Sonofason, I take it from your quoting of the creation act in Genesis that you believe in the literal truth of this very old story, perhaps as old as the Bronze Age itself?
I suggest it is a matter of perception. Bronze Age human beings were actually smarter than we are, yet for some reason I detect a tone of sarcasm in your statement, as if you think that you are somehow superior to Bronze Age human beings. I assure you that is not the case. We are not superior to Bronze Age people. Yes they existed quite a long time ago, but they were smarter and wiser than us. Their brain capacity was larger than ours. Our brains are now shrinking. We're getting dumber. They were smarter.
You know, this is what started me on the path to atheism. I was ten years old and it occurred to me that there was a problem with the story of God bringing all the animals to Adam to be named. I imagined God setting a T-Rex before Adam and Adam yelling, "Get that thing away from me!"
It seems to me you've let your imagination get the best of you. I have no idea why you would perceive from the Biblical texts that Bronze Age people coexisted with dinosaurs. But I do understand how trusting in one's imagination could lead someone to such an illogical conclusion.
And I wondered why the Bible would have so many references to the lion and none to the T-Rex, which clearly could have eaten a lion for breakfast (yes, I was big into dinosaurs). Believing, as I did, that God brought forth all the living creatures in a single week, then surely there should be conspicuous mention, in the Bible, of the largest creatures that ever lived upon the Earth. This has never been a problem for you?
Sure, I read it too. The Bible says that God created everything in seven days. In this day and age I think it is quite natural to jump to the conclusion that seven days means seven 24 hour days. But when you are reading text that is over 2,000 years old, it is very unwise to assume that you actually understand at first glance what is being said. When we read ancient text, I think it is of fundamental importance to employ critical thinking and reasoning. We ought not assume that we understand anything. Words change. The meanings of words change. The usages of words change over time. Only a few decades ago it would be perfectly acceptable to burn a fagot in the fireplace to keep you warm at night. If you did that today you would be incarcerated for the crime of first degree murder. Now just consider the changes in words and the meanings of words that have occurred over the centuries and millenniums since the Bible was written.
Let me define three words for you.
day - A period of time in history; an era (
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/day)
morning - a period of first development : Beginning (
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morning)
- the first or early period of anything; beginning: (
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/morning)
evening - the latter portion (
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evening)
- the latter or concluding period: the evening of one's life. (
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/evening)
twilight - of or relating to the final phase of a particular era (
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/twilight)
I included the word twilight because it is synonymous to the word evening. Several years ago, I had looked up the word day and also found the definition "a time of light". I no longer see that.
Parts of the Bible were written in "Biblical Hebrew", and other parts written in Aramaic. There are translation issues. There are lexicographical issues. There are cultural issues. There is no way anyone is capable of understanding the Bible as it was written. But we surely can gain insight into it's author's intentions.
Now, I'm not suggesting that God is not capable of creating the entire universe in just 7 days. I'm guessing He could do it in one day. And I'm not suggesting that the definitions I have given here for the words day, morning, and evening accurately depict the intentions of the author that wrote those words either. But I submit them to you that you might recognize that our perceptions of what the author intended when he wrote what he wrote could easily be perceived inaccurately by each and every one of us.
