BIshop Ussher Goofed

Just Genesis ^ | April 15, 2007 | Alice C. Linsley

[Jandy on Genesis]

Young Earth Creationists use Archbishop James Ussher’s chronology to date the age of the earth. They believe that the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 are chronological, enabling them to arrive at an approximate date of creation of the whole universe. They calculate the earth's age at 6000 years on the basis of ages assigned to these rulers. Ussher failed to recognize that the so-called "genealogies" are King Lists. These are not the first humans on earth, but rulers of the Afro-Asiatic Dominion.

The Genesis 4 and 5 lists represent a time of kingdoms, laws, warriors, weapons, settlements, shrine cities and numerous technologies associated with the Neolithic Period. This places these earliest rulers of Genesis between 10,200 and 3000 B.C., millions of years after the appearance of archaic humans.

Ussher's scheme is not accurate because these lists are not generational, but regnal, and the reigns of some kings coincided. Tubal-Cain (Gen. 4) and Methuselah (Gen. 5) ruled at the same time. Tubal-Cain's sister married Methuselah. (See diagram below.)

Each of Ussher's errors reflects ignorance of the marriage and ascendancy structure of Abraham's ancestors as that is revealed in Genesis 4, 5 and 11. This same pattern characterizes Moses' family and Samuel's family. It is the distinctive pattern of the ancient Habiru (Hebrew), a caste of ruler-priests.

Let us examine the problems with Ussher's scheme error by error.

[Oztrich Boy]

Incoming!

[spetznaz]

While what you write is true, and Usher's calculations (whether it be the age of the world or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin) are totally incorrect, you shall almost certainly get hammered by those who refuse to accept the Earth is not 6,000 years old. When people believe something until it becomes an integrated part of their personal make-up, they will defend it to the end. In many times in a veritably acerbic manner. I hope you are prepared. :)

[imardmd1]

Well, how is the Hebrew calendar calculated, hmm?

[ExGeeEye]

popcorn ping

[alexander_busek]

So, if Ussher erred, because he confused generational and regnal periods, what is the true age of the Earth, according to the Bible?

Regards,

[humblegunner]

What seems to have caused you to excerpt your own blog?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

And yet, when asked, Issac Newton said he could find no fault in Usser’s calculations.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Jandy on Genesis. Source is "Just Genesis" author Alice C. Linsley, from 2007. And, we're off! To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[LiteKeeper]

A lot of “certainty” in the assertions. Sources? Documentation? Where do these ideas come from?

[bert]

The fundamental assumption that the Bible and Genesis in particular records earth history in precise numerical sequence is fallacious.

You will always get a number but it will always be wrong

[gleeaikin]

Ussher erred by giving a precise date, month, day, and year to the creation of man. Precise dates appeal to the needs of primitive and uneducated people. There is absolutely no way that one could get a precise date even using the methods he used of the generations given in the Bible. So maybe by those measures creation was somewhere around 6,000 years ago, but I like the more interesting arguments given in the article.

[colorado tanker]

If one is a literalist, Ussher must be rejected because Genesis doesn't say how old the Earth is, Ussher is making an inference. For that reason William Jennings Bryan was not a young Earth creationist. He didn't think the Bible stated the age of the Earth and he didn't consider it important to his faith.

That said, in my opinion if the allegory is properly interpreted, I think Genesis does a passable job of explaining how the Earth was created and populated, considering when it was written. I mean, if you tried to explain the Big Bang and atomic particles and all that to people 3,500 years ago, they'd go back to worshiping statues of bulls.