Posted on 12/22/2011 6:33:49 AM PST by truthfinder9
Have you ever been to a church that claimed that the earth is young? Have you ever felt pressured into believing in a young earth, even though you felt the scientific evidence was contrary to a young earth? Have you ever thought that in order to be a Christian, you had to deny science, and believe in young earth creation science? You are not alone. Many churches teach that the earth is young, and many require you to profess this belief through their statement of faith, which includes a world that was created in six 24-hour days. No, you are definitely not alone...millions have been driven away from the church, and Christ, because of this very topic.
However, there is no need for this to happen. You can believe in an old earth and be a Christian. The doctrine of salvation has nothing to do with the age of the earth. The Bible does not say, “Believe in a young earth, or be condemned to hell.” You can become a Christian and believe in an old earth.
Want to learn more? This website is here to help you. Let's start with a basic explanation of old earth theology. There are several major positions one can take with regards to belief in an old earth and universe. Using a simplistic view of old earth creationist beliefs, they can basically be split into two groups, those who hold to a Day-Age Interpretation, and those who believe in the Gap Theory
(Excerpt) Read more at answersincreation.org ...
What is not negotiable is for Christians to confess God as Creator. My question for you, then, is whether you can wholeheartedly affirm the Apostles Creed (confessed by Catholics and Episcopalians during worship), which states: "I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth..."
” As mentioned by others on this thread,the whole question of time and “age” takes on a different meaning in the light of God’s eternal perspective,and very likely also during the time of Creation.”
OK so you don’t believe in the literal translation and interpretation of the Bible then.
Remember, Genisis was written by man, not God himself. To man, the “day” is and always has been quite clear.
” What is not negotiable is for Christians to confess God as Creator. My question for you,then,is whether you can wholeheartedly affirm the Apostles Creed (confessed by Catholics and Episcopalians during worship),which states: “I believe in God the Father,maker of heaven and earth...”
Absolutely. I never said or implied I believe otherwise. There is no other logical explaination. I don’t even believe in evolution. I believe spieces can change physical characteristics over time, but not actually morph into other species (monkey to man eg.)
That would be my position as well. Development within a species, yes, but the overarching view that Evolution is responsible for all the glorious diversity of Creation is utterly untenable and flies in the face of reason. I.e., the view that intelligence and an almost unimaginable degree of order/design somehow arose spontaneously from chance + time + matter is contrary to reason.
The Scriptures tell us: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Jesus commended the simple faith of children: "For of such is (composed) the kingdom of God." It makes perfect sense that God would desire his children to have faith in him. We are limited and fallible, and He is our loving Heavenly Father who supplies all our needs.
But this does not mean that the Christian faith is a-historical or built upon myths and fables. Our faith is soundly grounded in history, and the testimony of Holy Scripture is trustworthy.
Mathematical proof and the scientific method are very limited, and wholly incapable of "proving" much of what we know to be true. You did not mention a very important kind of truth that each one of us depends upon implicitly every day of our lives: historical truth.
Permit me to pose a question: Do you believe that there was a President named John F. Kennedy? Are you certain? The reason I ask is because you argued that "provable truth" - as you put it - was not possible. Back to John F. Kennedy. How certain are you that he lived? Are you, say, 85% certain? 90% certain? Perhaps more? I suspect that your honest answer would be something like: Of course I am fully certain that JFK lived: what kind of a question is that?
You see, it is all fine and good to argue back and forth as to the theoretical possibility of absolute truth, but the practical reality of the matter is that each and every one of us lives our lives every day assuming a great many things to be unshakably true.
But back to historical truth; I would contend that just as we accept sans doubt the existence of many, many historical personages and events, that in the same way we can have a reasonable faith in the historicity of events described in the Bible.
Of course, we are talking about events of great antiquity, but I have always found it curious that historians speak with great confidence about the lives of many ancient personages, even though the actual historical evidence is often much less that is available regarding the biblical texts.
Put another way, to be consistent, if we claim the biblical accounts are "unreliable" and "shrouded in myth," then we would be duty bound to jettison virtually everything we know about ancient history.
The issue is one of reliable testimony. Though we never met JFK in person, we accept reliable testimony regarding his life. The same is true of innumerable "facts" that we accept without question because we trust the reliability of the source.
I myself put my faith in Christ at an early age, and have never wavered, though I was not always a good example of a Christian. My study of the Bible, history, and archaeology has confirmed the reliability of the biblical texts. Indeed, it has increased my faith as I read about the marvelous works of God and His promises to those who put their trust in Him.
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