What was Martin Luther's stand on Creation/Evolution?
The biblical scholar and Protestant reformer, Martin Luther believed in Creation and taught that the world was young. For example, Luther stated,
“We know from Moses that the world was not in existence before 6,000 years ago.”
Luther insisted that Moses wrote about Creation in normal, literal language.
Martin Luther (1540)
Artist: Heinrich Aldegrever
“He [Moses] calls ‘a spade a spade,’ i.e., he employs the terms ‘day’ and ‘evening’ without allegory, just as we customarily do we assert that Moses spoke in the literal sense, not allegorically or figuratively, i.e., that the world, with all its creatures, was created within six days, as the words read.
If we do not comprehend the reason for this, let us remain pupils and leave the job of teacher to the Holy Spirit.”
Reference
Martin Luther in Jaroslav Peliken, editor, “Luther's Works,” Lectures on Genesis Chapters 1-5, Vol. 1 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), pp. 3, 6.
More information
- Is the Bible CLEAR about the age of the Earth and universe? —Did God take billions of years for creation, or was God actually referring to a literal 24-hour time-period in reference to each, individual creation day?
- How can light get to us from stars which are millions of LIGHT YEARS away in a universe which the Bible claims is only thousands of years old? Answer —Interesting explanations are reviewed in this discussion on how science and the Bible may correspond to one another.
- 4TH DAY— Was the fourth day of creation twenty-four hours long? Answer —Creation of the sun, moon, and stars.
- 6TH DAY— Could all of the events recorded on the 6th day of creation really have taken place during a normal, 24-hour-type day? Answer —Adam and the naming of the animals
- 24-HOUR DAYS— Does the Hebrew text really refer to 24-hour periods in the Creation week? Answer —What are some of the implications of believing in day-age theories?
- BIBLICAL IMPORTANCE— Is the age of the Earth a “trivial” doctrinal point? Answer —Many Christians today fail to see the importance of believing in a literal interpretation of the Genesis Creation account. Don’t be fooled—this issue is of great importance to Bible believing Christians, and this answer helps to explain why.
- PROGRESSIVE CREATIONISM— Is it a viable option? Answer —Progressive creationism has become popular among some evangelicals. Find out what it is and whether it holds the key to harmonizing theology and science.
- THEISTIC EVOLUTION— Is it biblical? Answer —Does theistic evolution fit with the Bible? What effects can the adoption of theistic evolution cause for those who believe in it?
- Progressive Creationism— Who is HUGH ROSS and what does he teach? Answer —Many people have heard of Hugh Ross and his ministry and have asked ChristianAnswers.Net about him. The following is a short summary of key teachings.
- GAP THEORY— What is it? And is it a good theory? Answer —Origin of the theory and its problems
- GAP THEORY— Is it an acceptable way to harmonize the Bible and the geologic record? Answer —Discussion of the biblical and logical problems with the “Gap Theory,” also called the Ruin-and-Reconstruction theory. It is used by some Christians in an attempt to harmonize the Bible, the geologic record and long ages.
Authors: Mark Van Bebber and Paul S. Taylor, Christian Answers.
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