Originally posted by Grandma
The truth is the Bible does not contradictscientific evidence, and science does not disprove the biblical record. The point most people on
both sides of the argument miss is that the bible does not say when the universe was created.
According to the Bible, Adam was the first man (I Corinthians15:45;I Chronicles 1-1,) and adding the figures in the biblical genealogies does yield a
date of about 6,000 years ago for Adam's creation.
The truth is that the Bible does not state that the creation of mankind and the creation of the universe happened at the same time. The age of
the universe is simply not stated in the Bible. It well have been 10 or 20 billion years ago.
I know this is kind of off the point, but others brought the argument about creation of man and I just wanted to put my two cents in.
Peace to all,
Grandma
Wonderful insight Grandma. (off topic but wonderful
).
It is interesting what science tells us about mankind 6000 years ago and what the Bible says about mankind 6000 years ago.
According to science, we were "learning civilization" 6000 years ago (OK 6 to 10 thousand years maybe, it isn't exact). We were learning how to
farm, how to breed useful animals, developing engineering technology, building astronomical observatories, learning to write and recording our
stories.
And what does the Bible say about the period? With a bit less modern detail as I just listed from the sciencific point of view, the first thing God
said to Adam is recorded as
(from the KJV)
"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion of the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
"...I have given you every herb bearing seed... and every tree in which is the fruit... "
Sounds a lot like the Bible is tying the "creation of
Adam" to beginning of civilization as science describes it. And the first job God gives
to Adam is explicitly a scientific one: name the animals, (and by so doing begin the science of taxonomy). An extremely useful science for someone
starting down the road to farming, animal husbandry, and civilization.
Notice that the Genesis never specifically says that Adam was the first
human only that Adam was created in His likeness and no other humans
are mentioned earlier. Perhaps what we are talking about here is that Adam was the first
civilized man, and there may well have been other
humans around. After all, the Bible does clear say that He 'created every living creature that moveth' (and humans are indeed living creatures that
moveth) well before he created Adam.
In some ways this actually allows the Bible to make sense where there are huge gaps. For example, where did Adam and Eve's children get wives from?
[edit on 25/10/2009 by rnaa]
