Why is it that many Fundamentalists make it a test of Christian faith to believe the earth was created in 6 days, less than 10,000 years ago? Why is believing in Christianity and evolution considered wrong in Fundamenalism?
2006-10-30 12:14:35 · 18 answers · asked by Nowhere Man 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well, God said He created the world in six days. Are you saying He's lying?
Evolution happens bit by bit, they say, to make us swallow it. So what about the Adam's dad?
Adam's father would be 99.99999999...% human. Why did God not give him a soul (he must have been smarter than many mentally challenged humans today)?
As whitehorse mentioned, the genealogies don't add up to 50 billion years. Again, did God lie?
In Genesis, God talks about creating different types of life separately. How were some types of life supposed to survive with their ecological counterparts from the as-yet uncreated types?
The Bible says God created Adam from the dust of the ground (I know, you're shouting "it was the primordial goo!", but this was after all other life had come into being, so it would be kind of redundant). And how do you say Eve evolved when God made her from a rib in Adam's side?
I could go on, and on, but I think you get the idea. If you believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it's not honest to pretend that evolution could be true. BTW, don't be intimidated by the scorners that claim science proves evolution. The opposite is true really, but since they believe God does not exist, they have no choice but to pull stuff out of the air. Unfortunately, the Devil has used this to intimidate many believers into compromising their beliefs.
Don't be one of them. If you have any questions regarding specific scientific issues with evolution and creation, feel free to email me.
2006-10-30 12:33:15 · answer #1 · answered by Free Ranger 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about Fundamentalists but whether you believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old or if you believe in the gap theory that says that between verses one and two of Genesis there is a long gap of time, evolution flies in the face of what the rest of that chapter teaches as well as in the face of sound scientific investigation.
If someone wants to believe in a God directed evolution, that's up to them. But what it does is it bows to the altar of science as shaped by society. Many competent scientists know that the theory of evolution is full of holes. Some have even admitted that the only reason they still support it is because the only alternative is intelligent design and they would rather support the unsupportable than admit that God is real. A Christian should trust in what God says and not in what a scientist theorizes. Otherwise they start out on the slippery slope of compromising their beliefs in order to accommodate what the world system says is true.
If you are interested I can point you to some resources that will help you to understand how scientists have brought presuppositions to their theories that are being shot down as scientists apply rigorous theoretical principles to things like radiometric dating and sedimentary layers used to guess how old fossils are. Write me and I'll send you the links.
2006-10-30 12:25:26 · answer #2 · answered by Martin S 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think it is important to understand what the Bible teaches about this. At Genesis 1:1 it simply states: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Bible scholars agree that this verse describes an action separate from the creative days recounted from vs. 3 onward. According to the Bible's opening statement, the universee, including our planet, was in existence for an indefinite time before the creative days began. Geologists estimate the Earth is around 4 billion years old and astronomers calculate the univers as old as 15 billion. Since the Bible doesn't specify the actual age of the heavens and the earth, it does not go against what science says.
As far as the creative days, the Hebrew word translated "day" can mean various lengths of time, not just 24 hours. For example, when summarizing God's creative work, Moses refers to all six creative days as one day ( Genesis 2:4)
2006-10-30 13:12:17 · answer #3 · answered by izofblue37 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because most Christians don't understand what the bible says in Genesis. In Genesis 1:1 It says,"In the beginning God created the earth." It does not say when the beginning was. God did create the earth in 6 days just like it says but not less than 10000 years ago as you say. He created the earth in the beginning many thousands of years before this earth age. The keys to understanding these scriptures is earth age.
2006-10-30 12:30:24 · answer #4 · answered by peewee5001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are guided by 2 principle misunderstandings.
A. Most Christians are NOT young earth creationists.
B. Belief in evolutionary theory and Christianity are not mutually comaptible. Ch. holds that the universe was created by God. Evolutionary theory is based in Naturalism which teaches that there is nothing outside of nature (especially God) that created us but we are biproducts of chance and the forces of nature.
Oh God could have caused evolution? Then whats the point if sticking up for evolution? That still makes a person a creationist because you believe God created the earth but through a figurative way of that which was described in Genesis. Besides, the only people really fighting hard for evolution are Naturalists (atheists) who depend greatly on the theory for the vitality of their unbelief in God.
2006-10-30 12:37:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To be a Christian fundamentalist you must believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God. The Bible says that God created the world and everything in it in 6 literal days. No gaps, no pre-Adamite race, just 6 days. If you add up the genealogies in Genesis that puts the birth of Abraham at 1946 years after creation. We know from history that Abraham was born about 2166 B.C..1946+2166 +2006=6118. thats about 6000 years in my book. There is no room for millions of years and man descending from anything but Adam and Eve.
Now add to that the fact that no one can date any artifact older that about 5500 years and confirm it. The so called geologic column is a joke and most scientist know it. Every so called "link" in the evolutionary chain has so far been proven to be a hoax. Evolutionsit lied, and it is obvious. There is no proof that the earth is over about 6,000 years. There is lots of speculation, and supposition. And it is "all" based on-speculation. In fact, until someone comes up with some kind of valid data showing an older earth its over.
2006-10-30 12:30:42 · answer #6 · answered by Desperado 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because fundamentalist Christians' faith is built, not on the saving power of Christ, but rather on the house of cards of a literal, one-dimensional reading of Scripture...if they admit that some bit of Scripture isn't factual (which, by the way, isn't the same as saying that it's not true), then the entire premise of their faith falls apart.
Fact of the matter is, many, many people are faithful Christians who do not understand every jot and tittle of Scripture to be historically or scientificall accurate -- who are able to read Scripture in a more nuanced, informed way.
2006-10-30 12:44:46 · answer #7 · answered by tawonda2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they have their own origin of the earth, and the bible says otherwise.
Also, evolution only work if the earth is billions of years old. Recent studies have been proving that wrong though. One of them is that the sun apparently shrinks 5 feet every hour. If the universe is billions of years old, then the size of the ancient sun would have covered up the nearest planet, and would roast the earth to death. Ironically, if this actually is the case, then the same time period that the sun was so huge is about the time that earth had its "ice age"
2006-10-30 12:22:36 · answer #8 · answered by Lord_French_Fry 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I personally do not believe that we are evolved from the monkey...but that has never been an issue for me in believing in Christ...and now when I have grown in my faith...it has less and less meaning for me. I believe that the Bible is true and if we were evolved from the monkey, I believe that it would be in the Bible.
I believe in evolution in a way that the caterpillar morphs into a butterfly...so it is OK in my books to be a Christian and believe in evolution. I let God to do judging on this matter. The main thing is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
2006-10-30 12:24:39 · answer #9 · answered by SeeTheLight 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Fundamentalists believe that the Bible is a literal document, and therefore, the story of Genisis is literal.. and it says 6 days. To believe anything else as a fundamentalist would be to say the Bible is not innerant, but if that story is not literal, it calls every other belief into question.
2006-10-30 12:18:51 · answer #10 · answered by Terri 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋