That is precisely the point and why I get irritated with the 6K earthers.
I am strong believer in Christ and the Bible and still believe the Earth is millions of our years old. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the earth is only 6000 years old. Only that man has been here partaking in God’s creation for 6000 years.
At the “end of the day” it doesn’t really matter, though. Are you a new creation in Christ or not? If not, you have bigger problems than how old the Earth is.
Nice post, but...
“Only that man has been here partaking in God’s creation for 6000 years.”
I don’t think it says that either.
If this were of importance it would be spelled out quite clearly and unequivocally.
If you can't believe Genesis 1 as a literal event or that the earth is a young earth then:
Does it matter how many days involving the crucifixtion? Did Christ really rise on the third day?
Did Jesus really heal the blind man or cure the man with leprosy?
If the genealogies we have in the OT are correct, then the Bible does indicate a young earth.
“At the “end of the day” “
I believe that the word “day” in Genesis is a Hebrew word that also includes such ideas as “era”, “period of time”, etc. And of course there is the problem with the early days in Creation before the sun was created.
What is amazing to me, is how this Creation “story”, revealed somehow to a fairly primitive culture, is so close to what science is only revealing to us now. I imagine the more we learn about the universe, the better we will understand the Creation story.
With regard to the young or old earth - I am definitely an old-earth person. Just as with people, or nations, or the world, God usually doesn’t just snap His fingers to do something. There are layers and layers of things tied together. One thing preparing for the next (just like the earth was created). Sometimes the next major milepost is not even seen in one’s lifetime. And in spite of all of the chaos, God somehow brings order into it all.
We can estimate the age of man on the earth, but we don't know how old the earth itself is.
The Young Earth defenders are defending a young earth because they figure that a shorter time span makes evolution impossible.
What makes evolution impossible isn't the time span, but the simple fact that something cannot come from nothing!
Adding zeros doesn't change that fact!