Pre-Adamite Creationism and the Age of the Earth

Not all creationists are young earth creationists. There are two types of old earth creationists: the pre-Adamites and what I call the Long Agers. Some theistic evolutionists believe in the pre-Adamite theory and/or Long Age theory, but for purposes of this piece, I will consider these terms to refer to creationists only. (And by creationist I mean someone who believes that God created the “kinds” mentioned in Genesis 1 [including man] separately, so that they don’t have a common ancestor with any other “kind” and that these are the only “kinds” that exist today.) By the “Long Age theory” I mean the popular theory that some or all of the six days were long ages of millions or even billions of years. The pre-Adamite theory is different than this.

Like the Long Age theory, the pre-Adamite theory is an attempt to (partially) reconcile the Bible with an evolutionist’s version of the fossil record and radiometric dating methods. It gives the creationist less territory to defend without trivializing sin by giving up the concept that God did not make the world a place of disease, death, and suffering.

The pre-Adamite theory starts with the assumption that there was a long (unmentioned and indefinite) age in between Genesis 1:1 and verse two. This is what young earth creationists call the “gap theory”. Unlike some theistic evolutionists, however, the pre-Adamite does not believe that living things were macro-evolving during that time, or at least not into what we see today. But Satan was cast out (to the earth) during this time and reeked havoc there. They believe that God made the earth and the creatures within it perfect in the beginning, but Satan’s rebellion (not Adam’s sin) resulted in the deaths of animals which can be seen in the fossil record. Then God wiped out any remaining life and started all over again with the new creation which starts in Genesis 1:2. Some pre-Adamites even believe that God even created human beings in the pre-Adamite age.

But the only Biblical argument for this theory that I have heard is that God did not create the earth “without form” (see verse 2) because the phrase “in vain” in Isaiah 45:18 is the same Hebrew word as “without form” in Genesis 1:2. Even if I were to concede that God did not create the earth “without form”, there is no biblical or scientific proof that it didn’t become that way within a day.

The idea of men being created before Adam is contradicted by 1 Corinthians 15:45 which calls him “the first man”. Furthermore, Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” This contradicts the idea that Satan, in a sinful state, entered the earth and caused death before Adam.

The very fact that God names the Day and Night in Genesis 1:5 should be enough to prove that this really is the first day. Why would God do this then if millions of days had already before passed? The fact that he calls it “the first day” naturally leads one to believe that there were none before it.

But if this is not enough, here is the clincher. Exodus 20:11 says, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” If this is referring to the six days of Genesis 1 (which is what one would be most naturally inclined to believe) then it is clear that Genesis 1:1 must be included in this six day period. But to cover all bases, let us assume that the six days in Exodus 20:11 are not the six days in Genesis 1, but rather a previous creation. Then it would not be right to say that God created “all that in them is” during these six days because not everything in the earth, heavens, and seas would be created until the “second creation”.

Now I will briefly respond to the scientific arguments.

First, there could have been plenty of room in the Ark for the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs which God sent to Noah to be taken on the Ark could have been young specimens. Furthermore, I don’t recall anything in the Bible which says that no “kinds” died out in between the Fall and the Flood.

As for radiometric dating, this is based on many, many a priori assumptions. These include that the rate of decay has always been the same and that there were no “daughter” products in the material when God created it. Potassium-argon and uranium-lead dating methods ALWAYS give long dates. The carbon-14 dating method ALWAYS gives short dates. So the evolutionary scientists must decide whether or not something is very old beforehand, and then they select the most desirable method based on their a priori decision. There has been a least one example where rock with a known short age (50 years) was dated to be 1.2 million years old. Carbon-14 does give dates somewhat longer than 6000 years, but this can be explained by the assumption that God did not create the earth with any C-14 in it or allow it to be formed on earth in the beginning. This assumption is logical since C-14 can cause mutations. (C-14 is formed in the atmosphere when beta rays strike nitrogen molecules. The Bible says that the earth has shields (Psalm 47:9) which could have been stronger in the beginning. The “Canopy Theory” says that an atmospheric water vapor layer helped to shield the earth before the Flood.) Finally, even if the earth is very old, one must consider that the pre-Adamite theory might not be the only possible biblically consistent theory that could explain it.

In conclusion, though the pre-Adamite theory does not contradict the important doctrine that God does not create death, disease, or pain (but rather they are consequences of sin), it is nonetheless unscriptural. Furthermore, the proposition that the events of Genesis 1:1 happened on the same day as those of the next four verses does not contradict science. The Long Age theory is not so easy to disprove, so I will discuss this, God willing, in some future post.