The Bible’s main theme is the relationship between God and humanity. It also deals with history to some extent, for instance in illustrating what happened to Israel when it failed to follow the laws set out in the Pentateuch/Torah, what can go wrong with monarchy and so forth. It also contains poetry and proverbs, and basic public health advice. However, at no point does it describe, for example, detailed techniques of metal-smelting, farming, butchering, house construction, boat-building and so forth because it’s not that kind of book. When it refers to such processes, the usual reason is ritual (the design of the Ark of the Tabernacle) or allegorical (new wine into old wineskins).
In the light of all of that, why would anyone expect the Bible to refer to evolution, or if you don’t believe in that, to creation?
Moreover, this is a reason to suppose the accounts in Genesis are not relevant to evolution, is it not?
Exactly. I wouldnt. And thats why I am amazed that some so-called Christians find it necessary to try to show that Evolution is wrong. I am atheist but even I can see it has nothing to do with religion!
God didn’t need evilution to creAte the world. . .
Scripture says God SPOKE all things into existence with His Word:
” By the Word of the Lord were the heavens created, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . . For HE SPAKE AND IT WAS DONE; HE COMMANDED AND IT STOOD FAST”. (psalm 33:6-9)
You’re right, there sure isn’t much real knowledge conveyed in that silly set of books.
God starts the Bible with a scientific statement of how the world came into being and then continues to explain each and every part. God said, ‘I created the world in 6 days. ‘ Evolution says ‘Nobody created it, it just evolved. ‘ One statement is from God and the other a lie, so the source is Satan. God even makes sure that He settles it when He said ‘kind after kind’. Evolution would make a farmer scared to plant and parents afraid to have children. Yet, kind has always come from kind since the beginning.
I choose to believe in absolute reality instead of a pack of lies in evolution.
The bible spends two chapters explaining creation. . . . . . and fifty chapters on the Tabernacle. If God spends so much time explaining the Tabernacle in the detail that He would like. . . . . how can He be expected to do the whole of creation in the same detail.
well. . . if he let it be shown that he knew more science than my little sister, then it would help convince people like me that he exists
I’ve never quite ‘got’ the real motivation behind those Christians who deny evolution, as there seems to be no Biblical justification for their stance.
I think it’s more that the religion has evolved into a myriad of groups each with their own ‘take’ on things, and some of them regard the formation of life as a sudden deliberate ‘zap’ of creation.
However as the Bible is often vague in what it says, such a myriad of interpretations is possible. That’s one reason why it should not be regarded as an authoritative account of anything, though that’s not to say it doesn’t contain elements of truth, but it should never be regarded as more authoritative than what the measured evidence of the real world tells us.
Actually, I think it does speak of evolution. Certainly not in that term, but Genesis 1 can be seen to agree with the evolutionary process. You sound like one whom I do not have to convince that the word “day” is symbolic and could represent any length of time. Once people get over that it becomes clearer.
General theory today is of the Big Bang. . . huge expanding mass of energy and matter which gradually coalesced into the stars and plants. What does Genesis say: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a FORMLESS VOID. ” In other words, it was a dust/water cloud.
God created light. I used to have a problem with that. . . sun and stars not “created” until day 4, but here in day 1 we have light and darkness. How could that have happened. However, if you were standing on the planet at that time (and it is sort of interesting that this could be spoken about since no one was there), looking up through a settling dust/moisture cloud, you would not see the sun, moon or stars. . . . just light and darkness.
With the creation of the plants and animals it gets even more clear. The Bible states clearly that God did NOT “zap” them into creation. Rather the Bible states clearly that: “God said, ‘Let the EARTH PRODUCE vegetation. . . ‘”. Later when talking about animals it says: “Let the EARTH PRODUCE every kind of living creature. . . ” Now, if these were produced by the EARTH, doesn’t that imply a process of some kind. If you look at the order of introduction as well, it is pretty much the way it was. Sea life before mammals, etc.
Is this hard evidence? No. . . . just interesting.
The Bible is a collection of myths and perhaps a little history, written by desert-dwelling primitive men who believed that the Earth was flat and covered by a large solid dome called the firmament.
As can be seen from previous answers and from countless polls, many people believe the Bible, and openly deny much of what we know about the universe and life.