Nicaea achieved consensus on the Trinity, Chalcedon on the deity and humanity of Christ, Chicago on the inerrant autographs, so now can we move toward a consensus on creation by returning to the Hebrew text, grammar, and genre of Genesis 1 while gleaning Biblically supported creation insights from Basil to Walton?
Without vowel points, the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1 supports the initial creation of the universe “in the beginning,” a claim supported by Basil. Genesis 1:1 was before the six days, as supported by Aquinas. The use of בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית in Jeremiah suggests that its use in Genesis 1:1 allows an older universe as held by old earth creationists such as Hugh Ross. Genesis 1:2 begins with a vav disjunctive, so 1:2 describes earth (not the universe) as uninhabitable, uninhabited, water-covered, and dark, setting the agenda for the six described days during which God would make earth lighted, habitable, and inhabited. Although a “gap” in 1:2 of the gap theory is grammatically improbable, the theory does answer the question of animal death before Adam, an answer supported by 1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14, and Genesis 1:30. The vav consecutives starting most clauses in Genesis 1 indicate it is Hebrew historical narrative intended to report history. The structure of Genesis 1:3–5 supports a day-night day, held by young earth creationists. Yet the ordinal numbers, most without definite articles—“a second day,” “a third day,” “a fourth day,” “a fifth day” (NASB)—indicate sequential (rather than consecutive) days, allowing time passage between described days for an older Earth and older life, a more text-based solution than millions of years long day-ages. Some but not all days were about new functions, per Walton. Genesis 3, Romans 5:12, and 1 Corinthians 15:22 teach that Adam started death for all image-of-God humans, but do not mention animal death, allowing earlier animal death so an older creation. Thus, literal days (affirmed by YEC) and an older creation (affirmed by OEC) may both be Biblical and historical. Other questions are: Did God create the heavens with the galaxies on day four or in the beginning? Do Adam’s descendants’ genealogies date the universe to about 4000 BC or only roughly date Adam? Did Jesus’ statement against divorce, ἀπὸ δὲ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως (Mark 10:6), date the universe, or form a genitive of apposition indicating God made a male and female pair from the beginning, namely creation? What does Exodus 20:11 in Hebrew say? How could God say “very good” on the sixth described day if there had been earlier animal carnivorism? A two stage understanding of creation—taking both “in the beginning” and the six day-night days literally—answers the above questions, matches the inerrant Hebrew creation texts, matches the physical creation, has been taught by Bible scholars for centuries (although a minority view today), allows an older universe and earth (which science discoveries affirm), provides a solution to the Old versus Young Earth Creationism conflict, and forms a key element of Biblical, unified, winsome Christianity.