Specifically, the issue around whether we are living in a Universe that is 6,000 years old (Bible opinion, I think) or one that is between 13 - 18 billion years old.
Can I believe in what the bible says and in Darwin's theory of evolution well? And, are they compatible with one another?
2006-11-15 08:49:39 · 35 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Of course they are. It was a man who "decided" how old the universe was and he used man's lenght of Time to determine it. We have no idea how long God's day is. it may have taken 7 "days" but God's day may just be several billion years of our Time. I beleive in both evolution and creation and they both make perfect sense. Blessings and good luck.
2006-11-15 08:58:29 · answer #1 · answered by Mama Otter 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can't believe in the theory of evolution and what the Bible says because the Bible specifically says that God created man. It doesn't say that he created apes who turned into men.
You can, however, believe that the world is billions of years old. Many Christians believe that there was a large gap between the time of Genesis 1v1 and Genesis 1v2. Some people believe that the heavens and earth were created and then, over a long period of time became 'without form, and void'.
But there is also the point that, at the time of the flood, there would have been such a pressure on the earth (water was coming down from above and up from below) that the earth would have been drastically changed, which could easily distort scientific ways of dating the earth. For instance, sediment layers and fossils wouldn't be accurate because everything would have happened so quickly.
Hope that helps
2006-11-16 00:59:11 · answer #2 · answered by Kari 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bible doesn't say that the earth & universe is only 6000 years old at all. It says that mankind has been on the earth for approximately that time. The universe & earth could be a lot older. (maybe as old as you think)
Darwins theory of evoltion however, is not compatible with what the bible says.
When Darwin publicized those views on evolution he also added that in the future there would be found proof to back up his THEORIES, that what he expected. But time hasn't proved him right.
If Darwin was alive today he would retract his views because of lack of proof.
The trouble with evolutionists is - they discard the idea of a Creator straight away - and then try to find the answers for how live came about, with what they have left.
By not considering creation they therefore show themselves biased. An unbiased person seeking to find the truth about life would consider ALL the evidence before deciding - therefore making an informed choice. Only one can be true.
Many scientists today are acknowledging that we must have been created. By studying on the molecular level they acknowledge that life just couldn't have come about by chance. They echo the Psalmist's words at PSALM 139:14
PSALM 14:1
There is more proof on the earth about creation than for the theory of evolution. (many so-called "evidence" has been exposed as fake. Fabricated to back-up lies)
2006-11-16 01:57:55 · answer #3 · answered by New ♥ System ♥ Lady 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would say yes...depending on how you interpret the Bible. One question...the 6 days of creation...were they literal, 24 hour days? Or were they time periods? Could God have possibly begun the whole process when he held gasses in each hand and smached them together in a catastrophic explosion of creation? Then as the pieces fell into place over billions of years, perhaps life did spring up out of the primordial seas...perhaps nudged by God, perhaps not. As species emerged and evolved, maybe God had a hand in guiding the evolution process, which from a certain point of view supports God creating them, but also that the species evolved. I don't see why believing in evolution has to disqualify you from being a Christian. Personally at this time, I don't buy into evolution as the source of life, but different people may interpret the Bible in different ways. God bless.
2006-11-15 09:06:20 · answer #4 · answered by Guvo 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some Christians believe the Genesis creation account literally. It doen't mean that your not a Christian if you don't. The universe wasn't necessarily created in six twenty-four hour days. Especially since the sun and the moon don't show up until the fourth day. The most important verse in the Genesis account is the first one."In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth." Scripture is not compatible with Darwinian evolution, though.That's another story.
2006-11-15 09:00:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a known fact that the universe is several billion years old. Why would accepting the truth make you any less Christian? Since the Bible doesn't say a word about how species developed after the Creation, it would be pretty difficult for it to conflict with any scientific theories seeking to explain that reality/
2006-11-15 08:59:08 · answer #6 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't think the bible says that Jesus voiced any opinion on this. Since being a Christian is to do with following the teachings of the Christ then there would appear to be no incompatability.
Oh. And for fundamentalists - why couldn't God have created a universe that was 18 billion years old 6000 years ago?
2006-11-15 08:59:58 · answer #7 · answered by Nobody 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes, you may believe Creation is billions of years old, because when the fall happened, everything became in an instant, extremely old. The Early Church Father's teach this.
So, this is how it is. Creation isn't old, but because of the Fall, it seems like it is. It is billions of years old, yet at the very same time, it is only about 6 thousand years old. It is a paradox I know. But there is no time with God, so when the Fall happened, you would have to expect that time would fall also in a strange way. Hope this helps.
Only Eastern Orthodox Church has an idea of timelessness of God. It is why our Eucharist is not God sacrificed all over again, but it is participation in the One Sacrifice that Jesus Christ made already.
If you can't handle the idea of paradox, Ancient Christianity is hard to take.
I wouldn't however believe Darwin's theory of evolution, because there isn't any scientific evidence that it exists.
2006-11-15 08:58:04 · answer #8 · answered by Felicitas 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
How did you become a "christian" if it wasn't through the truth of the Bible, and if it is through the Bible than how can you trust the Bible if you believe the first page of it is a pack of lies?
I would certainly consider the idea that you may not yet have found the truth of salvation and being a Christian.
Faith is the way and Hebrews 11: 1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." When God speaks of faith the first thing He mentions is creation.
2006-11-15 09:00:46 · answer #9 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Belief in evolution and a very old universe does not preclude belief in God or being a Christian. It would not be compatible with a literal belief in the Bible, but most Christians accept the Bible as a mixture of allegory and history; the word of man, not God. A moral guide rather than a dogma.
2006-11-15 08:54:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Even If you don't believe that the Earth ECT are Billions of years old You cannot Become a True Christian.Because What is one of them.Even The Pope or the Higherarcy of all the Churches Ain't .Non of them live up to what the Bible Says.The translate it the way they want to .I should carry on and don't wast your life thinking about being a some thing that no one else is
2006-11-15 09:03:45 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋