Religious “givens”

[Prompted by my post in another thread]

What “givens” were you brought up with. Either religious, spiritual or otherwise.

Do you still adhere to these “givens”.

[my post copied from another thread]

I was brought up to believe a raft of “givens” about God, one being that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired and complete word of god to mankind. I am currently agnostic on this assertion.

Another was that the universe, the earth in particular and mankind specifically, was only 6,000 years old. I cannot accept this, not because it is impossible (god can do what he wants) but because the overwhelming in-your-face evidence does not in anyway support this. Except possibly for the timeline of evidence of large civilisations, which is indeed about 6,000 years as I understand it.

@divegeester said
[my post copied from another thread]

I was brought up to believe a raft of “givens” about God, one being that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired and complete word of god to mankind. I am currently agnostic on this assertion.

Another was that the universe, the earth in particular and mankind specifically, was only 6,000 years old. I cannot accept this, not because ...[text shortened]... e timeline of evidence of large civilisations, which is indeed about 6,000 years as I understand it.

@pb1022 said
I used to think YEC was ridiculous until someone on here pointed out God created Adam as a mature adult and not as a baby. So God could indeed have created a “mature” universe (one that appears that way.)

@ghost-of-a-duke said
No offense, but that is probably the lamest explanation for a mature universe I've ever heard. I strongly recommend you return to your previous view that it was ridiculous.

It's right up there with the view I've heard that God put dinosaur bones in rocks to confuse mankind. (Or that all the bones found are fake).

Your best defense for the Genesis creation is th ...[text shortened]... oday, but a period of time. (Day is often used in the Bible to mean a period greater than 24 hours).

@pb1022 said
Apparently the Hebrew word used for day in the Genesis creation account is a 24-hour day so I don’t think it’s possible to claim the word day symbolically refers to an era.

And I don’t think it’s possible for human beings who are born into time and constantly subjected to it to understand what it would be like if time did not exist.

”What kind of days these were it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible, to determine.”

Augustine

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Old Testament scholar and Hebrew linguist Gleason Archer (1916-2004), a strong advocate for inerrancy, wrote ”On the basis of internal evidence, it is this writer’s conviction that yôm in Genesis could not have been intended by the Hebrew author to mean a literal twenty-four hour day.”

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/biblical-reasons-to-doubt-the-creation-days-were-24-hour-periods/

@pb1022 said
This is an interesting article that addresses Gleason Archer’s view.

https://www.icr.org/article/meaning-day-genesis/

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Do you accept at least the issue isn't clear-cut? There are Christian scholars out there who question the meaning of 'day' in Genesis.

@pb1022 said
Yes, I accept that. I wasn’t previously aware that it wasn’t clear cut among scholars.

@pb1022 said
I used to think YEC was ridiculous until someone on here pointed out God created Adam as a mature adult and not as a baby. So God could indeed have created a “mature” universe (one that appears that way.)

God existing outside of time and (imo) creating time complicates the question.

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thou ...[text shortened]... ars in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

(Psalm 90:4)

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I imagine there are far fewer scholars who think God created a mature universe than those who challenge the meaning of 'day' in Genesis.

@pb1022 said
I used to think YEC was ridiculous until someone on here pointed out God created Adam as a mature adult and not as a baby. So God could indeed have created a “mature” universe (one that appears that way.)

@pb1022 said
Apparently the Hebrew word used for day in the Genesis creation account is a 24-hour day so I don’t think it’s possible to claim the word day symbolically refers to an era.