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I was always an old earther. Still am. Like I said, my pastor and the person (pastor, I think) he consulted to ease my mind about this are both ok with it.I was referring to the freedom of being able to acknowledge and embrace observations of physical reality. If you're new to old earth creationism, it will make sense with time.
I do think it’s possible though, that the earth isn’t billions of years old, or 6,000 years old.I was always an old earther. Still am. Like I said, my pastor and the person (pastor, I think) he consulted to ease my mind about this are both ok with it.
You have that you’re a Christian in your profile, but what Christian denomination are you?More on that.
I remember many moons ago when I first started studying geology.
Sometimes just seeing is believing. And there were days where I just cried out to the Lord, or maybe it was the holy spirit groaning through me. Because creation, when you see it in full, it does not lie. It tells God's word with pure clarity.
Part of me felt betrayed. How could I have been so blind? How could the church even have made such grave mistakes. Was I lied to? We were less perfect than I could ever have imagined.
It has taken many years of continued study, continued trips, continued digging. Pondering endless questions. Freedom and peace with the understanding of billions of years of deep and rich earth history took time to come to terms with. But when it is seen in full, God is great.
Yes, but I have no desire to return to the Catholic Church.These are some Catholic teachings, quite general, on origins, in case you haven't seen them:
282 Catechesis on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the response of the Christian faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves:120 "Where do we come from?" "Where are we going?" "What is our origin?" "What is our end?" "Where does everything that exists come from and where is it going?" The two questions, the first about the origin and the second about the end, are inseparable. They are decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.
283 The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: "It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me."121
284 The great interest accorded to these studies is strongly stimulated by a question of another order, which goes beyond the proper domain of the natural sciences. It is not only a question of knowing when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared, but rather of discovering the meaning of such an origin: is the universe governed by chance, blind fate, anonymous necessity, or by a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called "God"? And if the world does come from God's wisdom and goodness, why is there evil? Where does it come from? Who is responsible for it? Is there any liberation from it?
285 Since the beginning the Christian faith has been challenged by responses to the question of origins that differ from its own. Ancient religions and cultures produced many myths concerning origins. Some philosophers have said that everything is God, that the world is God, or that the development of the world is the development of God (Pantheism). Others have said that the world is a necessary emanation arising from God and returning to him. Still others have affirmed the existence of two eternal principles, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, locked, in permanent conflict (Dualism, Manichaeism). According to some of these conceptions, the world (at least the physical world) is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind (Gnosticism). Some admit that the world was made by God, but as by a watch-maker who, once he has made a watch, abandons it to itself (Deism). Finally, others reject any transcendent origin for the world, but see it as merely the interplay of matter that has always existed (Materialism). All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human.
390 The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.
And then some relevant and more specific commentary:
For these reasons the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. Humani Generis
According to the widely accepted scientific account, the universe erupted 15 billion years ago in an explosion called the 'Big Bang' and has been expanding and cooling ever since. Later there gradually emerged the conditions necessary for the formation of atoms, still later the condensation of galaxies and stars, and about 10 billion years later the formation of planets. In our own solar system and on earth (formed about 4.5 billion years ago), the conditions have been favorable to the emergence of life. While there is little consensus among scientists about how the origin of this first microscopic life is to be explained, there is general agreement among them that the first organism dwelt on this planet about 3.5–4 billion years ago. Since it has been demonstrated that all living organisms on earth are genetically related, it is virtually certain that all living organisms have descended from this first organism. Converging evidence from many studies in the physical and biological sciences furnishes mounting support for some theory of evolution to account for the development and diversification of life on earth, while controversy continues over the pace and mechanisms of evolution. Pope Benedict 16
"God is not... a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life,” Francis said. “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” Pope Francis
You have that you’re a Christian in your profile, but what Christian denomination are you?
I went to a ND church for awhile, just to check it out but they have their beliefs,too.My Church is non denominational and I think it suits me well.
Do they accept the scientific evidence that suggests life existed on earth well before (maybe millions of years before) Adam was created?I joined the Lutheran LCMS two or so years ago but they don’t accept evolution
From their website:Do they accept the scientific evidence that suggests life existed on earth well before (maybe millions of years before) Adam was created?
Update: I’m still going to the LCMS and now love it.
No need to debate it - all you have to know is that the Catholic Church practises infant baptism, so it must be okay.The Lutheran Church, Missouri or Wisconsin synod, have quality services without a lot of fluff. Just God's Word being preached. While I do believe the Scriptures clearly teach baptism after one believes, I see nothing wrong with baptizing infants with the intent that, by this gesture, the parents are dedicating their lives to raising their child to know God and the Gospel. But the choice is still the child's to either believe or not to believe, and so be saved. And that commitment of faith to Lord Jesus is what Baptism represents - the dying to the old life serving our own passions, and now dedicating our lives to be disciples of Lord Jesus in righteousness and love.
John 3:14:18 (WEB) 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes (continuous believing) in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes (continuous believing) in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He who believes (continuous believing) in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
Romans 6:1-6 (WEB) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
No need to debate it - all you have to know is that the Catholic Church practises infant baptism, so it must be okay.
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