Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
True - and from science we know that this requires a rotating planet on and a light source on one side but not the other.
True - and from science we know that this requires a rotating planet on and a light source on one side but not the other.
Well as it turns out - infinite God could know of at least "one other light source" other than the Sun, since that is included in what it means to have infinite power and knowledge..
I trust those who have devoted their lives to translating the Bible as it is, not interpreting it to suit themselves.
There are some things missing in this post:Notice the.order : There was evening and morning ---instead of morning first then evening. So it is not saying 24 hrs passed. Instead, i believe Evening means end of one stage/eon and Morning means beginning of another.
I still don't think the creation took 6x24 hours. Humans are finite, we live one generation - usually less than 90 years - and we think short term. But God is timeless and as well, he took interests and pleasure in designing each creature and animal.
There are some things missing in this post:
1. Scripture
2. Linguistic data
3. Cultural data
4. Logic
5. Common sense
Moreover, in your book you write,
I used to stare at prayer verses, trying to figure out what they mean. I would ponder over His words, leave them for a while and come back to them again, hoping for fresh perspectives. This went on for three years, and one day, I realized the truth. It is not about reading words, but about what Jesus wanted to tell us - which is the key point that we have missed.
And now you write, “i believe Evening means end of one stage/eon and Morning means beginning of another.”
Your book is irresponsible nonsense—and your post is no better.
The Hebrew text of Genesis 1:6-8,
1:7 ויעשׂ אלהים את־הרקיע ויבדל בין המים אשׁר מתחת לרקיע ובין המים אשׁר מעל לרקיע ויהי־כן׃
1:8 ויקרא אלהים לרקיע שׁמים ויהי־ערב ויהי־בקר יום שׁני׃
1:9 ויאמר אלהים יקוו המים מתחת השׁמים אל־מקום אחד ותראה היבשׁה ויהי־כן׃
Genesis 1:6-8 in the Septuagint translation,
Gen 1:6 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Γενηθήτω στερέωμα ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ ἔστω διαχωρίζον ἀνὰ μέσον ὕδατος καὶ ὕδατος. καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
Gen 1:7 καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ στερέωμα, καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ θεὸς ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ ὕδατος, ὃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ στερεώματος, καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ ἐπάνω τοῦ στερεώματος.
Gen 1:8 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ στερέωμα οὐρανόν. καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς ὅτι καλόν. καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα καὶ ἐγένετο πρωί, ἡμέρα δευτέρα.
The Greek word στερέωμα is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word רָקִיעַ, and expresses the concept of “the sky as a supporting structure, the firmament.” (BDAG, the italics are theirs). This Greek word is also found in Paul’s writings to express the concept of a “state or condition of firm commitment, firmness, steadfastness” (BDAG, the italics are theirs),
Col. 2.5. εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν καὶ τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑμῶν. (NA28)
Col. 2.5. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (NRSV)
The Greek word στερέωμα is also found in a number of other ancient Greek writings where it always expresses the concepts of something solid, strength, firmness or steadfastness. Indeed, all hands (even the folks at Answers in Genesis!) freely admit that this Greek word expresses in Genesis the concept of a ‘solid, supporting structure.’
Genesis 1:6-8 in the Latin Vulgate,
6. dixit quoque Deus fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum et dividat aquas ab aquis
7. et fecit Deus firmamentum divisitque aquas quae erant sub firmamento ab his quae erant super firmamentum et factum est ita
8. vocavitque Deus firmamentum caelum et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus
Genesis 1:6-8 in the Wycliffe Bible,
6 And God seide, The firmament be maad in the myddis of watris, and departe watrisfro watris.
7And God made the firmament, and departide the watristhat weren vndurthe firmament fro these watris that weren on the firmament; and it was don so.
8 And God clepide the firmament, heuene. And the euentid and morwetid was maad, the secounde dai.
Genesis 1:6-8 in the KJV of the Bible,
6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
The Wycliffe Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate and hence used the word ‘firmament’. The suffix ‘-ment’ in nouns expresses the result of the action of the infinitive of the cognate verb. Hence, the noun ‘firmament’ expresses the result of the action of the infinitive of the Latin verb ‘firmare’ meaning “to strengthen,” that is, “something that is strong.” In Genesis 1:6-8, the word expresses the concept of the strong, solid dome that supported the water above the dome. Compare the verb “accomplish” and the noun “accomplishment,” and the verb “advertise” and the noun “advertisement.” For detailed documentation, please see the Oxford English Dictionary.
The NRSV correctly translates the Hebrew word רָקִיעַ (râqı̂ya‛) as “dome.” The evidence for the correctness of this translation is found in the use of this word in ancient Hebrew literature. Based upon this usage, the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver, and Briggs published by Oxford University gives us the following meaning of it in Gen. 1:6, 7, and 8, “the vault of heaven, or ‘firmament,’ regarded by Hebrews as solid, and supporting ‘waters’ above it.” (p. 956)
Roman Catholic biblical scholars agree with Protestant biblical scholars and so translate Genesis 1:6-8,
6. Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
7. God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
8. God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed-the second day. (NAB)
Today, in Modern Hebrew, the noun רָקִיעַ (dome) expresses the concept, “sky” as visually observed from the earth. It has never expressed the concept of the earth’s atmosphere.
Notice the.order : There was evening and morning ---instead of morning first then evening. So it is not saying 24 hrs passed
. Instead, i believe Evening means end of one stage/eon and Morning means beginning of another.
.
However, the ancient Hebrew people did not know that. Indeed, as did all of the ancient Semitic peoples—and very many other ancient peoples—they believed that the earth was flat, covered with a solid dome, and stationary. We do not find in even in one passage of Scripture—Old or New Testament—any mention of any kind of a cosmology different from the beliefs of the ancient Semitic peoples.
We see in scripture a solid hard-wired link between the literal days in Ex 20 "legal code" and Gen 2 as noted below.
In Ex 20:8-11 we have legal code - very clear, exact and precise.
9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Gen 2:1-3
2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
And in Gen 1 each day is one single "evening and morning" rather than one eon or one age.
As noted in the OP -- the phrasing above is not how evolution's opposing view is stated in any science text that I know of.
Notice that every reference to evening and morning in scripture is a 24 hour day and notice that the precise legal code of Ex 20:8-11 points to the 7 days of Gen 2:1-3 as 7 literal days.
I see the text say in the very precise legal code of Ex 20:8-11 points out 7 literal days as were the days at Sinai.
We see in scripture a solid hard-wired link between the literal days in Ex 20 "legal code" and Gen 2 as noted below.
In Ex 20:8-11 we have legal code - very clear, exact and precise.
9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Gen 2:1-3
2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
And in Gen 1 each day is one single "evening and morning" rather than one eon or one age.
As noted in the OP -- the phrasing above is not how evolution's opposing view is stated in any science text that I know of.
The ancient Hebrew people reckoned that each day begins with the appearance of the stars at evening and ends with appearance of the stars the following evening. Hence the reckoning in Genesis 1-2:4.In spite of your Hebrew lingo, you didn't notice the order of the words "evening then morning" instead of "morning then evening" . So the Bible is not saying 24 hour passed in each day. Instead "evening then morning" means end of one stage/eon, and beginning of another.
Hebrews11:3 written much, much later, states :Exodus did said God created in 6 days and rested.on 7th , we shall labor 6 days n rest a day.
However, back then, the Hebrews might understand that day is a word.with different meaning and connitations according to context eg to them, Day could 24 hour time, or eon or age. Aurhor of Exodus used same word Day but people back then understand the different connotations of same word.
Even today we have some words that mean different things.
The ancient Hebrew people reckoned that each day begins with the appearance of the stars at evening and ends with appearance of the stars the following evening. Hence the reckoning in Genesis 1-2:4.
Hebrews11:3 written much, much later, states :
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
You demonstrates good understanding of Hebrew language and tradition. However it does not conclusively demonstrated a 24-hour day. No one can convincingly prove whether creation happens in 6 days, so to each his own. For me personally, I really don't think God would just wave a magic wand - figuratively speaking - to create ecology system, fauna and multitudes of life but instead, He took time and pleasure to design and produce the greatest masterpiece.
There is no shortage of posts on Christian message boards written by people who do not know even so much as the first three letters of the Hebrew alphabet yet think that they know more than hundreds of professors of Semitic languages around the world who are teaching today in seminaries and universities that are internationally known for their academic excellence. None of these professors interpret Genesis to be an accurate account of historic events but rather they teach that Genesis 1-11 is a redacted collection of epic tales, sagas, and myths/legends that are to be understood literally but not historically. This, of course, includes the interpretation of the Hebrew word יוֹם (day) in Genesis.
Yes, it is a job of the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth, but the Holy Spirit is not a monkey in a cage at a circus ran by radicalized Christian fundamentalists. Moreover, no translation of the Bible will ever be any better than the academic excellence of the seminaries and universities where the translators received their formal education. Furthermore, it is impossible to accurately translate the Bible without accurately interpreting it—and that interpretation must be in full agreement with all of the relevant data.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis are recognized today by virtually every Old Testament scholar specializing in the study of Genesis and currently publishing research on Genesis in major, peer-reviewed biblical journals to be a unique body of literature that was written in a genre that is found nowhere else in the Bible. That genre is the same genre of literature in which epic tales, sagas, myths and legends were written. The Holy Spirit is not the personal property Christian fundamentalists and He never had any obligation to them to give us the Bible in the manner in which that they wish it had been written.
For a summary of the massive amount of data upon which these academically solid conclusions are based, and for a very careful and thorough analysis of the relevant data, please see the 636-page commentary on the Hebrew text of Genesis 1-11 by Claus Westermann. For commentaries on the Hebrew text of Genesis that confirm the accuracy of Westermann’s conclusions, please see those by John Skinner, Ephraim A. Speiser, Gerhard von Rad, and Gordon Wenham.
There are NO parables in Genesis 1-11, and all of the language is written in literal prose—including “the windows of the heavens” in Gen. 7:11.
We need to distinguish between two distinctively different realities:
1. The Bible describes the earth as being created in six consecutive 24-hour days.
2. The earth is 4.54 billion years, and during those 4.54 billion years, the earth gradually became what it is today.
Did the billion of years happened before or after creation of Adam? Are you saying that after Adam was created on 6th day, the earth gradually became what it is today during the next 4.5 billion years? That;'s what (1) and (2) together sound like to me.
If one claims any word or account of the Bible is fable o labels them as possible legend or myth, one has no Truth...all of Scripture is called into question...is that where you want to stand?No! I am not saying anything even remotely like that!
As I posted above,
Genesis 1-11 is a redacted collection of epic tales, sagas, and myths/legends that are to be understood literally but not historically. This, of course, includes the interpretation of the Hebrew word יוֹם (day) in Genesis.
The ancient Hebrew people reckoned that each day begins with the appearance of the stars at evening and ends with appearance of the stars the following evening. Hence the reckoning in Genesis 1-2:4.
Your God is too small. How long will it take Him to create the new Earth? How long did it take Him to create the fishes in the miracle of the loaves and fishes? The wine at His first miracle?
I believe God created the heavens and the earth and I'm not particularly interested in the details. I do think when He creates the new heavens and earth it won't take Him millions of years to do so.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?