COMPUTING THE AGE OF THE EARTH FROM THE BIBLICAL GENEALOGIES

Presented at the meeting of Foundations in Genesis of Idaho November 30, 2000

Roy E Gould

Entire presentation copyright by Roy E. Gould, November 30, 2000

How I Got Interested in the GenealogiesI had read genealogies in the Bible, but had made little sense of them and wondered why they were there.

My friend Mark (a Byzantine Catholic) questioned why Matthew and Luke are different.

I had heard that in the dark or middle ages a priest had computed the time of creation based upon the Bible. I wondered how he did it.

A couple of years ago I attended a Precept Bible class by Kay Authur entitled Genesis 1. We did family trees and did some time calculations.

This is the information age in which we are overwhelmed with information from all directions. Whatever position I want to take, I will be able to find a body of information agreeing with me. To help me decide what I believe about the age of the earth I wanted to compute the age of the earth for myself so I would know why I believe what I do.

Computer Methods

I had been doing genealogy with my 87-year old Aunt Lucille using Family Tree Maker. I wondered how it would do on the Biblical genealogies. I found it worked well and was a big help in making sense of the genealogies.

I used the NIV text from the SeedMaster Bible. This was wonderful help in searching for names. I used copy and paste of names from the SeedMaster Bible directly into Family Tree Maker and into Excel to eliminate typing errors.

I used Excel spreadsheets to reformat, organize and compare several genealogies from different sources.

I used a set of Excel spreadsheets to do the age of the earth calculations. This helped to organize the information and to eliminate arithmetic errors.

Exegesis Method

I attempt to use the straightforward method of using the “plain meaning of the text” and attempt to “make good sense of the text”. (Fee & Stuart, page 14) I have not done “word studies” or taken into account the footnotes in the Bible in an attempt to find hidden or unique meanings.

Fortunately most of the Genealogies are straightforward and don’t require much interpretation. They do however require considerable organization to put all the pieces together in a way that can be easily interpreted.

Exegesis: the explanation or interpretation of texts, especially from the Bible, or an explanation or interpretation of a particular text

Encarta® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1999

The Genealogy in Matthew

Matthew presents a straightforward genealogy from Abraham to Jesus.

The main question is about his arithmetic. This is the question that my friend Mark asked: “Why does Matthew the tax collector, who should know how to do arithmetic, count the generations incorrectly?”

I think this is only a matter of interpretation. I will explain later.

Matthew explicitly states that this is a genealogy of Joseph.

Matt 1:1 (NIV) A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

The Genealogy in Matthew Matthew says:

Abraham 1 there were fourteen generations Isaac 2 in all from Abraham to DavidJacob 3Judah 4Perez 5Hezron 6Ram 7Amminadab 8Nahshon 9Salmon 10Boaz 11Obed 12Jesse 13David 14 1 fourteen from David to theSolomon 2 exile to BabylonRehoboam 3Abijah 4Asa 5Jehoshaphat 6Jehoram 7Uzziah 8Jotham 9Ahaz 10Hezekiah 11Manasseh 12Amon 13 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his Josiah exile 14 brothers at the time of the exile to BabylonJeconiah 1 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah Shealtiel 2 was the father of ShealtielZerubbabel 3Abiud 4 fourteen from the exile to the Christ.Eliakim 5Azor 6Zadok 7Akim 8Eliud 9Eleazar 10Matthan 11Jacob 12Joseph 13 Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whomJesus 14 was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

The Genealogy in Luke

Luke gives us a genealogy beginning with Joseph and working backward to Adam.

It is unique in that it proceeds backward instead of forward (except for a portion of 1 Chronicles) as all of the other genealogies do.

Luke’s genealogy is the only one in the Bible that traces continuously the line from the beginning (Adam) to Jesus.

Luke’s genealogy introduces a question in that it includes an individual (Cainan) who appears not to be included anywhere else. This has often been sited as being an error in the Bible. I will address this later on.

Luke’s genealogy from David to Jesus is entirely different than Matthew’s version. The logical explanation is that it is the genealogy of Mary, not of Joseph. But Luke is not clear on this point.

Luke 3:23 (NIV) Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

David David 14 1Nathan Solomon 2Mattatha Rehoboam 3Menna Abijah 4Melea Asa 5Eliakim Jehoshaphat 6Jonam Jehoram 7Joseph Uzziah 8Judah Jotham 9Simeon Ahaz 10Levi Hezekiah 11Matthat Manasseh 12Jorim Amon 13Eliezer Josiah exile 14Joshua Jeconiah 1Er Shealtiel 2Elmadam Zerubbabel 3Cosam Abiud 4Addi Eliakim 5Melki Azor 6Neri Zadok 7Shealtiel Akim 8Zerubbabel Eliud 9Rhesa Eleazar 10Joanan Matthan 11Joda Jacob 12Josech Joseph 13Semein Jesus 14MattathiasMaathNaggaiEsliNahumAmosMattathiasJosephJannaiMelkiLeviMatthatHeliJoseph (Mary)Jesus

Comparing Luke & Matthew David ruled c. 1010-970 B.C.E.

36 yrs/gen Matthew

24 yrs/gen Luke

The Genealogy of 1 Chronicles

The first chapters of 1 Chronicles contains a very extensive genealogy beginning with Adam and continuing on past David that is too lengthy to include in it’s entirety here. This is an example.

1Chr 1:1 (NIV) Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. 4 The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 5 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. 6 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. 7 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. 8 The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. 9 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 10 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on earth. 11 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. 13 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 14 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 15 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 16 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. 17 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. 18 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. 19 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

Genesis 1 Chron 1:1 Luke Matthew0 God God1 Adam Adam Adam2 Seth Seth Seth3 Enosh Enosh Enosh4 Kenan Kenan Kenan5 Mahalalel Mahalalel Mahalalel6 Jared Jared Jared7 Enoch Enoch Enoch8 Methuselah Methuselah Methuselah9 Lamech Lamech Lamech

10 Noah Noah Noah11 Shem Shem Shem12 Arphaxad Arphaxad Arphaxad13 Cainan14 Shelah Shelah Shelah15 Eber Eber Eber16 Peleg Peleg Peleg17 Reu Reu Reu18 Serug Serug Serug19 Nahor Nahor Nahor20 Terah Terah Terah21 Abraham Abram Abraham Abraham22 Isaac Isaac Isaac Isaac23 Jacob Israel Jacob Jacob24 Judah Judah Judah Judah25 Perez Perez Perez26 Hezron Hezron Hezron27 Ram Ram Ram28 Amminadab Amminadab Amminadab29 Nahshon Nahshon Nahshon30 Salmon Salmon Salmon31 Boaz Boaz Boaz32 Obed Obed Obed33 Jesse Jesse Jesse34 David David David35 Solomon Nathan Solomon36 Rehoboam Mattatha Rehoboam37 Abijah Menna Abijah38 Asa Melea Asa39 Jehoshaphat Eliakim Jehoshaphat40 Jehoram Jonam Jehoram

Comparing Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Luke & Matthew

Where Did Luke Get Cainan?

Answer: He read it in the Greek BibleGene 10:24 (NIV) Arphaxad was the father of {[24] Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of}Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.

Gene 11:13 (NIV) And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. {[12,13] Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. [13] And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters}

1Chr 1:24 (NIV) Shem, Arphaxad, {[24] Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts Arphaxad, Cainan (see also note at Gen. 11:10)}Shelah, 25 Eber, Peleg, Reu, 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah 27 and Abram (that is, Abraham).

Septuagint, name given the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The term is derived from the Latin word septuaginta (“seventy”; hence, the customary abbreviation LXX), which refers to the 70 (or 72) translators who were once believed to have been appointed by the Jewish high priest of the time to render the Hebrew Bible into Greek at the behest of the Hellenistic emperor Ptolemy II.

The legend of the 70 translators contains an element of truth, for the Torah (the five books of Moses—Genesis to Deuteronomy) probably had been translated into Greek by the 3rd century BC to serve the needs of Greek-speaking Jews outside Palestine who were no longer able to read their Scriptures in the original Hebrew. The translation of the remaining books of the Hebrew Old Testament, the addition to it of books and parts of books (the Apocrypha), and the final production of the Greek Old Testament as the Bible of the early Christian church form a very complicated history. Because the Septuagint, rather than the Hebrew text, became the Bible of the early church, other Jewish translations of the Hebrew Bible into Greek were made by the 3rd century; these are extant only in fragments, and their history is even more obscure than that of the Septuagint.

Contributed By: Rev. Bruce Vawter

"Septuagint," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

THE APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA

The Tanakh was assembled gradually, over several centuries. The earliest writing may date back as far as the eleventh century B.C.E., while the latest ones probably were written as much as eight hundred years later. But sometime around 100 C.E., the rabbis recognized that they would have to determine which of the many books of sacred and religious writings were to be included in the Tanakh, given the imprimatur of the sages, and declared holy. The canonization of the Hebrew Bible was essentially carried out by the school of Talmudic sages at Yavneh. Once the canon was established, no further books were to be added.

The books that fell outside the canon and which were therefore omitted from the Hebrew Bible are of two types, the Apocrypha (“hidden books”) and the Pseudepigrapha (books written by someone other than the author to whom they were ascribed). The books from both groups date from the period between the composition of the Tanakh and the New Testament, probably between 300 B.C.E. and 100 C.E.

The Apocrypha include books that are part of the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint. As such, they are a part of the canon of the Bibles of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Among the books in this group are the four books of the Maccabees (including the story of Hanukah), Tobit, Judith, Baruch, The Wisdom of Solomon, Jubilees, the Sibylline Books, and others. These books were written in a variety of languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Since Talmudic scholars did not accept them in the canon, these books were preserved only in Christian churches or in the libraries of the Dead Sea sect, those famous scrolls found in the cave at Qumran, with the exception of the book Ben Sira, which is quoted in the Talmud.

Because they are part of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox canon, the number of books in the Apocrypha is frozen. By contrast, the Pseudepigrapha keep growing all the time. The texts discovered at Qumran, the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls, include many new books.

Reference: Essential Judaism, George Robinson, Pocket Books, 2000, pages 259-260

The Genealogies of Genesis Genesis contains two main genealogies but

has genealogical information scattered throughout. Therefore, it is necessary to assemble information from multiple locations to obtain the complete picture.

The genealogical information contained in Genesis is different from the other such sources in the Bible in that it includes birth and death dates for most of the main characters in Genesis.

This dating information begins with Adam and ends with Jacob who was renamed Israel.

It is amazing to me that God saw to it that the information required for us to be able to compute the date when Adam was created was included in the Bible.

When we know the time span from Adam to Abraham we can compute the approximate length of time between our current date and the creation of Adam because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are historical figures whose birth dates are approximately known from many sources.

Insert three pages printed directly from Excel that shows the birth and death dates from Genesis

Show the time line chart

Insert family tree from Adam to Noah

Insert several interesting family trees such as descendents of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishamael, Jacob, David, etc.

When was Abraham Born andWhen was Adam Created?

And the earth is 5 days older.

SourceAbrahams birthdate

BC

Adam created

years agoEncarta Encyclopedia (low) 1500 5446Encarta Encyclopedia (high) 2000 5946Zondervan NIV Bible 2166 6112Essential Judaism (low) 1700 5646Essential Judaism (high) 1850 5796Hebrew Calendar 1815 5761Eerdmans' Handbook to the Bible 1920 5866Years average to Adam's creation 5796

Ussher, James (1581-1656), Irish prelate and biblical scholar, who established a long-accepted chronology for the Old Testament. He was born in Dublin and ordained an Anglican clergyman in 1601. About 1603 he became chancellor of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin and, in 1607, professor of divinity at the University of Dublin, a position he held for 13 years. He was made bishop of Meath in 1620, privy councillor for Ireland in 1623, and archbishop of Armagh in 1625. Ussher went to England to conduct research in 1640; soon afterward the English Revolution broke out, and his property was confiscated. He therefore remained in England, writing and preaching. Upon his death the Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, gave him burial in the Erasmus Chapel of Westminster Abbey. Of Ussher's numerous writings the most important is the Annals of the World (2 volumes, 1650-54; trans. 1658). In that work he established his biblical chronology, with the creation fixed at 4004BC, a date widely accepted and included in the page margins of many editions of the Authorized, or King James, Version.[1]

 [1]"Ussher, James," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The Hebrew Calendar

Several other calendars based on religious doctrine can also be described. For example, the Jewish calendar, derived from the ancient Hebrew calendar, has remained unchanged since about AD 900. It is the official calendar of the modern state of Israel and is used by Jewish people throughout the world as a religious calendar. The starting point of Hebrew chronology is the year 3761 BC, the date for the creation of the world as described in the Old Testament. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar, based on lunar months of 29 days alternating with 30 days. An extra month is intercalated every 3 years, based on a cycle of 19 years. Dates of the Jewish calendar are designated AM (Latin anno mundi,”the year of the world”) and BCE (before the common era).

"Calendar," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Insert example of Hebrew Calendar

The Case for the Hebrew Calendar

As we have seen, the age of the earth given by the Hebrew Calendar is reasonable.

The Hebrew Calendar is a living calendar that has been used by the Jews for thousands of years and is currently the official calendar of Israel.

It is the Calendar used by the Bible. The names of these months appear in the Bible many times: Nisan – 2; Iyyar (Ziv) – 2; Sivan – 1; Tammuz –1; Tishri (Ethanim) – 1; Marchesvan (Bul) – 1; Kislev – 2; Shebat – 1; Adar – 9.

Therefore, I have chosen to agree with the Hebrew calendar and say that the earth is 5761 years old.

Since the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana (New Year) is widely publicized, I can keep track of the current age of the earth.

Exod 24:1 (NIV) Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."

3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.

Exod 33:9 (NIV) As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses.

Where Did Moses get his Information?

1) The tradition of the Hebrews2) Direct revelation from the LORD

A Jewish Perspective

"No book in human history has engendered a richer and more varied interpretive literature than the Bible, and that statement is particularly true for the Tanakh. Contrary to what one might think, "fundamentalist" Judaism does not engage in a strict, literal reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. Although Orthodox Jews believe that the Bible is the Revealed Word of Adonai, dictated to Moses on Mount Sinai, and that even the Oral Law is God-given, they do not limit themselves to a reading of scripture as narrow or as literal as that practiced by fundamentalist Christians. Perhaps that's because they can read Hebrew and know how multilayered and ambiguous a text the Bible really is.“

Tanakh: A relatively modern acronym for the Jewish Bible, made up of the names of the three parts of the Torah (Pentateuch of Law), Nevi’im Prophets, and Ketuvim (Writings).

Essential Judaism, George Robinson, Pocket Books, 2000, page 299

Conflicts Caused by the 5761 Year Old Earth According to Genesis

Of course we are in irresolvable conflict with the “scientists” who say that the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that our evolution took millions of years to complete.

We are also in trouble with Egyptologists who say that the great pyramid was build during Khufu’s reign between 1210 and 1233 AM. As we have seen, the flood did not occur until 1656 AM.

I am tempted to say that the Egyptologists are off in their dating by 1000 years.The largest pyramid ever built, King Khufu’s, is often called the Great Pyramid. It lies in the desert west of Giza, accompanied by the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure (Khufu’s son and grandson). The Great Pyramid was built during Khufu’s reign (2551 BC-2528 BC). "Pyramids (Egypt)," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

What Does the Bible say about uniform processes?

An assumption that is made by cosmologists, geologists, and evolutionists and probably all other scientists is that of uniformity i.e. physical processes occurred the same way in past as they do now. This is how they are able to extrapolate into the past.

The Bible seems to say that uniformity is not true because people lived much longer immediately after creation than they do now. Also, the Bible says that initially it did not rain and the earth was watered by dew. Clearly things were different in the beginning than they are now.

One question is: was this true because natural processes changed, or was it because people changed?

In any case the Bible tells us that life on earth was much different before the flood than it was afterward and that the earth’s atmosphere was very different then than it is now.

What effect does this have on dating?

Radio carbon dating depends upon knowing the initial condition i.e. the initial amount of carbon 14 in the air (see next slide).

Since the Bible tells us that conditions immediately after creation were quite different than they are now the usual radio carbon dates from that time are not correct.

But this does not mean that radio carbon can’t be used. It just has to be recalibrated.

For example, the dates of Monte Verde and Black Water draw of about 12,500 years ago are probably more like 4000 years ago.

The other dating methods also must be recalibrated to reflect that the earth is no older than 6,000 years.

Mt. St. Helens has already cast doubt on some of these dating methods since it has been reported that recent lava flows from Mt. St. Helens have been dated to be as much as a million years old.

Carbon-14 Method  Radiocarbon dating techniques, first developed by the American chemist Willard F. Libby and his associates at the University of Chicago in 1947, are frequently useful in deciphering time-related problems in archaeology, anthropology, oceanography, pedology, climatology, and recent geology. Through metabolic activity, the level of carbon-14 in a living organism remains in constant balance with the level in the atmosphere or some other portion of the earth’s dynamic reservoir, such as the ocean. Upon the organism’s death, carbon-14 begins to disintegrate at a known rate, and no further replacement of carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide can take place. The rapid disintegration of carbon-14 generally limits the dating period to approximately 50,000 years, although the method is sometimes extended to 70,000 years. Uncertainty in measurement increases with the age of the sample.

Although the method is suited to a variety of organic materials, accuracy depends on the half-life to be used, variations in levels of atmospheric carbon-14, and contamination. (The half-life of radiocarbon was redefined from 5570 ± 30 years to 5730 ± 40 years in 1962, so some dates determined earlier required adjustment; and due to radioactivity more recently introduced into the atmosphere, radiocarbon dates are calculated from AD 1950.) The radiocarbon time scale contains other uncertainties, as well, and errors as great as 2000 to 5000 years may occur. Postdepositional contamination, which is the most serious problem, may be caused by percolating groundwater, incorporation of older or younger carbon, and contamination in the field or laboratory.

"Dating Methods," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Intimidation of our Faith by Science

Very few modern Christians would follow Paul’s example before the Areopagus in Athens where he debated with perhaps the most learned men alive in the world in his time. This is because we would be laughed at and be considered to be religious fanatics since science knows that Genesis cannot possibly be true. Acts 17:18 (NIV) A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, … 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said:… "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth… 25 … he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Instead we try to reinterpret Genesis to fit science. I suggest that we should be doing it the other way around.

Time Lines in Some BiblesSince Genesis is very clear about the time

interval from Adam to Abraham why are the time lines from these two modern Bibles drawn the way they are? Why do they say that the time of creation is undated?

Disciple’s Study BibleHolman, 1984

Life Application Bible, Zondervan 1988

Believing in Creation is no More Fantastic Than Believing in the “Big Bang”, Evolution, and Many Other Ideas of Modern Science

The cosmologists who say there was a big bang admit they don’t know why it happened.

They think that some events happened much faster than the 6 day creation. Martin Rees, Britain’s Astronomer Royal, says in his latest Book, Just Six Numbers, that in the 10e-35 sec following the big bang, that the universe grew much more quickly than it did later.

Those who believe in Evolution must believe that life occurred by self-organization due to natural processes. Science has revealed that life is extremely complex requiring this belief to have tremendous faith in something that has never been observed and is contrary to our scientific observations

The time warp caused by black holes seems to be a natural phenomena that is difficult for us to understand. Time slows down and stands still in the black hole. Steven Hawking, “A Short History of Time”

Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees

THE UNIVERSE IS UNLIKELY. VERY UNLIKELY. DEEPLY, shockingly unlikely. “Its quite fantastic,” says Martin Rees, Britain’s Astronomer Royal, …

In his newest book, Just Six Numbers, Rees argues that six numbers underlie the fundamental physical properties of the universe, and that each is the precise value needed to permit life to flourish. In laying out this premise, he joins a long, intellectually daring line of cosmologists and astrophysicists (not to mention philosophers, theologians, and logicians) stretching all the way back to Galileo, who presume to ask: Why are we here? As Rees puts it, “These six numbers constitute a recipe for the universe.” He adds that if any one of the numbers were different even to the tiniest degree, there would be no stars, no complex elements, no life.”

Reference: Discover Magazine, November 2000, Why is there life?, page 64

God Spoke Light into Existence

Gene 1:1 (NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. … 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

What is light? There are many meaning of the word light. I think the meaning that makes most sense in Gen 1:3 is this:

PHYSICS: visible electromagnetic radiation: electromagnetic radiation in the range visible to the human eye, between approximately 4,000 and 7,700 angstroms

Encarta® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1999

Insert chart of the electro-magnetic spectrum

What is light?

As far as I know, the physicists still tell us that they don’t know exactly what light is and have two different models for it—the wave and the photon theories. They do however know a lot about how light behaves.

If man cannot fully understand light then how can man expect to fully understand the creator of light?

To quote a Jewish thinker who is quoted in Essential Judaism:

“If I could describe God, I would be God”

Where the Genealogies Lead

We have seen that the Biblical genealogies begin with Adam and end with Jesus who is called the Chosen One, the Messiah, the Christ.

They take us from the beginning through the history of man on the earth and end with Jesus, the Son of man and the Son of the Living God.

Jesus is the Light of the World