Days of Genesis

[DictatorCzar]

So there was this atheist I talked to. He said that the days of genesis make no sense. Genesis says the earth came before the stars. He said how could there be light if there were no stars before? He said the orders are all messed up. So what is the order supposed to mean?

 

[humbleseeker]

That the Bible isn’t a science textbook. It teaches one how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.

 

[otjm]

People who can make sense of poetic descriptions of reality can understand that poetry is not designed to provide a scientific explanation of that reality.

 

[DictatorCzar]

Yeah, it’s just atheists keep making have random moments of doubt.

 

[Stephen_says]

Welll…
https://medium.com/starts-with-a-ba...-the-first-light-in-the-universe-8a985cb5f02b

When we look out at the Universe today, highlighted against the vast, empty blackness of the sky are points of light: stars, galaxies, nebulae and more. Yet there was a time in the distant past before any of those things had formed, just after the Big Bang, where the Universe was still filled with light.

 

[otjm]

Atheists have no answer to how anything as extremely complex as the world and the universe just happens to have the most sophisticated laws - and no law giver.

I hated biology - I am simply not good at what seemed to be rote memorization. The complexity of a living being - whether it is a human or an animal, is so complex. And that just “randomly” happened.

There is usually one, if not several issues at play with atheists; some may know what those issues are, others either don’t care, or don’t know how to get at what it is that blocks them from seeing that order and chaos are tow entirely different matters, and the order of the universe - the laws which we discover are at play - by their nature point to a law giver.
Sure it did. But no one has ever set that multitude of monkeys loose with a sufficient number of typewriters - or anything more sophisticated - to type up anything intelligible on their own, so that old urban myth is still waiting proof of any sort.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

That the Bible isn’t a science textbook. It teaches one how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.

What percentage of a passage can be false and still be considered true on the whole?

 

[humbleseeker]

A passage can be 100% scientifically inaccurate and still contain spiritual or religious truth about God and our relationship with him. Which is what the Bible is meant to impart. Even when passages in the Bible can be scientifically verified, that isn’t the point we should be concerned with.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Since so much of what God is about is belief in him, why would God allow so much tht is demonstrably false at the very beginning of his holy book, which would certainly increase the likelihood of disbelief?

 

[BartholomewB]

at the very beginning of his holy book

The first book is the oldest book. It was written thousands of years ago. The Exodus is dated to around 1400 BC — i.e. 3,400 years ago — and Genesis was already an old book at the time.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Mike_from_NJ:

at the very beginning of his holy book

The first book is the oldest book. It was written thousands of years ago. The Exodus is dated to around 1400 BC — i.e. 3,400 years ago — and Genesis was already an old book at the time.

I know. I’m talking about Genesis.

 

[Mishakel]

There are certainly scientists who are also Christians but if anyone wants to look solely through the lens of science to understand the bible is going to be disappointed. Can science explain the parting of the red sea, or Elijah taken up in a chariot of fire, or Jesus resurrecting 3 days after being dead? It’s two competing beliefs. It requires faith to believe in God. It takes faith to believe in the miracles that God presents to us in scripture.

I don’t need an explanation from science to believe God literally created the world in 6 literal days. All things are possible with the God I worship.

If one wants to believe in the big bang it’s certainly their right to do so but it’s so absurd scientifically it will go down in history as big or bigger of a blunder as the idea the world was flat. Using the observable laws of science we know matter can not create itself, let alone give itself energy to explode, nor has the power to create a time in which to put itself, nor has the power to create the space in which in can exist.

 

[gama232]

Catholics should be concerned about truth. God created everything from nothing. He brought matter into existence. He can provide light without stars. And Genesis clearly uses the words 'the evening and the morning was the third day." People are programmed to ignore sound Bible interpretation so that they are not seen as being ignorant of scientific findings. In this case, day appears to be a standard 24 hour day. It may not be because God is creating. He also creates time.

 

[humbleseeker]

Because the Bible tells us who created the universe and his purpose for doing so. That’s the important message it’s trying to convey. The how, when(other than the beginning)and by what means would have been a little advanced to explain to illiterate, nomadic herdsmen and farmers.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Because the Bible tells us who created the universe and his purpose for doing so. That’s the important message it’s trying to convey.

If that were the case God could easily have explained that he created the universe and his purpose for doing so without adding untruths about what was created when. By adding this false information believers now either have to come up with reasons why the actual order, the order in Genesis 1, and the order in Genesis 2 all differ – or they have to tell people just ignore the bad parts. Again, there was no need to add two different made-up orders to relay what you say is the important part of the passages.

The how, when(other than the beginning)and by what means would have been a little advanced to explain to illiterate, nomadic herdsmen and farmers.

I strongly disagree. Even if it used the same words as in the Bible, but just put them in the right order it would be far more convincing later on as man’s knowledge increases. We wouldn’t have to have believers pleading to have non-believers pretend these unnecessary and unneeded errors aren’t staring us in the face.

 

[humbleseeker]

Cool beans. Guess we just can’t see it the same way. I’m off to live stream the celebration of the Passion of the Lord.

 

[Gorgias]

He said that the days of genesis make no sense. Genesis says the earth came before the stars. He said how could there be light if there were no stars before? He said the orders are all messed up. So what is the order supposed to mean?

Not. Literal. Narrative. Even St Augustine, 1600 years ago, realized this!

 

[JGD]

Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

God doesn’t tell us how long the period of darkness prevailed in terms of our present hours/days/yrs before He said "Let there be light. Neither does He tell us how long this period of light prevailed before He separated the light from the darkness. The sun, which is the basis for a 24 hour “day”, had not yet been made - and wouldn’t be until the 4th day. So we really don’t know how brief or lengthy this first “day” was - just that it consisted of a period of time called “evening” (darkness/Night ??) followed by a period time called “morning” (light/Day ??). So, on the basis of Scripture, the “first day” lasts for an unrevealed length of time.

I find it interesting that both Night and Day are capitalized in verse 5a, but in 5b for the period consisting of evening and morning, it’s not capitalized.

 

[DictatorCzar]

Do you have his quote?

 

[Vico]

So there was this atheist I talked to. He said that the days of genesis make no sense. Genesis says the earth came before the stars. He said how could there be light if there were no stars before? He said the orders are all messed up. So what is the order supposed to mean?

If the earth is covered with a mist then the sky with stars, Sun, Moon may not be visible.

First day – heavens and earth were created in darkness, and then light.
Second day – sky.
Third day – dry land and seas, and vegetation.
Fourth day – lights to govern the day and night, stars visible in the sky.
Fifth day – water and air creatures.