ABSTRACT
While debates surrounding creationism are not confined to one religion, it is a defining issue for many contemporary Protestant Christians, and it is usually framed in terms of “The Creation versus Evolution Debate.” But the controversy is older than Darwin and touches on far more than biological evolution. It involves broad questions about the origin of the universe and the relation between science and scripture. How old is the universe? If the universe was created, how was that done? How should we interpret the account of creation in the early chapters of Genesis? There are four main approaches to these questions. One is naturalism: nothing exists beyond the realm of nature, material objects, and energy. Most naturalists consider religious beliefs to be purely matters of faith, making no contribution to history or science. Although naturalism and atheism are not synonymous, when it comes to matters of religion, they are essentially the same. Another view is young earth creationism, which takes a literal interpretation of Genesis and the six days of creation. The two other main views are progressive creationism and theistic evolution. Both reject a literal interpretation of scriptural accounts and agree with contemporary science about the age of the universe, but they differ from each other over God’s activities after the initial creation of the cosmos. The rest of this essay will examine the three theistic positions in more detail.
