The Bible says G-d created the earth in six literal days and provides a clear geneaological timeline starting from Adam.
Why should I try to force Scripture to fit some g-dless atheist's notion of how old he thinks the universe should be?
I agree with this. If you believe in the Bible you believe G-d created a ready made world from scratch. He didn't make Adam a baby. He made him a grown man who in fact was one day old. So when G-d created man, the rocks and the trees he Created them with the scientific appearance of things looking older than they really are. Believing that is no more far fetched than the fact that something could be created from nothing.
This gets a bit philosophical.. But
Adam, (created in a mature state, for obvious reasons)
Suppose earth was created in a mature state within 6 24hr days.
Earth, (created in a mature state, plants, oxygen, if it wasn't then it wouldn't supply man)
And we accept those. And so people try to compare other things to those. But the mature Adam, and mature Earth(plants, oxygen), have a good reason.
Why fossils though?
Why rings on trees?
Suppose the carbon dating (which is extrapolating, assuming the same pattern of carbon emmissions over billions of years, through big environmental changes e.g. a big flood. So it may well be wrong), but suppose it is correct. And the fossils were made by G-d to appear really old.
Sure, the earth in a mature state.. But in the necessary ways. To supply man.
An answer I heard from X regarding the fossils, is that they are planted to fool us into thinking that this all came about naturally without G-d.
I wouldn't put it past G-d to do that (he did turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt). But I think the fossils example is different to the Adam and Earth example. The Adam and Earth example has obvious reasons, not involving G-d planting false information and playing tricks on us.
Another example X gave, to try to justify this thinking, is the tradition that G-d creates the world continuously, and since that is the case, So, X asks, why have the laws of physics , why should G-d keep creating the world as if it all runs automatically. The answer that X gave, was that it is to fool us into thinking that G-d doesn't run the world, that he isn't required, that everything just happens automatically. I disagree.. again. I think there is a very obvious reason for the laws of physics, which is that without them, it would be difficult to operate in the world. We need a somewhat predictable system we can work in.
We do have a tradition that G-d hides his presence, but that's not lying, planting false evidence.
So lulab, my point to you is that although one might accept that Adam and to an extent, the Earth was created in a mature state. I think there is too significant a difference between that and fossils, to draw a parallel and say well you accept this so you can accept that. You mention trees, I guess the rings on the trees is similar to the fossils example
Topic: how an old earth does not contradict the torah, and even has some support (Read 29935 times)