Gap creationism

The divine comedy
Creationism

Running gags

* Biblical literalism
* Young/Old Earth
* Intelligent design
* Creation scientists

Jokes aside

* Carbon dating
* Fossil
* Punctuated equilibrium
* Paleontology

Blooper reel

* Creationist escape hatch
* Engineers and woo
* Evolutionism
* Michael Oard

Evolutionism debunkers

* American Thinker
* Ian Paisley
* William Dembski
* New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Movement

v \- t \- e

“”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then nothing happened for 4.5 billion years. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

—What a gap creationist reads on the first sentences of Genesis.

Gap creationism (also gap theory and ruin-Restitution) is a form of old Earth creationism. It attempts to harmonize the Genesis account of the creation of the universe with the actual age of the universe by claiming there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Basically, it shoehorns a vast timespan of millions or billions of years into the "gap" between the creation of the heaven and the earth and the rest of creation. This allows gap creationists to accept that the universe is billions of years old, but still leaves the problem of a history of life on Earth being only a few thousand years old and that they are still denialists when it comes to evolution.

Holders of this idea claim the earth somehow became ruined and was then repaired during the six 24-hour days of creation.

In some versions, the earth was ruined as a consequence of a battle between God and Lucifer — in more complex forms of the myth, the destruction resulted in the death of the dinosaurs as well. While this would make an awesome heavy metal song,[note 1] there is, of course, zero geological evidence for any of this. The gap creationist position tries to account for fossils of lost species to belong to the first period — so they can accept the scientific dating for them. But, the problem is, the fossil record does not show any abrupt disappearance of species just at second creation time — 4000 BCE.

After the supposed "gap", many believers add beliefs about Young Earth Creationism; others follow it up with concepts associated with Progressive Creationism.

The gap theory was popular with nineteenth-century old-Earth Creationists, but has given way to day-age creationism and progressive creationism.

Interestingly, the Qur'an, considered by many to be the fourth book in a tetralogy, states that a day with God is equivalent to 50,000 of our human years, so that would put the Earth age at 300,000 years.

Also, Jesus Is Savior's position on creation is gap creation. He has stated his acceptance of traditional scientific dating of dinosaur fossils.

## External links[edit]

* Formless and Void:Gap Theory Creationism at the National Centre for Science Education Creation/Evolution magazine archive
* The Gap Theory Page

## References[edit]

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Indeed, Marvel Comics uses a variation of this idea; in their main comics universe, the dinosaurs were driven extinct by a battle between Atum the sun god and Set the serpent god.

v \- t \- e

Articles about creationism

Types of creationism: |  Day-age creationism • Old Earth creationism • Progressive creation • Hare Krishna creationism • Young Earth creationism • Intelligent design •
Evidence against a recent creation: |  Creationism and social history • Geomagnetism • Petrified forest • Radiometric dating • Carbon dating • Dendrochronology • Y-chromosomal Adam • Mitochondrial Eve • Starlight problem • Plate tectonics • Rotation of the Earth • Atmosphere of the Moon • Biogeography • K-Pg extinction event • Geologic timeline • Fossil • Transitional fossil • Fossil record • Lake Agassiz • List of transitional forms • Recent African Origin hypothesis • Punctuated equilibrium • Bird evolution • Geology • Grand Canyon • Evolution • Fossil fuel • Paleontology • History of the Earth • Evidence against a recent creation • Yellowstone • Diamond • Iron • Age of the Earth •
| Creationist claims: |  Geomagnetism • Do you want to be descended from a monkey? • Evolution and religion • Evolution and morality • C-decay • Peanut butter argument • Intelligent design and academic freedom • Science was wrong before • Science doesn't know everything • Catastrophic plate tectonics • Hydroplate theory • Lunar bukkake hypothesis • Creationist mathematics • Biblical literalism • Bumblebee argument • Orchidaceae • Irreducible complexity • Leap second • Wedge Strategy • Noah's Ark • 101 evidences for a young age of the Earth and the universe • Noah's Ark sightings • Evolution conspiracy • Recession of the Moon • Rotation of the Earth • Atmosphere of the Moon • Lunar dust • Lunar radioactivity • White hole cosmology • Firmament • Evolutionism • Haji Yearam • Galactocentricity • Hanzi of Genesis • Historical and operational science • Proof of the inconsistency of arithmetic • List of creationist claims • Global flood • De-evolution • Microevolution and macroevolution • In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood • Borel's Law • Baraminology • Dinosaur denialism •
| Global flood: |  Flood geology • Noah's Ark • Noah • Lunar bukkake hypothesis • Fossil sorting by the global flood • Hydroplate theory • Global flood • Grand Canyon • Noah (film) • Epic of Gilgamesh • Didit fallacy • God's Love • Noah's Ark sightings • Haji Yearam • Lake Agassiz • Parasites during the global flood • Life and the global flood • Baraminology • Global flood chronology • Yellowstone • Petrified forest •
Intelligent design creationism: |  Falsifiability of creationism • Irreducible complexity • Cdesign proponentsists • Intelligent design and academic freedom • Argument from design • The Wonders of Creation Reveal God's Glory • Biological Information: New Perspectives • Seeking God in Science: An Atheist Defends Intelligent Design • John A. Davison • Evolution Under the Microscope: A Scientific Critique of the Theory of Evolution • Rethinking Darwin: A Vedic Study of Darwinism and Intelligent Design • Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False • Providence Lost: A Critique of Darwinism • The Darwin Myth: The Life and Lies of Charles Darwin • The Mystery of Life's Origin: Reassessing Current Theories • The Origin of Human Nature: A Zen Buddhist Looks at Evolution • Thomas Nagel • Darwinism Under The Microscope: How Recent Scientific Evidence Points To Divine Design • The End of Darwinism • Ask Darwinists • Polonium halos • Explanatory Filter • Flowers of asexually-reproducing plants • Eye • Argument from fine tuning • Argument from beauty • Argument from first cause • Flagellum • Moody Institute of Science • Intelligent design • Laryngeal nerve • Suboptimal design • Adam and Evolution: A Scientific Critique of Neo-Darwinism • Expelled: Leader's Guide • Banana argument • Vault-Co •
| "Intelligent" alternatives: |  Intelligent falling • Scientific storkism • Pastafarianism • Scientific Geoterrapinism • Wedgie strategy •
| Teach the controversy: |  Santorum Amendment • Missouri House Bill 1227 • Indiana Senate Bill 89 • Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District • Academic Freedom Act • Louisiana Academic Freedom Act • Tennessee monkey bill • Edwards v. Aguillard • Thomas More Law Center • School vouchers • Eugenie Scott • Teach the controversy • Truth in Science • McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education •
Creationists: |  Ben Stein • Barry Setterfield • Jonathan Sarfati • Ray Comfort • B.H. Shadduck • Kirk Cameron • Harun Yahya • Wendy Wright • Carl Wieland • John Ankerberg • Jack Cuozzo • William Jennings Bryan • Russ Miller • Lee Strobel • Brother Stair • Paul Nelson • James Nienhuis • Art Robinson • Alan O'Reilly • PPSIMMONS • Hank Hanegraaff • Charlie Wagner • Rush Limbaugh • Roy Spencer • Grover Norquist • Ann Coulter • Christopher Booker • Andrea Minichiello Williams • Tom Bethell • Chuck Baldwin • Rick Perry • Bradley Monton • Mission: America • Christopher Langan • Aimee Semple McPherson • Richard Kent • Ljiljana Čolić • Abuz Zubair • Scott Huse • Barry Arrington • Grant Jeffrey • Janet Porter • Alan Clifford • Kurt Wise • Kenneth McKilliam • Bradlee Dean • Hugh Ross • Geoffrey Simmons • James Le Fanu • Norman Nevin • Shaun Johnston • Issac Bourne • John C. Sanford • Fazale Rana • Benjamin Wiker • Hugh Dower • Lee Spetner • Mark Ludwig • Alan Hayward • Werner Gitt • William Fix • Maciej Giertych • Robert E. D. Clark • John C. Landon • Barbara Cargill • Philip Snow • Ken Jopp • Frank Tipler • Richard William Nelson • Todd Friel • Bob Sorensen • Eugene Windchy • Berit Kjos • Glenn Beck • Robert McLuhan • George C. Deutsch • Ross McKitrick • Daniel Neiman • Ron Wyatt • Desmond Paul Allen • Jay Wile • Jack Chick • Ian Juby • Anthony Peake • Tim Ball • John Mackay • Sheik Feiz Muhammad • J. P. Holding • Michael Cremo • Chuck Norris • Steve Milloy • Rick Santorum • Christine O'Donnell • Larry Craig • Mike Bara • John Hawkins • Alan Keyes • Chris Carter • Ted Cruz • Bobby Jindal • James Ussher • Larry Pratt • Bob Dutko • Steve Fuller • Denyse O'Leary • Mike Huckabee • American Thinker • Babu G. Ranganathan • Ben Hobrink • Carl Baugh • Humans Are Free • Mary Lou Bruner • Educate-yourself.org • Andrew Schlafly • Ian Paisley • VenomFangX • Todd Akin • Paul Broun • James Manning • Mike Pence • Shockofgod • Sye Ten Bruggencate • Brad Stine • Charlton Heston • Pat Toomey • Josh Axe • Ben Carson • William Dembski • Presents Of God Ministry • Jim Allister • Whale.to • Jonathan Otto • Becky Fischer • Roy Moore • David Wilcock • Jerry Falwell Sr. • Mark Dice • Ron Paul • Sam Brownback • Pat Buchanan • Don McLeroy • Marco Rubio • Michele Bachmann • Pat Robertson • John Hagee • Mary Fallin • The Vigilant Christian • Betsy DeVos • WND • Joseph Farah • Media Research Center • Theodore Beale • Encyclopedia of American Loons • Zakir Naik • Got Questions • R. L. Wysong • ProphecyFilm.com • Kent Hovind • Steven Anderson • Dennis Prager • Bernard d'Abrera • Mohammad Tawhidi • Dylan Wheeler • CJ Pearson • Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry • Eric Hovind • Cornelius Van Til • Frank Turek • Sarah Palin • Brandon Tatum • William Lane Craig • Alex Jones (slovensky) • Charlie Kirk • Owen Benjamin • Steven Crowder • Rick Warren • Jerry Falwell Jr. • Ted Holden • Alex Jones • E. Calvin Beisner • Kate Tieje • Michael Denton • New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Movement • Mark Cahill • Jim Inhofe • Gary Birdsong • R.J. Rushdoony • Pat Boone • The Washington Times • Canada Free Press • NewsBusters • Jimmy Swaggart • Miroljub Petrović • Marjorie Taylor Greene • Chuck Colson • Stephen E. Jones • Lew Rockwell • Tom Tancredo • John Kasich • Gary North • E. W. Jackson • Kevin Stitt • Steve Turley • Truth Never Sleeps • Zachary K. Hubbard • Conservapedia • Mike Johnson • National Rifle Association • Butch Hartman • Joshua Feuerstein • Christopher Rufo • Peter Sweden •
| Fundie schools: |  Brigham Young University • Bryan College • Cedarville University • Patrick Henry College • Regent University • Patriot Bible University • Fundie school • College Credit for Creationism • The Master's University • Boston Baptist College • San Diego Christian College • Columbia Pacific University • TRACS • Cornerstone University • Pensacola Christian College • Bob Jones University • Hyles-Anderson College • University of South Los Angeles • Cambridge Theological Seminary • Haven University • Liberty University • Louisiana Baptist University and Seminary • New Eden School of Natural Health • Georgia Central University • Andersonville Theological Seminary • Ambassador Baptist College • Hillsdale College •
| Discovery Institute: |  Teach the controversy • Of Pandas and People • Wedge Strategy • Text of The Wedge Strategy • Explore Evolution • Jonathan Witt • David Berlinski • Biologic Institute • Jonathan Wells • Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed • Michael Egnor • Douglas Axe • Academic Freedom Day • Casey Luskin • What is intelligent design? • Behe: The Edge of Evolution, Interview • Science and Human Origins • Wedgie strategy • Project Steve • BIO-Complexity • Texas Board of Education • Richard Weikart • Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District • Human exceptionalism • Darwin's Predictions • Stephen Meyer • Howard Ahmanson • Melvin Mulder • Lists of creationist scientists • Discovery Institute • Complex Specified Information • Michael Behe • Phillip Johnson • Joel Brind • Non-materialist neuroscience • Academic Freedom Act •
| Answers in Genesis: |  Answers in Genesis Dawkins interview controversy • Bodie Hodge • Andrew Snelling • Affirmations and Denials Essential to a Consistent Christian (Biblical) Worldview • Answers in Genesis-Creation Ministries International's Statement of Faith • Hanzi of Genesis • Atheists Outline Their Global Religious Agenda • 12 Arguments Evolutionists Should Avoid • Creation Ministries International • Lists of creationist scientists • Answers Research Journal • Ark Encounter • Jason Lisle • Answers in Genesis • Ken Ham • Creation Museum • Buddy Davis • Bill Nye debates Ken Ham • Ham Hightail •
|  | Answers Research Journal: |  Answers Research Journal volume 2 • Answers Research Journal volume 3 • Answers Research Journal volume 5 • Answers Research Journal volume 1 • Answers Research Journal volume 6 • Answers Research Journal volume 4 • Answers Research Journal • Answers Research Journal volume 7 • Answers Research Journal volume 8 • Answers Research Journal volume 9 • Answers Research Journal volume 10 • Answers Research Journal volume 11 • Answers Research Journal volume 12 • Answers Research Journal volume 13 • Answers Research Journal volume 14 •
| Institute for Creation Research: |  Nathaniel Jeanson • Jeffrey Tomkins • Lawrence Ford • Henry Morris • Brian Thomas • Duane Gish • RATE • Your Origins Matter • John Morris • Jerry Bergman • San Diego Christian College • Timothy LaHaye • Russell Humphreys • Lists of creationist scientists • TRACS • Andrew Snelling • David A. DeWitt • Alpha Omega Institute • Jason Lisle • Institute for Creation Research • Danny Faulkner •