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Scripture certainly does create the impression that you have to embrace a certain religion to be saved. I find almost all religions take that stance. However, I find this incompatible with God's love for everyone, not just the elect, or Bible-believing Christians, etc. God's agenda is to promote beauty; and as long as that is what we are doing, God is happy with us. Because I firmly believe God loves everyone, I believe in a universal salvation, so that your religion is not some necessary ticket you have to have to get into Heaven.
I don't mind responding to you,Oz, but you need to make it clear what your relationship is with Ted. Are you going top be his mouthpiece? After all, you did butt in, which is OK, of course.
To answer your questions:
Ted's stated beliefs shouted out the inerrancy of Scripture. And I said it is a human-made theory, because that is exactly what it is. Scripture never claimed it is inerrant. Even if it did, you shu0old want to check it out, as Scripture was written by fallible human beings,
It is well known that there are about 100 major contradictions in Scripture. One example is the two contradictory creation accounts in Genesis. Another is who killed Goliath. 2 Sam. 21:19 says Elhanan did. Another is how many pilgrimages did Paul make to Jerusalem. Acts gives 5; Paul gives but three.
I brought up the dictation theory because, in point of actual fact, many do hold that God dictated Scripture word-for-word. I said that Scripture does not describe the inspirational process, simply because it does not. What does it mean to be moved by the Spirit? Does this mean you are no longer human and subject to error? Scripture does not go into these matters. 2 Tim. 3:16, which you refer to, says, "All inspired Scripture has its use for teaching,,," It says nothing abut the actual process and makes no claim for inerrancy, either.
You brought up about giving page numbers for Calvin. I do not have the time to look up page numbers.
Yes, we are dealing with "those who have exegete Scripture," and for tat very reason, we are dealing with how various human beings have interpreted Scripture. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong. We should check things out. For example, all you did was cite Feinberg's theory of divine inspiration. I'd want to check out his material a lot closer before I decided whether I agree or not. Note: that is Feinberg's theory.
Point 7 overlooks the fact that while God may be perfect and always tell the truth, human beings most certainly are not perfect and do not always tell the truth.
Yes, I got the verse wrong. It should be Ps. 103: 12. That would work fro east and west, given a flat earth with four corners;, but won't work for our earth, because there is no East or West Pole. East and West bleed into one another.
The passage in Isaiah is referring to the fact that the sky looks like a dome covering the flat earth. At the top of the dome sits God.
No, I did not commit a logical fallacy by appealing to authority. You put me on the spot as to what my credentials were and I simply answered you. You say you, too, have a doctorate in theology. Interesting. Mine is from the conjoint program between the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. I'm curious where yours is from. You say I'm in trouble because you have a doctorate. I don't see what trouble that would be. I always enjoy talking with educated people.
I definitely did not say creationists were flat earthers. As I recall, I brought up Robowtham in a discussion with someone who had questions abut why I said the Bible has a flat earth.
I am not imposing my views on Ted on any one else. I am simply stating my response to the topic at hand. I try and give evidence for what I say. However, I may not always satisfy the reader; so OK, ask me to give more information.
I believe that the Creation week consisted of 6 literal days, as the plain reading of
Scripture seems to indicate.
I believe that the Creation week consisted of 6 literal days, as the plain reading of
Scripture seems to indicate.
However, I am undecided about the extent of creation. Was the entire Universe created in six days? Just the Earth (young earth, old universe), or just the Promised Land (the view John Sailhamer promotes, known as Historical Creationism.)
I also believe the flood to be a real historical account that resulted in the annihilation of all life except those on the ark. However, I am unsure whether it was a global event or local. I honestly see both sides of the argument.
The Nature of the Flood
Most young-earth creationists are also flood geologists; that is, they believe that the apparent age of the earth represented in the sedimentary geological formations do not represent millions of years, but only one year of activity by a worldwide flood. A few comments are appropriate here:
(1) Again, flood geology should not be used as a test of orthodoxy, as there are other ways toexplain the data that are consistent with an evangelical interpretation of the Bible.
(2) Flood geology should be explored as a scientific theory in its own right, as well as
for its possible explanatory value of the biblical data.
(3) One can be a young earther and still reject flood geology, as some do. Hence, the two are not inseparably tied.
(4) Those who reject a universal flood (along with flood geology) do have a more difficult
time explaining all the biblical data. If the flood was only local, then
(a) why were two of each kind of animal taken into the ark?
(b) why is the language of Genesis so specifically and intensely universal (cf. 7:19–23)?
(c) why are flood deposits universal?
(d) why are flood stories universal?
(e) why does Peter say the whole earth was under water? (2 Peter 3:5–7)
(f) why does the Bible say only eight people were saved (2 Peter 2:5) if there were others
who escaped also?
(g) why were all the mountains covered? (Gen. 7:19) [Geisler 2003:472]
One of the difficulties I run into when discussing 6 literal days of creation is in what happened on the 7th day where the same word for day, yom, is used (Gen 2:2), 'On the 7th day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done'. This may sound a strange question: For how long has God been resting on the 7th day?
Also, we find in the creation story (Gen 1 and 2) that 'day' (yom) refers to more than a 24-hour period. When speaking of whole of the 6 'days' of creation, what do we find Gen 2:4 stating? This verse speaks of 'the day' (yom) when all things were created.
While yom is most often used to refer to a 24 hour period, but this is not an absolute meaning. This idea is confirmed in passages of the OT like Psalm 90:4 (ESV), 'For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night'. So from God's perspective, a thousand years are like a day (yesterday) or a night watch (short period of time). Ps 90:4 is cited in 2 Peter 3:8, 'A day is like a thousand years'.
St Augustine of Hippo did not accept 6 literal 24-hour days of creation. See The City of God (Bk 11, ch 6) where he wrote, 'What kind of days these were it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible for us to conceive, and how much more to say!'
As for a global flood or not, I accept that it was global as Scriptures state, 'And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered' (Gen 7:19 ESV). That sounds universal to me.
These are Dr Norman Geisler's arguments for a universal flood:
This topic has so many aspects that could be debated back and forth.
Oz
Works consulted
Geisler, N L 2003. Systematic Theology: God, Creation, vol 2. Minneapolis, Minnesota: BethanyHouse.
That's an interesting way to look at the days of creation. Why I see your point, if I recall correctly, when a number precedes yom, (especially as first, second, etc.), doesn't it always refer to a literal day? There was also evening an morning.
Yom as 24-hour periods when preceded by a number, is what I was taught down through the years. I have doubts about that and here are a couple starters. I don't have time to develop this as it is bed time in my part of the world.
1. Could day 3 be longer than 24 hours according to Gen 1:12 (ESV), 'The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good'?
2. If you look at day 6 of creation, it appears to be longer than 24 hours (Gen 1:24ff) because:
I have been helped greatly to gain a better understanding of creation through the exposition of Norman Geisler (2003).
- God created all of the land animals (were there 100s or 1000s);
- A human being was formed from the dust of the earth (2:7) and a helper suitable for him was found (2:18), plus all of the other aspects associated with Adam & Eve.
- All of the beasts and birds were brought to Adam to be named. Robert Newman has suggested that 'if every one of the approximately 15,000 living species of such animals (not to mention those now extinct) were brought to Adam to be named, it would have taken ten hours if he spent only two seconds on each' (Newman & Eckelmann 1977:128-129). Could all of the events of the 6th day be compressed into 24 hours? I know a supernatural God can do anything he chooses in a 24-hour period, but I am left with a number of issues with trying to make the creation days fit a 24-hour a day model.
Some commentators say that 'day' never means 'period'. However, that is not the meaning we gain when we examine Gen 2:4 where 'day' refers to the period of 'generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created' (ESV).
Oz
Works consulted
Geisler, N L 2003. Systematic Theology: God, Creation, vol 2. Minneapolis, Minnesota: BethanyHouse.
Newman, R & Eckelmann, H J 1977. Genesis One, and the Origin of the Earth. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press (reprint 1981 Grand Rapids: Baker).
what does 'kind' mean? This is one of the reasons I'm hesitant to take the word of people now deceased to verify things if it is not crystal clear what they are saying.'What kind of days these were it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible for us to conceive, and how much more to say!'
One thing people fail to realize is that Noah didn't bring onboard the ark..all species. Adam brought onboard the ark "kinds". Species belong to "kinds".You could also say that there is no way that Noah could fit all the animals on the ark, but the animal species were probably not as diverse as they are today.
For example, in Adam's and Noah's times, there probably were not horned owls and snow owls, they probably just had one species of owl.
Also, Adam could have named the species collectively. So instead of having owls, cardinals, and crows, he probably just called them all birds.
For example, I tell you that 'God created Adam, of course He made all mankind both male and female, but He created Adam and thus ended the sixth day'. I do agree that for God to have made Adam, had him name all the creatures, decided that he needed a helper and so put him to sleep to create Eve from a part of him, in a day, is a stretch. However, I also know that He is the God of the impossible and so I don't allow my lack of understanding to dissuade me from understanding that an 'evening and morning' of a day would be any other time period than a relatively normal 24 hour day.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
It cannot be proven from Genesis 1 IMO that the earth was created in a literal 6, 24 hour days.Yes, life on earth was created, in six literal days and it didn't take all day to do it.
A careful study has changed many minds from a young earth to an old earth belief.I don't get how there is something controversial about it, with Genesis you either believe it or you don't. What it actually says isn't really all that hard to decipher.
Then I would have to ask, why does the earth and universe show sure signs of being much older then 6-10 thousand years?If not literal days, it would seem God was trying to confuse us with Scripture?
The days are a literary device to convey what the author was intending to convey, the ordering of the earth by its Creator for it to sustain human life. There are 3 days of creation of each sphere, followed by 3 days of filling - day 1 with day 4, day 2 with day 5, day three with day six. It's about God ordering our world for our life on it, as His regents and priests in His temple. Issues of how long it took were not in mind. Genesis 2 is about relationships, not a varied account of what we see in Genesis 1.
For a young earth position virtually all of science including its methodology must be brushed aside. I defy any Christian using their computer or smart phone to participate here to argue consistently against science as practised.
John
NZ
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