The Word of God is irrefutably true. But, the narrative from Moses about creation of the Earth in Genesis 1 is a simplified overview, given the audience to whom he was speaking who would not have been too receptive to the actual details of creation, e.g., it took more than 6 calendar days; rather it took 6 "God days "or time necessary to complete each phase of God’s work. When viewed from this perspective, the billions or millions years argued by science for the formation of the universe becomes less objectionable.
Yes, but the Bible is not the Word of God, Jesus Christ is the Word (Logos) of God. See John 1:1-9.
Please also note that the Greek word used by John for “word” is Logos or rational Word, not mythos or dogmatic word.
Jesus challenged the “6 day” theory of creation when He said that God did not rest on the seventh day. Jesus was right and the Pharisees were wrong.
Thank you for responding to my post. What Saint John was saying essentially was that God=Jesus=Word and that He was manifested in the flesh for us to witness His Word in thoughts and deed. To say that the Bible is not the Word of God is to say that Moses and all of the prophets were not speaking for God but for themselves and that their declarations in the beginning of their books (e.g., Isaiah,Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Micah, etc.) that they were speaking for the LORD were untrue. Also, based on your interpretation, when God said to Moses that “I am that I am” would be a lie and that God said no such thing.
As for the 6-day theory, I think you misunderstood what I was saying, namely that we have to view the days of God’s creating not in terms of our 24-hour day, but as the length of time God needed to create the various parts of His creation. Therefore, I call them “God-days,”
Walter, a brief question: Can an American history book relate true facts and true historical narrative without being divinely inspired or being called the “word of God”?
Mike:
Such a book, relating a truth, would be in keeping with the Word of God inasmuch as God commands us to be truthful and not to lie to one another, e.g., Leviticus 19:11 and John 8:44. If we are being truthful, then we are being obedient to the Word of God, and in that sense our words are divinely-instructed, if you will; or it could be divinely inspired depending on what it is that we are saying. An historian could be under the anointing in his narrative. Just as God is love, He is also truth; and if we follow Jesus, we can’t help but be in His Word in whatever we do.
Walter,
Thank you for your response.
You leave out the Holy Spirit which is the Guarantor that God’s words are proclaimed by the prophets and recorded accurately in the Bible.
However it is clear from the NT that Jesus Christ is God’s Word is a way different from the OT. Jesus fulfills the Torah, the OT and thus frees Christians from the requirements of the Law.
The OT is True in as far as Jesus Christ is the Truth the Way and the Life, and God’s Word. He is the Alpha and Omega of our faith, not the Bible or even the NT. The fact is that Jesus did away with the 6 day theory of creation, whether they were 24 hour days or God days.
This topic was automatically closed 7 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.