Archive for the 'Bible Commentary' Category

Was Jesus a Young Earth Creationist?

Monday, October 8th, 2007

An article by Dr. Terry Mortenson, which is found at http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/jesus-and-the-age-of-earth, argues that Jesus believed in a young earth. I have not read the article yet in much detail.  So, what you read below will be my thoughts and blow-by-blow analysis as I go through it.  Mortenson states his purpose:
It will be argued that Jesus clearly was a young-earth creationist and that if we call Him Lord we should follow Him rather than the contemporary scientific majority, which primarily consists of unbelievers.
 The writer argues for Jesus’ belief in the scriptures.  I agree with him.
All these above-mentioned statements reflect some aspect of Jesus’ attitude toward or belief about the Scriptures. But far more frequently Jesus reveals his conviction about the authority …

Determining the Date of Day 4: How mainstream science should complement scripture

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

One of the difficulties with discussing an old earth is that people tend to think that it requires placing science over scripture.  In discussing Day 4 for example, a familiar argument is that scripture clearly records the creation of the sun, moon, and stars occurring on Day 4.  Therefore, as the argument goes, any theory to the contrary, using science to back it up, is setting aside the plain meaning of the scripture in favor of man’s “scientific” wisdom.  I would like to convince you otherwise. 

As explained in my post “http://geocreationism.com/2007/08/24/biblical-difficulties-for-a-young-earth-part-3-the-sun-is-not-in-the-sky/“, there is no requirement in the text that requires creation of the celestial bodies to occur on Day 4, though I admit a plain reading appears otherwise.  To be specific, …

Day 4 - Appearance of the Celestial Bodies 1.9 Ga

Sunday, August 26th, 2007

Genesis 1:14-19
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light …

Biblical Difficulties for a Young Earth - Part 3: The sun is not in the sky

Friday, August 24th, 2007

In “Biblical Difficulties for a Young Earth - Part 2: Not so easy for a child to understand“, I showed how the word Elohim communicated more than what the Children of Israel (or a child in general) would see in the scripture.  It takes the perspective of a Christian to realize that Moses was referring to the Trinity in the word Elohim.  Similarly, other aspects of Genesis 1 can only be understood when you have the correct perspective.  Once such example is Day 4 of the Creation Account.  The difference between Day 4 and Genesis 1:1 however, is that Genesis …

Biblical Difficulties for a Young Earth - Part 2: Not so easy for a child to understand

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

One of the cornerstones of Young Earth Theology is that Genesis 1 is written in simple language that anyone can understand.  This argument comes in several different forms:
“Genesis 1 is written so simply, that even a child can understand.”

“God made sure Moses wrote Genesis 1 so that the Children of Israel would understand it.”

“God wants us to come to Him ourselves (without a moderator), and so He made Genesis 1 easy to understand.”
…therefore, the world was created in 24-hour days, because its simple language makes that fact clear.  Well, the fact is that it only seems clear because it’s what the church by and large already believes.  If the church believed the world was old, and were well-versed in the geological evidence for the Genesis 1 …

Biblical Difficulties for a Young Earth - Part 1

Monday, August 20th, 2007

Before I made up my mind that the earth must be old, there were still several difficulties I had with believing the earth was young.  These difficulties were not proofs against a young earth necessarily.  After all, I knew God was not forced to create the earth within any particular time frame; if He could do it one way, He can it another.  It was really just a question of what God did in fact do, and how Moses recorded it.  So, while — similar to a Young Earth Creationist — I did (and do) accept Genesis 1 as a literal history of God’s work, I also saw holes in the account that needed to be filled in for the …

Review of “Plant Evolution Tour” - Part 4 (Conclusion)

Sunday, July 29th, 2007

Our final installment on the “Plant Evolution Tour” brings us to God’s stated purpose for Day 3… the development of seeded plants.  This includes grass and trees.
…it was during the late Devonian between 395-286Ma that seeds developed (to replace spores).  This was a major evolutionary advance, because it eliminated the requirement for external sources of water for sexual reproduction of plants. It also provided better protection and a nutrient source for the developing embryo. This process of development is thought to have started with the conversion of plants from producing spores of one size (homospory) to producing spores of two sizes (heterospory). It is thought that the larger spores were precursors for ovules, and the smaller ovules precursors for pollen. – …

Interpreting the Bible Literally

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

My beloved Christian brethren, with whom I agree on most every aspect of the bible (the gospel, original sin, the rapture, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, God’s love, etc.), largely hold one view that I cannot… that the earth is young.  I do not believe in a young earth because I believe the earth itself contains ample evidence that it is old, and the universe contains ample evidence that it is even older.

Scientific arguments with those who believe the earth is young tend not to yield much fruit.  One reason is because the unavoidable human frailty that is manifested throughout the scientific discovery process is taken as proof that scientific discovery itself is no less frail.  However, discounting scientific discovery on such grounds …

“yom” - the Hebrew Word for “day”

Sunday, July 22nd, 2007

In my post, Genesis 1:5b - What is a Day?, I explain how a day in Genesis 1 is defined by when Jesus (at Creation) intentionally experienced evenings and mornings.  However, I have received numerous responses of the following form: that “yom”, the word for day, always means 24-hour days, because its use in other scriptures are always meant to be treated as 24-hour days.  Therefore, the argument goes, creation days, which use the same word “yom”, must by necessity be 24-hour days.  In conclusion, I am twisting scripture to mean something it does not.  Naturally, I disagree.

Following are the scriptures people primarily use to argue for a meaning of 24-hours …

Natural Selection as Evidence of Divine Will

Saturday, May 26th, 2007

1 Chronicles 14:15-16 says:
15 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16 And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.  
When I read this, I notice something interesting.  God went before David to defeat the philistines.  Then, David’s armies go and defeats the philistines.  These appear to be separate actions, yet the same action.  They are separate because God has taken a action distinct from the army to defeat the philistines… but it is the same because it’s the same …