just a religious question... explanation please???

Question

okay i am Catholic, but its only cuz my parents were. i'm having a hard time with faith rite now, especially this one quesiton. how is this physically possible? :

in the bible, there was nothing, anywhere, and god decided to make the universe. he made everything over a course of 7 days, and he created the animals we still have today. but scientific evidence has proven that there were dinosaurs and stuff like that. it doesnt say anything in the bible about dinosaurs, and even if they left it out, dinosaurs were here billions of years before us, not days. the only explanation i can think of is that the "days" of god arent standard 24-hour-days, and maybe a god day is a few billion years for us, but that would mean that the earth went billions of years without light, billions of years without water, etc. and i might be wrong about this, but weren't all the animals created on the same day??

i'm not trying to prove the faith wrong, i need a real answer.

well so far i've always favored science over religion... and i would believe that maybe earth was a few billion years less than i thought it was, but no way is it 6000 years old. that just doesnt make any sense. and they don't prove how old things are just by what rock layers they're in- they measure how long they've been decomposing... something about halflives?? not sure, but its very accurate... within a few years, not 60 billion.

Answer 1

The Holy Qur'an does not define the age of the universe in any way. Science so far is not able to tell exactly when the universe began. The Holy Qur'an had been introduced in a non-scientific age when people were not able to conceive the stretch of time into billions or millions of years. Had the Qur'an stated that the stars were originated billions of years ago, people may have rejected the whole concept of Islam. The Qur'an, therefore, wisely kept silent on this matter. To be true, you do not need to tell all of what you know of truth; you need only to refrain from misinforming the people. Thus, the door was kept open to any scientific theory, so the religious information will not clash with any scientific knowledge.

The Holy Qur'an states that the material out of which these bodies were built was a kind of gas. This is in accordance with the modern theory which says that the celestial bodies were built out of hydrogen gas. From the Holy Qur'an:

"Then He directed Himself to the heaven, and it was a vapor, so He said to it and to the earth: 'Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly.' They both said: 'We come willingly.' " 41:11

The quoted verse indicates that the vapor or what constitutes the vapor of molecules and atoms was the first material thing which existed in this world.

The Holy Qur'an declares that God has created all living beings out of water:

"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the Earth were closed up, so We split them, and We made from water everything living? Will they not then believe?" 21:30

"And God has created every walking life out of water, of them that which crawls upon its belly, and of them is that which walks upon two feet, and of them that which walks upon four. God creates what He pleases. Surely God is Possessor of power over all things." 24:45

The Qur'an does not contain such a statement on the order of the creations. However, Muslims do not subscribe to the contents of the first chapter in Genesis book because it shows some discrepancies.

Take the following examples:

1. "Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day." Genesis 1:3-5

This statement indicates that the first thing created was the day and night.

But we know that day and night would come after the existence of the sun and through its rise and set. However, verse 14 from the same chapter indicates that the sun was created on the fourth day:

"And God said, let there be lights in the firmaments of the heavens to separate the day from the night: and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let there be lights in the firmament of heavens to give light upon the earth, and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning. A fourth day." 1:14-19

This statement indicates that the sun was created on the fourth day, and from here the days should start. This, of course, disagrees with verse 3 which informs us of the start of the day three stages before the formation of the sun.

2. The same chapter states that the vegetation, plants yielding seed, and the fruit trees were created and grown on the third day:

"And God said, 'Let the Earth put forth vegetables and plant yielding seed and the fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the Earth. And it was so. The Earth brought forth vegetation, plants, yielding seed according to their own kinds, and the trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day." 1:11-13

But we know that none of these vegetation and plants could grow without sun, while the same chapter tells us that the sun was created on the fourth day as mentioned before.

3. The same chapter states that God, on the sixth day, created man in His own image:

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our own image, after Our likeness; . . . So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." 1:26-27

Muslims believe that God has no image and no form. He is the Infinite Who encompasses the whole universe. He has neither a body, nor is He material, nor do the visions comprehend Him. To think that God has a form of a man, to the Muslims, is degrading to the whole concept of God.

4. Chapter two contradicts the first chapter. The first chapter, as you know, has stated that vegetation and plants and the trees were created on the third day, before the creation of man, who was created on the sixth day. The second chapter tells us that man was created before vegetation and plants:

"These are the generations of the heavens and the Earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens . . . when no plant of the field was yet in the Earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was no man to till the ground ... but a mist went up from the Earth and watered the whole face of the ground . . . then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being . . . And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East; and there He put the man whom He had formed.... And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:4-9

This statement clearly indicates that there was no plant before the creation of man.

There is another point in this statement, namely, that there is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. But we know that knowledge does not grow on trees; it comes through experience and learning.

5. The first chapter has stated that the animal kingdom was created on the fifth day:

"And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the Earth across the firmament of the heavens.' So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God blessed them.... And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.... And God made the beasts of the Earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind .... Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image.... ' " 1:20-23

This statement clearly indicates that man was created after the creation of fish, birds, beasts and cattle, but the second chapter indicates that man was created before any of these things:

"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' So out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them...." 2:18-19

6. We find in the third chapter of the Genesis that Eve was deceived by the serpent which persuaded her to eat from the prohibited tree:

"He (the serpent) said to the woman, 'Did God say, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'. . . But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be open....' " 3:1-5

But we know that a serpent is not capable of speaking, deceiving or persuading. A serpent is not endowed with a mental capacity or ability of pronouncing words and carrying on a conversation.

7. In the same chapter we find what indicates the limitation of the knowledge of God, and that He is a walking body, and that Adam and Eve were able to hide themselves from Him:

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?' and he said, 'I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.' He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?'..." 3:8-1 1

No one can hide himself from God Who is Ever-Present and Who knows everything. God does not need to ask Adam where he is, nor does He need to ask Adam if he had eaten from the tree.

Answer 2

I am Christian. i don't know of Catholic faith.
If you read Gen. 1:1. This tells what happened in the beginning. in Gen 1:2, Darkness was upon the face of the deep, Which I understand was God's Judgement that had taken place. Some call this the "gap theory". At any rate, a lot of time could have passed between the beginning and this time of judgement upon the earth. One scripture that supports this statement is Is 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),
"I am the LORD, and there is none else.
He did not create it to be formless and void, but it became that way.

You should read 2 Peter chapter 3, It may help your understanding about the times or ages.

2 Pet 3:8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

All the animals were not created on the same day. Gen 2:19 states God formed these ,Gen 1:24 God said, or God spoke these into existence. Some people say Gen 2 is a more detailed account of Gen 1, I think they are two different accounts.

The Bible is silent on certain subjects, like the dinosaurs, But it is hard to deny that they existed at some time in the past, also these so called cave men, they could have lived in that same period. Just like it is ridiculous for anyone to claim that the earth is only six thousand years old, (dating back through the Bible will take you back to Adam's creation, at that time).

Answer 3

You might be right. Many people think that the days in the Bible aren't literal 24-hour days. In at least a couple of places the Bible says that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and vice-versa.

Some think that the dinosaurs lived between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and that the creation account is actually God's second creation upon the earth.

Answer 4

A "day" can mean a lot of things, depending on the context.

One interesting definition is: an indefinite period of time in which something significant happens.

As for the dinosaurs, the Bible actually mentions very few extinct animals and none that were extinct at the time of writing. Had dinosaurs been mentioned, I would find that much more curious.

You have to remember that the Bible isn't a science textbook. The purpose of the book of Genesis was to give the Israelites a basic overview of how they came to be, not a detailed chronology of prehistory.

Would a more detailed description of the creation of the universe and extinct animals have been beneficial to them? In a religous context, is it even beneficial to us? The Bible addresses matters of more spiritual importance.

Answer 5

Your first question does have an answer, the dinosaurs, find them in the book of Job chapter 40, two are mentioned. AS far as your idea about God's day not being a literal 24 hour day, that is possible. It says several places in the bible that a day to God is like a 1000 years and other variations as well. So that could be. I tend to favor the literal 6 day creation due to the fact that science has concluded that carbon date testing (how the determine the age of things) can actually make things look older than they are.

Answer 6

The bible also says that to God a day is as 1000 years. So in essence the bible actually says that god created the earth in 6000 years, and in the last 1000 or so he rested.

Personally I find this as more reason why I do not follow christianity.

However, interpretations could be incorrect. Or quite possibly God felt no need to mention dinosaurs. It is up to you to find the meaning that fits for you.

Answer 7

you are depending on outside sources way to much, bible is ultimite truth........ one thing the way that they dated fossils and such isn't reliable, they say the bones are a certain age because they are found in a certain rock layer but have no real proof that the rock is actually that old......... 2ndly there is things in the bible describing dinasour like animals(dont have the references now but i can get you them by tommorow or the next day) and there is no proof that the world is "billion" of years old....... doll you need to go and talk to a pastor about this one(i'm not in a catholic church but i'm sure you'll be able to find one that ill explain it easier)........ and they where twenty four hour days, for one it says evening and morning, secondly it uses the term day.... if they where billions of years and evolution was used in it there would be death and disease before sin, which would be a load of crap..... doll you need to take all the bible litteraly, including the story of creation.......... give me a day and i'll come back with more stuff just dont have the stuff on me now........................................ if your finding catholicism hard to believe and not explaining it all go to a different church maby..... by the way god created everything, including time, he didn't even need a day to create it all, he could have done it in a second...........he's omnipotent................. i will get back to you tommorow on the references that i need to back up dinasours in the bible and people and dinasours alive at the same time

Answer 8

that's the thing, it's supposed to be inconceivable. theories have been deduced, but of course, no one can truly explain HOW God did it. All we know is that God is not limited by the laws of physics. He created them.

the Bible gives evidence of dinosaurs as well, or the remnants thereof. check the book of Job. and do you believe that God is omipotent? if so, creating in a small span of time such as 24 hours would be pretty easy.

if you're having a tough time with faith, you need to let God help you. His word even explains how. read it.

Answer 9

Does God create something it fairly is imperfect? there are lots of flaws interior the coolest judgment of prepared faith. Take Adam and Eve, as an occasion. If God knows of each and every thing, alongside with the destiny, and he created Adam and Eve, and he knew their nature, then he knew what selection they might make until now they made it, so then why be shocked or indignant appropriate to the alternative they made? additionally, putting Adam and Eve interior the backyard with a fruit they don't seem to be meant to consume is like putting a 2-3 hundred and sixty 5 days-previous interior the kitchen with a jar of cookies on the floor and telling him to not consume any. Animals at the instant are not sinful. they are in basic terms as God created them. gay people who're born that way at the instant are not undesirable or sinful the two and should not could stay out a life-time of loneliness. prepared faith has been subverted by potential of those with an schedule.

Answer 10

From a Buddhist perspective and a former Catholic myself... I was in the same shoes you're in now... you have to dig and analyze yourself hon, nobody is going to give you the answers. I never got a logical answer to the same questions when I was asking at the tender age of 6 y/o and up.

It's a good question since "nothing" doesn't exist in the first place, there is NO such thing as "nothing" since everything is composed of SOMETHING, even a vacuum in space is something... so how can something that DOES exist come from something that doesn't? You'll find as you dig through logical progression of thought, if you are able to, that there are no logical answers to most of what you're asking.

I wish you well on your journey.

_()_

Answer 11

Gods days are not 24 hour days. Yes, there were years without light, humans, plants... it was all a process, a very long process to us. He created the animals in a day to him.the first ones could have been dinosaurs. 1 day is like a thousand years...