Christians: How could Earth only be 6000 years old?

[outhouse]

The Bible doesn't give the age for the earth. So that estimate or others based on scientific research may be correct. The Bible simply says that "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) No where does it say or imply the earth is only 6,000 years old.

the bible implys quite clearly 6000 years due to the age's it gives its lineage from adam and eve down.

all the right wing camp claims this as well

 

[sniper762]

The Bible doesn't give the age for the earth. So that estimate or others based on scientific research may be correct. The Bible simply says that "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) No where does it say or imply the earth is only 6,000 years old.

the genealogies can be traced back to adam and by studying historical data, one will arive at the app. date of adam's creation (circa 4000 bc)

 

[gnostic]

According to Hebrew calendar, the traditional date for the creation of Adam is 5771 AM (anno mundi) in September (this year Jewish New Year), which put it to 3760 BC. Which would put the Flood in 2104 BC (or 1656 AM).

The Wikipedia, seemed to favor 3996 BC, because their preferred date to Flood occur in 2340 BC (2340 + 1656 = 3996).

 

[rusra02]

the bible implys quite clearly 6000 years due to the age's it gives its lineage from adam and eve down.

all the right wing camp claims this as well

It doesn't matter what is claimed by this group or that. That is proof of nothing.

You are correct that Bible chronology seems to place Adam's creation about 6,000 ago. However, this has nothing to do with the age of the earth itself. When Adam was created, the Earth was already here. The date for Adam's creation and the time of the Earth's creation have no relationship to one another, save for the fact that the Earth had to be here before Adam.

 

[rusra02]

the genealogies can be traced back to adam and by studying historical data, one will arive at the app. date of adam's creation (circa 4000 bc)

That is true. But you can't trace back the Earth's beginning that way. The two events are not related, other than the Earth was obviously here before Adam.

 

[PolyHedral]

It doesn't matter what is claimed by this group or that. That is proof of nothing.

You are correct that Bible chronology seems to place Adam's creation about 6,000 ago. However, this has nothing to do with the age of the earth itself. When Adam was created, the Earth was already here. The date for Adam's creation and the time of the Earth's creation have no relationship to one another, save for the fact that the Earth had to be here before Adam.

So how long is a "day?" Because Genesis quite clearly says there are only a few "days" between the Earth being created and Adam.

 

[Pegg]

So how long is a "day?" Because Genesis quite clearly says there are only a few "days" between the Earth being created and Adam.

a day can be a thousand years, 7 thousand years or even 7 days

the hebrew word Yom (day) can be any length of time.

 

[gnostic]

a day can be a thousand years, 7 thousand years or even 7 days

That's a Christian concept.

Does it mean that Adam lived for a thousand years before he ate the fruit?

If that's so, then the age give to Adam, 930 years would be wrong. He should be 1930 years old. Which would also make the Genesis wrong.



1) If you accept Peter's statement about 1 day = 1000 years, then there should be no animals, INCLUDING HUMANS, prior to 7000 years ago (5000 BCE), the Genesis' so-called 6th day. This mean there should be no primitive mammals or dinosaurs too.

Fossils showed that modern human (Homo sapiens sapiens) have been around since the end of the Ice Ages, the Neolithic period (8,000-3200 BCE), 10,000 years ago. Very early settlements in Jericho and Damascus have been around 11,000 years ago (9000 BCE). Walls around Jericho date back 6800 BCE (8800 years ago) make a complete mockery of your believe in 1 day = 1000 years scenario.

3) Birds and fishes should not exist prior to 8000 years ago (6000 BCE), if you seriously believe in verse in Peter's epistle, with regards to Genesis 5th day.


3) Again. No sun, moon or stars (4th day) should not exist prior to 8000 BCE (10,000 years ago).

4) On the 3rd day, there should be no land anyway, prior to 11,000 years ago or 9000 BCE.

5) On the 2nd day, prior to 12,000 years ago 10,000, there should be no atmosphere, which King James' referred to firmament, the dome of the sky. Hence no air if there is atmosphere.

The point is in all this, it is wrong, archaeologically, geologically, astronomically. Your version of creationism is no better than the literal creationism.

 

[gnostic]

the hebrew word Yom (day) can be any length of time.

Rubbish.

You are forgetting that it mention a day and a night, or an evening or morning, to make up one single, whole day.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

This "And there was evening, and there was morning-" i-number of day is repeated again, and again, for 2nd to the 6th day in Genesis 1.

An evening and a morning don't add up to 1000 years, no how matter you look at it.

I think and believe that Peter only wrote this figuratively or metaphorically, not literally.

 

[rusra02]

So how long is a "day?" Because Genesis quite clearly says there are only a few "days" between the Earth being created and Adam.

No, it doesn't say that. The creative periods called days in Genesis are separate and distinct from the creation of earth and heaven, which happened "In the beginning." After the Earth and heavens were created, undoubtedly long after if scientific estimates for earth's age are accurate, God began to prepare the earth for human habitation. The Genesis account states that when the first creative day began, the earth already existed and was apparently covered by water. (Genesis 1:2,3)

 

[james2ko]

So how long is a "day?"

The word "day" in the Bible is sometimes used to represent an indefinite period of time. In fact the Hebrew word, Yom, translated day is occasionally translated "time". But in just about every case where the numerals first, second, third, etc. occur, the word day clearly refers to a natural 24 hr day as we know it.

Because Genesis quite clearly says there are only a few "days" between the Earth being created and Adam.

Biblical evidence tells us God originally created a perfect universe in Gen 1:1. But in verse 2, we find the earth "became" desolate and ruined. This implies an indefinite period of time could have elapsed between verse 1 and 2 which agrees with the geologic evidence. Verse 3 and beyond describes six 24 hr periods where a renovation of a pre-existing earth, along with a few new creations including mankind in God's image, takes place.

 

[PolyHedral]

No, it doesn't say that. The creative periods called days in Genesis are separate and distinct from the creation of earth and heaven, which happened "In the beginning." After the Earth and heavens were created, undoubtedly long after if scientific estimates for earth's age are accurate, God began to prepare the earth for human habitation. The Genesis account states that when the first creative day began, the earth already existed and was apparently covered by water. (Genesis 1:2,3)

Yes, but on the first day, God creates light. Light predates the Earth by at least 10 billion years, if not more. (Arguably, light has been here since the start of the universe, 14 billion years ago.) You can't match up Genesis to reality because you can't find a single value for "day", (ignoring the fact that it's indicated to mean a literal day) that works in all cases.

 

[atanu]

So how long is a "day?" Because Genesis quite clearly says there are only a few "days" between the Earth being created and Adam.

Some scriptures in Hinduism have an elaborate scheme of calculating time durations of days-nights at different consciousness levels.

Hindu units of measurement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The measurement is related to breath cycles rather than the external oscillations. For example, your and mine breath cycle may have different durations, if measured by a third person but for each subject the breath cycle is what determines his/her time duration concept. Day of creator is 4.32 billion years of our time.

ONE COSMIC DAY OF CREATOR BRAHMA

 

[Pegg]

That's a Christian concept.

no its not. Its the hebrew word Yom that can mean any length of time...it can mean a 24hour day or it can mean 1000 years. look up the meaning of the word in a hebrew dictionary and you'll see what i am saying is true. Its like saying 'age' or 'era' or 'time'

Asking how long a Yom is, is like asking how long is a piece of string.

1) If you accept Peter's statement about 1 day = 1000 years, then there should be no animals, INCLUDING HUMANS, prior to 7000 years ago (5000 BCE), the Genesis' so-called 6th day. This mean there should be no primitive mammals or dinosaurs too.

the physical evidence would indicate that the 'days' are millions of years in length. I am not of the opinion that the 6 days are 24 hours or even 1000 years. Our opinion is that the days were eras or ages of time as the evidence suggests. That has been the JW view for over 100 years.

 

[rusra02]

Yes, but on the first day, God creates light. Light predates the Earth by at least 10 billion years, if not more. (Arguably, light has been here since the start of the universe, 14 billion years ago.) You can't match up Genesis to reality because you can't find a single value for "day", (ignoring the fact that it's indicated to mean a literal day) that works in all cases.

No, the Bible does not say that. What it said is "And God proceeded to say "Let light come to be. Then there came to be light..and God brought a division between the light and the darkness." (Genesis 1:3.4) The division between light and dark occurred on earth. The sun always shines but the earth did not receive the sunlight until the first day. On that day, light reached the surface of the earth, and day and night could be discerned. Before that, there was only darkness on earth. (Genesis 1:2)

 

[sniper762]

plus a "'day" could not mean very long because AFTER god made man on the sixth day, he rested (note past tense) on the 7th day. so a day can be no more than app. 3500 years (time since adam and moses writing of genesis)

 

[Pegg]

plus a "'day" could not mean very long because AFTER god made man on the sixth day, he rested (note past tense) on the 7th day. so a day can be no more than app. 3500 years (time since adam and moses writing of genesis)

Gods rest day was still in progress 2,000 years ago when Paul told christians to enter into Gods rest day:

Heb 4:10-11 For the man that has entered into [God’s] rest has also himself rested from his own works, just as God did from his own.
11 Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest

Adam was created in the year 4026 BC and his rest day began after the creation of Eve. So his rest day began at least over 6,000 years ago. The bible does not give Eves age when she gave birth so we cant pinpoint the year she was created as we can with Adam.

 

[gnostic]

no its not. Its the hebrew word Yom that can mean any length of time...it can mean a 24hour day or it can mean 1000 years. look up the meaning of the word in a hebrew dictionary and you'll see what i am saying is true. Its like saying 'age' or 'era' or 'time'

Asking how long a Yom is, is like asking how long is a piece of string.

the physical evidence would indicate that the 'days' are millions of years in length. I am not of the opinion that the 6 days are 24 hours or even 1000 years. Our opinion is that the days were eras or ages of time as the evidence suggests. That has been the JW view for over 100 years.

But the context is clear in Genesis. One evening and one morning, or "day and night", as given in those verses, clearly represent a DAY, for 6 consecutive days, not 6 consecutive millennia.

God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

The same "And there was evening, and there was morning" pattern reappear in Genesis 1:8 (2nd day), 1:13 (3rd day), 1:19 (4th day), 1:23 (5th day) and 1:31 (6th day). The context here is a literal day, because of the referral to evening and morning, not 1000 years or 365250.

But what Peter said, in 2 Peter 3:8, actually take it (Genesis), out of context.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Again, I think what Peter written is just a metaphor, and only make sense in his epistles, but look out of place in Genesis 1.

Plain and simple. The Genesis doesn't read 365250 days (or a 1000 years).

Your version should read something like this:

God called the light “365250 days,” and the darkness he called “365250 nights.” And there was 365250 evenings, and there was 365250 mornings—the first 365250 day.

If it did, then I would agree with you.

Otherwise, the Genesis should have been written to say something like a "millennium". There are Hebrew word for a thousand years, after all.

But all you are doing twisting words. It's like you're calling an image of lion, as a chicken, instead of a lion. It is not like you calling to-mar-toe and me calling a to-may-toe.

 

[james2ko]

Gods rest day was still in progress 2,000 years ago when Paul told christians to enter into Gods rest day:

Heb 4:10-11 For the man that has entered into [God’s] rest has also himself rested [as opposed to is resting] from his own works, just as Goddid[as opposed to is] from his own.11 Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest

If God''s rest day was still in progress at the time Paul authored this statement, why did the he write it in the past tense instead of the present?

 

[Where Is God]

Did he really just say that the Sun existed with Earth but didn't shine light on it?

I won't even argue with that.