What biblical reasons are there to accept the scientific view of the earth as billions of years old?

[Casper_Hesp]

@r_speir

… Jesus upheld Scripture as historical in every reference he gave to it.

@Mike_Gantt

Yes, this is the Mount Everest of biblical obstacles to accepting SGH over biblical history. Thank you for emphasizing it.

I am not saying this mountain cannot be scaled, though I am admitting that I do not see how it can be. Nevertheless, I am sincerely giving people here the opportunity to show me something I may be missing, some blind spot I may have on this subject, some way that we can legitimately understand Jesus differently on this point.

Hi Mike and @r_speir, I don’t understand completely what you both are worrying about here. Would you mind expanding on that? I do not see Jesus anywhere affirming a young-earth scenario in His teachings. Once He quotes from Genesis 2 to emphasize the sanctity of marriage, something I whole-heartedly affirm. Also, the idea that Jesus had limited knowledge of natural history is consistent with the orthodox Christian doctrine of kenosis (self-emptying). It is a logical consequence of Jesus taking on all the limitations of a human being. Allow me to quote something I have written in the context of a different discussion here:

@Casper_Hesp

my position does not entail that Jesus was all-knowing on every single topic imaginable. This is in accordance with the doctrine of kenosis: the self-emptying of the Son of God in the flesh. Jesus didn’t know when the End of Times would come (Mark 13:32). Similarly, He could have had a different impression of the natural history of the world. No problem. It didn’t affect the point of His teachings in any way: “I am the Way, the Life, and the Truth.”

Finally, just a remark on this:

@Mike_Gantt

Nevertheless, I will not keep an open mind indefinitely - in that case, my brains would eventually fall out.

That’s unfortunate, Mike. As I said, for many people it takes years and loads of cognitive dissonance before they change their minds on these matters. Oftentimes, to improve the structure of a building (read: worldview) you need to break it down first, at least partly. So it can feel like you’re moving backwards (destroying the building), while it is actually opening the way towards a better structure overall.

Peace,
Casper