Christianity

[djl02]

How old do christians and the bible say the earth is? Im a christian just have some questions,I'd like opinions on.

 

[Joe Williams]

While some have tried to count back the generations in the Bible, I do not believe one can do so. For example, the "7 days to create the Earth" in Genesis in the Hebrew actually translates more like "over a period of time," IIRC. The Bible wasn't intended as a timetable of Earth's history, nor do I believe the information is available there.

 

[sbatten]

The discussions I have had with Pastors, say 6-7000 years.

 

[Tryin']

The general consensus in my research is the Old Testament >/= ~6000yrs and A.D. 2010 is self explanatory. There is some interesting research to this effect. There is also a commonly held belief that the Earth is 40-50,000 years old, also with some compelling evidence.

I personally take the phrase "There was morning and there was night, a ___ day" quite literally. . .

 

[Expat]

My pastor says several billion years old.

 

[misconfig]

The earth is 4.3 Billions years old, most fundies will argue that it's 7k years old; they get these numbers by tracing the ages of the people in the bible and their lineage.

IMO, the 7,000 year old thing is absolute nonsense.

 

[cosermann]

As is typical, someone chimes in with information that does not answer the question and is unhelpful.

OP, see the classical position as embodied in the Ussher chronology at the following link (the article will branch to others as well):

Ussher chronology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are really only a couple of camps here; either thousands of years or billions of years.

 

[level.eleven]

4.5 billion years old.

 

[djl02]

What do you'll think about Atlantis? 26000 year cycle ,Mayan prophecy? Seems like at one time or more people were more inteligent that at other times in history,Which goes along with what the Bible says will happen in the end times and goes along with Mayan prophecy about a great awakening? I find this stuff very interesting.

 

[Expat]

How old do christians and the bible say the earth is? Im a christian just have some questions,I'd like opinions on.

As is typical, someone chimes in with information that does not answer the question and is unhelpful.

Assuming everyone that responded was a Christian or quoting a Christian, it looks like they were answering his question.

I will also add to Joe Williams' excellent post that the Bible basically tells us that time has no meaning to God. ’One day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day’(2 Peter 3:8). There is a similar passage in Psalms IIRC.

 

[djl02]

Like I stated I am a Christian. I'm not trying to start an arguement, Looking for others opinions on our Creative History.

 

[deer hunter]

As is typical, someone chimes in with information that does not answer the question and is unhelpful.

OP, see the classical position as embodied in the Ussher chronology at the following link (the article will branch to others as well):

Ussher chronology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are really only a couple of camps here; either thousands of years or billions of years.

I agree with the above statement. As a Christian I take the Bible literally for what it says, so I believe it is thousands.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I personally do not believe that it's "billions", but do not know for sure.

I have my own personal doubts about the methodologies surrounding the arrival at those numbers.

Thousands? Who knows.

As has been mentioned...it's not mentioned.

What I do believe? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

-J-

 

[Grizhicks]

djl02 (& All) -- Yes, there is a group out there (& I think it is growing), that believe the earth is 6,000 to 8,000 years old, and believe that a day during creation was a 24 hour day. I, for one, do not believe that. I believe that God is all powerful and could form this world in 6 days (even 6 seconds), but there are just too many things out that make me believe the world is a whole lot older that 8,000 years.

To me, there are some serious problems with the literal "24 hour" day and the 6-8 thousand years, the biggest being (at least to me): when did Jesus come out of the grave, 3 days or on the 3rd day? If you say 3 days and that He arose on Sunday morning, then he had to be buried on Thursday morning (Friday morning, #1; Saturday morning, #2; and Sunday morning, #3). If you say on the 3rd day, the the Friday afternoon burial works out (part of Friday, Saturday, & part of Sunday). If you say that a day in Genesis is 24 hours, then a day at Jesus' death has to also be 24 hours.

I could go on, but I think that states my point. -- Greg

 

[electra]

This one gives me fits . . . the biblical timeline looks like Bishop Ussher's 6K years; the geological timeline looks like 4-5 billion years for earth, and several times that from the universe's 'Big Bang' astronomical red shift observations. HOWEVER:

Given that Genesis, et al is divinely inspired/communicated, one might suppose that it was reckoned initially by God who was present at moment of creation (the Bang), which, accelerated all matter/light/etc. at a phenomenal (light speedish~ "C" as in MC squared) rate - which could account for a difference in time passage depending on the reference frame of the observer; that is, perhaps eons passed on an earthbound frame of reference, as opposed to God's 'observational platform' (who, granted, is Omnipresent - everywhere at the same time) . . .for more on this, better expressed, see Gerald Schroeder's "Genesis and the Big Bang"

 

[mettle]

How old do christians and the bible say the earth is? Im a christian just have some questions,I'd like opinions on.

Carbon dating is a joke, discount that/their opinion right off the bat.

One thought, the Bible does not tell how long Adam and Eve dwelt with the Lord in the Garden before the fall. That needs to be taken into consideration.

The Bible states 'One day the Lord came walking' could it be 10 years, or ten decades before the forbidden and fruit?

Could it be another 500 years, or 1 day AFTER the fruit was ate?

Either way, there is not a time line; and, Adam and Eve were immortal before the curse... so we have no measurement.

 

[eldirector]

How old do christians and the bible say the earth is? Im a christian just have some questions,I'd like opinions on.

Many christians say a few thousand years old. Many say a few billion. I'm pretty sure the Bible (especially older, less translated versions) doesn't spell it out, hence the confusion.

Personally, I am not a literal-ist. The book has been transcribed, edited, and translated by Man for centuries.

 

[TopDog]

Why does it have to be pushed / formed / forced into a quantity that we can understand? I don't think the bible was written in black and white and so answers are not black and white. What is a day to God may not be what a day is to us. I think prayer then reading the bible gives you answers to Christianity.

 

[electra]

Well, some days are longer than others (Joshua 10:13) but at some point, Christians and non-Christians alike will have to own up that with man, some things are impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)

Gee, it's fun to jump around in the Good Book!!!

 

[deer hunter]

We use this in our Bible study