St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day—December 6^th 

Rob Webb (Rocket Rob), M.S. and B.S. and Bodie Hodge M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 6, 2025 (Donate)

Introduction 

Did you know that December 6^th is “St. Nicholas Day” (also commonly known as “St. Nicholas’ Feast Day”) and is widely celebrated in many parts of Europe and some parts of Asia today. A number of protestants [as well as many Catholics, and Orthodox (December 19^th in their case)] have been celebrating this day for ages honoring this bishop (i.e., an older name for overseer, minister, or pastor, e.g., 1 Timothy 3:1-2, Titus 1:7). Though this holiday is not very popular among some denominations, particularly in the USA and abroad. 

For many people, this is a day for gift giving and merrymaking with family and friends. The celebration typically starts on the eve of the day (the 5^th) with people sharing and lighting candles, eating loads of chocolate and festive candies.  Children also may leave carrots or hay in their shoes and stockings in exchange for small gifts.  And in some countries, like Germany and Poland, boys will even dress up as red-robed bishops begging alms for the poor. 

Terra Byzantica; St. Nicholas. Feast day; December 6, Fresco from the church of Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis (St. Nicholas of the Roof), Cyprus; 11^th-13^th century; Public Domain

Is Nick’s Feast Day Related To Christmas? 

You might be wondering, is this St. Nicholas’ Feast Day just another “version” of Christmas?  I’ll let the reader decide, but first let’s go over a little history behind this holiday. 

Many of these Feast Day festivities really began taking root among Protestants in Europe during the Reformation in the 16^th century. Although many Reformers during this time were abandoning the All Saints Day (remembrance of the saints) celebrations, some (primarily in the Netherlands) still tightly held onto St. Nicholas as a popular figure, especially among those with children. Hence, over the next few centuries, the Feast Day tradition quickly grew in popularity across Europe. 

At one point, the Puritans had actually done away with St. Nicholas celebrations altogether (and other special holidays), but the Dutch kept hold of their tradition and eventually brought it to North America.  Once arrived, they told stories about “Sint Nicolaas” (Dutch version of St. Nicholas), which later transformed into “Sinter Klaas”, as a bishop dressed in red garments that brought gifts on this Feast Day. 

The English-Americans would later mispronounce this name as “Santa Claus”. Because the Christmas season begins four Sundays before Christmas (i.e., the four Advent Sundays that count down to Christmas), this meant that December 6^th always fell during the first part of the Christmas season. 

So over the years, St. Nick, as he is affectionately known, became associated with Christmas. And over time, this celebration veered off into something similar to what we see today (associating St. Nick with December 25^th rather than the original December 6^th day). 

Fast forward to today and our culture has essentially forgotten the history of St. Nicholas and replaced it with mythical-like Santa Claus, where St. Nick has falsely taken on godly attributes of God. And now, sadly, a paganized version of St. Nick (“Santa”) has become the primary focus for many during the Christmas season (rather than the true reason of the season: the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ). 

Who Was St. Nick? 

So now you’re probably wondering, who actually was St. Nicholas? Was he just based on some fabled character, dressed in a red robe with a big belly and a white beard, that somehow magically (and with omnipresence) zips around the world once a year to break into people’s houses through chimneys? Or was he a real person in history named St. Nicholas of a bishop/minister of the gospel in Myra (also spelt Mirea), who lived in the 4^th century and was considered a great Christian man and hero of the faith? 

Many in society today tend to lean toward the former, largely because of a famous published poem called "A Visit From St. Nicholas” published in the 1820-1830s attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. However, the latter is really the one we (especially Christians) should remember and celebrate, mainly because of his stance on biblical truth and principles commanded by Jesus. The life of St. Nicholas and his awesome example of faith is should not be neglected. 

The Real “Santa Claus” 

According to Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend)[1] also called Lives of the Saints, Volume 11, by Jacobus de Voragine who was the Archbishop of Genoa in AD 1275, Nicholas was born sometime in the late 3rd century. Furthermore, he was born in Patras to wealthy Christian parents, Epiphanes and his mother Johane/Joanna, who left him a hefty inheritance when they died. Being raised as a devout Christian, he desired to follow Jesus’ command (literally) as recorded in the Bible to give everything to the poor (Matthew 19:21) and so he distributed his entire inheritance to the less fortunate.   

The Golden Legend is an ancient and popular book. Image thumbed from a portion of an old book cover.

At a young age, he was made Bishop of Myra in Lycia and quickly became known for his generosity to those in need, especially children. He had a reputation of throwing bags of money into homes, even sometimes down the chimney, during the night in order to avoid being seen by people (Matthew 6:1-4).  I’m sure you can start to see the faint resemblance to the mythological Santa Claus… 

We read of Nicholas helping a poor man with three daughters offer a dowry (something of value to offer a prospective husband). Without this, a woman during this time period was unable to marry and typically sold into slavery or prostitution as a result. As the account goes, Nicholas aided them by tossing bags of gold through a window into the house, which apparently landed in their shoes/stockings left by the fire, on three separate occasions. This story may just be a legend (or at least embellished), yet still considered plausible and reiterated by many people today. 

Nonetheless, the main point we should draw from this history (embellished or not) is the reputation that Nicholas had for his selfless generosity, which is a fundamental Christian principle we see throughout both the Old Testament (e.g., Deuteronomy 15:11, Psalm 41:1, Proverbs 22:9) and the New Testament (e.g., Romans 12:13, Ephesians 4:28, Hebrews 13:16). Do we see this principle in the Santa Claus celebrated today? Obviously not.  Children in society today are told to earn Santa’s favor and gifts, which is clearly the opposite of the biblically motivated actions of the real Nicholas. 

The principles that the original St. Nick was known for are clearly a stark contrast to the Santa Claus of today, who represents many things (such as greed, envy, selfishness, etc.) that are completely antithetical to Christianity. But this actually makes sense from a biblical worldview. The Bible says that our enemy Satan, the ruler of this world (John 12:31, Ephesians 2:2), has blinded and ensnared (2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Timothy 2:26) many in our world to keep them from seeing the light of Jesus and ultimately the gospel. 

In other words, Satan has tactfully diverted people’s attention away from what’s really important (i.e., the message of Christ) and instead dragged them into the commercialism that we see dominating the Christmas season today. But note, this is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. Satan is only allowed to operate within the boundaries established by God (e.g., Job 1:12). 

So obviously the historical St. Nick is the real person and the godly attributes (omniscience, Judge, omnipresence) applied to Santa Claus are a form of ancestor worship and pagan in their mannerisms. St. Nick, unlike this mythological Santa Claus, should be recognized and remembered (1 Thessalonians 5:21). But he was way more than just a generous giver who looked out for children and the poor—he was a genuine hero of the Christian faith. 

St. Nick—A Hero Of The Faith 

There are many (outlandish) stories that are told about him, such as bringing children back from death, and even once calming a mighty storm to save sailors lost at sea. But moving past these miraculous stories/legends to (at least more probable) history, St. Nicholas was actually one of the great heroes of the Christian faith in the 4^th century that was known for his passion and zeal for the gospel. According to the small amount of history that’s available, he was one of the major defenders of orthodoxy in the early church against the destructive heresies and idolatrous paganism of that time. 

After being elected as a bishop, he immediately started challenging the worshippers of popular Greek/Roman gods (specifically the “god” Artemis) at the main temple in his district (i.e., in the public square), calling the people to repentance and faith in Christ. However, this was around the same time (AD 303) when Emperor Diocletian directed the persecution of Christians across the Roman Empire, which resulted in Nicholas being tortured, chained, and thrown into prison with many other Christians. 

According to tradition (see recommended reading), he was regularly beaten to the point of his skin becoming the color of vermilion (ouch!), yet endured this persecution, and still managed to selflessly care for others in prison and even intervene on behalf of unjustly charged prisoners.  It wasn’t until the Edict of Milan about 10 years later (AD 313), when Emperor Constantine ordered the cessation of all persecution, that Nicholas and other Christians were released from prison (just remember this story next time you’re having a bad day!) 

Furthermore, Nicholas had a vital role in battling the Arianism heresy (an unbiblical belief that rejects the divinity of Christ) that was heavily plaguing the early church. St. Methodius (who lived in the 9^th century) had said, “thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas, the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison.” 

Nicholas supposedly[2] attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 (it was here when Arianism was officially declared heresy) where he got into a heated debate with Arius himself about whether there was a time when the Word did not exist (John 1:1-3).  And, as the story goes, the debate “ended” when Nicholas punched (knocked out) Arius, laying him out on the council floor! We obviously do not condone that type of behavior (Romans 12:17-19), but we should at least appreciate his passion for biblical truth! 

Finally, Nicholas died on December 6^th in Myra around AD 350 and said to have been buried in his cathedral church. Thus, the anniversary of his death became the date for his Feast Day. And, like the old saying goes, the rest is history. 

Conclusion 

So this Christmas season, don’t miss the opportunity to tell others about the real St. Nicholas; a solid Christian, hero of the faith, who dedicated his life to serving others and whole purpose was to point people to the good news of Jesus Christ. Especially for parents, this is a great opportunity to tell your children of the godly example that was set by the real St. Nicholas. 

We can assume that St. Nicholas was familiar with the amazing words spoken to Joseph: 

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:20-21, ESV) 

And the words from the prophet Isaiah, regarding the birth of our Messiah: 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7) 

If you haven’t bent the knee to the Mighty King seated on the eternal throne of David, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Repent (turn from your sins) and put your trust in Christ (the same way you would with a parachute), and you will be saved from the wrath of God to come (Romans 5:9). None of us know when we’re going to die so this is a time-sensitive message. Turn to Christ for life today and give the glory to Him who was born in a manger! 

References:

Beth Bevis, God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas, “History of the Feast of Saint Nicholas”, The St. Nicholas Center, 2007. https://www.stnicholascenter.org/how-to-celebrate/resources/articles/st-nicholas-and-justice/history 

James Parker III, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, “Persecuted, Jailed, Passionate: That’s my kind of Santa Claus”, The St. Nicholas Center, 2003. https://www.stnicholascenter.org/how-to-celebrate/resources/articles/st-nicholas-and-justice/my-kind-of-santa 

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia, “St. Nicholas”, The Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Nicholas 

Biography.com Editors, “Saint Nicholas Biography”, The Biography.com, 2014. https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/saint-nicholas

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Rob Webb has a M.S. and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University respectively. He worked as an engineer in industry and worked for Answers in Genesis for several years.   

Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children. 

Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.

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[1] Two different translations here: [1] https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/scriptorium/nicholas/Nicholas.html; and [2[ https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/classic-sources/the-golden-legend. 

[2] Apparently this is debated, and we are forthright about that. The St. Nicholas Center associated with Virginia Theological Seminary writes int the article “Where Was Nicholas?”: “Some accounts list Nicholas as present at the Council of Nicaea and some do not. Some say that his name was not on some lists because he was thrown in jail. Others say his name is missing because he was sleeping and missed some of the Council’s deliberations.” https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/traditional-stories/life-of-nicholas/where-was-nicholas, accessed November 22, 2021. So of course, take this section with a grain of salt.

The Flood And Its Fossils

The Flood And Its Fossils

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 5, 2025 (Donate) 

The Flood of Noah’s day comes under attack openly (and subtly) in today’s culture. Many atheists and unbelievers openly denigrate the Flood and call the event "mythological" and "mere story telling". Interestingly, these same people stand on and next to miles of Flood sediment and mockingly ask "where is all the evidence of the Flood?"

Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Anytime someone appeals to millions of years in the rock layers that contain fossils (as textbooks, museums, and media commonly purport), it is a subtle denial of a global Flood. These rock layers were laid down by the Flood, not slow gradual accumulations over millions of years.

Global!

The Flood described in Genesis 6-8 was a global, worldwide event that engulfed everything under the whole heaven over the course about a year.

The text of Genesis repeatedly uses universal terms such as all flesh, every living thing, and under the whole heaven, which indicate worldwide scope rather than regional or local event. The depth of the water is described as covering the highest mountains by at least fifteen cubits, which could not be achieved by any local flood. Water was that high, or more appropriately, the land was that low during that phase of the Flood (consider Psalm 104:8-9)

A local flood make little sense of the text of Scripture when the Ark floated 15 cubits higher than the highest mountain; Image from Presentation Library

A local event would not require an Ark of the enormous size God commanded Noah to build. If it were a local flood, Noah and the animals could simply have migrated to nearby safe regions, something unnecessary if the Flood was global.

God’s Promise

The covenant God made afterward, promising never again to destroy all flesh by a Flood, also becomes meaningless if local floods have continued to occur thousands of times since biblical history. It was not a mere local catastrophe as God promised, at the end of the Flood that a Flood like that would never again occur, yet we have local floods all the time!

Image from Presentation Library

Furthermore, the global Flood is tied to God’s judgment on pervasive human wickedness—but consider that the Bible says all flesh corrupted itself on the earth—which includes animals! Since wickedness was worldwide, the judgment was also worldwide.

The Geology

The geological implications are that the vast sedimentary rock layers found across continents, containing billions—perhaps trillions—of fossilized plants and animals, are explained far better with a massive globe-covering watery and sedimentary catastrophe than with slow local-flood processes.

Many sedimentary layers stretch across continents and even correlate across continents, showing signs of rapid deposition such as cross-bedding, polystrate fossils, and the absence of long-term erosional features between strata (see creationists researchers’ technical articles about these things).

Fossil layers forming during the Flood; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

These features are extremely difficult to explain with small, regionally isolated floods. Marine fossils located on high mountains, including the Himalayas or the Andes mountains (where I’ve been), are consistent with the uplift of seafloor sediments during and after the Flood.

Global “mega-sequences”—which are continent-sized sedimentary layers that were rapidly deposited by successive high-energy surges—used in Flood geology models are expected with rapid, continent-wide inundation and retreats of the water. The existence of these enormous, continent-wide sedimentary layers, which blanket regions, states, and whole portions of large countries for thousands of miles.

Image from Presentation Library

These layers often show little to no erosion between them (e.g., things like roots didn’t have time to grow on them or worms disturb them!). This means that they were deposited rapidly in successive, high-energy pulses rather than over long ages of millions of years. The Flood’s advancing and retreating waters, commonly discussed in Flood geology models, produced these large-scale, stacked sediment packages. This makes sense in a worldwide deluge rather than a bunch of small, localized events.

The Theology

The New Testament also reveals a global Flood. Jesus referred to the days of Noah in a context that portrays sudden, universal judgment, and the apostle Peter explicitly connects the Flood with a destruction of the world that then existed, contrasting it with the coming final judgment of the entire earth—which will also be global.

If the New Testament writers understood the event as global, Christians have no basis for reinterpreting it as merely regional—unless they are influenced by outside ideas to reinterpret Scripture. Sadly, this commonly happens in churches—where people are influenced by “millions of years” and have to reject a global Flood.

When Christians mix millions of years with the Bible it is called syncretism or compromise—what is really happening is they are mixing or syncing two different religions together. This new syncretism is no different from syncretism in the Old Testament when the godly would mix their religion with Baal worship, Molech worship, or start worshipping a golden calf! God was never happy with them and judgement was on their doorstep.

You have to understand that you can’t have both millions of years and a global Flood. If rock layers were laid down slowly over millions of years AND you have a global Flood, the Flood action would destroy the previous layers, churn it to sediment with the water and lay down new rock layers! So, you can’t have both at the same instance.

Same rock layers, two different interpretations depending on your worldview; Christians should stand on a worldview based on Scripture, hence a global Flood; Image from Presentation Library

The Flood, as a local catastrophe, undermines biblical authority because the text itself gives no indication of limited geography. Instead, Scripture overtly refers to total destruction on a global scale.  

The Flood destroyed all people and land-dwelling and air breathing animals outside the Ark. It was a “reset” of human civilization due to sin, not a targeted judgment on one valley or nation. The whole world was in sin against God.

A local Flood could leave survivors or man and animals outside the affected region, contradicting Scripture’s statement that only those on the Ark lived through the judgment. The [boring] genealogies of post-Flood man also assume a single surviving family from which all nations descend (though Babel and dispersed).

The rainbow covenant, where God promised to never again send a Flood like that, shows that the event was unlike anything before or after—it was a true global deluge. The Flood was a literal, global event, not a localized disaster.

Local flood models destroy God's meaning in the rainbow; Cartoon by Dan Lietha in Presentation Library

Fossils

The fossil layers found worldwide are the results of the rapid, catastrophic processes during Noah’s global Flood. The fossils generally require rapid burial to prevent decay, scavenging, and weathering. It seals out the oxygen and makes them candidates for fossilization.

Massive Graveyards Of Flood Fossils In Sediment

The Flood provides those absolutely necessary conditions: massive sediment-laden waters sweeping across continents, quickly entombing and burying critters and vegetation in thick layers of mud, sand, pressure, and silt. A rapid Flood gives us a good reason for the exceptional preservation seen in many fossils, including soft tissues (even jellyfish!), articulated and disarticulated skeletons (full skeletons and partial or sparse ones).

Jellyfish fossil; Image from Presentation Library

It also explains why there are vast fossil graveyards containing mixed land and marine creatures. These animals fled to higher ground until there was nowhere to go; then they were swept into mass burials together with marine organisms. The slow, gradual processes models by the evolutionary side rarely create such conditions, whereas a violent global catastrophe makes sense of the evidence.

One of the whales in a large whale grave yard in Peru; Photo by Bodie Hodge

Marine Fossils On Mountains

Again, the presence of marine fossils, like shells, ammonites, and so on, on high mountains, like the Himalayan and Andes mountains, is interpreted as Flood-deposited seafloor sediments that were later uplifted during Flood (and possibly some residual post-Flood) tectonic activity. Fossilized sea creatures far inland are cited as additional evidence that the waters once covered the continents.

Closed shell fossils over 2 miles high in the Andes Mountains; Photo by Bodie Hodge

Coal and Oil

Coal and oil were largely formed during the global Flood when vast quantities of vegetation, marine organisms, and other organic material were rapidly buried under massive layers of sediment. Before the Flood, the world had abundant forests, swamps, and lush ecosystems that produced huge amounts of biomass.

When the Flood’s violent waters tore through these environments, they uprooted and transported enormous mats of vegetation and stripped bark and buried them quickly in thick sedimentary deposits, preventing full decay and causing the right conditions (temperature and pressure) for coal formation.

The heat and weight generated as heavy layers sat above compressed the plant material into peat and rapidly transformed it into coal layers and seams. Many of these extend for hundreds of miles and are consistent with large-scale catastrophic processes rather than slow local swamp formation commonly talked about in secular textbooks. We can even mimic coal formation in laboratories and it only take a few weeks.

Coal; Photo by Bodie Hodge

Oil and natural gas originated from marine organisms such as algae and plankton and even plants and animals that were likewise rapidly buried by Flood sediments. The sudden entombment of this organic matter, followed by increasing pressure and temperature as more layers were deposited, initiated chemical reactions that converted the material into hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons were acted on by water taking them down through cracks and striations in the layers to open areas where they pooled and separated into crude oil or gas chambers.

Crude oil tanks; Image by Bodie Hodge

These processes occur much more quickly than secular uniformitarian models propose (i.e., over millions of years), especially under the extreme conditions produced during and immediately after the Flood. The worldwide distribution of oil-bearing strata and the huge reserve scale of these deposits are evidence of the Flood. Oil has been shown in labs to be produced quickly hours to days—in one case (from algae) in as quickly as 30 minutes.

Polystrate Fossils

Another cool and common find are polystrate fossils—tree trunks or other organisms preserved upright through multiple (~poly) sediment (~strata) layers. They are rightly cited as evidence of rapid, continuous deposition of the rock layers. These organisms could not remain upright and intact for the supposed long ages that are required by secular humanism’s slow geological interpretations.

Image from Presentation Library

Expected Order During The Flood

Similarly, massive fossil beds, such as dinosaur bonebeds and marine invertebrate layers, are considered consistent with sudden, large-scale death events associated with the Flood. Rather than long evolutionary ages, the sorting of fossils within Flood layers is attributed to natural actions like:

1.     Buoyancy, where they were living on the original inundated continents (called “ecological zonation”)

2.     The natural sorting power of water (called “hydrodynamic sorting”)

3.     How far and fast creatures could try to escape (called “differential mobility”)

Conclusion

The global Flood was a reality of the past—and the fossiliferous flood sediment we stand on all over the world is a testimony to it. So much more could be said but I wanted to keep this as a shorter concise article.

But just so you know, I did co-write a powerful book on the subject—A Flood of Evidence, with Ken Ham. In short, the Bible can be trusted against the false allegations leveled against it in today’s secularized culture.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children. 

 

Toward A Biblical-Based Taxonomy System

Toward A Biblical-Based Taxonomy System 

Semi-Technical

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 4, 2025 (Donate) 

Part of the problem with the current classification systems like modern Linnean and Clades (cladistics) is the heavy influence of evolution and evolutionary relationships. It is assumed, on the secular side, that life evolved from a single-celled organism and this does not mesh with the biblical view. In the Bible, things are created after their kinds. 

Classification Then And Now…Why? 

In modern creationists’ studies, there is a field called baraminology that is working to find the boundaries of the created kinds (“baramins” from bara=created and min=kind). Although much has been done regarding hybridization data, much more still looms on the horizon. We wish to encourage this study. But in reality, researchers are still in their infancy on this huge subject. 

Carl Linnaeus, Public Domain

From a big picture classification perspective, it boils down to a difference of how things are viewed and this is really the crux of the differences between the creation and evolution worldviews. When it we see similarities what does that mean? The two positions are: 

1.  Common features mean common ancestry.

2.  Common features mean common designer. 

To understand classification a little better, it is good to go back to how the modern classification was first developed. Ancient peoples commonly classified creatures like plants and animals—that’s old news—but in the 1700s, it was done more methodically. And for the first time since the Ark, there was a goal to classify all animals (and plants) in the world (not just land dwelling, air-breathing animals that were on the Ark). 

Swedish creationist Carl Linnaeus was founder of the modern classification system in the 1700s. Linnaeus original classification was: 

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

 This system was a good start but Linnaeus failed to get users to use the Bible as the absolute starting point for each classification. This opened a door. Linnaeus began classifying based on the Bible and even used two Latin terms for kind (species and genus) which are both used in the Latin Vulgate. His hope was that the kind would be in those places, but the way people classed things worldwide ended up with host of creatures [that could interbreed] but were already classified as a different genus or species. This pushes the majority of creatures to a family level for the kinds. So the two word in Latin for kind were usually not where the kind boundary was! 

If we try to put the biblical kind on this classification, (or even the more recent one), in most cases, it would be closer to the family level but sometimes genus or even a species level. Currently, the secular side has added several new categories: 

Domain

Kingdom

Phylum

Subphylum

Class

Cohort

Order

Suborder

Infraorder

Superfamily

Family

Genus

Species

I suggest classification should be done as predicated on Scripture as the starting point. So, I would prefer the term kind or “created kind/baramin” as a standard in a biblical-based taxonomic system. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says of the word kind (min in Hebrew): 

“Some have argued that when God created mîn, he thereby fixed the ‘species.’ This is a gratuitous assumption because a link between the word mîn with the biologist’s descriptive term species cannot be substantiated, and because there are as many definitions of species as there are biologists. 

In light of the distinctions made in #Ge 1, such as the distinction between herbs and grasses which are, however, members of the same class (Angiosperms), it is possible that in some cases the biblical term mîn may indicate a broader group, such as an order. Elsewhere, in #Le 11:14,15,16,19,22 (four times), #Le 11:29, mîn appears consistently as equivalent to nothing broader than genus. However, #Le 11:4 ‘the falcon after its kind,’ and #Le 11:16 ‘the hawk after its kind,’ refer to divisions within the order Falconiformes, yet both have subdivisions called mîn. Likewise, as Payne points out, the locust, bald locust, cricket, and grasshopper all belong to the order Orthoptera and the locust, bald locust, and grasshopper belong to the family Acridiidae, but again each has its subdivisions called mîn (genus?). 

God created the basic forms of life called mîn which can be classified according to modern biologists and zoologists as sometimes species, sometimes genus, sometimes family or order. This gives no support to the classical evolutionist view which requires developments across kingdom, phyla, and classes.” 

This is a good reason to avoid limiting the biblical kind or baramin to modern classification systems. So, we really need to use kind in the context that it deserves—a biblical classification system. 

Common Design Or Common Ancestry? 

Common ancestry is at the root of the evolutionary model proposed by theologian Charles Darwin in his books The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection for the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life and The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. This view is what dominates classification today. 

Darwin holding his book "The Descent of Man"; image generated by request of Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

However, the Bible clearly discusses a Creator God, who created things according to their kinds, not by a single common ancestor. Obviously today though, we have creatures that came from ancestors but not a single ancestor. Dogs came from previous dogs, cats came from previous cats, etc.  

In fact, people came from people and ultimately Adam, who came about by the dust of the ground, and the breath of God, not by an ape-like ancestor or ultimately a single-celled organism (Genesis 2:7). Being that God is the designer, then all of His designs come from the same designer and some similarities should exist—and being a perfect designer, one would expect to see some common optimal designs features, but also being in a sin-cursed world since, we should expect some designs that are no longer upheld perfectly due to mutations and other factors (e.g., Genesis 3).    

Mankind, who was made in the image of God, reflects the character of God, in part anyway (because we are finite and in a cursed world). But when engineers use similar concepts when building machines, bridges and so on, then it should not be a far cry to assume that this reflection is merely in line with what God has already done: using similar designs. 

The platypus is an excellent example of utilizing various features that we find on many different types of animals, a common designer made both the platypus as well as the other creatures it resembles. It would be a far cry to say the duck, duck-bill dinosaur and platypus all came from a common ancestor. Thus, neglecting that common design reflects a common designer is not a good assumption. 

Furthermore, is the assumption that common design pointing toward common ancestry biblical? Within kinds, yes, but outside of kinds, no—and Genesis 1 refutes this idea. But consider also Leviticus 11: 

13  ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,

14  ‘the kite, and the falcon after its kind;

15  ‘every raven after its kind,

16  ‘the ostrich, the short–eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind;

17  ‘the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl;

18  ‘the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture;

19  ‘the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.[1] 

Good science begins with good theology and careful analysis of the text of Scripture. The Bible gives us a great head start as to some of the various kinds like the dove and raven kind that were aboard the Ark. Although some argue about the specific creatures on a few of these above and presuming our translations are accurate enough, there is sufficient warrant that there are multiple vulture and owl kinds…and this is significant.  Such creatures as the two vulture kinds have incredible similarities and yet the Bible calls them different kinds. 

Even further, most of these listed are birds of prey with various commonalities (talons, sharp beaks, etc.) and yet such similarities do not make them the same kind. Thus, the argument that common design equals common ancestry is not good when looking in light of Scripture.  

This is confirmed further in Leviticus 11: 

20  ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you.

21  ‘Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.

22  ‘These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

23  ‘But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you. 

Here we read of flying insects that walk on all fours with the hind jumping legs (think of something like a grasshopper, which is mentioned). These creatures all have these similarities and yet at least 4 different kinds are mentioned among them! So again, just because creatures have similarities, does not mean they are of the same kind. And Moses being responsible for both Leviticus and Genesis knew what he meant when he said kind (min) in both books.     

Boundaries For “Kinds”…Reproduction?  

Today, many creationists step back and make the point that the Bible doesn’t say “reproduce after their kinds”, which was a common statement for years. It is true that the Bible says things are created “after their kind” in Genesis 1. Often creationists say things were to “reproduce after their kinds” implying a boundary but the Bible doesn’t actually say it. Of course one can see where this derived since these creatures were told to reproduce and fill the earth and is reiterated during the time of the Flood. 

However, the statement that reproduction may not be a basis for a boundary as previously thought may not be accurate. Many far-removed commentators (Jewish and Christian) took reproduction as the boundary. Consider for a moment: 

Who	What did they say?	Reference	Reproduction associated with kinds?
Leupold	“first, these fruit trees bear fruit "after their kind," a peculiar and definite limitation, which all those understand best who have seen how the "kind" sets limitations upon all who would mix kinds and cross them.”   “The accomplishment of the things ordered in v. 11 is reported in this verse in terms that are not a wooden repetition of v. 11; for after "seed" is inserted "after their kind’" to emphasize how the "kind" limitation also applies to the herbs, though this had not been mentioned previously.”   “Another distinctive thought conveyed by this half of the verse is the added assertion that these creatures appeared "after their kind," a phrase not new but as important in its bearing as above. (v. 12) and allowing for no transmutation of species[2].”   “A double "after their kind," first applying to "the living creatures" as a whole then to the three classes separately, impresses this distinctive limitation upon all these creatures- a truth amply confirmed as not to be eradicated, as all who have engaged in crossbreeding of animals can abundantly testify.”	Notes on Genesis1:11; 1:12; 1:21:1:24	Yes
Gill	“With a power to procreate their kind, and continue their species, as it is interpreted in the next clause; saying, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas:“	Notes on Genesis 1:22	Yes
Josephus	“And on the fifth day he produced the living creatures, both those who swim, and those who fly; the former in the sea, the latter in the air. He also sorted them as to society and mixture, for procreation, and that their kinds might increase and multiply.”	Antiquities of the Jews-Book I, CHAPTER 1, 4004 BC—Creation of the Universe—Institution of the Sabbath—Fall of Man	Yes
Calvin	“If therefore we inquire, how it happens that the earth is fruitful, that the germ is produced from the seed, that fruits come to maturity, and their various kinds are annually reproduced”   “that Moses declares animals were created ‘according to their species:’ for this distribution carried with it something stable. It may even hence be inferred, that the offspring of animals was included. For to what purpose do distinct species exist, unless that individuals, by their several kinds, may be multiplied?”	Notes on Genesis 1:11; 1:24	Yes
Clarke	“Every thing both in the animal and vegetable world was made so according to its kind, both in genus and species, as to produce its own kind through endless generations.”	Notes on Genesis 1:24	Yes
Poole	“for the propagation of their several kinds”	Notes on Genesis 1:11	Yes
Basil the Great	There is nothing truer than this, that either each plant had seed or there exists in it some generative power…since the kinds persisted through constant reproduction.	Hexaemeron 5.2	Yes

From Jews like Josephus 2000 years ago, to Basil the Great, a leading church father, to various commentaries, it seems that people recognized popularly that the boundary for a kind dealt with reproduction. 

Dr. John Gill, Public Domain

Leading Hebraist of the time, Dr. John Gill in his famous commentary for Baptists in the 1700s says in his notes on Genesis 1:22:  

“With a power to procreate their kind, and continue their species, as it is interpreted in the next clause; saying, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas:“ (Emphasis added).  

Dr. Gill points out that “after its kind” was not merely referring to its creation, but that it is modified by the following clause of being fruitful and multiplying.  The concept of “reproducing after its kinds” is more of a derivation.  It may not be the best to say that reproduction is not the biblical boundary. Most recognize that if things can breed together, then they are members of the same kind.  

Naturally, with extinct creatures, this becomes rather difficult to test so other means would be necessary to see if various extinct creatures may belong to a particular kind. But even these results should be kept tentative because we cannot know for certain.  But what does the Bible actually say about kinds and reproduction (including man)?  

Said of:	Passage	Reproduction mentioned – Genesis 1?	Reproduction mentioned – Genesis 6-9?
Vegetation	Genesis 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good[3].	Yes, Seeds
Sea creatures	Genesis 1:21-22  God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."	Yes, Be fruitful and multiply
Flying creatures	Genesis 1:21-22  God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."   Genesis 8:17 "Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."	Yes, Multiply	Yes, Be fruitful and multiply
Land animals (on Ark)	Genesis 6:19-20  "And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. "Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.   Genesis 8:17 "Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."	.	Yes, A kind is referred with a male and its mate, giving reproductive status and being told to be fruitful and multiply
Man	Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."   Genesis 9:1  So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.   Genesis 9:7  And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it."	Yes, Be fruitful and increase in number	Yes, Be fruitful and multiply

These passages give a great support to reproduction (e.g., hybridization) being the ultimate boundary of a kind. Some things could have lost the ability to reproduce back with others of its kind. Think of a Shih-Tzu and Great Dane, where their size would inhibit any natural breeding. Of course, there are other reasons this can happen as well. For example, mutations could have caused them to lose this ability as well (in fact, I have friends, humans, who cannot reproduce but this does not make them any less human). So losing the ability to breed back is still acceptable within this hybridization model.   

Toward A Biblical-Based Taxonomy System 

The book of Genesis gives us the perfect foundation for classification beyond simply the kind (min). The Bible gives consistent data to develop a classification system from Moses through the rest of Scripture. Consider for a moment that Genesis’ discussion of Creation Week reveals the first major breakdown of creatures by the day they were created: Day 3, Day 5, and Day 6 (Genesis 1).  

Sequoias were made on Day 3; the ones growing today were after the Flood; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Genesis further reveals that there was vegetation on Day 3 (Genesis 1:11-13). Then, there are two broad overviews of classes (flying and sea creatures) on Day 5 (Genesis 1:20-23). Then on Day 6, there were categories like land animals and man who is classed uniquely (Genesis 1:24-31). 

Further classifications of vegetation could be offspring-bearing plants verses offspring-bearing plants with fruit. On Day 5, sea creatures could be classed as living or moving and winged creatures could remain as flying creatures (the Bible gives no further breakdown here in Genesis 1). And so with Day 6, we get a further breakdown as creeping things, beasts of the earth, cattle/livestock, and mankind. 

From here, we can add a couple of other classes depending on later classifications in Scripture or even use some of the terminology we use today. We could also have a class to distinguish if the creature has a soul or not (i.e. nephesh chayyah, the Hebrew for “living soul”). Plants for example were not called living creatures—hence they could not die in the biblical sense. This is different from dying in the biological sense.   

Then, we arrive at the various kinds (baramins) and sub-classifications of kinds (sub-baramins) as diversity within the various kinds has transpired since the Flood based on variations that have appeared today.  

Biblical Taxonomy In Chart Form 

Biblical Based Classification
Class 1	Day 3		Day 5			Day 6
Class 2	Vegetation		Sea creatures		Winged/Air	Land creatures			Land
Class 3	Offspring bearing plants	Offspring bearing trees with fruit	Living sea creatures	Moving sea creatures	Winged/flying creatures	Creeping things	Beasts of the earth	Cattle	man
Class 4[4]	Grasses, Pine trees, etc.		Mammals, fish, sea dragons, etc.	Sea insects, crustaceans,  bacteria[5] (associated with sea creatures/water) etc.	Birds, bats, flying insects (bacteria associated with flying creatures/air), winged creatures, etc.	Land Insects, smaller lizards, serpents, (bacteria associated with these), etc.	Beasts of the field, dinosaurs, bears, squirrels, rabbits,  (bacteria associated with these) etc.	Cows, sheep/goats, hogs, (bacteria associated with these) etc.	Man (bacteria associated with man)
Class 5[6]	Non-Living	Non-Living	Living	Non-living	Living	Living	Living	Living	Living/Image of God
Kind (Original baramin)
Sub-kind 1  (sub baramin 1)
Sub-kind 2 (sub baramin 2) etc.[7]

Using The Bible-Based Taxonomy 

The system should be fairly straightforward to use. As an example let’s use two variants of the dove/pigeon kind: the mourning dove and the passenger pigeon.  

Doves and pigeons are part of the same Dove Kind; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Possible classification of the mourning dove by the Biblical-Based Taxonomy System: 

Class 1: Day 5

Class 2: Winged/Air

Class 3: Winged/Flying creatures (Hebrew: owph)

Class 4: Bird

Class 5: Living

Kind: Dove kind (Hebrew: yownah)

Sub-kind 1: dove

Sub-kind 2:  mourning dove

Others within the kind: passenger pigeon (now extinct), turtle dove, fantails, pouters, Jacobins, tumblers, homing pigeons, carrier pigeons 

Possible classification of the passenger pigeon by the Biblical-Based Taxonomy System: 

Class 1: Day 5

Class 2: Wing/Air

Class 3: Winged/Flying creatures (Hebrew: owph)

Class 4: Bird

Class 5: Living

Kind  (baramin): Dove kind[8] (Hebrew: yownah)

Sub-kind 1: pigeon

Sub-kind 2: passenger pigeon

Others within the kind: mourning dove, turtle dove, fantails, pouters, Jacobins, tumblers, homing pigeons, carrier pigeons 

Various Squirrels within the Squirrel kind; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Possible classification of a white squirrel by the Biblical-Based Taxonomy System: 

Class 1: Day 6

Class 2: Land Creature

Class 3: Beast of the Earth

Class 4: Beast of the Field/Mammal

Class 5: Living

Kind  (baramin): Sciuridae kind (Squirrel kind)

Sub-kind 1: sciurinae (tree squirrels)

Sub-kind 2: white squirrel

Others within the kind: red fox squirrels, eastern gray squirrels, black squirrels, etc. 

Conclusion 

This is but a taste of what a biblical-based taxonomy could look like. And this is of-course not set in stone but first step into a larger world of classification. Our hope is that creationists will take this lead as a stepping stone and climb into the subject in great detail using the Bible as the basis.

Perhaps in the future, creationists can reignite the flame for classification in accordance with God’s Word and not be forced to use the one now heavily tainted with evolutionary ideas.  

□

Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children. 

Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.

 

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[1] A similar listing can be found in Deuteronomy 14.

[2] Some commentators use the word “species”, which was developed in the mid 1500s and meant “sort” or “kind” and Linnaeus also tried sticking with this terminology but since then the term species has been redefined in scientific terms over the years and no longer means “kind” as represented in the Bible. Species still lacks a solid definition in today’s scientific culture.   

[3] All passages are NASB or NKJV

[4] Since all creatures are not mentioned in the Bible, then some of these will have to be inserted the best we can.

[5] Note that all things were originally perfect/very good (Deuteronomy 32:4/Genesis 1:31), so bacteria, fungi, etc. would have been purely beneficial and in perfect symbiotic relationships when originally created.

[6] “Non-living” would basically be things that have a body or structure. “Living” would contain a body or structure and nephesh chayyah or a living soul according to Scripture. Living/image of God would contain a body, nephesh or living soul as well as being made in the image of God or eternal spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  Though there are places in Scripture where soul and spirit are interchanged, this is because both are classed as non-physical but a spiritual aspect of being made in the image of God is an added benefit like having something etched on the flip side of this same coin, where living soul would have no etching on the other side. 

[7] Further sub-baramin or sub-kinds could be inserted here. For example, there are various types of pigeons and sub types of those.

[8] Keep in mind that pigeons and doves are known to interbreed.