Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Elsie

I don't think that man's need for salvation is dependent upon the conclusion that God did not use evolution as his tool for the creation of man. Nor do I think that any of those passages are inconsistent with the conclusion that God used evolution as a tool for the creation of man. I'll grant you that the passage which states that God used one of Adam's ribs to create Eve does not fit well with the notion that Eve was the product of evolution, but that has nothing to do with how Adam was created. In fact, it's entirely possible that the correct Biblical interpretation is that neither Adam nor Eve were the product of evolution, but that there were other "men and women" living in the land who were, and that it was from these women that Cain and Able selected their wives.

I don't think you can fairly take discrete Biblical verses and draw firm conclusions from them pertaining to evolution. The verbage used in the Bible was intended to convey a timeless message, that could be understood by men of any era. God did not need to explain every detail of the creation in order to convey that message, and if he had done so, and that explanation had involved evolution, you can be certain that it would not have been understood until the modern times.

This is not to say that the Bible is not literally true. It merely concedes that every word may not mean precisely what you think it means. And there are many instances where this has clearly been the case in other contexts.

For example, the religious men of Christ's time rejected Him because their interpretation of the scriptures did not allow for the possibility of a Christ who came from Nasareth. He may have been born in Bethlehem, but they did not know that, or perhaps they did not deem that sufficient. In addition, He was simply not the kind of King that they were expecting, based upon their reading of the scriptures. They were reading the same scriptures that you and I read, but they had a different understanding which they did not think could be wrong. Needless to say, their mistake was catastrophic.

I am struck by the fact that the Biblical story of the creation seems largely to be consistent with the scientific explanation. To me, it seems impossible that someone writing a work of mere fiction, more than 2000 years ago, could by accident come up with a version of the creation that dovetails so nicely with what modern science tells us happened.


132 posted on 01/08/2007 8:15:22 AM PST by Brilliant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 122 | View Replies ]


To: Brilliant
I don't think that man's need for salvation is dependent upon the conclusion that God did not use evolution as his tool for the creation of man.

I agree fully with this statement.

MY problem is that if some parts of the Scripture can be shown to be 'inaccurate', then why, in GOD's name, should any of the REST of it be believed?

We then fall back on the 'authority' of some folks to TELL us what the Scriptures 'really' mean.

136 posted on 01/08/2007 11:13:18 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 132 | View Replies ]

To: Brilliant
 God did not need to explain every detail of the creation in order to convey that message, and if he had done so, and that explanation had involved evolution, you can be certain that it would not have been understood until the modern times.
True, but the illustrations we get from Scripture are quite different...

Let's see if there are verses that might shed light on how fast GOD works.....

Isa 48:3 ... I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of My mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them] SUDDENLY, and they came to pass.

Indeed!!

Genesis 1
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2. 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.
3. And God
said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

This is a GOD who creates by speaking; but; how LONG did it take?


Now Jesus was a man who had God-like powers. Was HE God? The Book says so.......

NIV Colossians 1:13-17
13. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

NIV Revelation 4:11
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

NIV Revelation 10:6
And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay!

Notice that when this man speaks, things happen RIGHT NOW! Not after some times passes and Nature takes it's course.

NIV Matthew 8:2-3
2. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he

said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

NIV Matthew 21:19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he
said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

NIV Mark 1:41-42
41. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he
said. "Be clean!"
42. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

NIV Mark 5:41-42
41. He took her by the hand and
said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").
42. Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

NIV Mark 10:51-52
51. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
52. "Go,"
said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

NIV Luke 5:13
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he
said. "Be clean!" And Immediately the leprosy left him.

NIV Luke 5:24-25
24. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." He
said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."
25. Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

NIV Luke 8:44
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and Immediately her bleeding stopped.

NIV Luke 13:12-13
12. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and
said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."
13. Then he put his hands on her, and Immediately she straightened up and praised God.

NIV Luke 18:42-43
42. Jesus
said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
43. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

NIV Acts 9:33-35
33. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.
34. "Aeneas," Peter
said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up.
35. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

NIV Matthew 8:13
Then Jesus
said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

NIV Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus
answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Now if this same personage, who does things in an instant; how LONG would it take Him to CREATE all that we find around us???


137 posted on 01/08/2007 11:15:43 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 132 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson