NZ Christian Network is pleading for an end to divisions over the creation account in Genesis which weaken the Church and dishonour God.

It believes that all Christians believe God created the universe (Gen. 1:1), but says there are a range of legitimate Christian interpretations of how God created and how long it took.

From time to time various groups push the line that only the literal six 24-hour-day view is correct, and that anyone saying differently is undermining the authority of scripture.

However, NZ Christian Network notes how this issue was handled by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, which is deeply committed to the authority of scripture and was effectively a “Who’s Who” of Bible-believing theologians in the second half of the 20th century.

They debated the issue of length of day in Genesis 1, yet they did not agree that the Bible requires Christians to believe that the creation necessarily took place within a literal timeframe of six consecutive 24-hour days.

The major report from ICBI called “The Chicago Declaration” (available on the web) was signed by 300 theologians, including Roger Nicole, J.I. Packer, J.P. Moreland, John W. Montgomery, Carl Henry, James Kennedy, and Francis Schaeffer. The first sentence of this statement makes it clear its primary concern was the authority of scripture. On Genesis 1 they allowed for a range of faithful biblical interpretations. 

To insist that all Christians see things the way we see them is not helpful. We need to show respect for a diversity of God-honouring understandings. When it comes to creation we should unite around Gen. 1:1, which is itself a miracle, but recognise different God-honouring interpretations of how God may have done it, including a literal six-day creation and theistic evolution.

By all means let us hold to our convictions, but do so in a way that honours other believers and upholds our essential Christian unity.

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