A Matter of Days
Digital Logos Edition
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Overview
Creation—it’s all in six days’ work. But did the creation days of Genesis last hours or epochs?
The length of time represented by the word day sparks a storm of controversy. Lightning strikes and thunder roars with questions at the core of this debate:
- Does belief in an old earth equate to belief in evolution?
- Was there any kind of death before the Fall?
- Does the Bible speak of a “big bang”?
- Is God’s plan a restored paradise or a whole new creation?
In A Matter of Days, respected author and astronomer Hugh Ross, Ph.D., addresses these questions and explores how the creation-day controversy developed. History, theology, science, and Scripture reveal creation’s big picture.
Top Highlights
“The Hebrew word yôm, translated ‘day,’ is used in biblical Hebrew (as in modern English) to indicate any of four time periods: (a) some portion of the daylight (hours), (b) sunrise to sunset, (c) sunset to sunset, or (d) a segment of time without any reference to solar days (from weeks to a year to several years to an age or epoch).2 Yôm cannot, however, be interpreted as indefinite (such as anytime or someday) or as infinite time.” (Page 73)
“Twenty-one different creation accounts within Scripture (see table 6.1, page 66) emphasize most strongly the who of creation. To a significant degree, they explain the how of creation. And to a much lesser degree, they discuss the when of creation. In other words, the Bible itself places far more importance on the factual nature of the creation events than on the length of the Genesis 1 creation days.” (Page 18)
“Truth, by definition, is information free of contradiction and error. One revelation of God’s truth cannot be held as inferior or superior to another. It can be different, just as the content of Ezra is distinct from that of Romans, but truth cannot be better or worse. Thus, when science appears to conflict with theology, we have no reason to reject either the facts of nature or the Bible’s words. Rather, we have reason to reexamine our interpretations, because the facts of nature and Scripture will always agree.” (Pages 89–90)
“Yet biblical truth has nothing to fear from honest science.” (Page 9)
“Worse yet, courts in North America have come to perceive the length of creation days as a central issue of Christianity. Some leaders who don’t want creation taught in public schools are delighted that a majority of evangelical Christians accept a young universe and a young Earth. They exploit this belief to win their court cases, keeping creation teaching out of public institutions. Of greater importance, they believe that by discrediting Genesis they can demonstrate a flawed Bible. This ‘faulty creation message’ is used to discredit the deity of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, the sanctity of life, doctrines on heaven and hell, and so forth. If the creation account is implausible, what basis remains to believe anything else the Bible declares?” (Page 17)
Hugh Ross’s spiritual depth and brilliance of mind is the rarest of blends. He addresses the topic of Creation, opening many thoughtful minds and hearts to the message of salvation, providing them new reasons to believe.
—Dr. Jack W. Hayford, founder and chancellor of The King’s College and Seminary
Three decades ago, when I was still an atheist, a work like this one could have satisfied my own objections to Genesis. This book should help many Christians to stop fighting about how God created and get back to our business of proclaiming that he did it.
—Craig S. Keener, Th.D., visiting professor of Bible, Eastern Seminary, and author of the IVP Bible Background Commentary and the volume on Matthew in the IVP New Testament Commentary Series
Hugh masterfully explains how it is entirely plausible that a day on earth might be one thing, a solar day another, and a day in the universe another entity altogether. I congratulate Hugh on his work. A Matter of Days deserves a careful reading.
—Pat Robertson, chairman and CEO of The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., and host of The 700 Club
- Title: A Matter of Days
- Author: Hugh Ross
- Publisher: Reasons to Believe
- Publication Date: 2004
- Pages: 300
Reviews
3 ratings
Jack Caviness
3/14/2019
One of the worst examples of eisegesis I have ever read. His manipulation of language to prove that the days on Genesis 1 were not 24 hour days is tortured and ludicrous. In the first third of the book, He spends almost as much time whining about the treatment he receives from young earth creationists as he does presenting his case.
Matthew Collins
6/8/2014
An easily readable well resourced book. Whether or not this particular creation theory is true I don't know, but Hugh Ross puts forward a well thought out, well supported and plausible creation account. Well worth the read
Daniel Caballero
10/15/2013
