Do you believe in millions of years????


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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

Think Texan hit the nail on the head here. Have felt the same way for quite a long time. I do think science proves that the existence of living creatures on earth did not start 5,000-10,000 years ago as some might interpret from the bible. None of us know precisely what in God's meaning the timeline was for his creations of the heavens and the earth and everything that came about either.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

Here was the answer I gave to a co-worker last week when we were discussing these matters. Basically I told him that I believe that the earth has been around for billions of years, and with studying Biology for the second time in this college experience of mine, I firmly believe in many things offered up by science that in fundamentalist Christian circles is considered heresy. BUT, I believe that no matter how long ago the Earth formed, whatever evolved from whatever, God had a hand in everything. The human body has billions of cells that all form, divide, recreate, and repeat. It didn't begin on its own.

Here's an interest fact for everyone: Did ya'll know that Charles Darwin did not coin the term evolution, nor did he use it.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Hey Parrothead.......................you just wanna answer the question? Quotes are fine, and I'd love to quote you

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Hey, just adding a little fuel to the proverbial hot bed discussions going on here!

You touched on something in that last comment that really sums up my beliefs. “Even God ain’t perfect”

Now don’t go tossing me to the curb before you hear me out because I’m in no way stating that God is imperfect or being sac religious. Follow me on this one ok

The majority of Christians believe that the creation of man in the form of Adam happened somewhere around 5 to 6 thousand years ago. From reading the Bible and examining the timetables, I’ll agree. Now you go to the book of Genesis and God made the heavens and earth in oh, about 7 days, one of those days he took a rest. And reading more, the Bible refers to a day as a 1000 years so if you put your pencil to it, that puts us somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 13 thousand years ago right?

Now we have science to come along and some pretty smart folks telling us that there was a form of man living on the face of the earth over a million years ago. We also have these smart folks examining the fossil fuels and the amount of time it takes for a single dinosaur to decay to the point that it creates a pocket of oil; there again, it’s millions of years.

Ok, now for “my” theory

There was some lag time between when God created the earth and when Adam came along. In this lag time we had several periods that happened and I believe that it was during this lag time that God was experimenting with the final product. You know, basic R and D.

After the earth was created with all its vegetation, God had to create something that would clean the earth or eat the vegetation so he created a few animals. We know these animals today as dinosaurs. Everything was ok but then God decided to go a step further and created what we’ll call “man version 1”.

Of course, God was successful in his creation but lets face it, version 1 wasn’t exactly a sharp tool. It took years for him to finally discover fire, he couldn’t talk, mostly grunted and had atrocious table manners. Hey, the first design is usually the worst design.

So God stood back and assessed the situation. Man wasn’t going anywhere, all these animals he created starting reeking havoc, maybe multiplying too much and generally causing chaos so what did he do? Yup, decided to scrap the whole thing and go back to the drawing board. So what’s the easiest way to wipe the slate clean? You guessed it. Down from the heavens comes one big ole meteor and BOOM, there goes the neighborhood.

A few years pass while God contemplates the design of man and what he really wants the earth to look like, maybe a few thousand or even a million years pass but eventually God gets back to work and he creates and whole new crop of animals, something a little more tamer. I mean hey, have your choice between a dog and a T-Rex and I think you’re going with mans best friend. Course, you can’t be eating mans best friend so God created animals that were for consumption purposes so that when he did create man again, he wouldn’t starve.

Then God created man version 2. Someone in his likeness, someone just a little smarter, a little faster, a little brighter, basically someone that God could relate to and they could relate to him. Someone like Adam.

Course we all know that Eve was created from Adam and was made solely as a help-mate. Course along came the apple tree and we’ve been paying for ever sense but that’s another discussion somewhere in time.

A few thousand years later, you have today what God “may or may not” have wanted to create. Who knows, maybe God’s up there right now scratching his head and saying to himself “what, another screw up?” Maybe just maybe we’re just version releases and once God has perfected the product will release his final version. Who knows, all you can do is believe in God and do as he would want you to and end the end when you do get to meet him, he won’t be too disappointed in the life you’ve lived.

Course, that’s just my opinion – I may be wrong.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

No. At present the bible accounts for only about 6,000 years. 2,000 from creation till Noah's flood, 2,000 from the flood until Christ, and 2,000 from Christ until now.

I also believe that the dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible and that carbon dating is a flawed system. Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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I have no trouble at all reconciling the scientifically provable age of the Earth and the amount of time referenced in the Bible. The Bible is universally accepted as being written by men. Certainly it was inspired by the word of God, but none the less the actual recording was done by men. That fact alone leaves some areas open for error, misinterpretation, or editorializing by the writer. I think the message contained in the Bible is an accurate interpretation of what God wants us to know in the realm of spirituality, but when we start using the Bible to try and prove or disprove science, we're using it for a purpose that God never intended. It's just the wrong tool for the job.

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Have you ever thought that we might be using science to try to disprove the Bible?

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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No. At present the bible accounts for only about 6,000 years. 2,000 from creation till Noah's flood, 2,000 from the flood until Christ, and 2,000 from Christ until now.

I also believe that the dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible and that carbon dating is a flawed system. Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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Yeah, I've read some references to creatures that are really big, but you'd think that with the ferocity of ones like a T-rex---there'd be stories of them in the Bible like there are with lions and fish. That's why I wonder if these dinosaurs existed on a different continent during biblical times. And Noah's flood is what killed them and what spread there bones all over the world.

confused.gif

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

Huntin Girl, actually if you will read Job Chapters 40 and 41 the bible speaks of two creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan. Behemoth is a peaceful vegetarian whereas Leviathan is a fiercesome creature. Leviathan is later referenced in Isaiah Chapter 27 as a "piercing serpent". I truly believe that these are a few references to the dinosaurs that are in the Bible

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Huntin Girl, actually if you will read Job Chapters 40 and 41 the bible speaks of two creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan. Behemoth is a peaceful vegetarian whereas Leviathan is a fiercesome creature. Leviathan is later referenced in Isaiah Chapter 27 as a "piercing serpent". I truly believe that these are a few references to the dinosaurs that are in the Bible

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Yes, I know. I've read it.

But don't you agree that if all these dinosaurs existed alongside man during biblical times...............then there'd be a LOT more written about them??

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

I'm not sure if there would have been more written about them or not. Personally, I don't see any reason that there should have been. Considering the purpose of the Bible I don't see why one group of creatures would have needed more writing time. I mean consider that the life of Christ being just a little over 30 years is contained 4 Gospels and they mostly outline his birth and adult life. You do bring an interesting point but I just don't think there would have been a need to add more about dinosaurs to the Bible. Another thought too, is that only in that last century has man really began using science and technology against the Bible. I don't know the answer to the question.....but I do know that sooner or later I'll have eternity to ask him about it wink.gif

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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No. At present the bible accounts for only about 6,000 years. 2,000 from creation till Noah's flood, 2,000 from the flood until Christ, and 2,000 from Christ until now.

I also believe that the dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible and that carbon dating is a flawed system. Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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True but lets say my theory is correct - do you think God's going to let on to those that wrote the Bible that there was a hugh R and D screw-up before and that these current times 6000 +/- BC is the second go-a-round? I'm thinking he's keeping that under raps......

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Have you ever thought that we might be using science to try to disprove the Bible?

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Scientists have been trying to disprove the Bible for years. Do you really think that if some scientist were to come out with "proof" that it was all a myth that Christianity would be dead? I don't believe it would, you either believe in God or you don't and what man says won't deter you from that belief.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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No. At present the bible accounts for only about 6,000 years. 2,000 from creation till Noah's flood, 2,000 from the flood until Christ, and 2,000 from Christ until now.

I also believe that the dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible and that carbon dating is a flawed system. Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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True but lets say my theory is correct - do you think God's going to let on to those that wrote the Bible that there was a hugh R and D screw-up before and that these current times 6000 +/- BC is the second go-a-round? I'm thinking he's keeping that under raps......

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The only problem with that theory is that God is perfect and infalible. So is his plan and his creation....So I can't agree that there was any type of screw up in his plan or his creation. The only screw up was when sin entered the world and sin entered through man.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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I have no trouble at all reconciling the scientifically provable age of the Earth and the amount of time referenced in the Bible. The Bible is universally accepted as being written by men. Certainly it was inspired by the word of God, but none the less the actual recording was done by men. That fact alone leaves some areas open for error, misinterpretation, or editorializing by the writer. I think the message contained in the Bible is an accurate interpretation of what God wants us to know in the realm of spirituality, but when we start using the Bible to try and prove or disprove science, we're using it for a purpose that God never intended. It's just the wrong tool for the job.

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Texan, I respect your opinion and it has some valid points, but I don't agree with parts of it.

Does the bible give a reference to when creation started or the time span of what the 1st - 7th day was? No it doesn't.

On the first day God said let there be light. There was no earth no stars no planets therefor there was not 24 hour reference. We have no idea the milinia that may have passed from the time light was created till the time the sun and moon were actually created. Nor do we know how long each day was before the earth became a viable planet. Without it's rotatio, there was no day or night and thus no way for man to calculate time.

As far as the bible being correct in it's time-line, there is no reason for me to question it. If you look athe fact that Noah had three sons who all had wives that means every 15 years or so the population of the Earth could be exponentially larger. In the 5000 year sence then there have been roughly 333 generations of people If there were 50% infant mortality and every couple had 5 children (not unusual for agriculturally based cultures) the population of the earth would be roughly 371 x 10 to the 25th power. 3,710,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 people.

Now sence we have roughly 7,000,000,000, I would think that 5000 years from the flood is not to outragious of a number.

There are also other books outside the bible that give reference to biblical figures giving the same year of reference.

Carbon dating is as accurate as evilution in it's theory.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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The only problem with that theory is that God is perfect and infalible. So is his plan and his creation....So I can't agree that there was any type of screw up in his plan or his creation. The only screw up was when sin entered the world and sin entered through man.

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Hey - I said it was a theory and in my beliefs I'll agree with you that God is perfect in every way.

However, you have to question the creation of fossils fuels and the amount of years it takes to create pockets of oil. So either scientists are lying about the creation time OR fossil fuels are not manifested by fossils at all?????

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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I have no trouble at all reconciling the scientifically provable age of the Earth and the amount of time referenced in the Bible. The Bible is universally accepted as being written by men. Certainly it was inspired by the word of God, but none the less the actual recording was done by men. That fact alone leaves some areas open for error, misinterpretation, or editorializing by the writer. I think the message contained in the Bible is an accurate interpretation of what God wants us to know in the realm of spirituality, but when we start using the Bible to try and prove or disprove science, we're using it for a purpose that God never intended. It's just the wrong tool for the job.

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Obviously you haven't done much research if you think the Bible and science aren't intricately connected. There have been many things in the Bible that people didn't understand when it was written but science later proved correct. For instance, in Job 26:7 it says God hung the earth upon nothing. At the point of time when that was written there were many different theories on how the earth was suspended. Some people actually thought that the earth was on the back of a giant seaturtle. However, hundreds of years later, it was discovered that the earth actually did hang on nothing.

Another example is in Job 38:16. It talks about springs in the sea. Also at that time people knew nothing about ocean currents. In fact, it was because of this Bible verse that ocean currents were discovered.

Here is more scientifically proven evidence that the earth is young. One is the receding moon. The moon is moving away from Earth at about 2 inches per year. If you calculate the time and distance just 2 billion years ago the moon and Earth would've been touching. If the Earth was 5 billion years old the the moon should be far out of sight right now.

And for you that wonder about the time involved in petroleum, an article in "US News and World Report" says,"that in the Gulf of California, the action of hot vents was turning dead plankton in the sediment into petroleum-a process that normally takes at least 10 million years squeezed into an instant."

Sorry this is so long, but I also want to say that I believe EVERY SINGLE WORD in the King James Version is exactly what God said. The recording was done by men, but they were inspired by God and He told them exactly what to write, it's not just a general interpretation of His message. If it was, then He wouldn't have told us to not to change one jot or tittle of it. Just my views on this subject.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Obviously you haven't done much research if you think the Bible and science aren't intricately connected.

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I'm certainly not a Bible scholar or even a theologian, but I do know this much. If I need to repair my microwave oven, I'm not going to look in the Bible for instructions. However, if I need to repair my life or my faith, the Bible is exactly where I need to look for answers.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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Here in lies the problem. I don't understand why Religions always take a defensive stance. Why is science attempting to "disprove God's perfect word."

What if science is only further explaining God's creation? I think its fair to say the Bible cannot completely explain something so far advanced as the cosmos and how mankind relates to it all.

What if the Bible was intended to explain the world to man, using examples and metaphors? Now that mankind is increasing its knowledge, what if scienctific discovery is actually bring us closer to God and further explains what his intentions are?

I know its human nature to immediately defend what we believe in and fight things that oppose our beliefs...but really, what if we're fighting over this issue for the wrong reasons.

Don't fear the uncertain just because someone told you to. That sort of thinking is not condusive to progress.

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Re: Do you believe in millions of years????

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Once again it is just man tryin to disprove God's perfect word.

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Here in lies the problem. I don't understand why Religions always take a defensive stance. Why is science attempting to "disprove God's perfect word."

What if science is only further explaining God's creation? I think its fair to say the Bible cannot completely explain something so far advanced as the cosmos and how mankind relates to it all.

What if the Bible was intended to explain the world to man, using examples and metaphors? Now that mankind is increasing its knowledge, what if scienctific discovery is actually bring us closer to God and further explains what his intentions are?

I know its human nature to immediately defend what we believe in and fight things that oppose our beliefs...but really, what if we're fighting over this issue for the wrong reasons.

Don't fear the uncertain just because someone told you to. That sort of thinking is not condusive to progress.

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I didn't mean that statement in a defensive way. The Bible clearly states that no man can know or even comprehend the intentions of God. I don't believe that science is bringing us closer to God or answers. If anything I believe that it is serving to drive a wedge deeper. It is really all just a matter of faith and what you believe in. I know where I stand and in what I believe. One thing that I have learned from my own experience....if you try to read and understand the Bible without God in your life it is virtually impossible to understand. Once God is in your life and you let him take the lead through the Bible it reveals itself in great ways. Now, I'm not preaching or trying to convert anyone. That was my personal experience and 10 years ago I would have told anyone they were nuts if they said that. Just my 2 cents on this debate.

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