| And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 (KJV) |
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Welcome once again to The Apostolic Truth Ministries’ humble bethel on the worldwide web! It is my great pleasure to have your attention, if but for a moment. I have chosen not to engage in the pure argument surrounding the ‘gap’ “THEORY.” I was commanded to ‘minister to those caught up in the pseudo-christian cult of pentecostalism’ and one of their most cherished apostasies is Dake’s ‘gap theory.’
‘Just the facts, ma’am!’ as Sergeant Joe Friday said on Dragnet, ‘Just the facts, ma’am!’ The ‘gap theory’ was offered to reconcile the Bible’s (as well as historic and scientific) new earth doctrine with the geologists’ old earth theory. The theory was rejected immediately and summarily by both sides of the equation.
The theory rapidly falls apart on two fronts, first from a biblical perspective. The apostasy holds that God saw the horrors of sin and destroyed the earth after Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 and then recreated it in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2. We can disprove the theory with but one verse of scripture. “Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” [Romans 5:12 (King James Version)].
Secondly, on the geological front, there is no fossilized evidence to support the theory. If God destroyed the earth with a great flood as purported, where is the fossilized proof? If one believes the earth is an encapsulated environment, there must be a sedimentary layer containing the remains of the earth’s first inhabitants. Any budding geologist will tell you there is no such layer.
The ‘gap theory’ was soundly rejected by both the theologian and the geologist. There simply is no biblical nor scientific evidence to support the theory. Without that evidence, the argument is benign, senseless, foolishness period. The only discussion I will permit on these pages is given below for those who have no idea what the ‘gap theory’ is.
There have been many attempts over the years to harmonize the Genesis account of creation with accepted geology (and its teaching of billions of years for the age of the earth), such as "theistic evolution" and "progressive creation."
The gap theory was another significant attempt by Christian theologians to reconcile the time scale of world history found in Genesis with the popular belief that geologists provide "undeniable" evidence that the world is exceedingly old (billions of years).
Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), a notable Scottish theologian and first moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, was perhaps the man most responsible for the gap theory. The idea can be traced back to the rather obscure writings of the Dutchman Episcopius (1583-1643), and was first recorded from one of Chalmers' lectures in 1814. Rev. William Buckland, a geologist, did much to popularize the idea.
Although Chalmers' writings give very little information about the gap theory, many of the details are obtained from other writers such as the 19th century geologist Hugh Miller, who quoted from Chalmers' lectures on the subject.
This ruin-reconstruction view is held by many who use Bible study aids such as Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, and The Newberry Reference Bible.
The most notably influential 19th century writers to popularize this view was G.H. Pember, in his book Earth's Earliest Ages, first published in 1884. Numerous editions of this work were published, with the 15th edition appearing in 1942.
The 20th century writer who published the most academic defense of the gap theory was Arthur C. Custance in his work Without Form and Void.
The basic reason for developing and promoting the gap theory can be seen from the following most telling of quotes:
Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: When men finally agree on the age of the earth, then place the many years (over the historical 6,000) between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, there will be no conflict between the Book of Genesis and science.
The above quote is typical of the many compromise positions -- accepting weird "science" and its long ages for the earth, and incorporating this into Scripture.
Due to the many fine articles available on the net, I will provide links to the many rebuttals of this damnable heresy.
The Gap Theory, an idea with holes!!