Was life created in 6 x 24 hour days?

Question

If we believe the Genesis account, then we can take it two ways:

Life was created in 6 (24 hour) days, which goes against science

Or that life was created in 6 erra's, which does not directly go against science.

The Day-Age Theory seems to have some merit, afterall there was no Hebrew word to describe an erra or time span...other than day (yôma). For example, the (Hebrew) scriptures reffered to "Gods day" (using the same Hebrew word 'yôma' for a different meaning). This was not a litiral 24 hour peroid, but a peroid of time. Therefore, the Hebrew word day (yôma), needs to be translated into the right english word according to the context.

mark101112.....SO... WHATS... YOUR.... POINT?

God created us with an inquisitive nature. I like to find out the answers to questions, but you're right, it shouldn't detract us from obeying.

mypublicident - in my mind you are right to a degree, you do have to use your common sense and scientific knowledge. But at the same time, you shouldn't just cast off scriptures as being symbolic unless you have a good reason to do so. There are obvious scriptures where you have to take it symbolicly (e.g. Revelations, Daniel etc). Other scriptures you really need to know the context and original Hebrew/Greeek language to understand it.

Father Onesimus - To all posts who say simular things (e.g. Genesis account refers to day & night...a 2nd day etc), this is the only thing I found questionable about Old Earth Creation theory. I feel that Science and the Hebrew language is in their (OEC) favour but the day and night statement at the end of each creative day (or peroid) is the stumbling block. However, there are more stumbling blocks to the Young Earth Creation theory because how do you explain why the Genesis writer refers to the whole creative peroid as "one day" if you beleive that "one day" (yôma) is only 24 hours (e.g. Genesis 2:4). Not only does the Young Earth Creation theory go against science, it also goes against logic. The number of events that take place within "day" six are far too great to fit within a space of 24-hours. God creates animals, then Adam in the garden to work it, tells him the rules, then Adam has to name the animals, Adam gets bored & God makes a wife for him? All within 24 hours???

Description of Day and Evening (the finishing phrase of each creative day):

According to the Old Earth Creation theory, since the length of each creative day exceeded 24 hours, this expression does not apply to literal night and day but is figurative. During the evening period things would be indistinct; but in the morning they would become clearly discernible. During the “evening,” or beginning, of each creative period, or “day,” God’s purpose for that day, though fully known to him, would be indistinct to any angelic observers. However, when the “morning” arrived there would be full light as to what God had purposed for that day, it having been accomplished by that time.

Although the Young Earth Creation theory people object to this explanation and say that you must take it literally, can they exlain why on the seventh day, it doesn't say there was evening and morning? If their theory is true then the seventh day would also be a 24 hour peroid (evening and morning).

reallytrue101 -

What you say here is completely true:

"What you are reading is NOT THE FIRST CREATION of the Earth. It is the days where God rejuvinated the Earth and prepared it for this flesh age. The actual creation was eons and eons ago."

I didn't say otherwise (I asked if LIFE, moreso man, was created in 24 hour peroids), not if the earth or universe was made in 6 x 24 hours.

But after the above quote you made, you lost me. I simply believe that the world WAS perfect but then Satan lead the rebelion against God in the garden of Eden, the world (mankind, not the earth) became imperfect and we are still living in that imperfect world, but in the near future God will restore this world and make it like the first one again.

THA & dave:

THA & dave seem to agree with my opening question/statement. THA, so far, has given me the most logical / biblical answer.

thundercatt9 -

Very interesting what you've said. Still, it is nice to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. There are questions that are way out of our inteligence (e.g. where did God come from, where's the beginninig of space), but you know where to draw the line, whereas, pondering over the Creation acount and the age of the earth isn't too ridiculous.

Daniel B -

Quote;



You're an atheists, really? Then why are you answering in a religious forum??? I take it you know everything then? And as a scientist are you saying that the other creationist scientists are stupid? Just because people don’t always come to the same conclusion as you, doesn't make them stupid.

Anyhow, I don't believe that we have an immortal soul that survives death. Not that it's impossible/unscientific, but because the bible doesn't teach that. Rather, the bible teaches that God has the power to resurrect good people to life.

Did your house evolve? Did your PC evolve? "Impossible!" you say? Well which is more complex, your brain, or the house? Then you say, "but it started simple & then it got complicated!" That totally makes sense now, so your saying that the PC monitor was the first to evolve...right.

LELAND:

I couldn't agree more. The YEC's (young earth creationists) give the bible and Christianity a bad name with science. The YEC's will accuse the OEC (old earth creationists) of bending the rules to fit in with science, but that's not the case. It's illogical to think that the word yôma in Hebrew is to be translated as a 24 hour day - not that it's impossible for God to have created everything that quickly (and made out that the earth was older than He'd made it), but that the Hebrew word for day can mean any length of time, and all the events described in "day" 6 are too crammed. Sure, nothing's impossible for God, but did Adam really name ALL the animals in the garden of Edom, AND get lonely and long for a woman after just 14 hours (daylight)? Clearly, you have to take the scriptures in context before you decide what "yôma" means. Translation is complicated. For example, the Hebrew language doesn't even contain Vowels, so you have to work out where they should go.

Answer 1

Some biblical scholars estimate that everything was created about 6000 years ago. That means that god created bubble gum about 1000 years after that as scientists have just found some that dates back 5000 years ago.

Look, my point is that one should not take the bible literally. I'm not asking you to disbelieve, but I am asking that on stories like in Genesis, that you use a little common sense. Think about the time that those stories were written. They still believed that thunder and lightning came directly from god.

Answer 2

Actually, the manuscripts are very clear on this subject.
What you read in Genesis is actually 24 hour days. God made it a point to say "the evening and the morning were the first day" etc...just so people would not get confused in this, and yet they are anyway.
This is where people really mess up:
What you are reading is NOT THE FIRST CREATION of the Earth. It is the days where God rejuvinated the Earth and prepared it for this flesh age. The actual
creation was eons and eons ago.
Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth". Now when did it say He did that? It doesnt: just
"in the beginning".
Peter speaks of the three earth ages. One that was, one that is now, and one final one to come. We are in the second earth age.
The manuscripts tell of us when we lived right here on good ol earth in the first earth age. That is when Satan rebelled and a great war began. In that war, many followed Satan, and others stayed neutral, not caring as long as it didn't affect them (whats new, huh?) and then there was a group who stayed loyally on Gods side. After Satan was defeated, God could have just destroyed those who followed Satan, but
he wasn't all too happy with those who stayed neutral, either. So, God decided to formulate a plan for the redemption of the people. We do not know how much time passed between Satans downfall and what you read in Genesis, but we know that as a result of that war, God destroyed the earth AGE that was (not the Earth, not the terrafirma, just the AGE). The Earth sat
still and ran on its own autonomous system.
We know the dinosaurs and other creatures walked the Earth. Fossil fuels were being
formed, etc....
Meanwhile, a trial was being held for Satan, and he was found guilty and condemned to perish. Also, a plan was put into motion. It is written that we were all present, and all agreed to the plan:
God would bring in the second earth age, where each soul would come thru one time in the flesh, to make an ultimate decision of who they would follow: Christ or Satan.
To make the plan work, two things had to hold true:
first, each soul must maintain freewill to make decisions WITHOUT THE INTERFERENCE OF GOD in the individual life. This is the answer to those who would ask: "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" Thats why:
he promised not to interfere. That doesn't mean he doesn't see whats going on, and that doesn't mean he's not good and p.o'd
about it.
Next, there wasn't much use in choosing between good and good, so we needed a comparitor: this is why although Satan was condemned to perish, he is still around:
He provides the comparitor.
Anyway, these things were planned for,
and then you read in the first Chapter of Genesis where God rejuvinated the Earth to ready it for flesh habitation.
There is no controversy with Science; the
Earth is billions upon billions of years in age.
The manuscripts do not say the Earth WAS without form and void, but that it BECAME that way. How did it become that way? From that war and Gods destruction of the first earth age.
People are not taught the truth, and so they are not able to remove the blinders so that they can see anything prior to 6000 years ago. This messes up their timetable so that they cannot even understand much of Scripture.
If people were taught the truth, the Scriptures would make common sense to them, and there wouldn't be this goofy
fight between science and religion. There isn't any need for it.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

It was created in 6 days (24 hrs ea. day) and it goes AGAINST science. I really don't know why it took God so long, but God wanted it that way. Don't make the Bible agree with science, but make science agree with the Bible. Archaeology will tell you that the stones are crying out. Biology will soon catch up with archaeology.

God's day or the Day of the Lord is not a good day for unbelievers.

Answer 5

The variation in age of earth for me comes during the 7 days of creation. Since the sun, etc. wasn't there when creation began, and that is how we earthly people measure a day, we don't know how long a "God" day might be. It could have taken what we think of as thousands of years and to God have been a day for certain things to be created. Could he have made it in the blink of an eye - of course. Did he, or was he using his time?

Does it really matter how old the earth is? God made it and that settles it. I believe that this is an issue that takes away from the focus of the Bible - JESUS. It doesn't matter if you know the age of the rocks as long as you know The Rock of Ages

Answer 6

7 is based on the Babylonian calandar. Genesis was written while the preists were in exile in babylon. The numbers the ages of the patriarchs all have a astrological meening. The study of the stars and our location in time is neccessary for any society. We need to know when to plant crops. This was the preists job. The numbers if taken and compared to the babylonian calandar will describe the earths wobble through the zodiac and the circumferance of the earth almost exactly.
So YOU can take Genesis as a childrens story and actualy beleive that it was 7 days, Or you can take it as something much deeper.
im not making this stuff up the reserch and the sceince is there.

Answer 7

Each "day" is an epoch. This is no different than our use of day as "In my grandfather's day; or, in the day of the dinosaurs..." Each is an extended PERIOD of time, not conflicting with geology as we understand it.
The mockery heaped upon the Bible stems from the insistence of each being 24 hrs. by ignorant, itinerant, hillbilly ministers.
We use "the dawn of time"; twighlite of our life; 'the long, dark night of WWII..." as phrases that are not literal. Hence, the phrases, "There came to be evening/morning" are references to the beginning and ending, diferentiating seperate periods of creation.

Answer 8

--YOUR ASSESSMENT of the word day as a period of time other than just 24 hours is quite correct!

--FOR INSTANCE, we indeed are still in the 7th day period even though it has run some 6,000 years!
--NO PRONOUNCEMENT of "it was good" OR "it was very good" has been made as to its finish , as the other 6 days had declared upon them!
--THUS, this has strong meaning that the other days had to be thousands of years in the preparation for earth to be inhabited!

***THE APOSTLE Paul makes very clear that the 7 th day was ongoing in his time as in:

(Hebrews 4:1-5) “4 Therefore, since a promise is left of entering into his rest, let us fear that sometime someone of YOU may seem to have fallen short of it. 2 For we have had the good news declared to us also, even as they also had; but the word which was heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who did hear. 3 For we who have exercised faith do enter into the rest, just as he has said: “So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest,’” although his works were finished from the founding of the world. 4 For in one place he has said of the seventh day as follows: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter into my rest.””

Answer 9

The evening and the morning were the first day. The evening and the morning were the second day…

The Genies account clearly denotes a 24 hour period.

Goes against science? No. Goes against many scientists beliefs? Yes.

Go to Answersingeniuses.com or org?

Answer 10

I just read a good study on this word subject at gracethrufaith.com. You might want to take a look at Jacks studies on the creation story.