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I heard the other day that the literalist interpretation of biblical creation (A literal 7 day creation of the universe) isn't the classical historical interpretation that past Christians held. I was told that YEC was a relatively recent interpretation.

Meaning, has genesis historically been interpreted as figurative/metaphorical (and to what degree if so?) by past Christians?

If so, was YEC the default view? Were there "Old earth creationists" (or anyone who would be analogous to them) in the deep historic past?

On a side note, when did alternative non-literal interpretations of Genesis come about?

To be clear, this question is not the same as: Where does the belief that the Earth is relatively young (6000 years) come from?

Because I am asking about the origins of the doctrine itself, not seeking debate of the particularities of the doctrine and whether or not they are true.

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I'd assume people wanted to reconcile their religious beliefs with the reality of the universe. If the Bible is supposed to be true, shouldn't God expose the truth in nature as well as in scripture? –  Anonymous Feb 15 at 4:45
Many, perhaps most, doctrines only get clarified when there is a debate and dissenting position. YEC as a full-fledged movement is new, but only because OEC as a movement is new too. While you can find people for both positions all through Jewish and Christian history, the issue only became a major one in the 19th century. –  curiousdannii Feb 15 at 7:08
YEC doesn't only have to do with whether the days in Genesis are literally 24-hour days. It also has to do with adding up the years of all the genealogies and history of the Bible to see how long the world has been around since Adam. Hint: it doesn't add up to millions of years. –  david brainerd Mar 24 at 23:42
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2 Answers 2



That was not the universal view:



Origen writes (around 231 AD):


Augustine of Hippo writes:




The scientific evidence that pointed to an extremely old earth did not arise until the 18th century. This redating was not at the time generally taken as a 'disproof' of either Genesis or Christianity, and many of the scholars supporting it were Christian.

Significant Christian opposition to the geological dating did not arise until the early 20th century, with the Fundamentalism revival. Leading early exponents were George McReady price and Henry Morris. The Wikipedia article gives an excellent overview of the history.

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There were plenty of theories that the universe was very old, perhaps even infinitely old, in ancient times. Some Egyptian writers traced lists of dynasties going back hundreds of thousands of years. These were considered just as "scientific" in their time as radiometric dating is considered today. Assuming we discount the Bible as evidence, I think it would be difficult to prove from historical evidence whether young Earth or old Earth theories came first. –  Jay Feb 18 at 6:55
Nice answer! I'm sometimes surprised at how pervasive the fundamentalist movement has been...given it's relatively short existence. –  Charles Alsobrook Feb 19 at 1:51
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The Wikipedia article on Young Earth Creationism gives a good explanation of it's origins, decline, and revival.

Regarding the age of the earth, it cites Seder Olam Rabbah from 160 AD:


The same article references the commentary on Genesis by Ibn Ezra (c. 1089–1164) for the view that the six days of creation were 24-hour periods.

Ibn Ezra believed in the Ptolemaic universe, common in the middle ages, that the Earth was in the center of the universe and didn't move. That it was encapsulated in nine concentric spheres embedded with the stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. The outer "diurnal" sphere revolved once every 24 hours.

With that background, we can understand Ibn's commentary on the creation as six 24 periods. For example, see his commentary on Genesis 1:5,8:

(5) by naming the light "day" and the darkness "night." The diurnal sphere revolved once, day blended into evening and night blended into dawn, day one.

(8) God named the heaven together with the air "sky." Although God had not completed God's work, the diurnal sphere revolved once, day blended into evening and night blended into dawn, a second day.

source: http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html

Philosophers at least as early as Philo (c. 20 BC – c. 50 AD) did not believe the earth was created in six literal days. Philo had this explanation:



See also Old Earth Creationism

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