Most people don’t know that within the theory of Biblical Creation there are several rival theories of Creation (Special Creation, Theistic Evolution and Gap Theory) and two rival theories about the age of the Earth (Old Earth Creation and New Earth Creation). The Bible gives no date for the creation of the universe, leaving us to guess at its age and how it came to its present state. There are a few other creation theories, but these are the most common. The thory one decides to believe is not necessarily dependent on their religion.
Age of the Earth:
Young Earth CreationYoung Earth Creationists think that clear, teaching scripture says that the Earth is only six or seven thousand years old; they take the Bible literally.
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Old Earth CreationOld Earth Creationists think the Bible implies that the days of creation in Genesis are not literal, 24 hour days but lasted enormous amounts of time that line up with modern Creation and Evolution theories; they read into Biblical text.
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Rival Theories of Creation
Special Creation
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Special Creation's advocates believe that the six days of Creation in Genesis were literal, 24 hour days, so that the universe was created in about 144 hours. This is example of a “Young Earth” creation theory.
Theistic Evolution
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Theistic Evolutionists think that the Creation days in Genesis are not literal, and allow the lengths of the Creation days vary to align with the Big Bang and Evolution (hence the name Theistic Evolution), making it an “Old Earth” creation theory.
Gap Theory
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Gap Theory, also called Ruin-Reconstruction Theory, is the least well known of these Creation theory rivals, with most advocates believing that the Creation days are literal,24 hour days but think that the Earth has been reincarnated and will be until it is "purified seven times as silver in a refiner’s fire". Gap Theorists also believe in a pre-Adamic world and think that there is an indefinitely long time somewhere between the first two verses of Genesis that is supposed to reconcile the Biblical Creation account with modern theories of biology and geology (an "Old Earth" Creation theory"). Gap Theory got its name from this belief, that there is a “gap” of time in the first two verses of Genesis. These believers also argue about the translation of many words in the Bible.