Do We Interprete genesis 1/2 as being Literal, Myth, or metaphorical then?

All of the above in the OP.

 

What does that mean?.... nevermind, I get it.

 

The speed of light slowing down dramatically would be a neat explanation for the appearance of age problem but there is no scientific evidence that the speed of light has slowed down.

I do find it kind of interesting that YECers introduce variable speed of light, variable speed of radioactive decay in an attempt to make scientific observation fit their interpretation of scripture.

 

An issue of Scientific American (in 1996 I believe) Magazine Front Page had the headline Heresy: C (the Speed of Light) is not a constant.

Much of the scientific community had come to the same conclusion - The speed of light is and has been a variable all along, the closer to the Big Bang, the greater the potential variation(s), presumably it answered a few questions for them as well.

HankD

 

Yes, there is REAL evidence that the speed of light may have been billions (Yes, BILLIONS) of times faster in the very recent past. Barry Setterfield first put this theory forth around 1979, since that time many secular cosmologists and physicists have confirmed much of his findings. It is still very controversial, but more are in agreement with this theory every day.

This theory solves many problems the Big Bang cannot.

You can go to Barry Setterfields website to find many interesting atricles on this subject.

 

One might posit that in creating with age, God designed a universe that allowed for the optimal placement of Earth while utilizing the laws of nature necessary to regulate existence. Thus the speed of light is built in, and visible images from light years away put into visible alignment with humanity on earth.

There are any number of replies and some difficulties...but those come with every view of cosmology.

 

Maybe so, but don't you think it's a better arguement than the "Last Wednesday" arguement? (especially if the ideas of the speed of light being different as referred to in the above posts?

 

I have "heard" of this proposal that light was "faster" in the past, but cannot grasp how that supports a "younger universe", in fact, as I ponder light being "slower" from our current vantage, it would seem to me to argue for even and older universe.

 

Name two of them.

 

Not really a better argument. The speed of light was first measured in the 1600's. Therefore up until then, the speed of light could have been varying up and down, up and down and we'd never know it. It's kind of similar to the "Last Wednesday" argument in that we only know the speed of light since 1676 and anything related to the speed of light before that never happened.

 

OK.

Now, all this was from a creation website, but here is more from CBS News.

I can find many more if you wish, but you could look for yourself if you are really interested in this.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

This from Wiki

 

I wonder if there is some connection between the lifespan of men in OT times compared to today.

 

Ooooh, good question! Got any thoughts?

 

No :laugh: just throwing it out there

 

I think God shortened men's lifespans simply because men became too corrupt. We can observe our own life, and most of us do the most foolish, sinful, and stupid acts when we are young adults. Why? Because we think we are going to live forever, or at least a long time. As we get older we become more conscious of our mortality. When death looms, all men begin to turn their thoughts to the hereafter.

Now imagine if yourself and everybody around you were expected to live six, seven, eight, even nine hundred years. Can you imagine how depraved man would be?

Shortening a man's life in some respects is a good thing, it makes a man more conscious of his creator and mortality.

Somehow the earth was very different after the flood, we can see man's lifespan drop sharply and quickly.

 

Its all "relative". whoops if light is changing its speed, guess that blows E=mc^2 out the window.

 

Excellent response.

If we want to interpret a passage "literally" we need to look at the literary style and context of the passage. The lay understanding of the term "literal" usually means "the first understanding that comes to my mind". But in literary analysis, interpreting a passage "literally" is a much more complex process.

I agree with preachinjesus about how the first two chapters of Genesis are written in terms of literary style. And no matter how you interpret these two chapters, it is pretty obvious that the natural break is at Gen 2:3. I believe the rhythm and structure of Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 lends itself to a clearly poetic form.

In our prose and scientific dominated culture, poetic writing has come to mean something is less true or untrue but I completely disagree with that. The same for myth in our society. But both poetry and mythology are styles of writing and story telling that I believe can convey ideas that are absolute truth.

Agreed.

Calling the genesis story mythology is entirely appropriate with most academic understandings of the term myth which refers to the story's function of being a narrative origins story. Of course the lay understanding of the term "myth" suggests a story that is not true and I would disagree with that understanding of Genesis 1 and 2.

I think metaphor also plays a role in understanding Genesis 1 and 2. And that also does not detract from the truthfulness of scripture. Metaphor is used extensively throughout the bible in references to God's "hand" or the "Day of the Lord" and many other examples. Just because one element of a verse is metaphorical does not make the entire verse or chapter a metaphor or allegory.

Amen to this.

For those here unfamiliar with my views, I am very open to theistic evolution but have no problems with my brothers and sisters holding young earth creationist interpretations as well as any of the other many interpretations of these chapters in Genesis. All of us hold to the authority and inspiration of scripture and hopefully recognize that our interpretations will never be perfect. One day we will find out exactly how God did it and whether it is 6 24hr periods or billions of years, creation is an amazing and glorious testament to God's intimate involvement in our existence.