- Feb 13, 2012
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It seems if you read Genesis 1 from the perspective of modern science, reading the word day as a long time period, it lines up pretty closely with what most scientists agree is the order life developed on earth.
Day 1 The sun ignites and earth coalesces.
Day 2 Volcanic activity produces atmosphere.
Day 3 Plate tectonics and cooling produce land and oceans
Photosynthetic life begins oxygenating atmosphere, leading to:
Day 4 Sun, moon, and stars become visible due to methane haze clearing.
Day 5 Fish, dinosaurs*, and then birds appear.
Day 6 Familiar mammals appear, then humans.
*vs 21 says "God created great sea creatures..." The Hebrew word translated sea creature here, taniyn, is used of a variety of creatures, including Moses' serpent (staff), leviathan, and a legged creature used metaphorically for Pharaoh in Ezekiel (crocodile?). Perhaps the best description that includes all these meanings would be 'dangerous reptile.' I'm pretty sure if Moses saw a dinosaur he'd call it a taniyn. The word is not used of the fish that swallowed Jonah, so I don't think whales is a good translation.
I wonder, what is the probability that Moses or any ancient person could have come up with all these parallels to the discoveries of science on his own? If low, that confirms both the accuracy of the Bible and the day-age interpretation of it. Just counting the main events and calculating it mathematically Geisler came up with 1 chance in 42,000.
But there's several issues to consider that affect that calculation.
One is flexible interpretation. For instance, does the fossil record say birds or mammals came first? Do we look for when the first representative is found, or when the group becomes common? Or in the Bible, do we take the words specifically or generally. Do plants arriving on day three refer to photosynthetic organisms generally, or to stereotypical trees and grass specifically, etc.
Also, would an ancient person likely come up with just any order of events, or only ones that followed a certain pattern, and how many patterns are possible. Such as, simplest to most complex, nearest to farthest, most important to least, biggest to smallest, or the reverse of any of those?
At any rate, I think there is a correlation there that is worthy of notice, and deserves further attention.
Day 1 The sun ignites and earth coalesces.
Day 2 Volcanic activity produces atmosphere.
Day 3 Plate tectonics and cooling produce land and oceans
Photosynthetic life begins oxygenating atmosphere, leading to:
Day 4 Sun, moon, and stars become visible due to methane haze clearing.
Day 5 Fish, dinosaurs*, and then birds appear.
Day 6 Familiar mammals appear, then humans.
*vs 21 says "God created great sea creatures..." The Hebrew word translated sea creature here, taniyn, is used of a variety of creatures, including Moses' serpent (staff), leviathan, and a legged creature used metaphorically for Pharaoh in Ezekiel (crocodile?). Perhaps the best description that includes all these meanings would be 'dangerous reptile.' I'm pretty sure if Moses saw a dinosaur he'd call it a taniyn. The word is not used of the fish that swallowed Jonah, so I don't think whales is a good translation.
I wonder, what is the probability that Moses or any ancient person could have come up with all these parallels to the discoveries of science on his own? If low, that confirms both the accuracy of the Bible and the day-age interpretation of it. Just counting the main events and calculating it mathematically Geisler came up with 1 chance in 42,000.
But there's several issues to consider that affect that calculation.
One is flexible interpretation. For instance, does the fossil record say birds or mammals came first? Do we look for when the first representative is found, or when the group becomes common? Or in the Bible, do we take the words specifically or generally. Do plants arriving on day three refer to photosynthetic organisms generally, or to stereotypical trees and grass specifically, etc.
Also, would an ancient person likely come up with just any order of events, or only ones that followed a certain pattern, and how many patterns are possible. Such as, simplest to most complex, nearest to farthest, most important to least, biggest to smallest, or the reverse of any of those?
At any rate, I think there is a correlation there that is worthy of notice, and deserves further attention.