with True Science?Some of you may have noticed that on my side bar I have been posting Bible Stories. I hope you will enjoy them. My goal is to comment on a new story once a week (Thursday) The purpose is that we will be encouraged and build our faith by means of God's Word. Please take a few moments of your time and read the additional scriptures from your own copy of the Bible. I know you will appreciate these precious words from our Heavenly Father.
What about the creative days? Some think they were 24 hour days, others point to the fact that it is unscientific to think the earth was created in just one week , so they view the creation account as a myth. What do you think? Here is some food for thought:
When reading the Genesis account, it is good to remember that it describes events as they would have been seen by humans had they been present. How long is a Genesis "Day"? Notice that at Genesis 2:4 all the creative periods (or days) are called one "day": "This is a history of the heavens and earth in the time of their being created, in the day [all six creative periods] that Jehovah God made heaven and earth."
The Hebrew word "
yohm", translated "day", can mean different lengths of time. One of these meanings brought out in William Wilson's
Old Testament Word Studies is : "...Day is also put for a particular season or time when any extraordinary event happens." The creative days were certainly periods of time when extraordinary events were described as happening. It also allows for periods much longer than 24 hours.
But what about the expressions "evening" and "morning" in relation to the creative periods. Doesn't this mean they were only 24 hours? Not necessarily. In some places people often refer to a man's lifetime as his "day". They may say "my father's day" or "in Shakespeare's day". Also, it is not uncommon to divide up that lifetime saying, "in the morning [or dawn} of his life" or "in the evening {or twilight} of his life." So 'evening and morning' in Genesis chapter 1 is not limited to merely meaning a literal 24 hours. "The day of harvest" involves many days. So, it is reasonable to conclude that the "days" of Genesis could also mean long periods of time -even millenniums. A thinking person would then ask, "Is the Bible's account of the creative days scientific?
Wallace Pratt, a well-know geologist said, "If I as a geologist were called upon to explain briefly our modern ideas of the origin of the earth and the development of life on it to a simple, pastoral people, such as the tribes to whom the book of Genesis was addressed, I could hardly do better than follow rather closely much of the language of the first chapter of Genesis." This geologist also noted that the order of events- from the origin of the oceans, to the emergence of land, to the appearance of marine life, and then to birds and mammals - is essentially the sequence of the principal divisions of geologic time.
So, if you ever talk to someone who tries to undermine God's word by saying it is unscientific, you will have a fine response and may even get the person to really think.
