Another thread where Christian love and respect is abounding! Wow!
NeilUnreal claims Genesis is myth. Since it is the foundation for every major doctrine in the Bible, where does that put those doctrines? And what does that say about the writers of the many books in the Bible who considered it to be history? That's a slippery slope, indeed, Neil... By saying that man can decide what parts of the Bible he deems true, you are saying you are putting your judgment of God in place of His Word. I don't think I would like to be in that position when face to face with the Lord.
Paul of Eugene has seen stars and galaxies. I'm glad he's looking up! However there are a lot more physicists than my husband who are now declaring the speed of light has not been a constant! If this is true, you don't know how long it took that light to get here, Paul. In addition, the atomic dates are governed by atomic processes, the same way the speed of light is. If these atomic processes have changed their rates, which many years' measurements of things like Planck's Constant and the rest mass of the electron indicate has happened, then atomic dating is running at a different rate than the orbital dating system we use in our calendars. Thus, until these two systems can be corrected to be in harmony, it is best not to get too definitive about what radiometric decay dates are showing us. It very well may be that it is precisely because these dates are not accurate that God told us, in Genesis 1:14, to use the astronomical bodies as our time keepers -- our rate of rotation and revolution are much steadier than atomic rates.
JohnV used the phrase that 'with God all things are possible.' No one is disputing that, John. But we also consider that He is telling us the truth when He caused to be written what He actually did choose to do! What you seem to be saying, in effect, is "Lord, you can do anything you want to do, and so because I disagree with what the Bible says you did, I know you did it another way -- since you can do anything you want to do. Therefore I assume that you did it in a way that I will agree with and understand!" Think about it, John -- that is what you are saying.
Nor is it adding to the Bible to say that the days from the beginning were 24 hour days. The hours were added by man as divisions of day and night sometime after creation. So if you were to describe a 24 hour day without using the term 'hour' or 'hours' or 'minutes' etc., how would you do it? Probably by using such terminology as 'evening' and 'morning', right? That would indicate the revolution of the earth on its axis regarding a light source. Now, if the earth were rotating more slowly than it does now, it would get too hot and too cold for life. So as long as the Lord has chosen to use 'evening' and 'morning' as signifiers as to the length of the days of Genesis 1, I think we are quite safe in saying the earth was rotating at very close to the same speed it is now, right from the beginning, and that those days were indeed the same length as our days now.
In addition, John, 2 Timothy was written near the end of Paul's life. By that time the gospels had been written and Paul's own letters already declared Scripture by Peter. So I am quite sure not just the OT is implied by Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16. It would also be good for you to have finished the sentence given by Paul there when you made your second point. Here is the complete sentence:
AllScripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Teaching what? Certainly the truth of Scripture?
Rebuking what? Incorrect interpretation of Scripture among other things?
Correcting what? Misunderstandings about Scripture, perhaps?
And THEN comes 'training in righteousness.'
It seems Scripture is good for a lot more than that last point, eh?
The good work that we do is the work God has given us to do -- individually, using the talents and skills He gave us. We do different things. Some teach science. That is a good work. However teaching science in opposition to God's Word does not qualify as a good work, I'm afraid. For here we have it that it is Scripture that equips us for good work...
There's just no way out of the fact that the foundation of our lives and all we do and say and think and are should be Scripture and the Lord God Himself, whose Word it is. That is why it was written.
However, just for the sake of argument, even if the New Testament is left out of the reference in 2 Timothy 3:16, Genesis remains. And it remains a true and clear account of what God did, and when. We can choose God's Word or man's interpretations.
Clue 1, man's interpretations changes constantly.
Clue 2, the Bible keeps proving itself accurate in all areas it can be checked.
