Evangelicalism has developed unified doctrines on God, Christ, salvation, and Scripture, but not on creation. Most evangelicals recognize that Genesis 1 is historical narrative, but many disappointingly limit historical narrative interpretation at some point. The inspiration of Scripture extends to grammar, suggesting that if we interpret all of Genesis 1 as reporting sequential historical events, evangelicalism may move toward unity on the doctrine of creation.
For example, John Sailhamer (my first Hebrew professor) insightfully recognized Genesis 1 as historical narrative. But then he problematically limits the six days to the Promised Land.
Young earth creationists John Whitcomb, Henry Morris, and Ken Ham rightly emphasize Biblical authority and six literal days. But then YEC limits bereshit to the start of day one on Earth based on a word not in the Hebrew text of Exodus 20:11. Perhaps YEC may be willing to accept the Hebrew meaning of bereshit, Exodus 20:11, and the Hebrew ordinal numbers of the six literal days for a Biblically undated (allowing a younger) creation. Further, the Swamidass proposal may allow both a recent literal Adam and “in Adam all die.”
Old earth creationist Hugh Ross affirms that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, resulting in a Biblically undated (allowing an older) universe and earth. He explains that fine-tuning indicates a precise Creator. But then Ross limits yom to million-year day-ages. Perhaps OEC may be willing to accept, at least as an option, that the ordinal numbers with yom likely indicate sequential day-night days for a Biblically undated creation, allowing an older universe.
Cosmic temple creationist John Walton (and many others) correctly emphasizes “that God communicated his revelation to his immediate audience in terms they understood;” and that we should avoid exegetical concordism. Yet Walton limits creation to the six days, leaving out the initial ex nihilo creation “in the beginning.” Perhaps Walton may acknowledge the initial creation of the material universe in Genesis 1:1, inspired to be understood first by ancient Israelites yet also by modern astrophysicists.
In this way, evangelicalism may move toward a unified doctrine of creation based on the Hebrew historical narrative of Genesis 1.
Eternal God created ex nihilo the aionas—time, space, matter, and natural laws—and formed the heavens and the earth in the beginning time period, for a Biblically undated universe. But the earth was uninhabitable, uninhabited, dark, and sea covered. At God’s command, [sun]light penetrated the cloud, starting “day one” with daytime and nighttime on Earth. The Hebrew ordinal numbers of the following days (“a second day” through “the seventh day”), most without articles, probably indicate sequential (rather than consecutive) days, for a Biblically undated (allowing a younger or an older) Earth and life. On a fourth day, God gave the luminaries (created as part of the heavens in the beginning time) three new functions in the clearing sky. In His six sequential workdays, God made earth lighted, habitable, and inhabited, culminating in the first God-imaging human pair.