Hi MK,
Maybe. As to the rest of what you posted in response, let me be clear. I don't support Mr. Hovind's understanding of the creation either. I am a young earth creation believer, but I'm satisfied with God just 'desired and said' for such and such to happen and it did.
As an example: I believe Mr. Hovind has some rather wild tale that explains the days of the flood of Noah. No! I don't agree that he has wisdom as regards that subject and I absolutely do not agree that he is speaking the truth as regards that event and its cause. I'm satisfied that God merely desired and said, "Let the springs of the deep burst forth and the water of the heavens fall", and these things happened. It didn't take some frigid icy comet to fall upon the earth to cause the flood.
Similarly, as to the day the ball of dirt and rock and oil and magma and water, etc. that make up the physical properties of the earth was created, I firmly and faithfully believe that it appeared near instantaneously just because God said that it should exist. God spoke and boom the earth appeared. Spinning all by itself in the vast emptiness of 'space'. Its original configuration was covered with water just as it was restored to in the day of the flood. Then God spoke again and the waters gathered and allowed the dry ground beneath to be revealed on the surface of the earth. He merely spoke and it became as He desired it to be. Each day thereafter, God spoke and something came to exist by nothing more than His command that it be.
He did all of this creating within the time span of 6 revolutions of the earth upon its axis. He created a realm. An existence, if you will, that would support a the life of a creature that He had always intended that this realm of His creation would support. Man! God merely created, out of absolutely nothing, everything that exists in this realm. It is by His power, authority, wisdom and command that every 'thing' in this physical realm, from the smallest micronano piece that makes up all things physical, to the very greatest of the great heavenly bodies of stars and planets exist. He merely said, "Let it be so!", and it was. It came into existence.
This explains how water could stand as a wall on both the right and the left hand of the Israelites as they passed through the sea on dry ground. God merely commanded that the water stand at attention and it did! This explains how the sun could merely stop in the middle of the noon day middle eastern sky. God merely command that it do so, and it did!
Now, Mr. Hovind thinks differently than I do on this. He thinks that God caused other natural things to happen that caused upon the earth the 'unnatural'. Not me! Others try to time the day of Jesus' crucifixion by determining when there might have been a 'natural' phenomenon such as a solar eclipse to explain the darkening of the sun. Not me! God just commanded that the sun not give its light and it didn't! However, there is very good reason for 'why' God caused this phenomenon. The law of the passover was that the lamb was to be slain at twilight.
Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
God commanded that the passover lambs be slaughtered at twilight and so God Himself caused the law to be upheld in this matter. He literally caused it to be twilight when Jesus, His perfect lamb, was slaughtered before all of the people. This twilight did not come about because there was some solar body in the way of the light of our sun. God made it twilight. The sun of our solar system was still right where it was supposed to be shining just as brightly as it always had but God caused the light of the sun to not be visible upon the earth. God did it! And He did it because He was preparing the final passover lamb whose blood would atone for the sins of all men. Because it was God's own passover He caused all that was necessary that this final passover would meet with His command of the first and succeeding passovers since Israel had left Egypt.
That's the God I know. He created this realm, this physical place of existence. He created it all so that man could have life. Nothing evolved. Nothing existed for millions or billions of years before now. About 6,000 years ago, according to the genealogies of the old covenant and adding 6 days before the day of Adam's creation, God spoke and this realm came into existence.
So, I'm not a believer in Mr. Hovind's theological explanations either, but I don't use 'ad hominem' arguments to discredit him. I choose to discredit him on the issues themselves based on the 'truth' as I understand it and as God seems to have clearly explained to me all that He has done in His Scriptures. That he is or isn't a tax cheat doesn't, for me, have any bearing on the veracity of his theology.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
