A Linguistic and Theological Assessment of the Gap Theory with Particular Reference to Genesis 1:1-2b

Isaac BoahengORCID iD

Issue: Vol.1  No.1 May 2020  Article 1 pp. 1-10
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020051   |   Published online 1st May 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Over the years, Christian scholars have made various attempts to explain the origin of the universe based on the Genesis account of creation. Three key evangelical interpretations of Genesis 1:1-3, namely, the restitution theory, the gap theory, and the pre-creation chaos theory, have emerged from the debate. Of particular importance to the present study is the gap theory which attempts to reconcile the Genesis account of creation with the geological claim that the earth is billions of years old. Advocates of the gap theory argue that God initially created a perfect universe in Genesis 1:1 which became imperfect in Genesis 1:2 as a result of a cataclysm. Though appealing, the linguistic and theological basis for this popular theory has been questioned by many biblical scholars. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity of the gap theory through a linguistic and theological examination of Genesis 1:1-2b. At the end the study found that the gap theory does not rest on solid exegetical, theological and linguistic grounds.

Keywords: Creation, Gap Theory, Geological Ages, Linguistics.

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Isaac Boaheng holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Trinity Theological Seminary. He is a Translator with the Bible Society of Ghana and a Minister of the Methodist Church Ghana serving the Nkwabeng Circuit of the Sunyani diocese. Credit is given to Dr. Samy Tioyé (United Bible Societies’ Global Translation Advisor) under whose tutelage at St. Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya, I had the motivation to write this paper. Email: revisaacboaheng@gmail.com

Boaheng, Isaac. “A Linguistic and Theological Assessment of the Gap Theory with Particular Reference to Genesis 1:1-2b.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 1, no.1 (2020): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2020051

© 2020 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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