In the
summary of chapters 14-15 in his book, Loftus said the following about Genesis and science:
Astronomy has established that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old and arose out of a cosmic singularity. No account of the development of our universe can be harmonized with the creation accounts in Genesis, as the latter are pure folklore. Archaeology has found no evidence of 400 years of Israelite slavery in Egypt, Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, or an Israelite conquest of Canaan. Geological evidence in the sedimentary rock layers of a roughly 4.5 billion year old planet confirms the slow evolutionary development of life, just as astronomical evidence confirms the slow evolutionary development of galaxies, stars, and planets. Geology also falsifies that at any point in human history there was a universal flood which covered the Earth.
In the actual book, Loftus went into greater detail discussing various theories that Christians use in attempts to harmonize Genesis with science, and in typical Loftus fashion, his attacks are leveled against the uneducated, ignorant, logically, factually and historically inept Christian. Loftus spends 24 pages attack the Gap theory, concordist interpretation, local creation, YEC and various other theories created in the 1970's, but I am not here to defend either of those theories, I am simply here to prove to Loftus that Genesis can in fact be harmonized with science.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The word here for create is the word
BARA which means to create something new.
1) to create, shape, form
a) (Qal) to shape, fashion, create (always with God as subject)
1) of heaven and earth
2) of individual man
3) of new conditions and circumstances
4) of transformations
b) (Niphal) to be created
1) of heaven and earth
2) of birth
3) of something new
4) of miracles
c) (Piel)
1) to cut down
2) to cut out
2) to be fat
a) (Hiphil) to make yourselves fat
Interpretation: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth brand new Now we go down to the 'fourth day' and we see a different word, it is the word MADE.
Genesis 1:14-17
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,
15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.
16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. Look at the word made, it is the word ASAH, and asah means to fashion from
pre existing material or an action completed in the past.
1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
a) (Qal)
1) to do, work, make, produce
a) to do
b) to work
c) to deal (with)
d) to act, act with effect, effect
2) to make
a) to make
b) to produce
c) to prepare
d) to make (an offering)
e) to attend to, put in order
f) to observe, celebrate
g) to acquire (property)
h) to appoint, ordain, institute
i) to bring about
j) to use
k) to spend, pass
b) (Niphal)
1) to be done
2) to be made
3) to be produced
4) to be offered
5) to be observed
6) to be used
c) (Pual) to be made
2) (Piel) to press, squeeze
Interpretation: 16 God had made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also had made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day."God
HAD made 2 great lights, he also
HAD made the stars in verse 1 already, the heavens were
already created, it said it in verse 1, so God took what he
HAD made already and put them there, as you can see it is not the word BARA that is in Genesis 1:16 which means to create as new, it is the word ASAH.
http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexic...54&version=kjv
2. (Niphal) to be created
1. of heaven and earth
2. of birth
3. of something new
4. of miracles
http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexic...13&version=kjv
17. (Niphal)
1. to be done
2. to be made
3. to be produced
4. to be offered
5. to be observed
6. to be used
18. (Pual) to be made
These are legitimate uses for the words, it states that the stars, sun, the whole heavens(which indicates the universe) is older than the earth. Regarding six literal days? Psa 90:4 states:
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
The word day in Genesis is also the word
Yowm. A valid interpretation means a
general time period.
1) day, time, year
a) day (as opposed to night)
b) day (24 hour period)
1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1
2) as a division of time
a) a working day, a day's journey
c) days, lifetime (pl.)
d) time, period (general)
e) year
f) temporal references
1) today
2) yesterday
3) tomorrow
An old earth and old universe can be interpreted in Genesis 1 just as 'literally' as a young earth can. The above explanation is compatible with the age of the earth, the creation of the universe, stars, sun, earth etc, and since an exact age of things is not presented in the Bible, it can be changed when the available evidence comes into play, and while this post discusses only the astrology aspects of the Genesis, I cannot, in the same confidence I do astrology, present an interpretation for the origins of life since I am presently ignorant, uninterested, and apathetic in evolutionary biology(BORING!). However, I will note that some people ascribe to 'theistic evolution,' so my guess(a guess from an ignorant, uninterested apathetic person that finds the whole concept a huge bore) is it is compatible with Genesis.
