The Big Bang and the Bible
The Pope of the Catholic church made news recently by his pronouncement that the the idea of a Creator God and the Big Bang don't have to be in conflict.
While I agree with what the Pope said, it's hardly news. The Protestant apologetics group reasons.org, led by Dr. (of astrophysics) Hugh Ross has long made the case that not only are God and the Big Bang compatible, but that the Bible actually taught the Big Bang before scientists did. Here is an example which lists the scriptures.
Most evolutionary scientists are actually uncomfortable with "the" Big Bang. They understand that the properties of this universe are "fine tuned" for life. The only credible way around the conclusion that the universe was Intelligently Designed to harbor life and re-throne Chance is to postulate an infinite number of random universes.
While I agree with what the Pope said, it's hardly news. The Protestant apologetics group reasons.org, led by Dr. (of astrophysics) Hugh Ross has long made the case that not only are God and the Big Bang compatible, but that the Bible actually taught the Big Bang before scientists did. Here is an example which lists the scriptures.
Most evolutionary scientists are actually uncomfortable with "the" Big Bang. They understand that the properties of this universe are "fine tuned" for life. The only credible way around the conclusion that the universe was Intelligently Designed to harbor life and re-throne Chance is to postulate an infinite number of random universes.
posted by Mark Moore (Moderator) at Saturday, January 15, 2011
12 Comments:
I do agree that the earth was created by God I'm not to sure about using Hugh Ross as an example. If my memory is correct, its been years since I have watched the guy, Ross is an "old earth" teacher. God established the pattern of creation in 7 days which constituted a complete week. The earth is therefore a young earth and not billions of years old.
Not following you logic here. I mean Ross is giving lots of scriptures to support his view. Don't know quite what you mean about a pattern of creation.
Pattern as in what was created on day 1, day 2 and so on, which constituted a complete week. Genesis 1:4 is a 24 hour period which refers to a full rotation of the earth on its axis, called evening and morning. Sorry I wasn't more clear on my meaning.
Rick,
I am not so certain. A strict literal reading of that verse gives a non-sensical result to me. It says the LIGHT He called DAY, and the darkness he called night. Then it says, "there was evening (dusk or darkness) and there was morning (dawn or illumination), day one."
Read literally, it is describing a NIGHT, not a day. The period from evening to morning is not a day in any literal sense of the word. It's not used as such anywhere in the Bible as near as I can tell. "Morning to evening" is used to describe a "day" as in "daylight hours", but not "evening to morning".
No, there is something going on here that calls for more thought and reflection.
This cannot mean an age, but only a day. Verses 8,13,19,23 and 31 refer to this "so the evening and morning were the second day" in vs. 8. The term "day" in Hebrew always refers to a 24 hour period. Comparing the order of the week in Ex. 20:8-11 with the creation week confirms this understanding of the time element. A cycle of light and dark means that the earth was rotating on its axis, so that there was a source of light on one side of the earth though the sun wasn't created yet (Vs.16).
Always means a 24 hour day? even in chapter 2 it doesn't mean a 24 hour day. it describes the whole previous chapter as the "day" in which the Lord did all those things.
Anon 6:22, The Hebrew word yom translated as “day” can also literally mean “an indefinite period of time” as in Gen. 2:4.
The Hebrew word for day (yom) also means day (~24-hour period).
Also, boqer for “morning” can also literally mean “beginning”,
and the Hebrew word for morning (boqer) also means “morning.”
and 'ereb for “evening” can also literally mean “completion”.
The Hebrew word for evening (ereb) also means “evening.”
And since context determines meaning in each of these, it is clearly a real evening, morning, and day of about 24 hours, which has an evening and a morning.
Is there another place in scripture where "evening and morning" is used for a 24 or 12 hour days, or a place where it means MORE than a 24 hour day?
also curious about the idea of literal light and dark without the sun. Was the sun not created "when the heavens and the earth" were created?
Anon, not sure if there are other places in the Bible that speaks of a day being more than 24 hours. But I do believe taken in context Genesis is speaking of a literal 24 hour day during creation and in Exodus 20 the 7 day week was established.
As for literal light and darkness God spoke it into existence in Genesis 3 but the sun and moon wasn't created until vs. 14. For 3 days there had been light in the day as though there was a sun. God created the sun, stars and moon, not for light, but to serve as markers for signs, seasons, days and years.
The only place I can find it is in Daniel where the "vision of the evening and the morning" refers to the 3,200 evenings and mornings between when the anti-christ seats himself in the temple and God's return. It does not mean a literal 24 hour day there, but the context is so different I can't offer that as "proof" one way or the other.
I am pretty sure that the English translation of this is getting us into some wrong ideas. For example, I think the Sun and Moon were "created" on day one with the heavens and the Earth. In verse 4 it says they were "made" but the Hebrew word there is pretty diverse in meaning. It can even mean "made to appear" the way I read it.
In the same way I can't count Daniel for being "proof" that "evening and morning" in Genesis means an age, I don't know that what is written in Exodus 20 is "proof" of a seven day creation week either. For example, the land itself was supposed to have a sabbath every seven years. There was to be a jubilee every seven time seven, or 49 years.
What is consistent is the pattern of seven, not whether days, years, or longer periods are attached to them.
I'm just saying this looks a lot less clear cut when you think about it. The original 7th day did not even have "an evening and a morning", and it could be argued that it is therefore still in progress.
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