Reconciling Genesis with God’s World

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Alyosha1984

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I believe the Bible is God’s Word.

I also believe that God created the world and granted us reason to understand it. I believe the world itself is another glorious and beautiful thing God has given us, along with the Bible.

I struggle to reconcile Genesis 1 with the world which God gave us. The Big Bang happened and there’s no explanation other than God started it. But Big Bang cosmology seems very different from the Genesis 1 account. How can we reconcile these two divine gifts- the Bible and the world?

I’d love to hear People’s views, as I am stumped on this one.
 
St. Augustine explains an acceptable interpretation in Book 6 of his “Literal Meaning of Genesis.”

He explains that the six days represent not literal days, but a scheme or plan of creation. The actual creation during those “days” was instantaneous and of things in potency and causation, but not necessarily their final visible form which would be shaped later over time. For example, he places the actual formation of man’s body after the seventh day (which explains why there is two creation accounts of man in Genesis):

St. Augustine
There can be no doubt, then, that the work whereby man was formed from the slime of the earth and a wife fashioned for him from his side belongs not to that creation by which all thing were made together, after completing which, God rested, but to that work of God which takes place with the unfolding of the ages as He works even now.
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This interpretation works well with concepts like an old universe, the big bang, and evolution–ie God created all things at once in potency (the big bang) and then formed them over time (old universe, evolution). St. Augustine compares this formation of things to how mountains and rivers are shaped over time.

Even with man, Genesis doesn’t say how long it took God to form man from the slime of the earth after the seventh day–but His rational soul was immediately infused when God breathed into the body, as it is immediately infused in each of us.
 
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Genesis315 said:
He explains that the six days represent not literal days, but a scheme or plan of creation.
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And considering that St Augustine wrote many centuries before there was even a Big Bang theory, he was very wise and insightful.
 
These are assumptions, not facts.

Concerning cosmological evolution, the Church has infallibly defined that the universe was specially created out of nothing. Vatican I solemnly defined that everyone must “confess the world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance, have been produced by God from nothing” ( Canons on God the Creator of All Things , canon 5).

Much less has been defined as to when the universe, life, and man appeared. The Church has infallibly determined that the universe is of finite age—that it has not existed from all eternity—but it has not infallibly defined whether the world was created only a few thousand years ago or whether it was created several billion years ago.

Source - Catholic Answers
 
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No joke. Back then there was no impetus to question the literal account.
 
Alyosha1984 said:
I believe the Bible is God’s Word.

I also believe that God created the world and granted us reason to understand it. I believe the world itself is another glorious and beautiful thing God has given us, along with the Bible.

I struggle to reconcile Genesis 1 with the world which God gave us. The Big Bang happened and there’s no explanation other than God started it. But Big Bang cosmology seems very different from the Genesis 1 account. How can we reconcile these two divine gifts- the Bible and the world?

I’d love to hear People’s views, as I am stumped on this one.
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Welcome, @Alyosha1984, to Catholic Answers Forum (CAF) and to the Catholic Church! Many of us enjoy discussing different aspects of religion and everyday life, but your best answers are to come from your priest, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), documents from the Vatican (wew.vatican.va) or the website of the bishops of your country.

We can explain what we think, how we see a topic, and how we feel about it, but only by citing the references I’ve mentioned, plus approved books, can you know that the information you are receiving is truly Catholic.
 
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gama232 said:
These are assumptions, not facts.

Concerning cosmological evolution, the Church has infallibly defined that the universe was specially created out of nothing. Vatican I solemnly defined that everyone must “confess the world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance, have been produced by God from nothing” ( Canons on God the Creator of All Things , canon 5).

Much less has been defined as to when the universe, life, and man appeared. The Church has infallibly determined that the universe is of finite age—that it has not existed from all eternity—but it has not infallibly defined whether the world was created only a few thousand years ago or whether it was created several billion years ago.

Source - Catholic Answers
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And your personal view would be…?
 
Alyosha1984 said:
I believe the Bible is God’s Word.

I also believe that God created the world and granted us reason to understand it. I believe the world itself is another glorious and beautiful thing God has given us, along with the Bible.

I struggle to reconcile Genesis 1 with the world which God gave us. The Big Bang happened and there’s no explanation other than God started it. But Big Bang cosmology seems very different from the Genesis 1 account. How can we reconcile these two divine gifts- the Bible and the world?

I’d love to hear People’s views, as I am stumped on this one.
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There’s nothing to Reconcile.

Stick with God… and not the ever-changing oft-disagreeable opinions of Man

No one can undermine Sacred Scriptures - not even Satan

)
 
I prefer to believe what was written by the people at Catholic Answers which is consistent with what the Church actually teaches.
 
EndTimes said:
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Freddy:
So 6,000 years old. Thanks for that.
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Untrue …

And you’ve heard all the discussion on that.

Church doesn’t teach that…

Anything Else? 🙃
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Yeah. Take it up with Ed.
 
EndTimes said:
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Freddy:
Yeah. Take it up with Ed.
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I’d much rather show all how you’re wrong when you are. .
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If that’s in reference to my statement that Ed thinks the planet is 6,000 years old then we can easily prove if I’m wrong one way orthe other. We can simply ask him.

OK @gama232, how old is the planet?

Let’s call back later to see if he’s responded. If he doesn’t think it’s only a few thousand years old then I will apologise to him and to you.
 
Freddy said:
If that’s in reference to my statement that Ed thinks the planet is 6,000 years old then we can easily prove if I’m wrong one way orthe other. We can simply ask him.
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Thing is, Freddy, he’s free to believe that if he wants to.
Thing is, It don’t matter
Whereas Most folks on this planet believe in a Creator who Created Creation,
very very few - deem “day” in Genesis to equate to 24 hours.

Genesis stands strong as a Rock

And the Naysayes are wasting their collective breaths attempting to disprove what’s impossible to.

AnyThing else?

_
 
EndTimes said:
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Freddy:
If that’s in reference to my statement that Ed thinks the planet is 6,000 years old then we can easily prove if I’m wrong one way orthe other. We can simply ask him.
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Thing is, Freddy, he’s free to believe that if he wants to.
Thing is, It don’t matter
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I totally agree with your first comment. I really believe that anyone can believe whatever they want - as long as it doesn’t negatively impact others. I have no problem with it.

But as regards whether it matters or not, it does if you are involved in discussions that involve evolution for example. It’s a complete waste of time arguing some esoteric point regarding genetic functions for example if the other person thinks there’s only been a few thousand years for the process to work. We’d both be wasting our time. So in that regard it’s a need-to-know position.

But just try to get Ed to give you an age. It’s an exercise in futility.
 
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You actually believe this?

So these (fellows) are smarter than Einstein? Fr. Georges Lemaitre advanced Edwin Hubbell’s preliminary work, presented his work to Albert Einstein and was able to convince him that the universe was expanding. Einstein had thought that the universe was static. Fairly clearly, expanding from a single point - creation ex nihilo. Not proof of, but consistent with.

You have the freedom to go by bible alone - just be sure that you don’t buy bull.
 
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