Do we have to choose?

Creation and evolution cont'd...

Genesis contains clear signs of being a carefully crafted literary work. Note the repeated patterns of the numbers of 3, 7 and 10. Ten times we are told “God says”, three times in relation to humans and seven times to the other creatures. A similar pattern can be traced with the phrase “let there be…” On three occasions the writer uses “create”. Along the same lines is the observation that the 6 days of creation can be seen as a poetic or literary framework rather than an attempt to map out the exact sequence of events. So, in the first three days God gives form to creation and then in the next three days he fills each form.


Day 1: Day and Night
Day 2: Sky & Sea
Day 3: Land
Day 4: Sun & Moon
Day 5: Birds & Fish etc
Day 6: Animals & Humans
Day 7: Sabbath

For some these considerations mean that there is no need to see any conflict between modern evolutionary science and the Bible account of creation. This is what the conservative Bible commentator Derek Kidner says in his Tyndale Commentary on Genesis - a view that John Stott is open to. And most recently, Denis Alexander has written a whole book arguing that biblical faith is “entirely compatible with the Darwinian view of evolution” (Creation or Evolution: Do we have to Choose? – Denis Alexander)