Re: "DAY" (to Ian)
Ian Dorion (dorioni@intellinet.com)
Thu, 22 May 1997 17:58:51 -0600
> > (DAVE 5/21) Ian: I noticed on an earlier post that you challenged someone
> > to discuss the concept of "day" in Genesis. I don't know if I have much to
> > actually debate here, but it is of interest to me to discuss it and learn a
> > bit more about it.
> >
> > I don't know if the "day" mentioned in Genesis is an actual 24 hour period
> > or something longer. I know many have submitted that Peter's reference in 2
> > Peter 3:8 means that the "day" in Genesis is 1000 years, but I don't think
> > that is an appropriate conclusion to make just from this passage.
> >
> > Creationists will state that the "day" is an actual day. Evolutionists (who
> > either subscribe to or tolerate the Bible) will say that it means a very
> > long period of time - maybe a geological period. And there seems to be many
> > conclusions or thoughts in between these two extremes. And there are some
> > who believe it is symbolic literature and language - describing something
> > else beyond what we are considering.
> >
> > I don't know what I think on this - I haven't ruled evolution (of some form)
> > out of my belief system, yet I do believe there is a supreme being
> > responsible for our creation. It matters little in the long run which one
> > is right, but it is interesting.
> >
> > Can you, or Yoel or anyone else provide some information on the word "day"
> > used in Genesis and the real meaning of this word in the context of how it
> > is used here?
>
> (Ian 5/22) Dave, I thought you were an inerrantist. Frankly, I'm surprised at
> the above post. I'm also somewhat disappointed because I was under the
> impression that you had a 'teacher' when you read/studied the Bible and would
> have therefore had an answer to this dilemna. Perhaps I can read the Bible
> without the help of a teacher afterall. Your statement above makes me think
> that you are more of a liberal persuasion. Anyway, let me quote from my book.
>
> "To make a short story even shorter, the scenario for creation as
> outlined in this first chapter of Genesis, simply put, states that the entire
> universe, including man was created in six days.
> "Should this be taken literally as the fundamentalist theologians
> would have us do? Should we accept man and the universe as being less than
> 6,000 years old? Should we accept the fundamentalist view that the Bible is
> the literal and infallable word of God?
> "Or should we accept the more liberal theologians view that 'a day' in
> the Bible really means 'a period of time?' That 'a day' in the Bible is as 'a
> thousand years?' That the Bible is inspired by God, not to be taken literally,
> but to be interpretted?
> "Scientists in all fields agree that the universe is billions of years
> old. They say that modern man is between 40,000 years old and 92,000 years
> old. And other forms of 'man' go back millions of years. In all fairness,
> science has not shown a gradual evolutionary development. Instead it has shown
> the progress of man in jumps. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of
> difference between 6,000 years and 40,000 years.
> "Another alternative is to say that little if any is true, that it is
> neither the literal nor the infallible word of God, nor inspired by God, but a
> collection of myths and legends written to enslave you and your pocketbook.
> "The fundamentalist's views are in direct conflict with science on
> whom we depend on for so much. And there is no reasoning with them.
> "Of course, if I have to substitute 'a period of time' for 'a day' as
> the liberals would have me do, I might just as well substitute 'Bereshith,'
> which I hope to convince you is closer to the truth. There are other problems
> with this 'Creation' theory.
> "(Ge. 1:3-5 &16) How could God create light, separate it from darkness
> on the first day and then create the 'two great lights' on the fourth day for
> the same purpose? How stupid can one get?
> "How do these fundamentalist refer to God? It is always, "He."
> "How does the Bible refer to God? (Ge. 1:26,27) And God said, Let US
> make man in OUR image after OUR likeness... So God created man in his own
> image, in the image of God created HE him, MALE and FEMALE created HE them.
> "Is 'our' one or more than one? If God created man in his oun image,
> 'male and female,' is God male or female? Clearly there must be more than one
> God (or belief in one God). There are other problems with this creation story
> but they get into some serious discussions and I want to keep this light."
>
> I realize the last three paragraphs have nothing to do with 'a day' but I
> thought I might as well finish out the chapter.
>
> (DAVE 5/22) Ian: Thanks Ian - I didn't know you had written a book - I'd
> like to get a copy if it is possible. I agree with much of what you stated
> above - and I have many questions (don't we all) concerning these things. I
> still allow for the possibility of a literal meaning here for the word
> "day", but acknowledge, as I said, that it could be figurative (I don't
> think that this is being "liberal" as much as it's just being realistic).
>
> I agree with you when you say that science hasn't solidified the evolution
> question - in my limited understanding of it, I still feel there is much to
> be analyzed and studied before jumping to the absolute conclusion that we
> arose from whatever. And, as you say, there may be different "types" of
> man, of which we are one - we don't know this so this is merely speculation
> (when thinking of this I often think of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and how one
> group of apes was communicated to my the monolith and how that separated
> them from the others - I often wonder if there is some truth to this idea).
>
> Anyway, my "day" is disappearing fast, so I must go :) (I wish I did have
> 1000 years for every day)
>
> Regards.
>
> Dave.
(Ian 5/22) Dave, I don't know of any fundamentalist (except you?) who thinks of a
day as more than a 24 hour period. From all the churches I've been to, only the
liberal and moderate ones thought of it as a period of time.
Yes, evolution COULD be a part of the creation process but IF it is, it IS NOT
created by the God of the Bible (my opinion).
Why would you want a day to last a thousand years? You're not afraid of going to
hell are you?
I'm still editing my book before sending it to Dave Matson. It should have been done
a long time ago but many things took priority. I'll let you know.