How to Teach the Gap Theory
The Bible has always been challenging to study. Further, there are parts where people question what is being said or left unsaid. There is a question about whether anything occurred in creation between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. This is called the Gap Theory. Genesis 1:1 states that the earth was created and completed. Genesis 1:2 states that the earth was without form and void. Some people think that this presents a "gap" in time.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Make sure each student has access to a Bible. Have a student read Genesis 1:1. It states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
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Advise the students that the Gap Theory presumes the Bible to be the "Word of God."
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Tell the students that Genesis 1:1 makes a number of points. It advises who created the Heavens and Earth; it was God. It defines when the Earth was created; it was created in the beginning. It tells what God created; He created both the heavens and the earth. It explains how He created everything; He created them from nothing.
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Advise the students that the reader of the Bible would expect the narrative to build on that and move forward, but it surprises the reader.
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Have a student read Genesis 1:2. "Now the earth was formless and empty (void), darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering (brooding) over the waters."
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Note the difference from verse one. In verse one, everything had been completed. When you get to verse two, the world lies in waste and destruction. Perhaps, something has happened.
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Tell the students that the Gap Theory seeks to explain the coexistence of literal 24 hour days of creation and findings of odd bones and histories. Furthermore, it seeks to explain and identify the fall of Satan from Heaven.
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Tell the students that the Gap Theory supposes that God completed creation in Genesis 1:1. After that, Satan rebelled in Heaven and was thrown to earth. Furthermore, it gave Satan the earthly inheritance at that time. It seeks to explain that, during that "gap," other beings could have been on earth like dinosaurs. This makes a nice package for creationists and evolutionists to co-exist.
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Discuss with your students how the argument for the Gap Theory explains issues in a secular way.
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Advise your students that the problem with the Gap Theory is that it does not explain Original Sin.
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Tips & Warnings
Have the students ask questions. If you don't know the answer, have everybody look it up for homework. Include yourself in the group. Discuss your findings the next day in class.
Never be Judgmental or preachy. Keep an objective tone when teaching this subject.
Resources
- Photo Credit Public Domain: All
