The church has become divided on the age of the earth. Although the Genesis account is very clear, and its themes are repeated throughout Scripture, the debate rages on. With all this controversy going on, I knew I had to talk to my good friend Dr. Tim Chaffey about what’s really going on.
In the Creation Today Show, “What Did the Church Fathers REALLY Think of Genesis?” we looked into the period of 400 years that scholars refer to as the time of the church fathers. Surely those who were pillars of the early church after Jesus’ ascension can provide some insight into this debate! And boy were they insightful!
According to Dr. Chaffey, there was not really any debate about young earth vs. old earth back then because nearly everyone embraced the idea of a literal six-day creation! People like Bishop Irenaeus, Hippolytus of Rome, and many others wrote in no uncertain terms that Genesis clearly describes a young earth created in six literal days. These church fathers understood Genesis to be literal. Why? Because Jesus very clearly took Genesis literally, and that should be enough for us!
Dr. Chaffey walks through some of the misinterpretations and misconceptions surrounding these early church teachings that contribute to the age of the earth debate today. And he ends the show with truly the crux of the issue – while everyone is welcome to hold their own opinion of the age of the earth, you can’t change what the early church fathers believed and recorded to fit your perspective. That’s dishonest.
So if you are looking to read and properly interpret the church fathers’ writings to solidify your opinion on the age of the earth, look no further than this show! Dr. Chaffey always makes it so worth it!
