Hey Guys,
In Genesis 5, we read the genealogy of the children of Adam. Can someone explain why this apparent age leads to the first man (Adam) having lived 6000 years ago, while
modern science shows evidence of Homo-sapiens from 400,000 years ago? I'm sure that there is a reconcilable truth to this, but at the time, I can't really think it up. Thanks a lot for all your help, and remember my weakness in your prayers.
ReturnOrthodoxy
Comments
First of all, the Bible and the Genesis account in particular is not meant to be a scientific tract. It is meant to help us understand God and His Economy (His plan of salvation) for us. With this in mind, how did Jesus address his mostly fala7een/farmer peasant crowds? In a way they could understand...so he used examples about farming and everyday life such as the seed that falls on good earth etc. The Jews needed to understand where they were coming from and so they felt the need to trace back their roots to the first humans. Again, this is more theological rather than anthropological or scientific. Hence, we understand our problem with the sin and the consequences of the sin we inherited from the first humans who rebelled against God.
I read a fascinating book last year which talks a lot about it. It is called The Language of God and its by Francis S. Collins. He was an atheist who worked for NASA until he was able to understand Genesis in a more deeper way. Basically, his book argues that yes, the theory of evolution is the most likely way that everything came to be; OF COURSE STARTED BY GOD; otherwise evolution wouldn't make sense since everything needs an origin. His idea is that hypothetically, after the big bang, the universe started to spread out like crazy, and after millions and millions of years of slow process of evolution, the microbes evolved into larger species etc etc until we have the process of human evolution. If you notice that other species looked differently (according to what scientists claim is evidence of other species), eventually the Homo-sapiens became the strongest race and ruled. It would be at this point that God endowed the evolved creature to look up (not just physically) but also spiritually and to come into a full communion with God. It would be at this point then that God gave his Holy Spirit, the breath of life to humanity.
This viewpoint then of course cannot take a literalist approach to the Scriptures, which is in itself a very Orthodox thing to do since we do not blindly interpret the Word of God literally. This also means (from the author's ideas and viewpoints) that literalist creationism is not in accordance with modern science. This means then that the text has a deeper, spiritual and theological significance which cannot be explained merely by taking it at face value. I know this post will probably be attacked and torn down...I am neither a scientist nor an avid theologian and Collins' book is 270 pages but I advice anyone interested to read it just to get another viewpoint about this issue.
As for how the generations all work out, I'm not sure about that. I would like to do some more investigation and I wish more Orthodox material was readily available on it. There are the Ancient Christian Commentaries on the bible but they are expensive and not online unfortunately.
If you want to take it at the literally level (note: literally, not literal), you're asking for a very complicated answer that shows that these genealogies have nothing to do with the age of human civilization, or evolution, or anything close to history or science. The numbers you get there are based on algebra, and if you'd like to see how that works, I have a good academic paper that I could send by e-mail. Just send me a PM with your e-mail if you want to read it - and yes, it's complicated.
The simple answer is: don't take it at the literal level :)
Why not? I do and always have done.
FATHER PETER!
Why not? I do and always have done.
Because we don't even know the definition of year? Is it lunar? Solar? Sirius? Hebrew? Egyptian? Babylonian? An age? A month? A figure of speech?
And we don't know if the numbers compute? You have to resolve the issue of why the total numbers in the Masoretic text are not the same as the Septuagint, and both of which are not the same as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and which are also not the same as the totals in other manuscripts, such as the Samaritan texts? And not to mention considering other totals from other apocryphal sources (such as the Book of Jubilees).
Hey Guys,
In Genesis 5, we read the genealogy of the children of Adam. Can someone explain why this apparent age leads to the first man (Adam) having lived 6000 years ago, while modern science shows evidence of Homo-sapiens from 400,000 years ago? I'm sure that there is a reconcilable truth to this, but at the time, I can't really think it up. Thanks a lot for all your help, and remember my weakness in your prayers.
ReturnOrthodoxy
Good question, im not quite sure i can answer it, but im thinking that God creates things with an apparent age. for this reason, we are able to trace things back to being older than they are. the most obvious example: Adam & Eve were not created not as infants, but as people fully grown
I think it will a very hard job your doing ioannas as the creation is spiritual as well as concerning the flesh. I don't think we need to prove anything on God's behalf but I sure hope you can do it though.
Summary excerpt from the video links:
- There are over 2,000 types of amino acids and only 20 are used in life.
- Every experiment we have ever done has always ended up with an equal number of left handed and right handed amino acids.
- A mixture of left handed and right handed amino acids [aa] is a poison to life.
- Each body is full of only left handed amino acids (which is sufficient to refute evolution). The tendency is always to bond the two (left handed and right handed aa) and continue away from life; not toward life.
I have to add, for the curious honest scientific mind:
The protein molecules necessary for life formed of only left handed amino acids and taking special tertiary and quaternary structure or 3D spatial conformations to be interacting with each other in highly complicated and precise manners is impossible to occur by natural means or by mere chance alone. Check any biochemical, physiologic and metabolic processes that are necessary for life inside, on the surface and outside of any type of living cells.
These are strong points you may use Ioannes. I advice you to ask Father Peter to revise your research, to add a foreword and to bless your book with his valuable contribution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGOwOBtM_RM
http://www.answersingenesis.org/media/video/ondemand/riddle/origin-of-life
in 4 parts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_structure
Acts 5
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
GBU