- Oct 7, 2009
- 826
- 40
- Faith
- Agnostic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- UK-Liberal-Democrats
We read in Genesis that God placed 'lights' in the firmament of heaven for signs, seasons, days and years.
If God saw this was good, why has man had such a struggle interpreting them? Why have so many different calendars been developed by different civilisations over the millennia?
The year, at approximately 365.25 days, is certainly not 'good' for equating seasons, years and days, or even the seven-day week. Now, if it were exactly 360 days, man would not have had to struggle making sense of the 'lights'. This lovely number (look at a compass) has factors of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 40, 45, 60, 72, 90, 120, 180 and 360, so God could have made the lunar month exactly 30 days and the whole thing would have perfectly met his design intent.
Maybe it used to be 360 days, but because God has withdrawn his sustaining power due to the Fall, it has shifted. If that were the case, however, the week would originally have been 6 or 8 days long, not 7, and that would not fit with God's rest day.
I suggest that the solar system did NOT come into existence as described by Genesis, but formed form an accretion of gas and dust. After billions of years, as man began to observe the world he found himself in, he realised the movement of the sun and moon were very useful (though irritatingly complex) for dividing the year up into days, months etc. He therefore incorporated the handy movement of these lights into his religion, despite their inaccuracy.
If God saw this was good, why has man had such a struggle interpreting them? Why have so many different calendars been developed by different civilisations over the millennia?
The year, at approximately 365.25 days, is certainly not 'good' for equating seasons, years and days, or even the seven-day week. Now, if it were exactly 360 days, man would not have had to struggle making sense of the 'lights'. This lovely number (look at a compass) has factors of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 40, 45, 60, 72, 90, 120, 180 and 360, so God could have made the lunar month exactly 30 days and the whole thing would have perfectly met his design intent.
Maybe it used to be 360 days, but because God has withdrawn his sustaining power due to the Fall, it has shifted. If that were the case, however, the week would originally have been 6 or 8 days long, not 7, and that would not fit with God's rest day.
I suggest that the solar system did NOT come into existence as described by Genesis, but formed form an accretion of gas and dust. After billions of years, as man began to observe the world he found himself in, he realised the movement of the sun and moon were very useful (though irritatingly complex) for dividing the year up into days, months etc. He therefore incorporated the handy movement of these lights into his religion, despite their inaccuracy.
Last edited: