Believing EVERYTHING in the Bible

[Faith44]

I trust in God, I have my faith in Christ but I have trouble believing everything in the Bible. For instance, a problem in Genesis was brought to my attention by a friend who is currently reading the Bible for the 3rd time.

God creates Earth, Man, Animals, etc. in one week. Yet the Book makes no mention of the dinosaurs. Perhaps they could be included under the classification of animals, but even if that is true there is still a problem. From what we can tell, dinosaurs existed 230 million years ago, while humans have only existed for 200,000 years. So how could both have been created in the same week?

Here are some possible explanations I have come up with. I don't necessarily believe these either, but they would fix things.

1. Satan created the fossils to cause controversy over the Bible's credibility.

2. The fossils are actually no more than bone like rocks.

3. A week span during the creation of Earth was much longer than what we now record as a week. For example, perhaps each day then would be equal to 32 million years by how we measure time and after that, days became the length they are today.

4. Scientists who study fossils are wrong in their calculations and the dinosaur fossils are indeed no older than human fossils.

So what do you guys think?

[VerticalReality]

Yet the Book makes no mention of the dinosaurs.

Job 40:15-19
“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.

See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

[Pilgrimtozion]

I suppose the answer depends on what your foundation of truth is. If you take evolutionary science to be true and try to see if the Bible conforms to that, I'm afraid you might run into some trouble.

I am moving this over to Apologetics and Evangelism, where I feel you might get more of the kind of response relevant to your post.

[Faith44]

Job 40:15-19
“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.

See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

That could easily describe an elephant though. But I must say, the line "He is the first of the ways of God;" helps out a lot!

So what are your thoughts on scientific studies stating that dinosaurs were here 229,800,000 years before man?

[VerticalReality]

That could easily describe an elephant though. But I must say, the line "He is the first of the ways of God;" helps out a lot!

So what are your thoughts on scientific studies stating that dinosaurs were here 229,800,000 years before man?

Does an elephant have a tail that moves like a cedar tree?

As for the studies, I simply say they are wrong.

[Faith44]

I suppose the answer depends on what your foundation of truth is. If you take evolutionary science to be true and try to see if the Bible conforms to that, I'm afraid you might run into some trouble.

I am moving this over to Apologetics and Evangelism, where I feel you might get more of the kind of response relevant to your post.

First I apologize for posting in the wrong forum. Second, I am not sure what my thoughts on evolution are. To me it makes the most sense, but it doesn't necesarily discredit the Bible. I feel like science is God's toolbox. We've discovered that things on Earth don't just work and that's the end of it. God has created very specific logic behind how things work. It's genius really! I think God could have created us to evolve. I'll keep reading to back up those thoughts though.

[Lighthope]

I trust in God, I have my faith in Christ but I have trouble believing everything in the Bible. For instance, a problem in Genesis was brought to my attention by a friend who is currently reading the Bible for the 3rd time.

God creates Earth, Man, Animals, etc. in one week. Yet the Book makes no mention of the dinosaurs. Perhaps they could be included under the classification of animals, but even if that is true there is still a problem. From what we can tell, dinosaurs existed 230 million years ago, while humans have only existed for 200,000 years. So how could both have been created in the same week?

The problem is that the premise is in error, therefore the conclusion in invalid.

(Whew. What a technical mouthful.)

The mainstream scientific community does indeed set the date for dinosaurs at 230 million years, give to take a week or two. However, that calculation is based on two erroneous dating methods.

The first error is that the lower (deeper) the fossil is found, the older it is. The problem with this is that "older" fossils have been found on top of "younger" fossils.

The second error is in carbon dating methods. At this time, the accuracy of carbon dating is in doubt. While it is good for a certain slice of time, there is question as to dating when we start talking about millions of years.

For a more thorough look at dinosaurs, fossils, dating, etc, you can check out a site called Answers in Genesis at http://www.answersingenesis.com/

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - Most people will do anything they have to in order to lose weight, except eat right and exercise regularly.

[dworthington]

That could easily describe an elephant though. But I must say, the line "He is the first of the ways of God;" helps out a lot!

So what are your thoughts on scientific studies stating that dinosaurs were here 229,800,000 years before man?

An elephant does not have a tail like a great cedar.

[dworthington]

Reptiles continue to grow as long as they live. Can you imagine an alligator that is 500 years old?

[punk]

Reptiles continue to grow as long as they live. Can you imagine an alligator that is 500 years old?

There are very good reasons for believing that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, and hence not reptiles (those being cold-blooded).

[th1bill]

I trust in God, I have my faith in Christ but I have trouble believing everything in the Bible. For instance, a problem in Genesis was brought to my attention by a friend who is currently reading the Bible for the 3rd time.

God creates Earth, Man, Animals, etc. in one week. Yet the Book makes no mention of the dinosaurs. Perhaps they could be included under the classification of animals, but even if that is true there is still a problem. From what we can tell, dinosaurs existed 230 million years ago, while humans have only existed for 200,000 years. So how could both have been created in the same week?

Here are some possible explanations I have come up with. I don't necessarily believe these either, but they would fix things.

1. Satan created the fossils to cause controversy over the Bible's credibility.

2. The fossils are actually no more than bone like rocks.

3. A week span during the creation of Earth was much longer than what we now record as a week. For example, perhaps each day then would be equal to 32 million years by how we measure time and after that, days became the length they are today.

4. Scientists who study fossils are wrong in their calculations and the dinosaur fossils are indeed no older than human fossils.

So what do you guys think?

To begin at the point you have assumed one must believe that Cro-Magnon Man, us, is decended from the Neanderthal. Since DNA has shown there is no connection between the two that is not possible.
Point A...that leaves the Chimpanzee, with it's better than 3 million differences, as a better candidate for decendency, and of course the Chimp would, in it's present form need to extend back to a time period well beyond the advent of man.
Point B...to assume that the Genesis account you must either assume that God is a liar, that He is so small that though He can speak the universe into existance but lacks the power to keep the record of the events He propagated by Himself pure or that He does not and never did exist.

Now for pure logic and observation for your problem with dinosaurs... Have you never examined the life cycle of the lizards? There was no death in the beginning, not just Adam and his offspring, every creature lived without the fear of death. A lizard, baby and very young dinosaur, does not cease to grow until death. A nine hundred year old lizard would be a big boy.

Please meditate, study and have faith! Without faith you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!

[threebigrocks]

I trust in God, I have my faith in Christ but I have trouble believing everything in the Bible. For instance, a problem in Genesis was brought to my attention by a friend who is currently reading the Bible for the 3rd time.

God creates Earth, Man, Animals, etc. in one week. Yet the Book makes no mention of the dinosaurs. Perhaps they could be included under the classification of animals, but even if that is true there is still a problem. From what we can tell, dinosaurs existed 230 million years ago, while humans have only existed for 200,000 years. So how could both have been created in the same week?

Here are some possible explanations I have come up with. I don't necessarily believe these either, but they would fix things.

1. Satan created the fossils to cause controversy over the Bible's credibility.

2. The fossils are actually no more than bone like rocks.

3. A week span during the creation of Earth was much longer than what we now record as a week. For example, perhaps each day then would be equal to 32 million years by how we measure time and after that, days became the length they are today.

4. Scientists who study fossils are wrong in their calculations and the dinosaur fossils are indeed no older than human fossils.

So what do you guys think?

Let me ask you this.

Is there anything else that you have found to be contradictory in scripture? Anything at all?

[Faith44]

Point B...to assume that the Genesis account you must either assume that God is a liar, that He is so small that though He can speak the universe into existance but lacks the power to keep the record of the events He propagated by Himself pure or that He does not and never did exist.

Please meditate, study and have faith! Without faith you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!

Points well taken. Believe me I have faith. I am simply trying to understand. All that I am doing is bringing up something that does not make sense to me and seeking the answer to it. By no means did I disregard anything in Genesis. You will even notice that I listed 4 possible scenarios that would salvage what I do not understand. I think that shows that I am trying to be enlightened and not simply trying to tare down things the Book has to say.

I never called God a liar or claimed He does not exist. I simply called upon fellow Christiants to help me understand.

[Lighthope]

A lizard, baby and very young dinosaur, does not cease to grow until death. A nine hundred year old lizard would be a big boy.

Is this true?

Also, there is a flaw in your theory. It presumes that sin and death did not enter into the picture until Creation+900 years. We do not know how long Adam lived before he sinned.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - "It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes." - The Democratic Party...uh, I mean Josef Stalin. Same difference.

[Faith44]

Let me ask you this.

Is there anything else that you have found to be contradictory in scripture? Anything at all?

The only thing that I can think of at the moment was that the creation of Cain's wife was never mentioned. I didn't read anything saying that God created her or if she was the off-spring of Adam and Eve. However, some people on the forum pointed out that we are all decendants of Adam and Eve so now I understand that one.

Other than that no. I know I already posted about this a second ago, but I want to make it clear that I am not trying to discredit the Bible. I simply do not understand certain things and I am looking for help. I appreciate everyone's input.