Biblical Creation and Intellectual Foolishness | The Institute for Creation Research

Biblical Creation and Intellectual Foolishness

In a recent interview discussing his new book In Quest of the Historical Adam, philosopher and Christian apologist William Lane Craig acknowledged his biased assumptions when interpreting how the words of the Bible should be understood. What prejudices his interpretation of words contrary to their plain and normal meaning is his longstanding “great fear” that young-earth creationists are correct that the book of Genesis should be understood as real history.1 Dr. Craig is concerned that this would require a wholesale challenge to all of modern science. However, during the interview Dr. Craig made numerous revealing claims that show that science has nothing to do with why he rejects a historical Genesis.

He ridiculed clear biblical narratives that Eve was beguiled by a real “talking snake” and the “anthropomorphic” idea that God walked and talked with Adam and Eve as stories akin to ancient mythology. It is important to realize that these objections have nothing to do with modern science—science cannot inform us whether God would, or wouldn’t, walk with Adam and Eve. Nor can we scientifically test the ability of Satan to possess an animal and speak through it.

These are philosophical objections to a literal Genesis, not scientific ones. So, it cannot be the science per se that has Craig worried. However, affirming a literal Genesis does offend modern sensibilities that consider biblical truths to be foolish (1 Corinthians 2:14). Like the Corinthian Christians, we all need to guard against the fear of appearing foolish in the eyes of the world.

It’s Craig’s biases that he brings to the Bible—not anything in the Bible itself—that underlie his attack on biblical clarity, which undermines not just the first 11 chapters of Genesis but the entire Bible. If Craig rejects the normal meaning of Genesis 3 as real history because God walked and talked with Adam and Eve, then what does he do with Genesis 18, where God and two angelic visitors talk—and even eat—with Abraham? And what of Numbers 22:28-30 and 2 Peter 2:16, both of which affirm that the prophet Balaam was rebuked by his donkey? And what about 2 Corinthians 11:3, where the apostle Paul also affirms that Eve was deceived by a serpent?

Biblical creation has always seemed foolish in the world’s eyes, but this is not because evidence for creation is lacking. The ranks of biblical creationists include researchers recognized as world-class scientists.2 Scientific and historical evidence for even the earliest chapters of Genesis are abundant, and the creation-Flood model of the Ice Age is vastly superior to anything proposed by the Creator-denying scientists to which Craig eagerly conforms his understanding of Genesis 1–11. Moreover, creation researchers have published scientific evidence refuting iconic arguments for evolution and an old earth, and, like evolutionists, Craig fails to engage this primary literature. Evidence for biblical creation is not getting weaker over time, it is getting stronger.3

Is it really science that is keeping so many Christians from embracing a straightforward understanding of Genesis, or is it something else? Every Christian needs to guard against the sin of intellectual pride. Obedience to Christ does seem foolish in the world’s eyes. We all would do well to remember the admonition of the apostle Paul: “If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.”4

References

  1. Sean McDowell Interviews William Lane Craig: Is Adam Historical? Uncommon Descent. Posted on uncommondescent.com September 26, 2021, accessed September 28, 2021.
  2. Examples include geophysicist Dr. John Baumgardner, plant geneticist and co-inventor of the “gene gun” Dr. John Sanford, and Dr. Raymond Damadian, inventor of the MRI.
  3. Morris III, H. M. et al. 2020. Creation Basics & Beyond, 2nd ed. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research.
  4. 1 Corinthians 3:18b.

* Dr. Hebert is Research Scientist at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Cite this article: Jake Hebert, Ph.D. 2021. Biblical Creation and Intellectual Foolishness. Acts & Facts. 50 (12).

The Latest
NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...

NEWS
Acoustic Communication in Animals
We are all familiar with vocalizations in the animal world. For example, dogs bark, birds sing, frogs croak, and whales send forth their own distinct...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Crystals!
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

APOLOGETICS
Playing Chess with Little Furry Critters
God’s multifarious and marvelous designs for basic creature needs are so innovatively clever and providentially purposeful that Christ’s...

ACTS & FACTS
Credit Only Our Creator
History was my favorite subject as a young kid. But it always puzzled me when my teachers said, “We study history so that we don’t repeat...

ACTS & FACTS
Genomic Tandem Repeats: Where Repetition Is Purposely Adaptive
Tandem repeats (TRs) are short sequences of DNA repeated over and over again like the DNA letter sequence TACTACTAC, which is a repetition of TAC three...

ACTS & FACTS
Dinosaur National Monument: Fossil Graveyard of the Flood
Straddling the border of Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) is one of the richest exposures of dinosaur fossils in the world.1...