Revelation Theory of Creation

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The Revelation Theory is an obscure variant of Old Earth Creationism which asserts that the days as outlined in Genesis 1 are in fact not days of creation but days in which God revealed to Adam about the creation that had happened long before.

Wait, what?

The "Revelation Theory" was developed by Assyriologist P. J. Wiseman in his book Creation Revealed in Six Days (1946). The theory is directly linked to Wiseman's idea that the authors of Genesis were the early patriarchs themselves, who wrote on tablets and passed these down, citing toledothes throughout Genesis as evidences of tablet colophons. Based on this interpretation of the structure of Genesis, Wiseman argues that God directly revealed to Adam through a relevation over six literal 24 hour days the creation (as outlined in Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 4b or "Tablet 1"), but which had occurred millions if not billions of years ago. While Wiseman in his book does not dispute scientific consensus regarding the age of the earth or universe, he denies evolution, claiming that God created all life forms in their "kinds". However Wiseman claims that Adam is the author of Gen. 1, having been revealed information about the creation by God over six literal days (he does not attempt to date when this revelation occurred). He argues though that this information about the creation is not specific or detailed because the Genesis creation narrative was entirely written by man, who merely could only record limited details from memory and on tablet. He concludes by asserting that science can fill in the gaps of the creation but that Gen. 1 shows God was the "originator and controller" of the creation.

Support and criticism

P. J. Wiseman's son, Donald Wiseman, later developed the idea, republishing Creation Revealed in Six Days in 1977 (with an added foreword), and producing an article in 1991. The concept has not, however, received any notable support. Livingstone (1992) briefly discusses it in a single footnote, while other creationists have completely ignored it, largely on the grounds of its excessive materialism (claiming Adam as the author of Genesis 1 as opposed to God). Revelation Theory is probably the most sincere form of Biblical creationism attempting to appear rational, but still in the end completely fails.

Perhaps creationists have seen the potential problem(s) with Adam as the author of Genesis 1. The Tower of Babel would render whatever Adam wrote unintelligible, which would require God to reinterpret the contents back to other prophets.

Sources

• Wiseman, P. J. (1946). Creation Revealed in Six Days. Marshall, Morgan & Scott: London.
• Wiseman, P. J. (1977). Clues to Creation in Genesis. Marshall, Morgan & Scott: London.
• Wiseman, Donald (1991). "Creation Time—What does Genesis Say?". Science & Christian Belief. 3[1]. pp. 25-34.
• Livingstone, David N. (1992). "The Preadamite Theory and the Marriage of Science and Religion". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, Vol. 82, No. 3, pp. 1-78.