ASSUMPTIONS IN RADIODATING.

[Still Alive]

1 minute ago, pg4Him said:

We know John was quite familiar with Genesis 1, so there’s that... 

And here is something to ponder: The authors of the new testament were so familiar with 1 Enoch that they quote it. There is so much we don't know.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-canonical_books_referenced_in_the_Bible

[thomas t]

2 hours ago, Still Alive said:

Looks like we're on the same page. Your post is exactly what I've said to people in Sunday school. 

Hi Still Alive,

that's so sad. You write as if Bible is unclear about how long it took God to create the universe. 7 days it says in the Bible. I stay with Bible. Bible at sunday school, ok?

2 hours ago, Still Alive said:

in revelation it says that there will be no sun or moon in the new age because we get our light from Him.

... actually it says there won't be need for a sun in Jerusalem, see REV 21:23. ...

2 hours ago, Still Alive said:

Then it says those thrown into the lake of fire will receive no rest "day or night".  

One reads the bible literally at their peril. Hence my tag line. 

that's not heaven, it's the lake of fire.

2 hours ago, Still Alive said:

And here is something to ponder: The authors of the new testament were so familiar with 1 Enoch that they quote it. There is so much we don't know.

we had that so often, look at the old threads, for instance here. They had some good answers on this.

Actually, this thread is about radiodating, Still Alive, can we remain on topic?

2 hours ago, Still Alive said:

I'm not saying I have it right. I'm saying this description is as good as any other and I can find no scripture to disprove it. 

if scripture is silent about a matter, be silent on it, too? This would be very wise and all the posters would save time.

Regards,

Thomas

---

Hi Bawcash,

2 hours ago, Bawcash said:

So do you believe that only the earth is a few thousand years old or all creation?

yes I do.

2 hours ago, Bawcash said:

Just some beliefs that I have always been sure of because of what I was taught in Sunday school growing up, don't hold water.

ok, keep searching, Baw, no problem.

Thomas

[Bawcash]

2 minutes ago, thomas t said:

yes I do.

Yes you believe that only the earth is a few thousand years old? Or all creation is?

[Still Alive]

2 minutes ago, thomas t said:

if scripture is silent about a matter, be silent on it, too? This would be very wise and all the posters would save time.

But what if our current reality is NOT silent on the matter? e.g. dinosaur remains. Or our discovery that the earth is not a dome supported by pillars, or that the sun is actually a ball of hydrogen? Or that men don't "plant a seed in the fertile soil of a woman's womb"?  

The whole thing reminds me of what a music director at a large church once told me. He said that because of the nearby Christian college, a lot of members were professors expert in the bible, ancient languages and cultures, etc. I was lamenting the dogmatism I was getting while, in a gospel band, visiting a lot of the small, rural churches in Kentucky. 

He said this (and I paraphrase): regarding "non-salvation" doctrines, I've found that the more a person knows about the bible and its history, the less sure they are regarding their opinion regarding what it is saying. 

And this explains the last part of my signature line.

So much of what is in the bible must be interpreted based on context. And that context includes:

The scriptures surrounding a scripture.

The author's purpose for writing the book the scripture is in.

The culture that generated the scripture.

The gramatical "norms" of the day in which it was written.

The belief system of the author(s).

And all the time keeping in mind that, though it may be useful for us (2 Tim 3:16,17), each book in the bible was written TO those people living at the time, in their language, with their sensibilities and their world view. To really understand it, we need to put ourselves in their shoes.

[thomas t]

6 minutes ago, Bawcash said:

Yes you believe that only the earth is a few thousand years old? Or all creation is?

Everything.

As Bible says in Gen1: heaven, earth, the stars.

 

 

 

[Still Alive]

11 minutes ago, thomas t said:

Hi Still Alive,

that's so sad. You write as if Bible is unclear about how long it took God to create the universe. 7 days it says in the Bible. I stay with Bible. Bible at sunday school, ok?

The bible doesn't say that. It is your inference. And why is it sad? Is it sad if the universe is actually billions of years old? If so, why?

[thomas t]

Still Alive, please, the Bible does say it was 7 days

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Gen 2:2.

It's sad because you didn't stick with Bible. Bible trumps science, if Bible says it's seven days , it's seven days.

5 minutes ago, Still Alive said:

each book in the bible was written TO those people living at the time, in their language, with their sensibilities and their world view. To really understand it, we need to put ourselves in their shoes.

are you telling me that the men living back then wouldn't be able to differneciate between 7 days and some longer time span, say some thousand years? Or even longer time spans? They were no idiots.

Thomas

[Still Alive]

21 minutes ago, thomas t said:

Everything.

As Bible says in Gen1: heaven, earth, the stars.

 

 

 

From Genesis 1: 1-4

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.

 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 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.

--------------------------------------

Now, until God said, "let there be light", we have no clue how much time transpired. It could be interpreted like this analogy: In the beginning, Joey was born. Now, he was just a baby and didn't know anything. And his dad said, let him be educated! And Joey was sent to Yale for 8 years. 

Because we know what it takes to get into Yale, we assume Joey was at least 18 years old when that started. Same can be said for those who were familiar with the world view at the time Genesis was handed down. They had a certain world view that was shaped by all sorts of things, and Genesis fits into their culture accordingly. It doesn't in any way, shape or form mean that the earth was created in six days any more than we can be "sure" the rooster crowed once. Or was it twice? And the same thing can be said of the numbers used in Exodus. They were a literary style of the day. It is unlikely anybody took them literally. After all, it would mean that when Israel left Egypt they numbered similar to New York City, occupying less land, but they were all on ground level because the elevator would not be invented for at least a hundred years (maybe longer).  

And they would have had to slaughter hundreds of thousands of animals every day just to eat, so they needed to bring them along too. 

Etc. 

This is all stuff that can actually be studied. Yes, the bible shares with us the personality of our Creator as well as His plans for us. And yes, he "may have" created the world in a literal six days, but he may not have. And the latter is more likely, just as our discovery that we live on a globe is more likely. 

And either way, the message of salvation and a relationship with Him remains unchanged.

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Still Alive

[Still Alive]

18 minutes ago, thomas t said:

Still Alive, please, the Bible does say it was 7 days

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Gen 2:2.

It's sad because you didn't stick with Bible. Bible trumps science, if Bible says it's seven days , it's seven days.

are you telling me that the men living back then wouldn't be able to differneciate between 7 days and some longer time span, say some thousand years? Or even longer time spans? They were no idiots.

Thomas

Actually, I'm saying they didn't record history back then the way we do now. Look at the stuff in my post just before this one. Remember, the bible was not written by God. He didn't put men in a trance and control their hands. It was written my men inspired by God. They wrote within the constraints of their personal understanding and life experiences. That's why we have more than one gospel. 

This touches on what I was saying earlier: https://blog.faithlife.com/blog/2014/05/the-creation-story-as-told-by-the-fsb/

 

And this gets into the weeds: http://www.michaelsheiser.com/TheNakedBible/Conundrum of Large Numbers in Numbers.pdf

Edited July 23, 2019 by Still Alive

[Still Alive]

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Edited July 23, 2019 by Still Alive