Posted on 03/21/2016 3:43:44 PM PDT by NYer
You posted: “we do know when the universe was created. It is Halakhah that the universe was created ex nihilo going on 5776 years ago. The first day of creation was ‘Elul 25 and the sixth day was 1 Tishrei—Ro’sh HaShanah.”
That means that the world was created in 3760 BC by my calculation (2016 AD - 5,776 years), thus the world is younger than what Bishop Ussher calculated.
However, you missed the underlying point of my post: The sarcasm over this arguing about the exact date of the creation of everything by God. Although you did put in a bit of sarcasm yourself, which I appreciated.
my post was sarcastic over the long squabble about spelling Phil(l)ip and whether or not that showed biblical knowledge.
Yes.
That means that the world was created in 3760 BC by my calculation (2016 AD - 5,776 years), thus the world is younger than what Bishop Ussher calculated.
Yes. As a matter of fact, according to the Kutim (the "Samaritans") the world is even younger than that.
Having heard so often that "no one had ever interpreted Genesis literally until the stupid rednecks came along" I took advantage of an opportunity to send an e-mail to an online Samaritan publication (which gave the years from creation on its home page). The answer I received was that the Samaritans really do believe that all those things actually did happen. So much for "stupid rednecks" inventing Biblical literalism out of whole cloth.
However, you missed the underlying point of my post:
I must have.
The sarcasm over this arguing about the exact date of the creation of everything by God.
I didn't see any sarcasm. I saw yet another post by a (Catholic/Orthodox?) FReeper laughing at retarded "white trash" for believing there are no mistakes whatsoever on any subject in the Written Word of G-d.
Although you did put in a bit of sarcasm yourself, which I appreciated.
I wasn't being sarcastic. I'm sorry you're so dismissive of the Bible's veracity as to interpret it that way. But that is your problem.
I guess I missed your POV. It’s becoming clearer.
This is a good question.
I personally believe the account of the Flood is an accurate historical account. I personally believe it retells the flooding of the Black Sea, approximately 7000 years ago (c 5600 BC). See here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis
This fits nicely not only with the fact the Flood is recorded in the Bible but also in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Both regions and peoples could have easily heard of and recorded such a flood, knowledge of which was passed on to both peoples from ages long past.
This doesn’t mean it wasn’t done by God nor that there aren’t some important Judeo-Christian truths to be had from the Biblical account. Both are quite true, I firmly believe.
I just don’t believe the entire globe of the Earth was ever covered in water in any point in human history.
You said yourself that you were being sarcastic with this statement:
“Why, they’ll fry in hell for doing that![/sarcasm]”
Also examine the passages concerning the covenant God made after the Flood.
If the flood were local and if anyone has died in a flood in the Mesopotamian area since God made this covenant then God has lied.
I'm currently writing a paper for a seminary class to offer evidence for a worldwide flood.
Good luck in your paper. I’d like to read it when you’re done if possible.
About your point about the verbs used to describe the flooding pointing to a “worldwide” flood. As far as I remember, when I investigated this issue before (about 10 years ago but not exhaustively admittedly), yes the intent of the “original authors” of the account was that the Flood encompassed the “whole world”, however that useage must be examined critically. After all, as we all know firstly, the ancients didn’t conceive of the Earth as a globe. They viewed the “world” as flat, only extending to the horizons they could see. So it’s quite possible what they meant as a “world-wide” flood was really a regional flood like the Black Sea flood.
As far as anyone dying in a Mesopotamian flood since the Great Flood making God a liar, this can’t be true since we still have people dying in floods today, and that certainly doesn’t make God a liar.
Make no mistake the Black Sea flooding, if as catastrophic and sudden as some believe, was in every sense of the word, “Biblical” in its scope and severity. We have never seen anything like it since. I don’t see a problem with accepting that as the origin of the Great Flood account, since it not only proves from history that Scripture is right again but it also allows for a literal interpretation of Scripture. All things that should make everyone, on this thread at least, happy.
Stick with 'the Bible is all true, we just don't yet know how it is all true.'
God said all flesh would not die due to a flood again.
Now one has to qualify how big or small the world was to justify God not lying.
The plain reading of the text, in conjunction with the passages in Isaiah and the New Testament indicate it's worldwide.
I'll be glad to get you a copy of the paper. Would be interested in your evaluation of the thought process.
Freepmail me on how we can do this.
This was a thread that needed to happen, and yet somehow went to hell in a handbasket.
Education, particularly in America, has become a debased shadow of what it ought to be.
A thorough grounding in what this writer calls “western civ” is necessary or you aren’t really educated at all. We can argue about specific authors and specific works, whether or not they should be in the “canon” but kids who graduate having never read and understood any of this, are not educated and are easily misled by demagogues, not to mention that they must then spend decades de-educating and re-educating themselves.
Christians of every stripe need to look at what passes for education and decide if this is really what they want for their kids. Churches should consider establishing classic college level studies and turning their backs on the crap that is being peddled by the establishment. It makes no sense to bankrupt yourself to have your kids indoctrinated in the flavor-of-the-month and at the end of it, they are not really educated at all. Most people you meet, if they are educated for real, have had to educate themselves. There is room for someone to do something about this if they just will.
But first you have to recognize that there is a problem, and that’s what a thread like this ought to be about. Maybe you can try again and hope for better results.
Ok FReepmail sent.
probably...
I disagree with your conclusions....Catholics preach the 2,000 year old truth of the Christian religion, Protestants, by their very description, are trying, fruitlessly, to change, eliminate, rewrite, misinterpret, what existed for one thousand six hundred years before they even existed.
Wow...way to take a stand on the issue.
Pro-Catholic IS pro Bible....Catholics get a little upset when folks eliminate entire books, reinterpret what has been taught for 2,000 years, deny apparent truths like Transubstantiation, deny the seven Sacrament instituted by Christ...little things like that.
Catholics do NOY hate the Bible. Where did you get that idea?
You have that EXACTLY in reverse....remember that the Catholics were there for 1,600 years before the Protestant revolution took place. It was the Protestants that ridiculed the Catholics for their beliefs and traditions..
The Catholics said...Jesus took bread, broke it and said "TAKE AND EAT OF THIS, THIS IS MY BODY" and the protestants decided that He rally didn't mean that and chastised Catholics for their belief.
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