Bishop Usher’s methodology was to look at the length of the “begats” in the bible. And if you look at your bible you will see they are years, not months and days. Then from this highly “scientific” methodology, with very exact time frames he stated that God created Adam and Eve on Dec. 23, 2004 BC, or some similar exact date. Anyone who could possibly believe that the Bishop achieved an accurate date with this method is dumb indeed.
Whiie on the subject of Genesis. How many people believe that God created Adam and Eve from the earth, and how many believe that God created Eve after he created Adam by taking out a rib. Two very different stories, with rather different implications for the relationship of woman to man.
1. It's easy to count up the years between Adam and the flood (about 1700 years).
2. From the flood to Abraham is about 300 years and from Abraham to Israel leaving Egypt, about 500 years = about 800 years.
-- So far, that's about 2500 years.
3. Israel's independence as a nation: about 1000 years from their exodus out of Egypt to the Babylonian captivity. (Side note: remarkable that Israel was an independent and free nation for so long.)
-- So far, that's about 3500 years.
4. The book of Daniel tells us it's about 500 years from the Babylonian captivity to Christ.
5. It's been about 2000 years since Christ.
There you have it - the Biblical record of the 6000 years of man from Adam to the present.
Although you can figure out the years using the biblical record of time, years, and genealogies, the Bible gives you a hint in the first chapter, Genesis 1. The Bible says one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). It took six days to (re)create the earth and on the seventh day God rested. It's been 6000 years since (re)creation and we're rapidly heading into the 1000 years of Jesus ruling as King of Kings on the earth (His seventh "day" of rest).
God created Adam and Eve from the earth, and how many believe that God created Eve after he created Adam by taking out a rib.
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Genesis was written for a very primitive people. So? ...What term would you use to explain to a primitive people that our first parents were composed of the common chemical elements of the universe ? “Dust of the earth” seems like a good choice to me.
Men have an XY gene that makes male. Women are XX. If you were to attempt to explain this to a primitive people would using the expression “rib” come to mind? Man is missing a “rib” which creates the Y gene.