Today's comic is from the Young Earth organization Answers in Genesis. This comic shows that Young Earth Creationists have a real concern for how Christians in general treat scripture. Those that believe in an old earth and/or the theory of evolution do not turn to Genesis to find out how God created the word; they treat Genesis in a non-literal manner, whether as allegory or myth or poetry. YEC are unsettled by this. Genesis, to them, is the 'book of beginnings', a recorded history of the beginning of God's covenant with His people and the beginning of the world itself. And this account of beginnings is a literal historical narrative. Those outside of the Christian faith may find this comic illuminating because it reveals a divide in Christianity between those who treat Genesis' opening chapters 'literally' (although even the literalists tend to allegoricalize when convenient) versus those who do not. Christianity is not a monolithic religion with each Christian believing the same thing. There is an incredible amount of diversity, a diversity which Answers in Genesis finds disturbing.
This comic also questions what Christians take to be authoritative. Is the only authority the Book of God's Word, or can we also turn to the Book of God's Works? Is creation as authoritative as scripture? Can a Christian, in good conscience, turn to the books of science to understand beginnings rather than the 'book of beginnings'? For YEC, the answer is clearly no; for other Christians, the answer is not so clear.
Yes, I realize today is actually Wednesday, but I've been at camp in PEI all week with a bunch of grade 2 and 3 students, and I did not come to this realization until just now. Deal with it.
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