Creation

Is Hugh Ross Right About 'Progressive Creation'?

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
Like everyone else who puts pseudo-science in authority over Scripture, Ross is dead wrong about creation.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Like everyone else who puts pseudo-science in authority over Scripture, Ross is dead wrong about creation.

Dr. Hugh Ross is head of an organization ironically named Reasons to Believe, which calls itself a "science-faith think tank." Rather than giving Christians "reasons to believe," Ross and his associates sow seeds of doubt by the sack-full regarding the inerrancy and unique authority of Scripture. Sadly, many Evangelicals have been taken in by Ross's arguments that the universe is the result of a big bang billions of years ago, and his strange, God-demeaning view of the Genesis account.

The following brief analysis of Ross's position is from the website of Creation Moments (www.creationmoments.com). It is copyrighted material, used by their permission. Use of this material does not constitute a blanket endorsement of Creation Moments by TeachingtheWord.

Dr. Hugh Ross, who has a genuine PhD in astronomy, published his book The Finger of God in 1989. In this he attempted to reconcile Scripture with the theory of evolution. He heads up a ministry called Reasons to Believe and, while he has appeared on many Christian TV talk shows, his message is aimed principally at university students. Many of these students are young Christians. While he vigorously denies that he teaches evolution, he chooses rather to use the words "Progressive Creation." His teaching method is based upon the "blind-'em-with-science" and "hide-behind-the-Hebrew-words" techniques, shamelessly bending Hebrew words to his own meaning, confident that not one in a thousand will challenge him. When cornered with a real language expert, he will pour out scientific data well larded with specialist words from the more arcane avenues of nuclear physics or cosmology. Undoubtedly clever, Ross may even be a Christian, but his message perfectly fits Paul's "grievous wolves" warning in Acts 20:29 and probably represents one of the greatest dangers to the North American Church today.

Hugh Ross subscribes to the Big Bang theory for the creation of the universe and states that it took place at least 15 billion years ago. In this same line of reasoning, he claims that the sun was created, not on the fourth day, but before the first day and then claims that each "day" of creation was actually millions of years in duration. We might be reminded that a "day" of millions of years makes nonsense of God's fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) that requires us to work six days and rest on the seventh.

Incredibly, Ross then argues that the Genesis account is from God's perspective standing on the surface of the Earth. The Earth itself is said to have been under a heavy cloud layer obscuring the sun, moon and stars from His sight until the fourth day, but recall, these "days" are millions of years long! This is Dr. Hugh Ross's brainchild, and one might wonder how big is Ross's "God" who has to stand waiting under the clouds all that time!

Ross also claims that Adam was formed by God from a member of a previously existing race of soulless men, but this makes God responsible for death and not Adam, denying Genesis 3:19, Romans 5:14-19 and 8:20-21. He further argues that the Genesis Flood was a local rather than global flood, but this makes Noah a fool to have built the Ark, and it makes Jesus and Peter equally as foolish to have believed the tale (Matthew 24:36-39 and II Peter 2:5).

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