Originally Posted by
Forty9er
I don't agree with that statement. I don't think we should say that either you believe this particular interpretation of this passage or you are undermining the entire Bible. You may not have known, but I have expressed my opinions about the age of the earth and the first chapters in Genesis some time ago, and I would have to say that it probably is a small minority view. I don't think I want to go over all of that again because I don't think it is really important. But you probably know that one of our favorite Bible teachers believed that the earth was probably billions of years old.
I don't agree with it either. And I'm sorry I missed that thread and your posts in it, Forty9er.
My first exposure to the gap theory was a Scofield Bible in my early 20's. I tried to search for the reference since I have lost track of that text, may have lent it out to someone, but anyway, it just made sense to me as an explanation of how things an be buried in the earth for thousands, millions, of years. I know the Holy Bible is true about the Creation account and all that has happened since, and the gap theory seemed to explain the rest. And, yes, I remember Dr. McGee believed in the old earth as well. In fact (coincidence?) he is mentioned in the article where I found this paragraph, with which I do agree:
It should be understood that the Bible is not a book about the heavens…but a book about how to get there. It is not intended to give a strict, scientific account of how the earth and the heavens were created. It is just stating the fact that God created and that’s enough for us to know. If God had wanted us to know exactly how old the earth is, then He would have given us more precise information. No one was alive to report to us the exact date and time of the
creation. Does it really matter just how old the earth is? Should this be a divisive issue? I do not believe that it should.
Though it is still worthy of discussion, if parties are interested. I'll try to find the thread where you shared your views and link to it from this one. I didn't see a thread on the topic in my pre-post search, but I seem to not understand how to use search here all that well. Often have trouble finding something on the board and then someone else pulls it right up and links it.