THE BIBLE'S AGE FOR THE EARTH

CreationMoments ^ | Feb 7, 2014 | CreationMoments et al

[fwdude]

Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Just when was the “beginning” when God created the heavens and the earth, as spoken of in Genesis 1:1? In these days when scientists talk about “billions” of years, the question of what the Bible says on the matter of origins becomes even more important.

Few people doubt that the Bible intends to teach that the creation is young. The genealogies of the Old Testament are actual reproductions of the calendar system used in most ancient times.

While the subject is very complicated, we can share with you the calculations done by some well-known Christians. You are probably familiar with Bishop Ussher’s calculation that creation took place in 4004 B.C. But did you know that no less than the great scientist Kepler calculated that creation took place in 3877? Martin Luther calculated that creation took place in 3961 B.C. The very oldest ages arrived at through calculations based on Scripture say the creation is about 7,500 years old.

For the Christian, the question of the age of the creation can only be answered on the basis of Scripture. There is no question that Scripture gives us more than enough information to conclude that the creation is young and that God wants us to know it. After that, it is simply a matter of whether we accept Scripture’s authority.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, help my thinking not to be conformed to this world, but help me to be transformed by Your renewing of my mind so that my faith in Your clear Word is unshakable. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Painting: Archbishop James Ussher, painted by Peter Lely (1618–1680).

[fwdude]

Note: This article is NOT a discussion on the merits or weaknesses of either the evolutionary or creationist views. It simply establishes that Scripture is clear on which view it holds, without any equivocation whatsoever.

[Frapster]

I have a question - how old was Adam when he was created?

A follow up: how old did he look?

[DoughtyOne]

Not having been there, I don’t know for sure.

Am I confident that science has really nailed it at about 14 billion years old? Not really.

A solid belief in this isn’t required for me to believe in God, Jesus and the sacrifice that was made for me and my fellow man. I figure in time I’ll get the answer I would like on it.

Until then, I don’t care what some folks say. I’m comfortable with them having a different opinion than my own.

[fwdude]

That would be a question for Eve :)

[fwdude]

Again, this article is not a debate about the age of the Earth, it is an argument for the position of the Bible on the age of the Earth.

[Don Corleone]

It simply establishes that Scripture is clear on which view it holds, without any equivocation whatsoever.

God did it they way He wanted to do it. What's the problem?

[Frapster]

haha - true. so i’ll rephrase the question... did he have an appearance that would be incongruous with his real age? I mean I have a general idea of what I looked like immediately at conception. We can extrapolate, then, that Adam had an appearance of age, correct?

[DManA]

what the Bible says on the matter of origins becomes even more important.

Why is this so so so very important?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I will disagree. The view in this post makes one large assumption (in my view)...

Here are the opening verses in Genesis:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

[No amount of specific time can be calculated here]

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

I do not think you will get everyone to agree on the timeline in the article. If the Scriptures were absolutely clear, everyone who accepts the Scriptures would agree. They do not.

In the end, at least speaking for me, it doesn't matter whether the earth is 4,000 years old or 4 billion years old [insert your best estimate of time between verse 2 and verse 3]. It only matters that HE made it all by speaking.

Christians often speak of things as if they are ABSOLUTELY true. I've divided up my understanding of Scripture into opinions, beliefs and convictions. The category of Conviction includes only those things I am willing to die for. The exact age of the earth isn't anywhere close to this level.

[DoughtyOne]

Okay, and you think the issue is going to stick to a debate on the theories on the Biblical time frame? Is that right? Good luck with that.

[DManA]

Few people doubt that the Bible intends to teach that the creation is young.

What nonsense. The vast majority of Christians don't believe that's what the Bible "intends" to teach

[jdege]

Am I confident that science has really nailed it at about 14 billion years old?

http://bigbangneverhappened.org/

[Frapster]

well - i want to discuss the issue of age. is that permissible? :)

[Hostage]

The young earthers are resting on a foundation of folly.

One cannot calculate based on the age of Adam at death. His age in years was from the time of his expulsion from Eden, not from the date of his creation.

Adam was immortal with no need to count his years; nor would he likely understand what a year was.

Nor do evolutionists escape ridicule for their knee jerk jibes and attacks on the Bible. Adam could very well have been in the Garden for a billion years.

There is simply no way to know for certain.

[Frapster]

Here here! Love this!

[Dutchboy88]

"Note: This article is NOT a discussion on the merits or weaknesses of either the evolutionary or creationist views. It simply establishes that Scripture is clear on which view it holds, without any equivocation whatsoever."

Perhaps in your mind the Scriptures are clear on which view "it holds". The fact of the matter is that the term "day" is used at least four different ways in the OT. There are only approx. 3000 Hebrew words used in the entire OT and there are about 1.25 million English words available to translate to. Thus, we don't actually know what Moses intended (or God directed, we should say) when he penned the end of the "first day". Before we take on Ussher's 4Pm on Oct. 12 (or whatever) kooky timing, we ought to consider how disparate the possible answers might really be.

[iowamark]

You are making assumptions.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.

[ifinnegan]

Argument fails.

[TheZMan]

Do you know how old Christ was when he died on the cross?

Is everything that has ever happened mentioned in the Bible with specific timelines associated to each event?

Could you use your average history book to accurately measure the time that has elapsed from chapter 1 through to the end?

The answer to all of the above is “No”, and to claim otherwise is ridiculous. To then further claim that the Bible wants us to know that the answer is “Yes” is ... just wow.

It’s extremely narrow minded, narcissistic, and verging on insanity, to believe this.

Now - if Earth was created with dinosaur bones already buried in the dirt, and the universe with our sun already in full-swing, then fine, though I can’t find anywhere in the Bible where it says these things.

You can take the Bible to mean things literally 100% of the time, but then you can’t interpret anything and must take it all at face value - which no right-thinking Christian is going to do. You can’t have it both ways.