MARTIN CAREY | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Life Assurance Ministries Board Member
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”—Genesis 1:1
When I was in high school I wrote some little essays on creation, trying to convince my English teacher that the earth was young and evolution was bad science. My teacher was nice but wasn’t impressed, and she said to me, “You should read Isaac Asimov. He answers all those questions.” My creation science books were all from Adventist authors: Frank Marsh, Harold Coffin, and George McCready Price.
Well, OK. I was an eager science nerd, so I read several science authors including Asimov and realized I was in over my head. Asimov was a great science fiction writer and science promoter, and he had also stated, “I am an atheist, out and out.” End of conversation.
As a lover of science and nature, I found this all to be rather discouraging. The Adventist creationist authors I read portrayed much of modern science’s explanations of earth’s origins as a vast deception, controlled by incompetent frauds. When the science authors mentioned creationists, they disparaged them as ignorant and dishonest. I was unable to see any way to reconcile the Bible and science. Looking back on that time, I was not equipped to share my love of nature as a witness of God’s creation. That confusion contributed to my own agnostic thinking for nearly 30 years.
But thank God, He doesn’t abandon us to our folly. Decades later, He nudged me into studying science authors who believe His word, and I learned that Romans 1:18-20 is true. God has revealed His “eternal power and divine nature” in the things He has made, and there are scientists in many disciplines who know and worship Him.
For many decades the church has been divided over the meaning of the first two chapters of Genesis. Few topics are more controversial in the church than the length of creation’s days and the age of the earth. Gentle and respectful Christian debates about creation and time are very rare, especially in public. The voices of alarm and condemnation dominate those discussions, within the church and in secular media. The church is divided.
“For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.”—1 Corinthians 1:11-12
It is right to remember that we must “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). Christians can all agree that holding an accurate Biblical doctrine of creation that lifts up Jesus, His gospel, and His word, is our first priority. The tough question is, when does creation become a gospel issue? We want to know the essential doctrines of creation, not just in Genesis, but in all Scripture, and avoid the teachings that weaken or distort His word and gospel.
An Ancient and Honest Debate
To help us understand the church’s modern creation debate, we look back to the 19th century. Charles Lyell’s geology of uniformitarianism in 1833 argued for an ancient earth, influencing Charles Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species in 1859. Christians had various reactions to an ancient earth, with some accepting it, as did Reverend James Douglas and B.B. Warfield. The church has always had leaders who saw the days of Genesis 1 as literal 24-hour days, while others saw them as figurative, such as Irenaeus and Augustine (Michael Jones, https://peacefulscience.org/prints/origns-yec/).
Young earth creationism did not become an established evangelical movement until the mid-twentieth century. However, the young-earth movement is older, founded in the nineteenth century by Seventh-day Adventists. The Adventist contributions to the movement have far greater influence than most realize. Understanding its Adventist roots is vital to understanding the modern creation debates, and unfortunately, very few evangelical Christians know how much Adventist theology has shaped modern creationism.
Adventist Origins
The Institute for Creation Research credits Henry Morris (1918-2006) as the founder of the modern creationist movement. Morris was a devout Christian who wanted to defend the Bible’s authority from evolutionary science. He earned a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1950, taught at various universities, including Virginia Tech, and wrote 60 books. (Kurt Wise, “Contributions to Creationism by George McCready Price” presented at The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism, 2018.) In 1961, Morris co-authored the book, The Genesis Flood (1961), with theology professor John Whitcomb, Ph.D., and brought young earth creationism into mainstream Christianity. However, there is considerable evidence that although Morris did much to build the movement, many of the core ideas and arguments in The Genesis Flood were derived another source, the amateur geologist, George McCready Price.
In 1943, Henry Morris discovered a book in his school library, Illogical Geology (1906), by George McCready Price. Finding Price’s book was a “a life-changing experience,” Morris later stated. In fact, Morris was so impressed by Price’s work that he used that book as a primary source for his own book, The Genesis Flood. Most creation-minded Christians today have not heard of Price. He was, without a doubt, the most influential creationist of the early twentieth century, and he taught many other creationists, including Harold Coffin, Frank Marsh, and Clifford Burdick. Price was a devout Seventh-day Adventist, believing Ellen White’s writings on Creation and the Flood. Price wrote 30 books and 800 articles arguing for young earth and flood geology.
Creation vs. evolution became front-page news when, in 1925, John Scopes was accused of violating Tennessee state law by teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. At his trial, defense attorney Clarence Darrow asked prosecutor William Jennings Bryan to name a prominent creationist scientist. Bryan named George McCready Price. At that time, Price was not well-known to evangelical Christians. Within Adventism he was a celebrity. Price was a tireless crusader for Adventism, and it is clear that his books and articles are suffused with Adventist theology and philosophy. As the founder of modern creationism, it was inevitable that Price’s Adventist world view would shape many of the core assumptions and methods of the creationist movement. It is my goal in this article to show how Adventist doctrines and methods have been carried into the creationist movement, and to help avoid the divisive, sectarian spirit that often spoils Christian fellowship.
It is not my purpose here to convert readers to a partisan viewpoint on the age of the earth. Instead, let’s encourage genuinely Christian conversations, helping each other understand both young-earth and old-earth creationist positions. This is doable, and is already taking place. I will share examples of Christian science writers of different persuasions who are gracious, faithful, and well-informed. Although I lean towards an old earth creation and am more favorable towards mainstream science on origins, I also personally believe that a young-earth interpretation of Genesis is not only reasonable, but can be Biblically faithful. As in eschatology, different positions can be held by faithful Christians.
Towards that goal, I was greatly helped by an excellent article by Kurt Wise, “Contributions to Creationism by George McCready Price” (The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism, 2018). Dr. Wise earned a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard and believes that earth was created in six 24-hour days less than 10,000 years ago. Atheist biologist Richard Dawkins gave Wise his grudging admiration, “Sadly, an Honest Creationist”. (https://scepsis.net/eng/articles/id_2.php).
Core Assumptions
The Adventist doctrine of creation is shaped by its theology of the Sabbath as God’s day of worship that was instituted by God at creation week, is a memorial of Creation, and separates His people from the unbelieving world. That is why Price held that before the Fall, the earth was holy, sanctified, and idyllic, like the Sabbath. Therefore, Price argued, the newly created earth was perfect in every way, with a perfect climate from pole to pole, with no suffering, and no death of animals. As a loyal Adventist, Price believed that in the final days of history, the seventh-day Sabbath will be the final test of true worship. In the new earth, Price believed that the goal of salvation would be met when perfect Eden is restored. Preparing for Eden restored requires living, eating, and Sabbath-keeping as Adam and Eve were commanded. Price believed that he was called to defend Sabbath truth as part of Adventism’s last-days message, by arguing for a 6000 year-old earth created in 6 literal days (Price, G.M. 1911, God’s Two Books: Or Plain Facts about Evolution, Geology, and the Bible).
What Is Creation Telling Us?
In our creation arguments, it is easy to neglect the most important message of creation for us today. No matter how much truth has been suppressed through the ages, God is still making Himself known to all by loudly proclaiming His attributes in his creation. Price’s Great Controversy theology influenced his view that nature is bound to the power of Satan, who is allowed to oppose God by controlling and destroying His creation.
The universal, worldwide revelation of God’s glory is here for us to step outside and see. That glory is not waiting for some last-days movement, as Price believed (Price, 1911), but speaks to us from the land, sea, and the stars, day and night.
We can point out the problems with Godless evolution all day without glorifying our Creator. Our creation conversations need to emphasize more on what nature is telling us about Him and what everyone knows, down deep, to be true. He keeps on speaking, let’s hear Him! Writing about Psalm 104, the creation psalm, Marshall Segal says it well:
“The psalmist is pointing in every direction, highlighting as much as he can bring to mind — ‘Look at that! Look at that! And that and that and that!’ — but really he’s saying again and again, ‘Look at him.’ He did that. He did that. Oh and he did that too. Isn’t he stunning? Isn’t he terrifying? Isn’t he lovely? ‘O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures’” (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/a-world-god-could-admire ).†
- A Creation Conversation: Moving Beyond Adventism - May 29, 2025
- Adventism Begins and Continues in Error - March 27, 2025
- The Star God - January 23, 2025
Would like to hear more from you on this topic…
Hi Beverly,
Thanks for asking! This article is an introduction to how GM Price’s Adventist world view and polemical style have infiltrated Christian creationism. Next article will go into more detail on that, and will discuss the essential message of Genesis.