Creation Science Resources

Old Earth Ministries Reviews

Salvation Army

     On the Doctrine page of their website, they list their key doctrines, none of which preclude a person from believing in an old earth.  Furthermore, on the right there is a link to Salvation Story – Handbook of Doctrine, which further clarifies their creation beliefs.  In it they make no claims or statements about the age of the earth or the duration of the creation week.

     Based on this, there is nothing in this statement that would preclude belief in old earth creationism.  Email contact has been initiated for confirmation.

Reviewed Nov 2003

Seventh Day Adventist Churches

     A review of their Fundamental Beliefs revealed a statement about creation (Point Number 6, which states that God created in six days.  No claim as to the length of those days is present.   In addition, item 8 refers to the worldwide flood.  A review of their Official Statements revealed no discussion of creation.  Their Church Manual contained the same statement about creation that is on their fundamental belief page.  Their Baptismal Vow portion of the church manual (Page 32) contains no statements concerning the creation.

    To become a member, you must take the Baptismal Vow, but since it contains no statements about the creation, an old earth believer "may" have no problems becoming a member of this denomination.  Although creation is mentioned, no length of days are specified.  The reference to the worldwide flood in their Fundamental Beliefs should not concern the prospective member, as it was “world-wide” from the perspective of Noah.

     It should be noted that the creation science movement started within this church denomination just over 100 years ago.  Although there are no statements against old earth belief, caution is urged.

     Of interest is the Geoscience Research Institute, which is a church-sponsored institute with the goal of integrating science and the Bible.

Reviewed Nov 2003; updated 6 Nov 04

Southern Baptist Convention

       The Basic Beliefs page of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) makes no mention of the creation week or evolution.   They have an expanded version, the Baptist Faith and Message, which also makes no mention of creation.  They have a Position Statement page, but again with no statements on creation or evolution.  I have confirmed via email that the SBC does not have any official position statements on the age of the earth.

     A search of their website did provide press releases, in which the six 24-hour creation days were obviously defended.

     A search of their Resolutions did come up with one on Creation Science.  The SBC is in favor of teaching Scientific Creationism in public schools.  This can be interpreted two ways.  One, strictly young earth.  Two, there is no mention of the age of the earth in this resolution, and I, and many other old earth creation scientists, would love to teach old earth creation science in schools.   However, I’m certain that the resolution was meant to imply young earth creationism.

     The most important information I obtained through personal interviews with two pastors.   Both of them did not believe that joining a Southern Baptist church would be a problem for an old earth believer.  And, as I have observed while attending an SBC church many times in the past, it is obvious that there is a wide degree of variance from church to church.  You may find one SBC church that is staunchly young earth, and another that is very tolerant of an old earth.

     Based on the above, I see no reason why an old-earth creationist cannot be a member of an SBC church.  However, one needs to examine each church individually to determine its tolerance of old earth belief.  For those old earth Christians who are mostly conservative in their beliefs, the SBC is an good option.

Reviewed Oct 2003

Traditional Protestant Episcopal Church

     Basically an Anglican background denomination.  They claim to be fundamentalist in the sense that they hold to the fundamentals of the faith, but they reject dispensations and the doctrine of grace as believed by mainstream Protestants.  They believe in the King James version of the Bible.  They also base their belief on the 39 Articles of the Church of England, written in 1901.

     Although there are no indications in the 39 Articles that prohibit a belief in an old earth, in visiting their website you get a distinct feeling that they are very conservative.  If an old earth believer is interested in one of these churches, it would be a good idea to talk to the bishop/minister of the church.  Interestingly, there are no links to find a local denomination, so it is unclear how many there are.

Reviewed 7 May 2004

The United Anglican Church  

     A review of their About page revealed nothing on their creation beliefs.  A review of the Traditional Anglican Communion revealed no references to the creation.   Based on this, and other Anglican denomination reviews, there should be no problems for an old earth believer.

Reviewed Nov 2003

United Church of Christ  

     This denomination does not have a set of core doctrines, but rather claim that they have no tests of the faith.  They respect the creeds of the past, but only as guidelines.  We did find a Statement of Faith, used since 1959, which contained no mention of creation.  A search of their website did not turn up any relevant documents.

     Based on this, the UCC appears to be an open church, and old earth believers should have no issues when attending one.

Reviewed Oct 2003

United Methodist Church  

     A review of the UMC website revealed no doctrine or statements concerning the age debate of the earth.  A search of their website did turn up several interesting articles.  One, by a pastor, asked for tolerance of evolution, as a possible method God used (click here).  There is a disclaimer that articles in the “UMC News Service” do not necessarily reflect the views of the church. 

     In their General Board of Discipleship, there is an “In the Beginning” series of lessons, designed to present different views of creation, so that believers may determine which is right for them, and also that they may learn about what others believe, so they can be tolerant of other positions.

     The search also revealed that a Task Force was developed to look into the issue of Science and Theology, and they are making a recommendation to the 2004 General Conference.  Part of the recommendation is to form the appropriate body (group of people) to draft a theological statement for the church on the issue.

     As a whole, it appears that the United Methodist Church is on the right track, allowing their members to explore differing creation beliefs, and encouraging tolerence between them.  While you may run into individual churches that are dominated by young earth belief, or pastors that are young earth, on the whole, the UMC should be a good choice for an old earth believer.

Reviewed Oct 2003

United Pentecostal Church International  

There is no mention of the length of creation on their Doctrine page.   A search of their website brought up no pages for creation.  Based on this limited information, there appears to be no problems for an old earth believer to join this denomination.

Reviewed Dec 2003

Victory Outreach International  

     A Pentecostal denomination of roughly 500,000 members.  Their Statement of Faith/Mission Statement contains no statements about the length of creation.  However, they do have a statement about what they believe concerning creation and evolution.   This statement is very good, and rules out naturalistic evolution (evolution without God).  They give a brief description of Young Earth Creationism, Progressive Creationism, and Theistic Evolution.  They sum it up by saying:

     Victory Outreach encourages open dialogue on issues related to the nature science and creationism. Right now we do not take a strong position on any one scientific viewpoint related to creation, but we do resist the theory of naturalistic evolution because it posits a world without a divine creator. We are generally supportive of scientific endeavors and see no conflict with the idea that faithful Christians can also become good scientists.

     Because they are open to all forms of belief about creation,  an old-earth creationist should be accepted by this denomination.  They are to be commended for their openness to all forms of creation, something that Old Earth Ministries seeks to promote among all Christians.

Reviewed 8 May 2004
 

The Wesleyan Church 

     A review of their Core Values revealed no creation statements.  Their Beliefs page reveals no statements about the creation.    Their Elementary Principles (Article IV), Item 274, states that each individual has the right to private judgment in the matter of religion, and can express these opinions as long as they don’t violate the laws of God or the rights of others. (i.e., aside from core doctrines, you may decide what you want to…this includes Creation, as this is not one of their core doctrines). 

     Based on the above, there should be no problems for an old earth believer in the Wesleyan Church.

Reviewed Dec 2003