For all us fundamentalist, the Bible is a blueprint of Gods will from beginning to end. If this is so, then it is by design, not fiat. God has given us a concise and coherent path from the past, the now … and the future. Sounds like a design to me.
However, if you don’t believe in the literacy of the Bible, than I can see your point. Don’t agree, but can see your point.
It’s you that is forcing your own concepts onto the words. That’s because you feel constrained to Believe. For this to be so, it has to be something compatible with your view of the world, and apparently this doesn’t include creation by fiat.
BTW, Webster’s says that “fiat” is Latin for “let it be done”, and this is exactly the verbal formula which is repeated in Genesis I. God creates the world LITERALLY by fiat.
One belief is that the scriptures were written by God directly on stone (or some other weatherproof material) and then copied by men to lesser materials. A different belief is that the scriptures were inspired by God in the minds of men who then wrote them down (or, in ancient times, commited them to memory).
Every set of Holy Scriptures for any given religion is subject to these two different beliefs.
(BTW, applies even if we are talking about "gods" rather than God).
I fall into the camp of those who believe God inspires men who then write/preach from the Word. Consequently I'm open to the idea that God may well have inspired a different man in ancient times to write down the moral lessons needed for quality life and salvation. So, if I find those more ancient writings incorporated in the Holy Scriptures placed before me by my society, I am not surprised.
My Moslem neighbors and my Fundamentalist Christian relatives believe God wrote it all down and handed it to man to obey.
Knowing a few things about these issues I'd like to say that simply believing the Scriptures were handed down directly by God on stone tablets does not mean you will necessarily believe or not believe that evolution is possible. Many Fundamentalist Christians and most Moslems (who've been educated) accept evolution as possible. Many Fundamentalist Christians and many Moslems think it's creation all the way down ~
Interesting eh!