How to Stop Being Bored And Start Being Wonderstruck

Hey Jaquelle, this is a great article! I’ve found my wonder growing thin at times too. That’s when I can look around like you are describing and I realize that I practically live on an alien’s planet! Haha It’s crazy, the things we take for granted! Thanks for reminding us of all the impossible things that we see every day!

This is a beautiful reminder, Jaquelle. (Your name is fantastic, by the way :D) Marvelously written too! I’m glad i read this today. I’m off to find wonder in my bunk bed, pillow, and blankets 🙂

Wow, this article is amazing! Every time I go outside, I am reminded of all the wonderful things God has given us. Thanks for sharing this beautiful reminder of the little big things in life. 🙂

I hate to say it, but I don’t think a big black mustache is your best look…. XD

I know, right??!!?? It breaks scientific laws, too!

*Snicker* 😀

Random Question: Is a cup evidence of its own existence.
x is evidence for x?

Oh that is SO offensive!!! It took me five months to grow it like that! Ugh, the nerve of some people…

Wow! I often wonder things like this. Think about your brain for a second, the names, math equations, song lyrics, faces..etc..I mean WOW!
Thanks for this, Jaquelle!

Richard Dawkins also believes that life on earth started from aliens coming and sprinkling life all over the place.

What a genius.

IKR? So where did the aliens come from….????

Oh, and I’m very impressed by your friend’s pink one…THAT’s a fashion statement. XD jk

Um..outer space??? Evolution confuses me. (i literally had to look up how to spell evolution)

Yes, God’s creation is amazing and science truly shows that. However, I’m going to say that I do believe in a “big bang,” just not the way you would think. Dawkins would have us believe that out of a ball of nothing came a big explosion, resulting everything we see in the universe, which is absolutely preposterous. But don’t you think that when God spoke the universe into existence that there would have been a massive transfer of energy into nature, like an explosion? Just food for thought people.

But yes, the big bang theory and evolution are terrible inaccuracies in science.

Lol! Thats my little sis. She was feeling a bit bold XD

Exactly!!!!

Interesting… *thinking* *rubs chin*

XD that’s funny…well I wore a half-mustache in public once…a real one…then I started shaving…. =P

Sorry, that probably sounds weird haha. =)

Haha yup! =) Nooo…..but Someone was. XD

Me too! Weird 🙂

I went to one in Branson or somewhere close there. I liked it!

Sweet! I haven’t been yet, but I would love to go one day. Have they finished the life sized Noah’s ark yet?

I’m not @disqus_ePP3Yyx781:disqus, but I’ve been there a couple times! It’s totally worth it! They have more exhibits than ever. =)

I’m only a couple hours away, but I’ve only been there once, a looooooooong time ago. I’m so excited! The ark isn’t done yet, but I’ll get to see where they’re building it at!

Yeah, I’m so excited! I went once when I was eight, and I think I was too young to really understand it. This time I’m farther along in my faith, and I can know and appreciate it more!

Really? That would be so creepy!

Its in Kentucky. 🙂

*hides face*

Well, I tried to upload a pic I took of Buddy Davis giving a concert, but it was too big. =/ oh well. =)

WAIT!!! Ok, here’s a challenge for anyone who wants to accept and waste a couple of hours of their life. When I went a couple of years ago, they had a challenge for the best “Flat Ken” photo. My mom posted one of me feeding “Flat Ken” to a dinosaur on Ken Ham’s Facebook page. If any of you stalkers can find it, then you’ll know what I look like and earn my respect (not that that means much XD). My family is also in the photo…

It’s probably forever gone but….y’all can try. =)

*checks clock* I suppose I have some time to waste, so why not?

I would but I don’t have a Facebook and I’ve got a 4 page resurch paper to write by tomorrow morning.

XD I would wish y’all good luck but luck doesn’t exist soooo….GODSPEED!!!! =P

Oh, Joy…I hope that “resurch” paper you’re writing has a good spellcheck… =) no offense.

They have a life-size ark in Hong Kong that I’ve been to see. The AiG one sounds really cool, though. 🙂

😀 Mkay read ya later! 🙂

Lol you can reply when you get back. 🙂 My mom is from there, so we go to visit family (and sightsee, of course!). I haven’t been in a while though; airfare is really expensive and the flight is soooo long.

Don’t sweat. You’re good. Though I’d better go or else I’m going to fail that paper. Ttfn

Giving up already??? *victory music for Josh* 😉

Ok cool! So are you part asian? I can’t tell through your pic haha…

@samwegner:disqus @brooklynmorrison:disqus here’s another one…I’m wearing a purple shirt…. =)

It was pretty cool. There just wasn’t very much to do, though. I took a bunch of pictures and posted them here https://theteentheme.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/noahs-ark-photos/ They aren’t very good, but you get the idea. 🙂

Cool! =)

How do these comments keep going from the actual article to mustaches to stalkers to chocolate bars? XD

That reminds me of Job 38 🙂

Hey Martial Artist,

I disagree that there was a “Big Bang” also known as “The Mass Expansion Theory” – whether created by God or not.

The reason for this, is, it requires you add something not written about, into the creation account. One could argue, because it’s not talked about, it can be true. Well… *winces*, I don’t see it that way.

You see, Genesis doesn’t say God didn’t create the Earth from a cow, but does it mean that I should believe He did?

In addition, a Big Bang would require rewriting the first chapter of Genesis. It says in detail what order God created the universe, including “the sun, the moon, and stars”, which takes up much of the matter in the universe.

So we could say “God created the Big Bang”, but really, for it to line up with what’s said in Genesis, there wouldn’t be much ” big” in the Big Bang. You know?

I think the only understandable reason for describing the creation of the universe that way would be to relate it to what most Atheists believe and to their definition of “science”. Though I don’t believe that is an adequate reason to “adapt” the Bible.

Now, I realize I probably won’t change your mind, and I don’t want to cause either of us the stress of long unending debate, but I just thought I would point that out.

Have a great day!
God bless,
– Trent Blake

I’ve never been able to figure that out myself…one of the great weakness of rebelutionaries is the tendency to rabbit trail in the comment section. Lol. Then again, maybe that’s not a bad thing!

Haha, ikr? Though it’s understandable, considering i do the same thing in real life too 🙂 I think it’s kinda funny how quick people get off topic. I never know what i’ll find you people talking about!

Oh yeah?! Well I know your last name, too! Josh… Albert? Anderson? Allen? Abbot? Am I close?

Wait how do you know?

Ummmmm….one of those was actually right but I can’t tell you which one.

And to answer your question, try tagging yourself. 😉

Whoooops. Sorry Brett, you’re totally right. I apologize. =/

Apology accepted! Don’t feel bad. I love the vibrant community you’ve helped foster on this site. And having fun together like this is awesome. Perhaps the main issue is just your choice of words. There’s nothing wrong with a fun challenge. But we should all be striving to not waste any of our lives. =)

Agreed! And thank YOU for starting this site! None of us would be here without you! =)

How risky is it for you to comment without being overwhelmed with replies?

Yeah, I know which one it is. I’m sure of it. But I can’t say cuz you wont say even if I say it correctly.
Haha, I appreciate your kind words. xD

Oi Ve. Do I know it! Only about 1/10 scale. On S.O.G., sometimes I wish I could skip over a line of thread to get to the “important comments” haha.

But it’s all good and worth it. I wouldn’t trade the impact of the blog for a little bit of my time.

I responded to Trent above on this thread. I think that will answer your question. Trent has changed my mind on a few things, as you’ll see. 🙂

Awesome bro!

Hope you have an amazing evening!

I’m about to go eat. Mmmmm….

You too bro!

About to go eat too…:)

I’m jealous you’re going to the Creation Museum…always wanted to!! Oh, well. Maybe I will someday. Hope you have fun!! :))

I wasn’t here for the whole conversation, but I do believe that as Christians we must also be careful about treating atheists as stupid. They do have reasons for believing what they believe, and I think some of their reasons are better than just that they don’t want to believe in God.

While on the subject of being off subject, I was working on a research paper today about the American and French Revolutions and at one point in the paper instead of writing “revolution” I wrote “rebelution”. 😉
Just thought you fellow rebelutionaries would enjoy that. 😉

Btw. random question. Does anyone on here take online TPS classes. (I guess that was off topic)

Trent and Brett, both of your sites have been greatly instrumental in my life for the time I’ve been here. Thank you both for all the time you’ve put into them! (And I apologize for all the off-topic comments I’ve contributed…)

I like that…

I know it! @josh_whatshislastname:disqus =)

Really??? I want to go to it so much ( I really like Ken Ham)!!!

That’s kinda what I was going for. 🙂 That’s also what they teach in my church’s kids ministry.

Yeah! Like particular articles posted on April Fools…

*remembers that Brett and his siblings are half Japanese…..*

I can’t tell you how huge my grin just got that is hysterical!!!!

*fist pump* #thatsthewaywelikeit ;D

Hey! Do I spy another name nerd?!?! :DDD

The Potter’s School: a Christian online school.

Yeah, right? That’s cool. 🙂

I do!

It seems to me that if you were a scientist trying to explain what it was like when the universe and everything in it came into being, the evidence to you would probably look a lot like it was pointing to an explosion of creation. However, I have a hard time believing that it was all a simultaneous big bang.

After all, the Bible says that after God created the heavens and the earth, the rest of creation happened in six days. There was actually twenty-four hours in each day, so it couldn’t have been simultaneous. Still, that is fairly quick for a creation, so I can understand why the big bang is well supported.

I like to think of the big bang idea as a misinterpretation of the evidence. Pretty close, but not quite hitting the mark. A lot of science is like that. Using the scientific method does not guarantee success, but the conclusions derived from it are tentative, and even scientific laws can be overturned.

Sherlock Holmes in the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used his own detective methods. He could read the evidence, experiment, and come up with a pretty close explanation as to the crime and the killer, but even then he was often wrong on a few points, timing, (usually unimportant details) but sometimes even the killer itself. Why? Because all he had to go on was his interpretation of the evidence. He didn’t have all of the pieces, so he had to apply logic, and the limited knowledge he possessed of the people involved, and of the crime.

One thing he also tried to do was to never develop a theory until he had all of the available evidence. He didn’t want to be biased and interpret the evidence based on his preconceived ideas.

Scientists operate in a similar fashion, only all scientists have some preconceived ideas. that’s because they have worldviews that affect the way they interpret the evidence. So my point is, just because something has a lot of evidence, doesn’t mean it is all interpreted correctly.

I see I’m going to have to learn more about the Big bang theory so I can better understand that view, and how far it actually differs from the Bible. Thanks for inspiring an interesting discussion:)

Yeah! 🙂 Hey, what’s your profile pic?

Sorry Josh, I got distracted right away with a video of someone eating an entire lime 😉 Anyway, I’m admitting defeat *hangs head as victory music for Josh is cued* 🙂

That is so neat!!! Please tell her she is an inspiration to me. *smiles*

Oh, cool! Have you ever taken any classes with Mrs. Fred?

Haha. =)

No, sorry! Only with Miss Shearon and Mrs. Mckeeman.

Ha!!! 😀 Brett shoulda posted that on thereb…. just saying…

I agree!! 😀 Maybe he still can…

In the news this week, anonymous account on Christian blog for teenagers is being sued for his insinuation that another such account has facial hair… the other account was a female…

Thanks, Jaquelle! This is beautiful! I remember, one of my favorite things in life is waking up to a sunny day. I looked out at the sky recently and was like, “Wow! The sky is so blue!”

Haha, yes, i’m always on the lookout for really awesome names! 😀

Elanor, for a girl, is my very favorite 🙂 And You?

Eleanor’s beautiful!
I actually have a hard time with girls’ names, I can’t pick a favorite. It’s harder for me to find ones I like, too.
But boys. :O There’s a whole treasure trove, it’s awesome!
Favorites would include Mordecai, D’Artagnan, Bartolomeo(I love, love, love Spanish names)…

Yay!!!! 😀 That’s gorgeous. Would you happen to know what origin Lanae is?
I’ve never met anyone with that name, either. 🙂 But I have met a Kawana. And a Benaiah(that’s a boy). And my best friend’s name is Magdalena. So I seem to be somewhat a magnet of unique names. Course, with a name like mine, that would make sense. Lol 😀

Sadie, I had to do a little research on it, but apparently it has origins from the Hawaiian language, but it comes from a variant of that name, Lana, which comes from Greek, Russian, and English. My parents considered naming me Lanae so ever since I saw the name and realized that, I have wanted to use it for my first daughter if I ever have any. 😉
Those sound like some fun boy names. 😉

Ahh,love it, Jaquelle! Now I’m like, all wanting to go and read outside and just enjoy all the beauty out there. You have such a gift for writing. <3

I just wanted to mention that God exists outside of time, and creation probably didn’t actually happen in six 24-hour days. The Bible uses lots of poetic language (like how Job 41 sounds like it’s talking about a dragon, but was most likely a crocodile :P), so I think creation happened in six different parts, not necessarily six days. But I know there’s lots of different views on this, so I may be wrong. 🙂

I will! (next time I see her!)

I just watched a Spring thundershower sweep over our house. The sun set white and eerie, and the lightning was erratic. Beautiful! God’s creation is amazing:)

Hey guys,

I don’t want want to draw attention to myself or anything, and I don’t want you guys to think I’m trying to be “super Josh” or anything, but I felt like I needed to let y’all know something…I’m going to be taking a break from the Reb (and Disqus and Revive) for about a week. I don’t want anything to become an idol in my life, and I don’t want to be addicted to anything, either. Not saying that the Reb is an idol or I’m addicted to it, but it’s good to make sure…I did it with my tablet with my games/books on it this past week. So basically, I won’t be on here until next Friday night at least. =/

Just wanted to let y’all know, and I hope no one takes this the wrong way. =)

Bye!

-Josh

Well, from my interpretation, many scientists believe that the universe started as a singularity filled with gases and atoms that was just always here. That thing exploded billions of years ago and formed the universe that we have today. All of the atoms eventually combined to form earth, and then the first organism, and so on. Spontaneous generation is what they call it. That’s as far as I understand about the Big Bang, but I haven’t researched it deeply.

Now, about Sherlock Holmes. He is one of my favorite characters in all of literature. I mean, he is almost the perfect scientist because he has no bias, which is impossible for scientists nowadays. That’s why throughout history, the establishment have had such a difficult time believing in new ideas (Like Newton’s laws, Galileo’s observations, Einstein’s theories). That’s why it’s important for scientists to keep an open mind.

Now, I can tell by your description of the creation of earth in six, twenty-four hour days that you obviously listen to Ken Ham. I honestly don’t care one way or the other if the earth was created in six, literal twenty-four hour days or not. But let’s just be clear on one thing, which is that MAN developed a system by which they could measure time. And since there was no man at creation, God could have stretched out those days as long as he wanted to. Just food for thought.

Now, thanks for being frank and not being critical or anything. Honestly, I enjoy being able to have an honest, friendly debate about certain topics. And I don’t mean to sound angry or anything. I understand that sometimes it may sound like I come across that way. Thanks for being a good arguer. And if you want to discuss anything else, by all means, please let me know. 🙂

I can see both of your points. I guess we’ll never really know exactly how God decided to make the world, so until I can ask him in heaven, I’ve decided to just roll with the fact that he did create it and that’s all I need to know. 😀 Nice logical thinking though on both of your parts.

Oh cool! I’ve heard of that but I haven’t seen it. 🙂

Sure, I get what you say Gabrielle. I don’t mean to criticize your beliefs. I will point out however that scientists are biased in a great degree by their worldviews, which doesn’t change the evidence, but does change how they interpret it. So far there is no evidence to confirm the theory of billions of years.

The Evolutionists actually have their own radiometric dating method that can only be compatible with the theory of Evolution since it places the order of life on earth differently from the order in which God created life. That idea hinges largely on the idea of an invisible non-conformity in the layers of strata. They can’t see one, so they pretend it’s there. Of course, since we can’t see it, I guess we can’t prove it doesn’t exist. Still, I think we have a whole lot more evidence for God than they do for their world dating system:)

My point is basically that just because they study this stuff, and put dates on the earth, doesn’t mean they’re right. Science doesn’t prove anything, it can only help form conclusions. I’m not saying they’re dumb, or anything, but that if you believe in the God of the Bible, according to God’s word their system is faulty. They often like to teach science as if it was the gospel truth, but all science is is theories, and hypotheses of man.

Don’t accept that they know what they’re talking about. Study and see for yourself. If I trusted my doctors to know what they were talking about…well, I would probably be feeling nasty and taking a lot of medications right now instead of eating better and feeling better:) I won’t go into details, but some doctors are pretty biased against natural treatment…

Man… Y’all are making my head spin. 🙂

Haha, sorry about that. 😛 Try drinking some tea.

*enters conversation*

Okay, I feel a friendly debate coming on 🙂 Because i firmly believe there is strong evidence of an earth that is under 10,000 years old. I am happy to back up that claim with examples if you would like 🙂

That’s pretty much what I wanted to say, but my brain is too tired to take part in anything logical right now. XD

It’s adorable! I highly recommend it. 🙂

😀 I like the colors of leaves in the fall months. So beautiful! And we live where there’s lots of mountains, so the mountains are just covered in gold, orange and red. It’s amazing!

😀
Well that is creative! 🙂 Would have loved to have seen something like that around here. 🙂
Lol I’m sure, that would make total sense! 🙂
I don’t think I’d be able to pull Katniss off. My hair is curly and I have glasses.

Diddo!

Those are cool names! 🙂

Cool ! Do you think there’s a chance of it being on YouTube? 🙂

I would say probably, but I am not certain. Look for it, I’m sure you’ll at least be able to see some of it. 🙂

When I started reading, I was thinking “yeah, I know what she means… that’s how I feel when we drive through the mountains on vacation.”
Now I am amazed that vertical blinds stay up and the bristles in my tooth brush stay in place… 🙂

The Hebrew word used to describe the word “day” is “Yom”. (I don’t know if that is the spelling but it is the pronunciation.) Whenever this word is used in the old testament with the words “first” or “second” etc. it ALWAYS means a literal day.
Many Christian scientists think that Job was actually talking about dinosaurs. They think Job probably lived not too long after the flood, and when he talks about “the cold out of the north” that is the ice age that occurred after the flood. (Yes, Christian scientists believe that an ice age is biblical!)
Creation science is something I really enjoy and have read a lot about 🙂

I certainly believe the three days after Christ’s were literal!
(oh, and for those who don’t know, in Jewish history any part of a day is considered a day, so Friday to Sunday is three days)
I also believe Jesus’ 40 days of fasting were literal… and his 3 years of ministry, etc.

it all boils down to what your ultimate source of truth is. do you fit the bible around science, or science around the bible?
if science is more truthful than the bible, why is there any reason to believe in miracles? including a resurrection!

French toast?
(or was I not supposed to mention that food?)
🙂

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
totally awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we were at a very evolutionary museum the year before, so it was very refreshing!
My brother and I got to ride Gomer the camel!
we got a kick out of the zonkey and the zorse 🙂

Yes, thank you Joyful joyful! Those were some others that i just didn’t have the time or brain power to write about 🙂

Yes, exactly. If we take one event in scripture and say that it wasn’t exactly what it says, where would we draw the line of what happened, and what was figurative? Your comment about the Hebrew word “Yom” was very insightful, and something i wasn’t aware of, so thank you for mentioning that 🙂

Yes! in our house, if anyone says “hey!” someone else will say “hay is for horses, camels, and other pacaderms!” (sorry, autocorrect isn’t helping me with that one)
now we say “hay is for horses, GOMER, and other packaderms!”

Sounds like me! Right down to being a PK 🙂

Jonathan is one of my favorite Bible characters; I’ve always wanted to use that as one of my boys’ names, maybe as a middle. 😀 Yes! Same here! Like Adoniram Judson! I learned about him during school but had a bit of a refresher when I did research on Burma for a paper I was writing for class. I’ve wanted to use a part of his name for one of my kids since them. Same with William Carey. 🙂
Question: your thoughts on names: Gideon, Israel, Zion, and Hosea? 🙂

Thats awesome!!! 😀

I believe in the Bible, 100%. But that doesn’t mean we as Christians should ignore everything that doesn’t fit in our perfect little Bible boxes. God created science. God gave the words for the Bible. It’s all from God, and since he isn’t half Bible God and half science God, it should all fit together, correct? So if there’s scientific proof about one thing, and biblical saying that seems to oppose it, there’s a giant problem.

If scientists are proven wrong about an old earth (and they seem to be progressing on their discovery of evidence, not decreasing), I’ll readily take the young earth side. But as long as God’s own creation is saying it’s been here longer than 6000 years, I’m going to study and believe that.

Ok, I’ll check it out! 🙂

Gideon’s probably my favorite Bible story, tied with the story of Hosea and Gomer. I’ve heard of that movie, but I don’t remember much about it. What is it about again? 🙂
Yeah. Though I think I’d use Israel for a girl. In the Bible Israel is always referred to as a girl, or daughter. And often as the daughter of Zion.
And I like Hosea because his story is my favorite romance in the Bible…

So many different comments to reply to! 😛

1. Yes, the moon is moving away each year. By inches. (Ughhh I despise math. But here we go…)

The moon is moving away at 1.5 inches per year. Go back a million years, and the moon would be 1,500,000 inches closer. Which also equals 23 miles. Do you know how far away the moon is?? About 240,000 miles away!

To keep going, let’s go back 4.5 billion years, the age of the earth according to science. The moon would be 6,750,000,000 inches closer- or 106,534 miles closer. Not trying to crush your beliefs or anything, but that moon argument has been debunked by science for a while.

2. There are actually many natural ways that salt is removed from the ocean, and it’s been discovered that the amount of salt is roughly equal to the amount removed. Also, man made pollution is a large part of creating salt in the ocean. Therefore, the ocean wasn’t always as salty or gaining more salt per year as the present day is.

3. I’m going to have to read more about this one, but as far as I’ve gathered, the spiral arms aren’t solid, as many young earth creationists believe. They’re constantly losing and gaining new stars, which is one of the reasons it wouldn’t have totally wound up.

Still not sure how correct I am on that last point. Scientific articles are very complex to read! 😛

Here’s a short article that conveys my thoughts pretty accurately, if you’re interested in reading it. http://www.oldearth.org/hope.htm

@joyfuljoyful:disqus
@a_haylie:disqus
@malloryobier:disqus

I want to apologize for any harsh comments or offense I’ve given, if any. I tend to get heated up in arguments, which is one of the flaws that God’s working on fixing in me. 🙂 I’d also like you to know that I am totally ready to admit that I was wrong on different points, but respect for the creation story and scientific research working together will keep me from doing that until one or the other proves me wrong. 🙂 Thanks for discussing it with me, and helping me to figure this all out!

Thank you!!

Haha, I like it!

:'( Rue! Too sad she died! She was too small; too delicate.

Hey Trent, got a question for you. Have you ever heard of kenosis as applied to Jesus? And if you have, what do you think of it?

Thanks

I haven’t looked much into it. But I believe kenosis is dervived from the Greek “κένωσις” (kénōsis) meaning emptiness.

I’m not sure if some people apply it to Jesus as “emptying himself to the Father’s leading” or the other way, “we should empty ourselves to Jesus’s leading”.

Now, as I said, without much research, I can only guess at the reason for your question, for me to answer. Are you concerned that it is too similar to what Yoga teaches (i.e. “emptying your mind “)?

Or was there something else?

Hope I can help!
– Trent

Hey bro, I would like to challenge your thinking, so when you come out of this discussion, you have researched the facts presented in the Bible and either become more solidly grounded in your beliefs (if they are what the Bible teaches) or switch to what you believe to be the truth (if they are not what the Bible teaches).

First, I would like to address the part about creation. Now, I am hesitant to “quote” your comment, because whenever someone quotes me in this type situation, I feel like they’re picking my argument apart. That is not my intention. So, please keep that in mind as I reluctantly resort to quoting what you said.

You said: “Now, I can tell by your description of the creation of earth in six, twenty-four hour days that you obviously listen to Ken Ham. I honestly don’t care one way or the other if the earth was created in six, literal twenty-four hour days or not. But let’s just be clear on one thing, which is that MAN developed a system by which they could measure time. And since there was no man at creation, God could have stretched out those days as long as he wanted to. Just food for thought.”

The two of us could go back and forth and argue our opinions on it (which you probably agree with me that that is sort of a waste of time. haha)

However, I feel that if we look at what the Bible says, we can have a better understanding at what God says happened. And since God cannot lie, I would say we can trust Him. Yes?

So, let’s see what the Bible says about Creation. Here is a direct copy of Genesis 1, using the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), what I use as my Study Bible as well as what LifeWay.com uses as it’s default Bible.

______________________
GENESIS 1:1-31

______________________

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

_______________________

Now, firstly, I would like to clear up the original Hebrew meaning of the word “day”. As another kind young person pointed out, it is the Hebrew Word “Yom” (pronounced “yome”). It is used in the HCSB Bible 2209 times, with the word “day” as the most used, a total of 901 times, followed by days (487 times), today (265 times), and then “time”, “life”, “historical”, “all day long”, “when”, “reign”, and “each day” all coming in at less then 100 times each. (There were also 286 miscellaneous translations)

So, in other words, out of all these times, the words “day” and “today” (both singular) are used for this word for more then all the other uses combined.

Now, because of this, I believe the word “day” should be where it is, as the word “day”. but let’s assume for a moment that I am wrong and the correct word is “time” or “life”. If we replace day, we get:

6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second time .

or

6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second life .

To me, neither of these make sense. Even with the word “time”, the reader would probably assert that because it said, “evening came, and then morning”, it was referring to a literal 24-hour day. That brings us to our next word: the words for “evening” and “morning”

The word “evening” comes from the Hebrew word “‘ereb”, pronounced “eh’-reb”

It is used a total of 131 times, 109 of which are the word “evening”, and twilight, dusk, evenings, ever evening, dusk, and west come up less then 10 times each. There are no miscellaneous translations .

So, from this, I would be pretty sure that it does in fact mean “evening”, as in “the latter part of the day”.

The word “morning” comes from the Greek word “boqer” (pronounced “bo’-ker”). And it is used in the HCSB Bible a total of 199 times. 153 of those times was for the word “morning”. The other times that make up the other 46 times are as follows:

every morning, next morning, daybreak, dawn, early morning, mornings, tomorrow morning, east, and miscellaneous translations

So…

from all this, I would say it is best to take God at His word, that He made the earth in 6 literal days. You are right in that it never says, “God did not use the big bang to create the universe” or “God did not use 1000 years to create each day”, but really, it shouldn’t have to. After all, the Bible never says, “God didn’t create the Earth from part of a chicken’s head”, but we can be reasonably sure that He didn’t.

In the same way, I think we should be careful what earthly theories we conform to, because while some can be accurate, others are against the truth of scripture – and the only way to agree with that theory is to change what the Bible says. And that’s kind of a dangerous path to be walking.

I get what your saying, but plants on our earth as we know it need the SUN, not just light. The sun was created a day after plants. Now, the light God had created might have held heat as well, but there really isn’t any way to know.

I understand that it seems odd to think about only our small planet earth keeping track of time. But we have to remember that the God who created the entire universe created the days that kept time as well. Humans didn’t come up the cycles of time. God gave them to us. And i think that it would be against the character of God to change what a day meant.

That’s really all i got for now too. Thanks again for being a gracious debater 🙂

~Haylie

Honestly, i just don’t agree with that. I’m not ignoring science, but i think there is just as much evidence for a young earth as there is against it, if not more. But, i’m gonna bow out of this conversation now. Thanks everyone who contributed, and God bless!

Yes, but I don’t know anything about it.

God didn’t create days, he created the method that creates days. Just like God didn’t create your computer, he created the method for making it. Just like your computer, time is a powerful tool that God uses to help us. But he didn’t speak time (or your computer) into existence. He created the things in the creation story, and he created laws for us to live by. But he did not say, “Let there be time,” or “follow the laws of time.” Time does not exist to God, and it doesn’t exist anywhere else except our minds. We measure a day by the earth rotating once. How do you measure that on another planet where it rotates slower/faster? How do you measure that if there was no sun to tell night and day apart?

I’ve been trying to stay out of this rather heated and not so friendly debate y’all have been having, but I can’t ignore it any more. Here’s what the Bible says about days,

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that is was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”- Genesis 1: 3-5

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night: and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”- Genesis 1:14-19

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.” – Exodus 20:11

God therefore, by his own admission, invented the concept of days, describes the passage of time with evening and morning, creates the Sun and the Moon for us to measure the passage of time by, and personally institutes them as the system by which we measure the days and years with. To me it is apparent that God had already invented Day, and described what a day was, then invented the system by which we can tell on earth that time is passing.

The Sun didn’t start the system of days, or the passage of time. Just like time passes whether or not we have watches to measure it with, so time and days passed without the Sun. Earth is bound by it from day one. Regardless of how much of His time it took, the Bible is clear in these passages that it took six of our earth days to complete the creation.

God describes this passage of time with evening and morning instead of hours because that measurement wasn’t made up until later. That was the way He, as well as us, defined a day in the beginning. We didn’t start describing it as a full earth rotation until later, but that’s what it came to mean. God is specific with marking the passage of time with evening and morning, and marking the days it took because the Bible was written for people who live on earth, and He knew that we knew what a day was.

Why bother mentioning how many earth days it took, if it wasn’t earth days at all, but some vague measurement of His own time? Isn’t eternity immeasurable to us? We can’t even describe the passage of His own unique time that He spends, within our own earth days, because they are separate. How can we possibly understand that He meant something other than what He both said and described?

The more I have followed this argument and read what both you, Haylie, Trent, and Joyful Joyful have written, the more I have thought about and studied the creation, and the more assured I become of this. In light of the creation it doesn’t matter what God’s time is to us because earth operates under different laws that it is bound by. You can’t use the argument that He is infinite in this instance because the world is not. Of course there will be some conflicting evidence. If every single scrap of evidence pointed directly without a doubt to God’s creation and design, what would be the need for faith? “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

You can think what you like Gabrielle. (I’m not trying to change your mind or prove you wrong!) You have shared your reasoning and defense behind what you believe and think, so I felt it necessary for me to also share the reasoning and the defense behind what I believe and think, so that that any who may have also followed this interesting debate may consider and draw their own conclusions.

I’ve been watching this debate for a week,and I finally had to comment! I’d just like to say that if God didn’t create the world in six literal days, why would He allow the Hebrew word for literal earth days to be used in Genesis? He knew when it was written that people in future years would misconstrue what He had said, so why wouldn’t He try to be as clear as possible? (By the way, isn’t it cool that as the Bible was being written, God was thinking about every single time someone would read, or mention, or ponder those words? Including what you read today! Right this minute!)

And also, I believe God exists outside of time as well. In fact, it would be really hard to figure out how He could exist if He didn’t! (Have you ever read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle? Confusing, and I don’t approve of everything she says, but at one point in it, she mentions the fourth dimension, and that it could be called time. Stop for a moment and think about the fourth dimension. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. How can there be another direction?! But think about how the third dimension would seem to someone who had only ever existed in the second dimension. It’s the same principle for us to think about the fourth dimension. And if there’s a fourth dimension, why not a fifth? Or a sixth? (See Life of Fred: Geometry: Chapter 12 1/2 for a more detailed explanation. The model of a tesseract is lovely!) Anyways, if time is the fourth dimension (if!), then God could exist in the fifth dimension and be outside of it. Of course, I’m not saying that God exists in the fifth dimension. I’m not even saying that time is the fourth dimension. Just trying to give you a new way of looking at it. Haha, my friends might be surprised that I came up with this paragraph on my own. It doesn’t really sound like me.(If you’re reading this, Dracula dear, what do you think?) )

I’d also like to say that it seems like the main reason people want to believe in a young earth is because they’re trying to meld Christianity with macro-evolution. I don’t think that you are saying that macro-evolution is true, but that seems to be the main reason people try to believe in an old earth. Most of the comments seem to reflect this. (If you aren’t saying that macro-evolution is true, what is your purpose behind believing in an old earth? Just curious, not trying to be rude!) I don’t believe there is any real evidence that macro-evolution occurs. (But I’m not going to get started on that right now. That might open up a whole new barrel of monkeys, if you’ll pardon the expression.) However, I will say that if we came from monkeys, then we weren’t created specially by God, in His image. If it were true, it would mean that we’re just another type of animal, and we don’t have to have standards or rules to follow. There would be nothing special about us. I hope you don’t believe that’s true. Christianity and macro-evolution really aren’t compatible. I’ve not yet seen an attempt to mix the two that convinced me.

Hope this changes the way you think a bit. I’ve had a bit of trouble following this conversation (given the length of the comments and the late hour), and if I missed something that was already said or disproved, I’m sorry! (I have a habit of missing really obvious things.) I just want to help you understand a bit better! If there’s anything in this comment that confuses you, I’ll try to help, but I’m not perfect, and I sure don’t have all the answers! Quite honestly, I think we all need to step back, cool off, and pray about it. Hope this helps! (Okay, bedtime! It’s nearly one o’clock in the morning where I live, and I just spent three hours putting this comment together!)

I love Life of Fred! (As much as I love any of my math books…Ugh!) 😉

Yes, it’s true that God could have cleared up a lot of things in the Bible, but He chose not to. I thought of that myself! 🙂 I’m just saying that since God doesn’t lie, would He have used that Hebrew word if He didn’t mean it?

I figured you didn’t believe in macro-evolution, I just wanted to make sure! I totally believe in micro-evolution, though. How can anyone reject it? It’s clearly proven by science. I think I understand your point of view on old-earth creationism. I would like to say that God certainly used science, but He also controls it. When He created the earth, for example, He bent scientific laws. And the miracles that Jesus performed didn’t have a scientific explanation, either. I’m just saying that not everything can be explained by science. (Not saying that you believe it can, ’cause I don’t think you are.) I also believe with what scientists find in creation. (As long as they’re not using incorrect methods!) It just seems to me that the evidence points towards a young earth. (And you know how, when you are trying to prove something, it becomes very easy to overlook any opposition? Scientists, like all people, do this. Everyone is biased, whether they know it or not. If they’re trying to find old-earth evidence, they’re more likely to find it then those who aren’t. Get what I’m saying?) As far as I am concerned, it seems like a young earth is the way it happened. (At this point in the debate, I think we should all just stop, because it isn’t helping anyone very much.) I don’t think I’m going to change your mind, but thanks for discussing it with everyone! (Haha, that comment got kind of long again. Not trying to open the debate back up! Don’t feel obligated to respond to it!) Have a nice day! 🙂

Haha, your right!

Thanks Jaquelle, sometimes we just need to stop and see what were missing- the wonder!

That video is hilarious!
I’ve never heard of The Rejected, but it seems to me that this debate has mostly stayed fairly “healthy”. Others might see it differently. I’m still going to believe in a young earth, but I’ll respect the fact that others might not see it that way. Thanks for the WWJD reminder. That should always be at the front of our minds. 🙂 (By the way, I like your new profile pic!)

XD lol

Nowwwww I understand why we agree to disagree.
actually, I figured it boiled down to this.
GOD DID WRITE THE BIBLE.
IT IS 100% HIS WORD, 100% TRUE, AND 100% RELIABLE. ANYTIME!!!

I forgive you! truthfully, I don’t think you were to harsh or heated up. I enjoy a friendly debate and don’t get as many chances as I’d like since I had to stop debate group. 🙂

That’s not me!!!! That’s like, my total opposite haha.

I’m actually fairly short for my age, have gelled hair, and have glasses and braces. XD You got thin right, though. 😉 Soooo y’all will have to keep looking. =)

AMEN!!! This is a great conversation to stumble on…both sides really know their stuff! =)

I had to read that quote three times to get a basic understanding of what it was trying to say! XD But yes, I agree with you. God inspired computers, because God created and works with science. 🙂

And as long as we’re trading awesome fun facts, did you know that the same materials found in the human body are also found in the earth’s crust? “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul.” Boom! I hadn’t known that before today, but it’s cool proof that man is really made from dust and breathed into life by God! 😀

The word ‘boring’ is not allowed in our house! I think that if you think everything’s boring, you’re boring yourself! It was very hurtful to me every time my Christian homeschooling friend came over to our house, because every time I suggested something to do, he didn’t l like it and said he wad bored. Oh it is much more polite and kind to others if your are wonderstruck and interested in them!

Hope this helps 🙂

and I was so sure!!!!!
lol I guess you would know what you look like…

agreed!

This is neat.