› ›

The 6 days of creation.

RonyRony
edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church
Greetings and peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all,

I have searched for the topic of creation in which God created the world in 6 days. I cannot find much information about this. I have also searched for scholarly sources, but could not find any Coptic Orthodox interpretations of the 6 days of creation. I am not interested in interpretations by the Roman Catholic Church, protestant Churches, or any other denomination of Christianity. I am interested in hearing upon our Church's understanding of the 6 days of creation.

I believe that God created the world. I believe that God would take even less than 6 days to create the world because of his unlimited power.  But I am interested in how God created the world. I want to try to understand; Were the 6 days of creation literally 6 days? Or was the story simplified for our limited knowledge' sake?

I think the overall message is that God created the world, and that the world He created was for us. How and When are questions that are so complex, God may have otherwise omitted it for us so as to not confuse us. We don't have understanding or knowledge or intelligence like our Supreme Creator.

But were the 6 days literal?

Please note: This question is just out of curiousity and in no way will it hinder my relationship with God. If anything; If will only bring me closer to God and to understanding Him better.

Comments

  • joegjoeg
    It appears that different Church Fathers have differing opinions on whether the six days were literal.

    Here are St. Basil the Great's Homilies on the Hexaemeron.
  • RonyRony
    Thank you for this JG! I will read it right away.
  • IoannesIoannes
    The six days, wether literal or not, establishes for us time and structure. This is why I believe it is in six literal days. Why not an instant? Why not millions of years? Because He founded all things with structure and time, not chaos. In this He gives us direction that we may know Him in His creation.
  • RonyRony
    [quote author=PeterA link=topic=12908.msg151839#msg151839 date=1329185437]
    Aghapy,

    I encourage everyone, if there are no objections to it, to buy the book "Genesis, Creation, and Early Man.
              The Orthodox Christian Vision"
              by Fr Seraphim Rose

    I'm currently reading it and it contains a wealth of information from the fathers about creation, evolution, and reconciling both.

    Very thought provoking read and it goes to show the divine inspiration and truths that the Church Fathers were endowed with.

    It can be ordered from an online bookstore, or Orthodox seminaries/print-shops.


    Peter, thank you so much. I will look for this ASAP, as soon as I am done with the St. Basil Homilies on this.
  • DimasDimas
    Father Athanasius Iskander wrote a book titled "Creation". He goes into detail describing why the theory of evolution is false and the story of creation is true. This book will help you understand what the 6 days mean.

    You can find it by clicking the link below:

    http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/publications/books/books.html

    Remember me in your prayers.
  • IoannesIoannes
    Genetic Entropy is a far better scientific explanation than evolution. Fr. Athanasius has sermons on his website about creation. Yes, the book by Blessed Seraphim of Platina is wonderful.
  • RonyRony
    “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10).

    I think this is what happened in this  thread here. I asked for some information, and you guys have been more than generous in providing me with a lot of really good scholarly work. Thank you all so much for your help in this endeavor; I will keep you all in my prayers.

    May God bless you all in our sojourney in this rugged earth to Heaven.
  • Unknown
    Peter,

    If memory serves, I believed Blessed Seraphim Rose was a non-compatibalist. He said the Darwinism is of the devil, and was very harsh with anyone who accepted evolution. His work is great, but I think that there should be a balanced opinion on evolution which I do not find in his work. I have read the book, and found it inspiring, but evolution still poses a threat to it. It may be that evolution is untrue, but we, as Orthodox Christians, have never ascribed to a single science, let alone this new idea of intelligent design.

    I recommend these podcasts by Fr. Thomas Hopko. I also like Bishop Kallistos Ware's take on this which can be found in these videos.

    Also, if you are interested, Alister McGrath (a theistic evolutionist) also wrote an article called Augustine's Origin of Species.

    Of course there are some who completely deny evolution, and they may be correct. My point is that it may not be all that incorrect, and there are ways of reconciling them. You may not be able to find this reconciliation in Blessed Seraphim Rose's book. 

    ReturnOrthodoxy
Sign In or Register to comment.