Thoughts on Leap Day

[Split Rock]

Once every four years we need to add a day to the calendar to make up for the fact that the Earth takes 365.25 days to revolve around the sun, instead of 365 days. Hense the fact that today is a Leap Day and this year is a Leap Year. I was thinking about the argument that the Earth and the solar system were specially and perfectly designed by God for us humans... then I wondered why he didn't make the Earth take exactly 365 days to revolve around the sun, so we wouldn't have these calendar issues. Afterall, the entire creation was specifically synchronized to coincide with the work week.

So, my question for creationists is this: Why didn't God make the year 365 days, just like he made the week 7 days? Any thoughts?

 

[Davian]

It was, until the "fall".

 

[juvenissun]

Once every four years we need to add a day to the calendar to make up for the fact that the Earth takes 365.25 days to revolve around the sun, instead of 365 days. Hense the fact that today is a Leap Day and this year is a Leap Year. I was thinking about the argument that the Earth and the solar system were specially and perfectly designed by God for us humans... then I wondered why he didn't make the Earth take exactly 365 days to revolve around the sun, so we wouldn't have these calendar issues. Afterall, the entire creation was specifically synchronized to coincide with the work week.

So, my question for creationists is this: Why didn't God make the year 365 days, just like he made the week 7 days? Any thoughts?

You may also ask why is it not 300 days or 400 days or 100 days or 1000 days? Would that be even more perfect?

 

[KhaosTheory]

You may also ask why is it not 300 days or 400 days or 100 days or 1000 days? Would that be even more perfect?

No, you are missing the point... the OP was pointing out that creationists assume that the rotations in our solar system were set to correspond to a work week so we could properly observe the Sabbath...

But if it's slightly off every year then I guess none of us are observing the Sabbath the way we were supposed to...

Would God purposely make the solar system so that we couldn't possibly follow 1 of his commandments properly? That's kind of malicious don't you think?

 

[pgp_protector]

Once every four years we need to add a day to the calendar to make up for the fact that the Earth takes 365.25 days to revolve around the sun, instead of 365 days. Hense the fact that today is a Leap Day and this year is a Leap Year. I was thinking about the argument that the Earth and the solar system were specially and perfectly designed by God for us humans... then I wondered why he didn't make the Earth take exactly 365 days to revolve around the sun, so we wouldn't have these calendar issues. Afterall, the entire creation was specifically synchronized to coincide with the work week.

So, my question for creationists is this: Why didn't God make the year 365 days, just like he made the week 7 days? Any thoughts?

Wouldn't 364 Days be better than 365 though?
365 Days gives us 52 Weeks & an extra Day every year
364 Days would of given us exactly 52 Weeks a year.

 

[Split Rock]

You may also ask why is it not 300 days or 400 days or 100 days or 1000 days? Would that be even more perfect?

Wouldn't 364 Days be better than 365 though?
365 Days gives us 52 Weeks & an extra Day every year
364 Days would of given us exactly 52 Weeks a year.

You guys are kind of missing the point. Anyone of the options you mentioned would be more "perfect" than 365 and a Quarter days.

Another option I just thought of, is why not synchronize the solar month with the lunar month? Thus, you would have 29.5 days for each month = 354 days per year. You could solve the 0.5 problem by alternating 29 day months and 30 day months.

 

[Split Rock]

It was, until the "fall".

yeah... I was thinking of that.. LOL!

 

[KhaosTheory]

You guys are kind of missing the point. Anyone of the options you mentioned would be more "perfect" than 365 and a Quarter days.

Another option I just thought of, is why not synchronize the solar month with the lunar month? Thus, you would have 29.5 days for each month = 354 days per year. You could solve the 0.5 problem by alternating 29 day months and 30 day months.

Exactly. Another example of God's apparent sneakiness...

Would God purposely make it impossible for us to follow one of his commandments (observe the Sabbath)?

 

[Split Rock]

Exactly. Another example of God's apparent sneakiness...

Would God purposely make it impossible for us to follow one of his commandments (observe the Sabbath)?

There's a certain level of inconsistancy there for sure, but I suppose if you follow the week paradigm emphasized by the creation week, and ignore anything else, you would be obeying the Sabbath as a day of rest in any case. In other words: Work six days, then observe the Sabbath. Rinse, Repeat.

 

[Split Rock]

I just wanted to point out that the real time period is: 365.2425 days, which is even worse than 365.25 days. This was the reason for replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar.

 

[juvenissun]

I just wanted to point out that the real time period is: 365.2425 days, which is even worse than 365.25 days. This was the reason for replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar.

Everything on the earth, from microscopic to macroscopic, is imperfect. Even an year has 700 days (100 Sundays), it would still be imperfect. If everything on the earth is imperfect, then what does perfect mean? Was Adam perfectly made? I guess he was not.

 

[AV1611VET]

Some think the imperfection occurred by God displacing the earth's orbital trajectory in Joshua's day...

Joshua 10:13a And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.

... and yet again in Hezekiah's days ...

2 Kings 20:10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
2 Kings 20:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

 

[Jazer]

So, my question for creationists is this: Why didn't God make the year 365 days, just like he made the week 7 days? Any thoughts?

I would think the year should be 360 days. Like there are 360 degrees in a circle. That would give us 12 months when 30 days. The days are getting longer so eventually we will end up with 360 days in a year. Perhaps that will be the perfect day the Bible talks about us looking forward to.

Growth rings in sea shells hundreds of millions of years old and geological deposits show that at one time the year was at least 400 days long so that the Earth was rotating at least 10% more quickly than at present. Records of solar eclipses dating back a few thousand years show that the rotation of the Earth on it's axis has slowed a little in historical times. About 1.7 milliseconds per century
According to brighthub.com the day length when the Earth was formed is believed to have been about 6 hours.

 

[Jazer]

If everything on the earth is imperfect, then what does perfect mean? Was Adam perfectly made? I guess he was not.

Everything God made was perfect. But now the world is in a fallen state. God has a plan of restoration and He is going to fix the world and set everything fight again.

 

[Split Rock]

Everything God made was perfect. But now the world is in a fallen state. God has a plan of restoration and He is going to fix the world and set everything fight again.

So, when God made the earth and put it in orbit around the sun, how long was the year then? Also, why doesn't GEN mention God changing the length of the year as part of the curse (if that was part of it)?

 

[AV1611VET]

Also, why doesn't GEN mention God changing the length of the year as part of the curse (if that was part of it)?

Because He was going to change it again in 2 Kings?

Because He gives us scientists for those sorts of things?

Because He hid some Easter eggs in the universe for our pleasure of discovery?

Because you're chasing a rabbit here? or strawman, or whatever it's called?

 

[Notedstrangeperson]

So, my question for creationists is this: Why didn't God make the year 365 days, just like he made the week 7 days? Any thoughts?

Really? That's your question? "Do leap years disprove God?"

Guess we've officially run out things to talk about.

 

[Split Rock]

Because He was going to change it again in 2 Kings?

Because He gives us scientists for those sorts of things?

Because He hid some Easter eggs in the universe for our pleasure of discovery?

Because you're chasing a rabbit here? or strawman, or whatever it's called?

If I am "chasing a rabbit/strawman", it is one of Jazer's making.

 

[Split Rock]

Really? That's your question? "Do leap years disprove God?"

Guess we've officially run out things to talk about.

I was not trying to imply that leap years disprove God. However, the perfection argument has been raised by some Christians here, and it started me thinking of why there is such a strange period in a system created by a perfect designer.

 

[Notedstrangeperson]

I was not trying to imply that leap years disprove God. However, the perfection argument has been raised by some Christians here, and it started me thinking of why there is such a strange period in a system created by a perfect designer.

Maybe because God didn't invent the Gregorian calendar ... ?