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History of creationism |
Boston University, Department of Religion, 145/147 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA
*Corresponding author (e-mail: rpeters{at}bu.edu)
This paper aims to facilitate understanding of the most radical form of contemporary creationism by describing the principal motivations of its adherents from the perspective of a former insider. Creationism that produces and promotes accounts of natural history that differ radically from conventional accounts—made up of so-called ‘biblical’ or ‘young-Earth’ creationists, ‘anti-evolutionists’ and ‘Flood geologists’—is herein called ‘theodicic creationism’.
Theodicic creationism is primarily concerned with defending God against the charge that he is responsible for natural evil; in other words, it is engaged in the production of a form of theodicy. Rather than accepting modern scientific accounts of natural history and then argue that these are compatible with the goodness of God, however, theodicic creationists conclude that conventional natural histories are not compatible with their view of God. They therefore begin with belief in a benevolent Creator and set out to produce an account of natural history that is compatible with it. Because almost any natural history will do for their purposes if it can shift the burden of responsibility for natural evil from divine to human shoulders, theodicic creationists are a relatively cohesive group, despite deep disagreements about the age of the Earth, the extent and role of Noah's Flood, the extent and role of evolution, and even the nature of the Bible.
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