That’s what you think God told us through his word. It’s an interpretation, not an objective fact. I don’t think God told us the age of the earth through his word.
Of course. That is what it always comes down to. My starting assumptions are:
- We can learn true things about the world and its history with the tools of science.
- The truth God reveals about himself and his actions in the Bible cannot conflict with the truth God reveals about himself and his action in the world he created if we are interpreting both well.
- God intends to communicate theological truth about his character, his desire for relationship with humans, and his call for humanity to join him in his mission in the world through his revelation in Scripture. God does not intend to teach scientific facts.
I do not accept the starting assumption that you or anyone else’s “plain meaning” interpretation of a Bible verse here and there is the same thing as “God’s truth” or that whether or not I believe your interpretation is indeed a fact is some kind of litmus test of my relationship with God or the fruit of the Spirit in my life.