Genesis describes global events (creation of seas, etc.) and extra-global events (such as the creation of the Sun, the Moon, the stars in the firmament, etc.)
Personally, I think the creation story in Genesis is a much simplified version of the actual events. Imagine, if you will, that you were trying to tell a six-year-old how television works. You might be able to cover certain technical aspects, but you would of necessity have to considerably simplify many aspects and use metaphors to describe others.
Compared to the mind of God, the mind of Man is nothing--the difference is far greater even than that between an adult and a two-year-old. The Creation Story must almost certainly, then, be a considerably abridged and simplified version of actual events since I don't think the mind of man could fully comprehend what really happened.
I can live with that so long as there was one literal Adam from whom Jesus' genealogy is traced (two different ways). He either created man from the dust (non-living matter) or he borrowed dna from somewhere else. There is no wiggle room there for me.
I shouldn't have read all the negative posts attacking the old testament (not on this forum) because it has put me in a turmoil. Some of the things God ordered seem almost evil now like killing every man woman and child and in another case killing everybody only allowing the Isrealites to have the virgins as their own. Circumcision makes no sense to me. If he created man he could or should have created him circumcized and used something else to set the Israelites apart. Women unclean for twice as long after having a female baby; that makes no sense whatsoever. Some of the things they believed and passed down through the generations have caused a lot of unnecessary pain to lots of people. It makes it difficult for me to believe that God is truly good.
It's going to take me awhile to come to terms with some of this,, if ever.
This would affect the catholic belief system as well even though they use the church for their sole rule of faith because the rule of faith is based on Jesus' life and interpretation of the scriptures. Catholics are a little more flexible because they trust their leaders more than I am inclined to do in matters of faith.
This is something very few biblical literalists consider. Man at the time might not have been ready yet for the scientific details. A simple story which affirmed a beginning and a sequence may have been all that could have been practically conveyed.
Personally, I think the creation story in Genesis is a much simplified version of the actual events. Imagine, if you will, that you were trying to tell a six-year-old how television works. You might be able to cover certain technical aspects, but you would of necessity have to considerably simplify many aspects and use metaphors to describe others.Sure, but would God explain the Big Bang & evolution by way of the Genesis story? If I were God, I'd come up with a better, yet still simple, explanation of how I created the universe. Something about how I started everything in motion, giving the elements the ability to combine in a myriad of interesting & unpredictable ways, and living things that had the ability to change over the generations & morph into countless interesting & unpredictable genera, families, even kingdoms - all for my amusement. Finally one such type of living thing developed into a species with the ability to think about these things, and now I get to have a relationship with you. When that happened I was happier with my experiment than I ever thought possible! In fact, I now consider you my children, and I want you to live in peace & harmony... Hey you, stop killing your brother! Hey, I'm talking to you! Stop that right now or I'll end this experiment RIGHT NOW. Do you hear me???Compared to the mind of God, the mind of Man is nothing--the difference is far greater even than that between an adult and a two-year-old. The Creation Story must almost certainly, then, be a considerably abridged and simplified version of actual events since I don't think the mind of man could fully comprehend what really happened.
Well, something like that.
The thing about your explanation I really don't agree with (and it's a popular one in apologetics) is that God wasn't trying to explain cosmology to six-year olds. An adult from 6000 years ago may have been much more ignorant about a lot of things than we are today, but he was still an adult. God shouldn't have to make up children's stories to explain this. He should be able to come up with a simplified, yet straightforward, explanation.
In fact, if He had given them an explanation with parts that wouldn't get completely verified until much later, that would be even more compelling. Similarly, if He hadn't created all those beams of light already in transit to Earth from all those zillions of brand-new stars, we'd see more & more stars blink on every year, and that would be compelling evidence that the universe really is only 6000 years old.
Compared to the mind of God, the mind of Man is nothing
Since it hasn't been proven that God exists, it hasn't been proven that God has a mind.
But the mind of Man does exists, and the Mind of Man has not only conceived of interplanetary spacecraft, the Hand of Man has built them (Apollo). We've conceived and built instantaneous world girdling communication networks, we have the ability to fly around the globe in hours, we've damned mighty rivers and drained pestilential swamps. We've made diseases extinct. We've done things the primitives that wrote the Bible couldn't imagine.
Yet we suffer fools telling us that a fictitious invisible Man in the Sky is somehow greater than our own proven abilities.
They should be too embarassed to speak, but they're not.
Compared to the mind of God, the mind of Man is nothing
Since it hasn't been proven that God exists, it hasn't been proven that God has a mind.
But the mind of Man does exists, and the Mind of Man has not only conceived of interplanetary spacecraft, the Hand of Man has built them (Apollo). We've conceived and built instantaneous world girdling communication networks, we have the ability to fly around the globe in hours, we've damned mighty rivers and drained pestilential swamps. We've made diseases extinct. We've done things the primitives that wrote the Bible couldn't imagine.
Yet we suffer fools telling us that a fictitious invisible Man in the Sky is somehow greater than our own proven abilities.
They should be too embarassed to speak, but they're not.