Historical &
Literal
By Cougan Collins
lgchurchofchrist@cableone.net
Those who attack the authenticity of what the Bible says about creation will say that Genesis 1-11 is mythology. In other words, they say it did not really happen and it is nothing more than a fairytale. They understand if they can convince people that it is mythology, they can destroy the credibility of the Bible and promote their manmade teaching of evolution with its billions of years.
Let’s see what the Bible says. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus quotes from Genesis 1 & 2 as being true. In John 8:44, Jesus called Satan the "father of lies" referring back to Genesis 3:4. In Matthew 23:35 Jesus spoke of Abel in Genesis 4:2-10 as a historical person. In Matthew 24:37-38, Jesus spoke of the Flood of Noah in Genesis 6-9 as a historical event. If Genesis 1-11 is a myth, then Jesus was mistaken in all of these instances.
In 1 Corinthians 11:8, 12, Paul states that man was created first, then woman just as Genesis 2:18-23 states. In 1 Timothy 2:13, Paul called Adam & Eve by name, and in Romans 5:14 he says "death reigned from Adam to Moses." In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul says, "The first man Adam became a living being." If Adam was only a mythological character, then everything Paul said is false. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul says, "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted." I am afraid many minds have been corrupted by believing that Genesis 1-11 is nothing but a fairytale.
The New Testament shows that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are historical
and literal. In fact, there are more than 100 references in
the New Testament that refer back to the first eleven chapters of
Genesis. Besides this internal evidence, there is ample proof of the
global flood as described by the Bible because over 100 cultures historically
record a global flood. Also, the fossil record proves
that every mountain on earth was covered by water. For example, marine fossils have been found high in the
There are also those who want to believe in God and evolution at the same time. So, they will say that each day of creation represents millions of years. While there are many ways to prove this wrong, the easiest way is to look at what the Bible says:
Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and
do all your work, 10
but the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: … 11 For in six days the LORD made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed
it.
Our verses state that man was to work six
24hr-days, and they were to rest on the seventh day. In the next verse, it says
creation happened in six 24hr-days and God rested on the seventh day. To
squeeze in millions of years into the days of creation, we would have to change
the meaning of days in verse 10 to millions of years in verse 11 without any
logical reason. If we treat the text honestly, we will have to agree that
creation happened in six 24hr-days. Do not let man fool you into believing a
lie (Col. 2:8). We invite you to worship with us at the Lone Grove
Church of Christ – lgchurchofchrist.com.