No Abraham, no Moses: Major events in history, according to Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis (AiG) tells us that the Bible is "a history book that reveals the major events of history that are foundational to the Bible’s important messages."

In the web page referenced in the previous paragraph, which is credited to Ken Ham and Stacia McKeever, AiG sets forth seven major events in the history of the world, each one beginning with a C. These are Creation, Corruption (the Fall), Catastrophe (the Flood), Confusion (The Tower of Babel), all of which are in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, and Christ, the Cross, and Consummation, from the remainder of the Bible.

Condensing the Bible into seven, or even more, events is a challenge, and it's not surprising that AiG has left out some major events and individuals. But what have they left out?

Abraham is left out. Abraham is mentioned about 230 times in the Bible, with about 70 of these in the New Testament. These include Galatians 3:6-8, and other important references to Abraham's faith. 

Moses is another omission. Moses is mentioned about 780 times in the Bible, of which about 70 are in the New Testament. These include leading the Israelites through the Red Sea and the Jordan River, governing them for decades, receiving the Ten Commandments and other laws, and speaking to God face to face.

There are other events and people left out of the "important messages," such as Job, David, Ruth, Esther, Isaiah and all of the other prophets. The Psalms are not exactly an event, but they are important even today, often used, and quoted often in the New Testament. There is additional wisdom literature in the Bible. Psalms, Jeremiah and Ezekiel make up about 15% of the Bible.

Acts and the Epistles, which make up much of the New Testament, describe the formation and beliefs of the early church, and are foundational for most of the beliefs of the church of today. They are left out of AiG's list.

On the other hand, the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) is included in the 7 C's list, in spite of the fact that it isn't referred to anywhere else in the Bible. There are important Bible scholars who do not believe that there actually was such a tower. Bible scholars also question other statements on the 7 C's page, such as that there was a world-wide flood, or that dinosaurs were rescued on the Ark.

AiG is to be commended for pointing us to the importance of the Bible, but emphasizes their interpretation of one book of the Bible,  Genesis, too much. (Genesis is less than 6% of the Bible.)

Thanks for reading.

Answers in Genesis's 7 C's of History, revisited

The graphic above is from Answers in Genesis (AiG) on-line materials. It represents a 4th C, confusion. I believe getting permission for its use is not needed, as I am using a little bit of their post in criticism of AiG.

In a previous post, I commented on the 7 C's of History, a structure by AiG, used to organize human history. The post notes that nearly half of the Bible is not covered by any of these 7 supposedly main points -- Abraham, Moses, nearly all prophecy, the Psalms, and more of the Bible, in Genesis 12 through Malachi are not mentioned.

It is also true that their 4th point, "Confusion," the story of the Tower of Babel, occurs in only one chapter of the Bible, Genesis 11. So far as I can discover, that story is not referred to at all, anywhere else in scripture.

This is remarkable. A supposedly Bible-based organization leaves out large parts of the Bible, including some pretty important ones, and puts in one story that is not referred to in the New Testament at all, and is found in only one chapter of the Old Testament. Bible-based? Sort of.

Thanks for reading.

Ken Ham/Answers in Genesis ignores much of the Bible: revising Ham's 7 C's

Answers in Genesis has posted a way of looking at history, by Ken Ham and Stacia McKeever. They hang human history on 7 C's, as follows:
Creation
Corruption
Catastrophe
Confusion
Christ
Cross
Consummation

In their discussion, each of these C's has scripture describing that particular event, or stage.

Others have noted -- I can't remember who -- that since Confusion is about the story of the Tower of Babel, which is in Genesis 11, and the next stage is Christ, their scheme leaves out almost the entirety of the Old Testament.

No Abraham, no plagues of Egypt, no Moses, no Exodus, no Mount Sinai, no Ten Commandments, no Tabernacle, no system of celebration and sacrifices, no prophets, no wisdom literature, no Psalms, no David, no Solomon, no Temple, and much more -- you get the idea. More than half the Bible left out!

Bible scholars are by no means unanimous on the dates and geographic extent of events in Genesis, but by the reckoning of Answers in Genesis, the Tower of Babel (Confusion) was in 2242 BC. (Or 2246 BC.) Thus, about 2240 years of the history of life on earth are ignored in the 7 C scheme. Answers in Genesis says that creation took place in 4004 BC. So their scheme leaves out about 37% of what they believe to have been earth's history, and more than half of the times, and most of the events, covered by the Bible. Amazing, for a Bible-based organization.

I propose, for those who want a C scheme, an 8th C -- Covenant, between Confusion and Christ, and that the scripture associated with this be taken from Genesis 12 through Malachi. Captivity would also fit in.

There is, no doubt, some value in the 7 C's scheme, even if one doesn't agree with the dates put forth by Answers in Genesis, or their ideas on the geographic extent of the Flood. But there's a lot of God's revelation left out.

On January 25, 2022, I added this:

Not only does the 7 C's scheme leave out some important scriptures and people, but it includes a minor story, that of the tower of Babel. That story occurs in only one chapter of Genesis, and, so far as I can determine, is not referred to anywhere else in the Bible.

Thanks for reading! (The title was revised on May 31, 2022)