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According to the bible, how old is the earth? i heard somewhere around 10,000 years old.
Any of you guys know? This is a 2 part question. I think most of you already know where this is going.
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Depends on how you interpret the bible.
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Originally Posted by Dice Depends on how you interpret the bible. Exactly.
Some monk in the Middle Ages calculated it based on the genealogies in Genesis to like 6,000 years old at his time so like approximately 6,700 now.
I personally believe the Genesis account is more of a literary device/metaphor and not meant to be taken as a "scientific" (which is impossible seeing as science as we know it wouldn't develop until the mid 1800s CE) description of how it happened, rather a theological explanation for why it happened and what the significance is.
Given this, the actual age of the earth really isn't important. God created the universe and everything in it at some point, either a VERY long time ago or with the appearance of age, and (according to my view of Genesis) wants us to focus more on the theological rather than scientific implications of the Genesis account.
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Originally Posted by crazychu According to the bible, how old is the earth? i heard somewhere around 10,000 years old.
Any of you guys know? This is a 2 part question. I think most of you already know where this is going. ... no, I don't know where it's going.
The world is at least six or seven thousand years old. I'm not sure the precise age matters.
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What are you talking about? Of course the presise age matters! without That, we have no context for man kind! How do we know when what happened if we cant' e sure of our dating methods? Presise age matters!
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Does it really matter if our dating methods are precise?
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The Bible cannot contradict scientific discovery, and science has shown that the earth is billions of years old. The Bible is not something that should be used to discern exact dates and time periods, it isn't always accurate in such matters, that's not its purpose. The book of Genesis deals with prehistory, we don't know the exact time period that those things took place.
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Originally Posted by Reedolo The Bible cannot contradict scientific discovery, and science has shown that the earth is billions of years old. The Bible is not something that should be used to discern exact dates and time periods, it isn't always accurate in such matters, that's not its purpose. The book of Genesis deals with prehistory, we don't know the exact time period that those things took place.
I hate to pick on you, Reed, but when I read that I was like, "whoa! what?"
'The Bible cannot contradict scientific discovery'?
God is the writer of the Bible and he made science, he knows what he's talking about. God is the only one who was there in the beginning so it doesn't matter what it looks like scientific discovery has found- we have to follow what God says, not man.
Only very recent science has 'shown' that the earth is billions of years old, and what else has modern science shown? That we come from monkeys, that the earth created itself, that God doesn't have to exist, that everything has evolved over billions of years. And you look at some of the 'proof' some of these modern scientists come up with for their theories and can't help but guffaw. We need to line science up with the Bible and not vise-versa.
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Originally Posted by cngp90 I hate to pick on you, Reed, but when I read that I was like, "whoa! what?"
'The Bible cannot contradict scientific discovery'?
God is the writer of the Bible and he made science, he knows what he's talking about. God is the only one who was there in the beginning so it doesn't matter what it looks like scientific discovery has found- we have to follow what God says, not man.
IF the Bible contradicted the Creation, then the Bible would not be true. Would it? In order for the Bible to be the word of God, it must be in harmony with God's creation and scientific laws.
Only very recent science has 'shown' that the earth is billions of years old, and what else has modern science shown? That we come from monkeys, that the earth created itself
Um, modern science has NOT shown or asserted that the earth created itself.
that God doesn't have to exist
God's existence cannot be proven scientifically, although in my opinion it is the theory that makes the most sense. Note that the theory of evolution and the theory of there being one Supreme Creator are not mutally exclusive at all. Evolution does not exclude Creation.
that everything has evolved over billions of years
I see no reason to believe that life hasn't evolved over billions of years.
And you look at some of the 'proof' some of these modern scientists come up with for their theories and can't help but guffaw. We need to line science up with the Bible and not vise-versa.
The authenticity of the Bible should be what is in question, not science. Science is nothing more than the study of God's Creation and how it works. The more we understand God's Creation the more we understand the Creator. If the Bible contradicts something that has been scientifically proven, then I'm sorry, but I would have to say that the Bible would be wrong.
Luckily for me, I have never seen an instance where the Bible contradicts science. So I do not believe that the Bible is wrong. Also, I think it's necessary to understand the Bible as not being 100% literal all the time, but rather it is inspired to convey the message of salvation to us. The approximate age of the earth has absolutley nothing to do with our salvation or the message of Christ.
There are some radical Christians even today who actually believe that the Earth is FLAT, and that comes from your line of thinking and interpreting biblical passages literalistically.
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How does the scientific "discovery" of us evolving NOT contradict with the bible?
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Originally Posted by Adam K How does the scientific "discovery" of us evolving NOT contradict with the bible? Perhaps you should start by saying how you think it does contradict the bible, and we can go from there.
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Originally Posted by Dr. Worm Perhaps you should start by saying how you think it does contradict the bible, and we can go from there.
The account of creation in Genesis. God created man.
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Originally Posted by Adam K How does the scientific "discovery" of us evolving NOT contradict with the bible?
Because the creation story in Genesis is not meant to be interpreted literalistically. If it were, then I would have to conclude that the first 2 chapters of Genesis contradict one another in the order of creation (in chapter 1 animals and plants were created before humans, but in chapter 2 they were created after humans), and I would also point out that the sky is not a solid dome which separates water above it from water below it (Gen. 1:6-8), and there is no water above the sky at all, it's just empty space.
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Originally Posted by Adam K The account of creation in Genesis. God created man. How does that contradict anything taught by evolution? Evolution does not say that God didn't create man.
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Originally Posted by Adam K The account of creation in Genesis. God created man.
The account of creation in Genesis: God created animals then man
The account of creation in Genesis: God created man then animals