Some Christians think that the earth is between 6000 to 15,000 years old (coinciding with the Neolithic Age). Astronomers think that it is 4.5 billion years old. Here is an attempt to resolve this incongruity.
Jesus turns water into wine in John 2:
If you ask the servants, the human observers/witnesses, they would say a few seconds old.
The story continues:
So which answer is true?
Both are true depending on the perspective. The supernatural perspective tells us that it was only a second old. The natural perspective tells us that it was at least some months old.
Similarly, in Genesis 1:
If we ask an astronomer from the natural perspective, he can only study the present-day physical data based on scientific calculation. It is 4.5 billion years old. That's the scientific space-time perspective.
On the other hand, from the supernatural angle, if we read the Bible literally, the present-day earth is only some thousands of years old. That's the biblical witnessed-time perspective.
So which answer is true?
Both are true depending on the time perspective. God created the earth with the embedded evolutionary records of billions of years. The Bible is not a scientific treatise. It focuses on the story of redemption. In terms of witnessed-time history, it is only some thousands of years old. On the other hand, from the scientific-time point of view, the earth is billions of years old.
Note that this is not the same as Last Thursdayism because God tells me the contrary. God did not create the universe last Thursday. Genesis contradicts this. I can also contradict this. I was alive last Thursday. God was with me. God dwells in me. It happened in real live-time. I didn't see God create this universe last Thursday. I believe in the words of God, not Last Thursdayism.
Jesus spoke about it as a historical witnessed-time event in Mark 10:
There are two different frameworks of time. Roughly, witnessed-time started when Adam opened his eyes. None of the hominids before Adam would be resurrected and judged by Christ. Unlike Adam, Eve, ..., and me, they never received a breath from God at the time when we were born to animate our souls. In that sense, hominids were not eternal witnesses.
On the other hand, space-time is measured by scientific calculations. Even scientifically, there is something funny about time.
Jesus turns water into wine in John 2:
How old is this wine?
If you ask the servants, the human observers/witnesses, they would say a few seconds old.
The story continues:
If you ask the expert, the master of the banquet, "how old is this wine?", he would say it was some months or even years old.
So which answer is true?
Both are true depending on the perspective. The supernatural perspective tells us that it was only a second old. The natural perspective tells us that it was at least some months old.
Similarly, in Genesis 1:
How old is the earth?
If we ask an astronomer from the natural perspective, he can only study the present-day physical data based on scientific calculation. It is 4.5 billion years old. That's the scientific space-time perspective.
On the other hand, from the supernatural angle, if we read the Bible literally, the present-day earth is only some thousands of years old. That's the biblical witnessed-time perspective.
So which answer is true?
Both are true depending on the time perspective. God created the earth with the embedded evolutionary records of billions of years. The Bible is not a scientific treatise. It focuses on the story of redemption. In terms of witnessed-time history, it is only some thousands of years old. On the other hand, from the scientific-time point of view, the earth is billions of years old.
Note that this is not the same as Last Thursdayism because God tells me the contrary. God did not create the universe last Thursday. Genesis contradicts this. I can also contradict this. I was alive last Thursday. God was with me. God dwells in me. It happened in real live-time. I didn't see God create this universe last Thursday. I believe in the words of God, not Last Thursdayism.
Jesus spoke about it as a historical witnessed-time event in Mark 10:
From the perspective of scientific time, the details of this embedding are amazing:
- 24,000-year-old animal found alive, well, and ready to reproduce
- Fossils reveal what may be the oldest known case of the dino sniffles.
There are two different frameworks of time. Roughly, witnessed-time started when Adam opened his eyes. None of the hominids before Adam would be resurrected and judged by Christ. Unlike Adam, Eve, ..., and me, they never received a breath from God at the time when we were born to animate our souls. In that sense, hominids were not eternal witnesses.
On the other hand, space-time is measured by scientific calculations. Even scientifically, there is something funny about time.
