For the YECs: Why is it...

[nyj]

... that it's quite ok for God to have created the earth in the period of six twenty-four days, but it was not ok for God to have created the earth over the span of a few billion years?

Does God's power and majesty somehow diminish after that 6th day?

 

[orange]

Just contrary.God's power and majesty would be diminished after that few billion years?
Besides that it would show He has not so big love to His Created world..

 

[Jet Black]

wei shi ma?

 

[nyj]

Just contrary.God's power and majesty would be diminished after that few billion years?
Besides that it would show He has not so big love to His Created world..

Eh?

I'm asking you, is God's power and majesty somehow diminished because He "took His time" (to the tune of a few billion years) to create the Earth, rather than doing it over the period of 144 hours? Obviously, since I'm not a YEC (or a OEC for that matter), I do not believe so. But I want to know what is so odious to the YECer that any such proposition cannot be adhered to and must be attacked, ridiculed and otherwise flat out rejected in spite of the facts.

 

[Henhouse]

... that it's quite ok for God to have created the earth in the period of six twenty-four days, but it was not ok for God to have created the earth over the span of a few billion years?

Does God's power and majesty somehow diminish after that 6th day?

This will be a post and run, so there's no use in pestering me about what I say...

Of course it doesn't matter one hoot how long God took to do anything. What matters is whether or not we belive God did it the way He said He did.

Heb 4:4: For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

Ex:20:11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

 

[Captain_Jack_Sparrow]

I think it is because of two things:

If God didn't do it 6000 years ago then the Bible is wrong (which it is!)

If God didn't do it in 6 days then he has limitations & thereby is not omnipotent.



Bible idolatry and total omipotence and omniscience are sacred cows of fundamentalism.

 

[nyj]

This will be a post and run, so there's no use in pestering me about what I say...

If you can't bother to stick around and defend your position, don't bother us with it at all. Thank you.

 

[bevets]

... that it's quite ok for God to have created the earth in the period of six twenty-four days, but it was not ok for God to have created the earth over the span of a few billion years?

Does God's power and majesty somehow diminish after that 6th day?

This is not a question of God's power and majesty. It is a question of proper interpretation of God's special revelation.


Probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience; . . . Or, to put it negatively, the apologetic arguments which suppose the "days" of creation to be long eras of time, the figures of years not to be chronological, and the flood to be a merely local Mesopotamian flood, are not taken seriously by any such professors, as far as I know. ~ James Barr Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University in England

 

[Captain_Jack_Sparrow]

bevets,

but lets give the footnote to Barr's quote just to be on the safe side. Don't object do you old chap. - Didn't think so.

[9] Letter from Professor James Barr to David C.C. Watson of the UK, dated April 23, 1984. Copy held by the author. Note that Prof. Barr does not claim to believe that Genesis is historically true; he is just telling us what, in his opinion, the language was meant to convey.

Not that you would of course try to convey that scholars were agreeing with the literal interpretation being truth.

 

[Jet Black]

so God is wrong then?

 

[nyj]

Probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience; . . . Or, to put it negatively, the apologetic arguments which suppose the "days" of creation to be long eras of time, the figures of years not to be chronological, and the flood to be a merely local Mesopotamian flood, are not taken seriously by any such professors, as far as I know. ~ James Barr Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University in England

Bold emphasis mine. That's a convenient way of saying: I'm speaking out of my butt.

 

[Loudmouth]

As far as I can see, the need for a six day creation appears to be like the need for a geocentric solar system during Galileo's day. An author of Galileo's era named Preserved Smith wrote, "Though the implications of the new science were not worked out immediately, it began to be suspected that if the theories were true, man had lost his birthright as the creature for whose sake all else existed, and had been reduced to the position of a puny and local spectator of infinite forces unresponsive to his wishes and unmindful of his purposes." People of that time, it appears, felt the same about geocentrism as YEC's feel about a six day creation six thousand years ago. Christianity was able to survive geocentrism being falsified, as will christianity survive the falsifying of the YEC stance. A christians specialness is not derived from the place in the natural universe, but rather from their relationship with God and Jesus. It seems that many YEC's have lost sight of this and would rather put their faith into proving the inerrancy of a literal reading of Genesis.

 

[Bushido216]

I think it is because of two things:

If God didn't do it 6000 years ago then the Bible is wrong (which it is!)

If God didn't do it in 6 days then he has limitations & thereby is not omnipotent.



Bible idolatry and total omipotence and omniscience are sacred cows of fundamentalism.

But unless He did it instantly then his power is limited anyway. I don't see where YEC's get the idea that any period under 144 hours is omnipotent but any period afterwards isn't.

 

[ej]

Come on, kids - you know the answer to this one.

YECs don't like to think outside the box (or book).
They won't justify or explain other than 'It says so in the Bible'
I have highly intelligent friends and colleagues who are YEC, and justify their beliefs this way.
Thats just what they do.

 

[bevets]

Probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience; . . . Or, to put it negatively, the apologetic arguments which suppose the "days" of creation to be long eras of time, the figures of years not to be chronological, and the flood to be a merely local Mesopotamian flood, are not taken seriously by any such professors, as far as I know. ~ James Barr Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University in England

Bold emphasis mine. That's a convenient way of saying: I'm speaking out of my butt.

Who would you suggest for a more informed opinion? Can you cite a Hebrew Scholar who would contradict this quote?

Not that you would of course try to convey that scholars were agreeing with the literal interpretation being truth.

James Barr believes evolution mythology which makes his testimony about original intent even more reliable -- he has nothing to gain by promoting a literal interpretation.

 

[AlHailThePowerOfJesusName]

It seems that many YEC's have lost sight of this and would rather put their faith into proving the inerrancy of a literal reading of Genesis.

If the bible is truly the word of God, then it is inerrant. I have read a few of the Old Earther's arguments from the Bible, and actually some of them are very convincing. But they seem to fall apart at the global flood.

However, How in any way does God's Choice of How to create the earth and the Universe limit God in any way? Wouldn't it Be God who decided what the natural laws should be, and then by his forknowledge Created the Processes necessary for mankind? Don't Get me wrong, I am not an evolutionist, but I don't think that the way God created the world by a different way other than the 6 days would limit God. However I think the power of God is something that has been observed in history, to the point where there is no question as to his omnipotence.

 

[Loudmouth]

If the bible is truly the word of God, then it is inerrant.

It is God's word to us in words that we could understand at the time of its writing. If taken in this context, the message is inerrant but the literal meaning was never meant to be taken as fact. God left the literal meaning of his creation is IN the creation for us to understand once our knowledge allowed us to interpret it.

I have read a few of the Old Earther's arguments from the Bible, and actually some of them are very convincing. But they seem to fall apart at the global flood.

That is because there was not a global flood as portrayed in Genesis. Any model that includes a global flood will fail horribly, as is shown by mounds of data within the field of geology.

However, How in any way does God's Choice of How to create the earth and the Universe limit God in any way? Wouldn't it Be God who decided what the natural laws should be, and then by his forknowledge Created the Processes necessary for mankind? Don't Get me wrong, I am not an evolutionist, but I don't think that the way God created the world by a different way other than the 6 days would limit God. However I think the power of God is something that has been observed in history, to the point where there is no question as to his omnipotence.

I still don't believe that God gave us a logical mind and then left all this evidence that would lead us to believe in an old universe when in fact it is a young universe. Everything points to an old universe, so why would God try and trick us? The Bible is man's translation of God's word, his creation is his direct word. If God's creation contradicts man's translation, I tend to think the creation is right.

 

[jo-shmo]

 

[Data]

If God didn't do it in 6 days then he has limitations & thereby is not omnipotent.

Except relatively speaking 6 days is the same to 6 billion years in terms of a god. Any such argument is therefore the same as pronouncing that because he did it in 6 days that he has limitations and thereby is not omnipotent, it could have been instant either way.

 

[ikester7579]

... that it's quite ok for God to have created the earth in the period of six twenty-four days, but it was not ok for God to have created the earth over the span of a few billion years?

Does God's power and majesty somehow diminish after that 6th day?

Maybe if you could bestow the wisdom of what eternity is and how it works better with for billion years than 6 days, maybe we would understand your view point. But as I understand, no one here lives in eternity so there are somethings still not understood that would explain the 6 day creation over billion of years. So what is the eternity realm like that God lives in?