"7 / 9 Biblical Creationist." But who are they to judge?

‘Are you a biblical creationist?’
Nine questions to ascertain whether your future pastor, youth group leader or Bible College principal takes a straightforward view of Genesis
by CMI staff
http://creation.com/are-you-a-biblical-creationist

First, the conditions for stating yes or no : being undecided on the question means not actually believing what they uphold. It inovolves, therefore, a no.

In this sense, I have 7 yes, 2 no.

1. SIX DAYS (see explanatory notes)

Do you believe that God created the earth and universe in six ordinary-length (earth-rotation) days?

6. CARNIVORY (see explanatory notes)

Do you believe that all animals were originally created vegetarian?

These are the nos.

I believe you are within Catholic boundaries whether you are six literal days or one moment creationist. I believe you are objectively outside them if you are an old ager.

I do find six literal days more probable, since one-moment creation was a minority position among fathers.

I do find original vegetarians (counting birds eating insects as equivalent of birds being vegetarians, or perhaps not even that) as more probable than certain patristic scenarios for pre-sin carnivorousness.

I am however believing, not just opining, that no carnivorousness before Adam sinned ever produced wasteful death. For instance, a half-eaten prey would certainly not have exsisted, since that would have meant a wasted death. Adam would have told rabbit to go into the mouth of wolf who would have eaten rabbit with some gesture of thanks to Adam - IF carnivore kinds were already carnivores before sin.

But I find this less probable.

All other questions, I can with a resounding YES state I believe what they were asking if I believe.

I also believe, it is for the Catholic Church to make such lists, and that they not having the authority of the Church at CMI is why two spurious questions were introduced into the list.

For these two, above, I have also quibbles about terminology. Is a bird eating a worm vegetarian? And are by "earth-rotation" CMI implying it's the Earth which turns east around its axis each day?

But for the main points, I don't believe them, as I believe that Christ is God, I hold them probable, as I hold it probable that the Christmas Martyrology of the Roman Church has the correct chronology. It is not heresy to state a preference for Byzantine timeline or Ussher's.

And, obviously, I am by stating a no to question on believing them not at all stating a yes on believing opposite things.

Now, here are for the yesses:

2. AGE OF THE WORLD

Do you believe that the earth and universe are only thousands (not millions or billions) of years old, as measured by Earth time?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

Measured by time anywhere in the universe. Not just "measured by Earth time".

And just thousands, not even myriads. I specifically distance myself not just from modern old age, but also from ancient old age, Egyptian and Babylonian timelines going 40,000 years are just as out as the evolutionary timeline.

I find it probable - I can't say "I believe" as if opposite were heresy - that the exact timeline is Christ born 5199 after Creation, 2957 after Flood.

3. THE FIRST HUMANS

Do you believe that Adam and his wife Eve were the literal, historic ancestors of all (other) people who have ever lived?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

Unless you count God and the angelic beings as "people". And even for God, one of the persons became a descendant of Adam. To save the rest of us.

As for possible existence of elves, I don't know their classification. The Tolkienian explanation of unfallen race not touched by the fall is more of artistic than of historic value.

4. ADAM AND EVE’S ORIGINS

Do you believe that Adam and Eve had no physical parents, but were created directly by God; Adam from the actual dust, and Eve from the actual flesh and bone of Adam’s side?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

There are three exceptions to the law of coming from one man and one woman.

Adam came from neither. Eve came from only a man. Christ came from only a woman.

All scenarios about pre-Adamites break down somewhere.

5. HUMAN DEATH

Do you believe that human physical death began only after Adam sinned?

Yes

Adam was probably created mortal, but would probably have had a gift of miraculous immortality never ending, except he had sinned. The transfer to final immortality would have been in some other fashion than death as we know it. Probably shown exactly once in the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin.

7. SUFFERING IN THE FOSSIL RECORD (see explanatory notes)

Do you believe that fossils showing evidence of bloodshed and suffering (e.g. half-eaten prey, dinosaur cancers,) could not have been formed before Adam’s Fall led to the Curse?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

Yes, dinosaur cancers and half eaten prey would not have been around even if carnivorousness existed before Adam. In the sense envisaged by some Church Fathers.

8. GLOBAL FLOOD

Do you believe that the Flood of Noah covered the whole globe?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

But I do also believe that it left some parts of pre-Flood riverbeds and human remains as well as those of animals and plants from the pre-Flood world.

9. THE SUPERNATURAL POWER OF JESUS

Do you believe that after Lazarus was physically dead for days, Jesus miraculously caused him to regain physical life?

Yes (see explanatory notes)

Yes, and He used words to the effect which was going to be actually carried out. He said "Lazarus come out" and Lazarus came out, wasn't carried out, did not lie where he had beeing lying while the tomb rolled back.

In other words, I also believe that when Jesus' namesake just after Moses made a miracle, he also used the exact miraculous command which then came to pass - he was not using phenomenological language as pretending to speak to Sun and Moon, while really asking Earth to cease rotating.

As Jesus, when driving out spirits from one possessed was really commanding real persons, fallen 5199+some 30 years earlier from grace with Him, to leave the body of a man who was now finding grace with Him. He was not pretending to say that while really curing epileptic brain damage and nothing else.

Hans Georg Lundahl
Nanterre UL
St Martina of Rome
30.I.2017