Luther’s Six Days

Exodus 20:11

“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

In another Creation Moment, we discussed how Martin Luther’s commentary on Genesis insists that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old. Such an opinion is not compatible with the theory of evolution. We can conclude, therefore, that, although Luther did not have to engage with the theory of evolution, his strong Scriptural opinion would have been to side with creationism rather than evolutionism.

A second topic that Luther addresses in the same vein is that of the length of the Creation Week. Once again, Luther tackles Augustine’s views.

Hilary and Augustine, two great lights in the church, believed that the world was made on a sudden and all at once, not successively during the space of six days. Augustine plays upon these six days in a marvelous manner in explaining them. He considers them to be mystical days of knowledge in the angels, and not natural days….

For as he is not instructing us concerning allegorical creatures and an allegorical world, but concerning essential creatures and a world visible and apprehensive by the senses, he calls, as we say in our trite proverb, “a post, a post;” that is, when he says morning or day or evening, his meaning is the same as ours when we use those terms, without any allegory whatever.

Luther had a withering word for those who feel the need to treat the days of creation allegorically in order to continue with their presupposed long age views. He said:

Let us rather confess our ignorance in the matter than wrest the words of Moses from the circumstances which he is recording. To which I say Amen!      Author: Paul F. Taylor

 Prayer: I love it, Lord, that You set up a pattern of seven-day weeks – six of work, one of rest. Help us not to neglect our study of the word, nor try to force our opinions in an ungodly way.

Ref: Luther’s Commentary on Genesis, (Project Gutenberg), < http://www.gutenberg.org/files/48193/48193-h/48193-h.htm >, accessed 12/30/2017. Image: Public Domain