and extinction.
This allows progressive creationists to accept modern dating methods and vast ages for the Earth, universe and living things while still upholding a literal six-day creation narrative. Each day represents a long epoch where God introduced new life.
Arguments Supporting Progressive Creationism
Below are some of the biblical and scientific arguments commonly used to support progressive creationism:
- Biblical accuracy – Taking the days of Genesis as long epochs allows progressive creationists to preserve biblical inerrancy and accuracy while accepting scientific evidence for an ancient universe and Earth.
- Genesis genealogies – While Genesis contains some genealogies, there are gaps which allow for creation days longer than 24 hours. For example, Genesis 5 covers at least 1,656 years yet only has 8 generations listed.
- Exodus 20:11 – This verse stating God made everything in six days is sometimes used to argue for six literal creation days. But “day” can also mean an indefinite period of time in Hebrew, not strictly 24 hours.
- Biblical authority – Progressive creationism upholds biblical authority in origins as opposed to theistic evolution or materialism which reject biblical historicity.
- Origin of life – The first living cell was too complex to form naturalistically, so God must have intervened to create life originally.
- Irreducible complexity – Some biological systems like the bacterial flagellum are irreducibly complex. They could not have evolved step-by-step so must be designed.
- Cambrian explosion – New animal body plans appearing abruptly in the Cambrian explosion suggest divine creation/intervention, not just evolution.
- Fossil/geological gaps – Gaps in the fossil record between major kinds/phyla indicate separate creation events.
- Non-viability of intermediates – Some hypothetical evolutionary intermediates between major animal groups would not be anatomically viable.
- Origins of humanity – Traits like human consciousness, language, and morality could not have evolved through natural selection alone.
- Scientific evidence for design – Certain features of biology and the universe argue for an intelligent designer rather than unguided evolution.
Progressive creationists believe combining mainstream science with biblical creation best explains the natural world and life’s origins. They think pure Darwinian evolution fails to adequately account for life’s complexity, the fossil record, and human nature.
Criticisms and Weaknesses
Below are some of the main criticisms leveled against progressive creation by Christians holding different positions:
- Death before the fall – Old Earth creationism entails animal death, carnivory and extinction before humans existed, conflicting with some readings of Genesis and Romans 5 which tie death to human sin.
- Not expressly taught – The Bible nowhere expressly teaches creation occurred over six long periods. This is imposed onto the text.
- When were days created? – If the six days were long epochs, when were literal 24-hour days created? Not until the fourth “day” at least.
- Not scientific – Separate episodic creation events are supernatural miracles, not science. Progressives borrow scientific language but allow divine action.
- Lack of physical evidence – There is no scientific evidence for distinct divine creation events, just speculation based on gaps in current knowledge.
- Ad hoc explanations – Separate creation events are inserted ad hoc wherever current science lacks explanatory power.
- Theistic evolution sufficient – Mainstream evolutionary science augmented by God’s general providence makes episodic divine intervention unnecessary.
- Timescale problems – Fitting animal diversification, hominid fossils, and human migration into the post-Adam timeframe is challenging.
Some criticize progressive creationism as either reading old Earth concepts into Genesis rather than out of it, or inserting unnecessary divine action into science. Still others argue it conflicts with evidence for human antiquity.
compatibility with Evolutionary Creation
Progressive creationism and evolutionary creationism (or theistic evolution) represent differing views among Christians accepting mainstream science on origins. Both believe God created through evolutionary processes, but progressive creationists emphasize specific divine interventions while theistic evolutionists emphasize God working in and through natural processes and laws.
Key differences between the two include:
- Progressive creationists believe God specially intervened at critical junctures to introduce new information and biological innovations. Theistic evolutionists emphasize God’s providence working through undirected evolutionary mechanisms.
- Progressive creationists hold that some structures like the bacterial flagellum couldn’t have evolved gradually. Theistic evolutionists believe structures evolved step-by-step even if the process is unclear.
- Progressive creationists generally believe God specially created Adam and Eve. Many theistic evolutionists think God conferred his image on earlier hominids.
- Progressive creationists accept microevolution but question macroevolution. Theistic evolutionists accept macroevolution over deep time guided by God.
In essence, progressive creationism accepts more supernatural action in life’s history while theistic evolution emphasizes continuous scientific processes. Progressive creation constrains macroevolution more than theistic evolution. But both share common ground accepting mainstream science and interpreting Genesis non-literalistically. Both offer views seeking harmony between science and biblical faith.
Conclusion
Progressive creationism is an old Earth creationist interpretation of Genesis attempting to reconcile natural history with biblical faith. It accepts mainstream science but believes God performed miracles at key junctures to create new life not explicable by evolution alone. While offering a way to integrate science and scripture, it has been critiqued by Christians on both scientific and biblical grounds. But it provides an option for Christians who accept modern science while desiring to uphold biblical authority. Further study and debate continues within the church on Genesis and human origins.
