Originally posted by vistesd
Whether or not the language is cast in terms of actual days (“evening and morning” ) is one thing; to assume that the language is factually descriptive rather than strictly poetic/metaphorical is another.
It also says “God said.” Did God actually speak? Did he articulate actual sounds of real Hebrew words?
Is the sky literally a raqia (a dome ...[text shortened]... c speech is not mincing words. It certainly does not undermine the thrust of your opening post.
Agreed.
The difficulty for me (and many others) is that the universe which surrounds us is obviously much, much older than 6-12,000 years old. The closest galaxy to us, the Andromeda galaxy, is 2.5 million light years away. The proposals of young-earth creationists about how the universe only
seems to be 13.4 billion-years-old are intriguing but inconclusive (for instance, the notion that the speed of light has been slowing down since the big bang, quantized red-shifts, etc.).
Within the book of Genesis there is much left unsaid regarding God's creative activities. Instead, what is revealed has directly to do with our special relationship to the Creator, rather than details meant merely to satisfy those who would seek to pry, i.e., God as Progenitor is underscored, the significance of rest on the seventh day is underscored, the fallen state of man, God's plan for salvation, etc.
In my research I came across interesting quotes regarding this from Theophilus and Origen which encapsulate my thinking:
"[Genesis] contains matters of profounder significance than the mere historical narrative appears to indicate. Furthermore, it contains very many things that are to be spiritually understood. When discussing profound and mystical subjects, it uses literal language as a type of veil." ~
Origen (c. 225)
"No man can give a sufficient explanation of the six days' work, nor can he describe all of its parts. He could not do this even if he had ten thousand tongues." ~
Theophilus (c. 180)