Does the Bible Say the Earth is 6000 Years Old?
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores the debate over the Earth's age as mentioned in the Bible, tracing the historical interpretations from James Usher's literal six-day creation in 1650 to modern young Earth creationism. It discusses how ancient Israelites viewed creation as establishing order, not just material elements, and emphasizes the theological narrative of God's relationship with humans over scientific details. The script suggests that Genesis 1 is more about God's purpose in creation rather than a scientific account, challenging viewers to consider the story's deeper meaning.
Takeaways
- 📚 The debate over the Earth's age in relation to the Bible began with James Usher in 1650, who calculated the universe was created in 4004 BC.
- 🔍 Usher's calculations were based on the assumption that Genesis 1 was a literal, scientific account of creation in 6 days.
- 🌏 The development of geology in the 18th and 19th centuries challenged the idea of a young Earth, leading to a shift in Christian beliefs about the Earth's age.
- 📖 By the 1920s, the belief in a young Earth had largely faded, with theories like the Gap Theory gaining popularity among Christians.
- 🔮 The 1960s saw a resurgence of young Earth creationism, which has since become a contentious issue among conservative Christians in America.
- 🤔 The script questions whether the Bible literally states the Earth is 6,000 years old and emphasizes the importance of interpretation in understanding the Bible.
- 🌟 It highlights that the Bible was written by human authors for a specific audience and cultural context, not directly to modern readers.
- 📜 The script suggests that ancient Israelites, like their neighbors, thought of creation in terms of order and function, rather than material elements.
- 🌱 It points out that Genesis 1 does not describe the creation of physical objects but the establishment of order and processes necessary for human life.
- 💡 The creation story in Genesis is presented as a theological narrative about God bringing order for human benefit, rather than a scientific account of material creation.
- 🌐 The script concludes that the Bible's creation story is about God's relationship with humans and His desire for them to participate in spreading order and flourishing throughout the world.
Q & A
Who was James Ussher and what was his contribution to the calculation of the Earth's age?
-James Ussher was the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland in 1650. He calculated the date of creation by counting generations from the Bible, considering historical events, and adding a week for the 7-Day creation story in Genesis. He concluded that God began creating the universe in 4004 BC on October 22nd.
Why did thinkers like Sir Isaac Newton devote themselves to interpreting the Bible through a scientific lens?
-After the Reformation, thinkers like Sir Isaac Newton applied their new scientific thinking to the interpretation of the Bible, attempting to reconcile religious texts with the emerging scientific understanding of the world.
What was the key assumption in Ussher's calculations of the Earth's age?
-Ussher's key assumption was that Genesis 1 was a literal scientific account of God creating everything in the universe from nothing in 6, 24-hour days.
How did the development of geology in the late 18th and early 19th centuries affect the belief in a young Earth?
-The development of geology provided growing evidence suggesting an Earth older than a few thousand years, which led to a fading belief in a young Earth even among Christians.
What was the Gap Theory and how did it relate to the interpretation of Genesis 1?
-The Gap Theory, promoted by the Scofield Reference Bible, proposed that millions of years of geological history could be hidden between the first and second verses of Genesis 1, offering an alternative to a young Earth interpretation.
What significant shift occurred in the 1960s regarding the belief in a young Earth?
-In the 1960s, modern young Earth creationism emerged and aggressively spread through publishing, homeschooling, and museums, leading to a resurgence in the belief in a young Earth among many American Christians.
Why is there a fierce debate among conservative Christians in America regarding the age of the Earth?
-The debate is fueled by differing views on the interpretation of the Bible and the authority of scripture versus scientific evidence. Those who believe the Earth is old accuse the other side of ignoring science, while those who believe the Earth is young accuse the other side of compromising the authority of scripture.
What is the importance of understanding the cultural context and language of the Bible's authors?
-Understanding the cultural context and language of the Bible's authors is crucial for accurate interpretation. It helps to engage with their style of communication, figures of speech, and cultural understandings, ensuring that the message of God's word is understood as intended.
How do scholars gain insight into the thought and culture of ancient Israelites?
-Scholars gain insight by studying the writings of Israel's ancient neighbors, such as the Egyptians, Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians, to understand how they thought about creation and existence, and then applying this knowledge to interpret the Bible.
What was the primary focus of ancient Near Eastern creation stories, and how did this differ from a modern scientific perspective?
-Ancient Near Eastern creation stories focused on bringing order out of chaos for the benefit of human society, rather than the material creation of elements and objects. This differs from a modern scientific perspective, which emphasizes the 'what' and 'how' of creation.
What is the main takeaway from understanding Genesis 1 from an ancient Near Eastern mindset?
-The main takeaway is that Genesis 1 is a theological story about God bringing order out of chaos for the benefit of humankind, rather than a scientific account of the creation of physical elements.
Does the Bible provide a direct answer to the age of the Earth or the timing of the creation of all material?
-No, the Bible does not directly answer the age of the Earth or the timing of the creation of all material. It focuses on the creation of order and function, which is more important from the perspective of ancient Israelites.
Outlines
📚 The Origins of Young Earth Belief
This paragraph delves into the historical origins of the belief that the Earth is 6,000 years old, tracing it back to James Ussher, the Archbishop of Armagh, who in 1650 calculated the date of creation based on biblical genealogies and historical events. It highlights the influence of figures like Sir Isaac Newton in perpetuating this belief through scientific interpretation of the Bible. The paragraph also discusses the shift in perspectives as geological evidence mounted against a young Earth, leading to a decline in this belief among Christians by the 1920s. It mentions the Scofield Reference Bible's promotion of the Gap Theory as an alternative to a young Earth view. The resurgence of young Earth creationism in the 1960s is noted, along with the ongoing debate among conservative Christians in America about the age of the Earth and the interpretation of scripture.
🌏 Interpreting Genesis in Context
The second paragraph focuses on the scholarly examination of ancient Near Eastern thought and culture to better understand the biblical account of creation. It discusses how scholars like Daniel Kim and John Walton have sought to understand the ancient mindset regarding creation, emphasizing the concept of order emerging from chaos rather than the formation of physical materials. The paragraph contrasts the ancient perspective with the modern scientific materialist view, which tends to focus on the physical aspects of creation. It also addresses the confusion of early Christian scholars and the reinterpretation of Genesis 1 in light of these cultural insights, suggesting that the biblical creation story is more about establishing order and function for human benefit than a literal account of the physical universe's formation.
🛐 The Theological Significance of Genesis 1
The final paragraph emphasizes the theological rather than scientific nature of the Genesis creation story. It explains that the story is about God bringing order out of chaos for the benefit of human society, focusing on the 'who' and 'why' rather than the 'what' and 'how'. The paragraph distinguishes the biblical account from other ancient Near Eastern creation stories by highlighting the relational aspect of God's creation, where humans are not merely servants but partners in God's project of order and flourishing. It suggests that the Genesis account is not meant to answer modern scientific questions but to convey a deeper message about God's intentions and our role in extending His order and beauty throughout the world.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡James Ussher
💡Genealogies
💡Creationism
💡Scientific Revolution
💡Geology
💡Fundamentalism
💡Gap Theory
💡Ancient Near East
💡Chaos
💡Order
💡Cultural Context
Highlights
James Usher's calculation in 1650 suggested the universe was created in 4004 BC, based on biblical genealogies and historical events.
Sir Isaac Newton contributed to the effort to reconcile biblical interpretation with scientific thinking post-Reformation.
Geological findings in the 18th and 19th centuries challenged the notion of a young Earth, prompting a shift in beliefs among Christians.
The Scofield Reference Bible promoted the Gap Theory, allowing for geological history between Genesis 1's verses.
Modern young Earth creationism gained momentum in the 1960s, influencing American Christians' perception of the Earth's age.
Current debates among conservative Christians in America involve the tension between scientific evidence and scriptural authority.
The Bible's interpretation requires understanding the language, culture, and mindset of its human authors.
Biblical texts were written for readers but not directly to modern audiences, necessitating context for accurate interpretation.
Studying writings from Israel's neighbors provides insight into the ancient Near East's thought and culture.
Ancient Near Eastern creation stories often began with chaos, focusing on the establishment of order rather than material creation.
Evangelical scholars have examined ancient texts to understand the functional perspective on creation prevalent in the ancient world.
Genesis 1 differs from other creation narratives by emphasizing God's intent to create a functioning order for human benefit.
The creation story in Genesis is more concerned with theological implications than providing a scientific account of the universe's formation.
The Bible does not necessarily conflict with an old Earth perspective, as it focuses on order and function rather than material composition.
The Genesis account is about God's relationship with humans and our role in extending His order and flourishing throughout creation.
John Walton's series on interpreting Genesis 1 is available for Holy Post Plus subscribers, offering deeper insights into the text.
Transcripts
does the Bible say the Earth is 6,000
years old that's a really good question
that people argue about a lot to dive in
we need to go back to
1650 this is James Usher he was the
Archbishop of armag and primate of all
Ireland no not that kind of primate in
1650 after carefully counting the
generations of the genealogies
calculating the dates of the deaths of
Alexander the Great and Nebuchadnezzar
and tacking on a week for the 7-Day
creation story in Genesis 1 Usher
concluded that God began creating the
universe in 404 BC on October 22nd yes
it was very specific Usher wasn't alone
in trying to work out the math of
Creation in the Years following the
Reformation thinkers as notable as Sir
Isaac Newton devoted themselves to
applying their new scientific thinking
to the interpretation of the Bible key
to Usher's calculations of course was
his assumption that Genesis 1 was a
literal scientific account of God
creating everything in the universe from
nothing in 6 24-hour days up until the
1800s there wasn't much reason to
question Usher's math or his assumptions
but as the science of geology developed
in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries growing evidence seemed to
suggest an earth older than a few
thousand years much much older belief in
a young Earth began to fade away even
among Christians by the 1920s at the
peak of the battle between
fundamentalist and modernist CHR
Christians over the reliability of the
Bible amazingly almost no one on either
side still held to a young Earth
position the most popular bible study
resource at the time the scoffield
reference Bible promoted Gap Theory the
theory that millions of years of
geological history could be hidden
between the first and second verses of
Genesis 1 when conservative Christians
attempted to Define all the fundamentals
of Christianity in a series of early
20th century pamphlets called
appropriately the fundamentals darwinian
Evolution was explicitly rejected an old
Earth however was not as several
theories had developed to account for
how millions of years might fit into
Genesis 1 then we get to the 1960s and
the emergence of modern young Earth
creationism aggressively spread through
publishing homeschooling and even
museums belief in a young Earth came
back with such a Vengeance that today
many American Christians simply assume
the young Earth position has been the
Christian position for all of time today
there's a fierce battle among
conservative Christians in America those
who believe the Earth is old accuse the
other side of ignoring science those who
believe the Earth is Young accuse the
other side of compromising the authority
of scripture so what does the bible
actually say about the age of the Earth
who's right if Genesis 1 says God
created the universe from nothing in six
days who are we to say he didn't don't
we respect the authority of scripture we
need to talk about how we interpret the
Bible we know that God didn't just give
us the Bible on Golden Plates or drop
finished copies from heaven right into
Christian bookstores he chose to work
through human authors so if we're
looking for the authoritative message of
God's word we have to get at it through
the human authors he used this means we
need to engage with their language none
of them wrote in English after all their
style of communication figures of speech
and cultural understandings here's a
very important point the Bible was
written for us but not to us this is
kind of easy to grasp if you think about
Paul's two letters to Timothy 1 and 2
Timothy they are not Paul's two letters
to Phil I can benefit from them but they
were not written to me they were written
to Timothy Paul's letters to the
Thessalonians were written to the first
century Church in thessalonica and the
Book of Genesis was written by an
ancient Israelite to ancient Israelites
the more we know about Greek culture and
what was going on around Timothy in his
day the easier it is to interpret the
letters Paul wrote to him in the same
way the more we know about how ancient
Israelites thought and communicated how
they viewed the world the more
confidence we can have that we're not
barking up the wrong tree while trying
to interpret the message of their
writing unfortunately we don't have much
writing from ancient Israelites other
than what we have in the Bible itself
what we do have though as of quite
recently is a tremendous amount of
writing from Israel's neighbors from
ancient Egyptians and samarians acadians
and Babylonians
we've only been able to read Egyptian
hieroglyphic since about 1850 and
Sumerian Kia form since around 1900 and
since then Scholars have discovered and
translated more than a million documents
written by Israel's neighbors but how
does this help us the Israelites weren't
Egyptian or Babylonian no but the
Israelites were embedded in that world
ancient Israelites thought and spoke
much more like ancient Egyptians or
Babylonians than like modern Americans
that in mind a number of Evangelical
Bible scholars have jumped into the
writings of Israel's ancient neighbors
to gain insight into the thought and
culture of the ancient near East
Scholars like Daniel Kim at Talbot
School of Theology and John Walton at
winon College have asked questions like
how did people of the ancient near East
think about creation how did they think
about existence and how was their
thinking different from ours today and
these Scholars notice some interesting
things for example the creation stories
of the an near East and almost every
group had one they don't start with
nothing they start with chaos with an
unordered world the more Scholars looked
the more clear it became that ancient
neare Eastern people didn't think about
creation in terms of material dirt and
rock and the elements of the Periodic
Chart they thought about creation in
terms of order who brought order out of
chaos so that humans could live and
raise crops and grow families and
whoever it was whichever God or gods
what does that tell us about our
relationship with them in other words
when ancient people thought about the
creation of the world they weren't as
concerned with the what and the how they
were concerned with The Who and the why
with our scientific materialist mindset
today that went into hyperdrive with the
Scientific Revolution at the time of
Isaac Newton and well James Usher when
we think about creation we immediately
think about rocks and dirt and dinosaurs
and butterflies about the formation of
mountains and Forest and deserts but
that's not how ancient people thought
Christian Scholars going back as far as
origin in the 3r century and Augustine
in the 4th Century have been confused by
Genesis 1 and wondered if this is the
story of material creation why is so
little material being created and how
can we have day and night on day one and
blossoming trees and plants on day three
when there's no sun until day four As We
Lay out the Bible's creation story
alongside creation stories of Israel's
neighbors we notice differences and
similarities like the creation stories
of their neighbors Genesis 1 doesn't
start with nothing it starts with God
hovering over the waters primordial
Waters were a symbol of Chaos in the
ancient world and what does God create
on day one what's the end product day
and night these aren't objects that's
not stuff and day two a separation
between the waters below and the waters
above nothing new is made things that
all already exist are moved around on
day three more separation of things that
already exist God separates water from
land and then initiates a process for
the benefit of humans the production of
food day four lights to govern night and
day and Mark out seasons on a sacred
calendar again none of these are objects
the sun and stars wouldn't have been
viewed as objects by the Israelites just
lights hung on the great Vault of the
sky the more Kim and Walton and others
compared Genesis 1 to to examples of how
Israel's neighbors thought about
creation the more something became clear
the people of the ancient near East
didn't think about creation in material
terms they thought about it in
functional terms creation didn't start
with nothing and give us dirt and oxygen
and butterflies it started with chaos or
unordered space and gave us order
unordered space was of no benefit to
Human Society ordered space functioning
the way God intended was considered good
looking at Genesis 1 with an ancient NE
Eastern mindset the mindset the original
author and audience would have shared
suddenly tells a different story and an
ultimately more important story on day
one God looked over the unordered deep
and brought order in the form of time
day and night The Ordering of man's
schedule of work and rest on day two God
ordered the waters day three he
separates land from sea and establishes
the process by which plant life
reproduces and replenishes whereas early
Christian thinkers had looked at the
days of Genesis 1 and wondered what the
heck was being created and
post-reformation thinkers like Usher and
Isaac Newton forced the Bible through a
filter of the Scientific Revolution
looking through eyes shaped by the way
the Israelites actually looked at the
world we see that the story the author
is telling is a story about God bringing
order out of chaos for the benefit of
humankind an ordered functioning space
where God humans could be in
relationship and then God creates men
and women in his own image and gives us
the job of working with him to extend
order throughout the rest of his
creation to spread God's order and
flourishing and Beauty throughout the
Earth so if the creation story we find
in Genesis 1 is actually about the
creation of order and function rather
than the elements of the periodic table
when did God create all the stuff that
isn't a question God inspires the author
to answer because it isn't a question
ancient Israelites would have been
asking again the story of creation the
Israelites would have longed for isn't a
story of what and how it's a story of
who and why it's a theological story not
a scientific one who brought order out
of chaos so Human Society could Thrive
why did they do it and what does that
mean for us and this is where the
creation story in Genesis differs from
any other creation story of the ancient
near East in most stories a God or Gods
created humans so the humans could serve
the gods the gods had needs and humans
had to meet them but Israel's God tells
a very different story Israel's God
doesn't need service from humans
Israel's God wants relationship with
humans wants to work alongside humans
walk with humans it's an amazing story
that would have inspired the Israelites
to devote themselves joyfully to their
creator does it tell us how old the
Earth is or when God created potassium
uh no it does not is it possible God
created all the material of the universe
while he was ordering and inaugurating
the functions yes it's possible but the
Bible does not require it the creation
story God inspired that we find in
Genesis isn't a story about modern
Science Biology or geology it isn't a
story written to answer the materialist
questions of modern Americans it's way
better than that the god of Israel
brought order out of chaos so he could
in relationship with you so you could
join in his project of bringing order
and abundance and Beauty to the whole
world isn't that a better
story if you'd like to learn more John
Walton sat down with Sky jatani to
create a new four-part series on how to
read Genesis 1 available only for Holy
post plus subscribers head over to Holy
post.com Genesis to check it
out
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