The controversy over the legitimacy of the Bible begins, interestingly enough, with the very first chapter and the opening phrase- “In the beginning.” The creationists insist that every word is a hard fact, while those who subscribe to evolution may dismiss the opening of Genesis to be a poetic fantasy.

A similar argument exists on the topic of Adam and Eve as the first humans.

If we view the opening chapters of the Bible through our logical lens, we might find that Genesis contains the answers to both questions within its own text.

While we might quibble over what constitutes a “day” in God’s work week, we must concede that the sequence of events in the creation story matches up remarkably to our current beliefs on how the earth came into existence, as well as the probable timing of the arising of plant, animal and human life.

Early in the creation sequence, Genesis indicates that God created plant life that reproduced by means of seeds that provided for the continuing spread of those plants. It was also a simpler life form that would provide sustenance for the more complex animal life that would follow. Except for the question of the time required, we can accept this sequence in our quest to match up with logical thought.

In another fascinating match to evolution theory, Genesis records the creation of sea life before land animal life. Evolutionary theory clearly suggests that animal life began in the sea, some species eventually adapting to living on land.

So, in our attempt to use logic to reconcile the differences between evolution and creationism, we find that, with the exception of the time factor, there is little to dispute. The opening chapter of Genesis corresponds nicely with contemporary scientific theory on the evolution of the earth and the life forms that developed.

It is possible that the definition of God’s work day and our understanding of a “day” could be a matter of translation or interpretation?

At the end of each description of God’s accomplishments for his work day is the statement that the evening passed and morning came – marking the passing of a “day.” Yet, according to Genesis, it isn’t until the forth day that God created the sun and the moon. Without the sun and the rotation of the earth to produce the sunset/sunrise sequence, how would we define a “day” in the earlier moments of creation?

Armed with that understanding, our logic demands that we acknowledge the probability that God’s calendar might be a bit different than ours. The human time period we call a “day,” might be merely a single tick of the clock in God’s day. In fact, it is doubtful that we can even begin to visualize how time applies to a God who exists in eternity.  More importantly, the sequence of the creation story in Genesis makes the time element the least significant point in recognizing the validity of the text.

Logic, science and the Bible seem to match up pretty well when it comes to explaining how the earth and its plant and animal inhabitants came to be. The fact that Moses, the author of Genesis, came to understand and record the process and timing of the earth’s creation, is itself, a logical testament to the validity of the Bible. That type of knowledge could not have been passed down from prior generations.

There was no human witness to the earth’s earliest days.

Adam and Eve and those that followed are a bit tougher to reconcile with our logical tools. We’ll address that in our next posting.