Saturday, April 10, 2010

Ape Man Loses Job

Here's an interesting article about a well respected Old Testament Biblical scholar who lost his job teaching at an established non denominational Reformed Christian seminary in Florida because he endorsed the theory of evolution.

I've always thought of Reformed Protestants as fairly prickly but never thought of them as particularly wing nut creationists or Young Earthers. I guess I was wrong.

So far, I think the theory of evolution has held up pretty well. I'm willing to go along with it, at least until something more believable comes along.

Do you believe that God created the Earth and every living thing on it in six days, four thousand years ago? Let me know because I've always had a pretty hard time with it.

6 comments:

Cut and Shoot said...

I have never heard of the earth being created 4000 years ago. Where did that come from? And why would anyone give it any credence?

reddog said...

Good to know there are no Young Earthers in Texas.

Cut and Shoot said...

I went to Google and searched for "young earthers" and came up with this.....

"Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism that asserts the Heavens, Earth, and all life were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic god during a relatively short period, sometime between c. 5,700[1] and 10,000 years ago.[2] Its adherents are those Christians and Jews[3] who believe that God created the Earth in six 24-hour days, taking a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation myth as a basis for their beliefs.[4][5], and include around 10-45% of American adults, depending on various polls."

I would question that 10-45% of American adults believe that.

reddog said...

I think it's more than 10% but less than 45%. Maybe 18 or 20 but I'm only guessing.

I know some but my area has a pretty high educational level. I think that makes a difference. I have a good friend in rural Georgia, who couldn't keep up with school after the 9th grade, not that he was anything more than an F student before that. He has other types of gifts.

A Young Earth philosophy seems nearly universal among his circle. They also profess a strong belief in fundamentalist Christianity but are not affiliated with and never attend any Church.

cut and shoot said...

I was taught that earth being created in six days with a day of rest was allegorical...a way of simplifying a very complex subject. And that nobody really knows how long God's days are.

reddog said...

I guess it's all a matter of interpretation. I think a lot of people choose to take the Bible very literally. It makes it a lot less messy if you do that but some of it then becomes pretty hard to believe.

I like a lot of the ideas but don't necessarily believe any of it as Gospel truth. Maybe that makes me post Christian. That's the term that they are throwing around a lot now.

I think that if there is a God, he probably doesn't care that much about being venerated or how. If I get judged, I think I'll do at least as well as most Bible thumpers.