Recently I read about a Christian apologist who believes in theistic evolution, “because science says so.” He has a 14-minute video explaining why it is not important how long creation took but that God created. If creation is a non-essential issue; only the Gospel is important.
I have some problems.
I am a skeptical person.
Even though, I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone when I was eleven at a rescue mission. I didn’t want to have a faith based on someone’s say so, opinion, and beliefs. So, about 20-25 years ago, I decided to explore if my faith was reasonable to most reasonable.
I had some assumptions about reality. Pain was a reality, not an opinion (though I have meet those who think so). Pain can be individual as missing the head of a nail and smashing my thumb to collective as a train wreck or earthquake. Pain is reality. Dealing with finance is also reality. If some steals from me, it is real. If someone steals from my family, we all have reality. You get the idea.
I also had to have a standard. It is my own subjective standard based on studies and findings of others. This scale had two absolutes on each end. One was absolutely true and the other absolutely impossible. In between, there was most unreasonable, unreasonable, possible (50/50 chance), reasonable, and most reasonable.
I started with Jesus. Was there a dude named Jesus living in the middle east about 2,000 years ago who was famous or at least well known in his country. I read much and concluded from the evidence presented that it was most reasonable that there was such a man. This included evidence from friendly ancient sources and hostile ancient sources.
But what about his teachings and his deeds? I had what is named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John but was there any other writings? I read some hostile sources that he was a deceiver, a magician, possessed, etc. I concluded that indeed, it was reasonable that he taught and did some remarkable and unusual things.
I then studied the dates on the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John writings. After reading many things I concluded an early date (before 70 CE) for Matthew, Mark, and Luke was most reasonable. Also, John was written before the first century had ended, so sometime after 70 CE.
What about the truth of these writings? I saw contradictions, etc. Yet, having 10 kids (9 living), had taught me that one incident can have different testimonies (especially if someone was doing something wrong). So, what was promoted as contradictions seemed reasonable that it was from the viewpoint of different individuals who were present at the same incident.
If all the above was reasonable to most reasonable, then what this Jesus did and taught was most reasonable including witnessed incidents as the weather controlled (Mark), demons cast out of people (Mark), healing of all types of diseases (Mark), resurrections (Mark), and forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:5).
Regarding creation, I found Jesus referred to it a number of times. [Ed-me]
B1 Mark 10:6 NIV But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ (Consider the information from Romans 1:20 and compare Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 3:20 (Eve was the mother of all the living)).
B2 Matthew 24:21 NIV For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Compare Mark 10:13).
B3 John 8:44 NIV You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Compare the Gospels use of beginning in John 1:1, 1 John 1:1, 1 John 3:8
B4 Matthew 23:35 NIV And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (It seems reasonable that this “Abel” would be the Abel of Genesis 4:4 because Jesus is giving a start and finish set of people. This is from the start to the current date Jesus is speaking).
B5 It is reasonable that Jesus thought the book of Genesis to have real historical narrative.
If the word “day” cannot be literal in its context, neither do other words.
Thus, from the above video and what the speaker in the video stated, I conclude 6 “either/or” things reasonable. These are my conclusions not the video speaker’s.
B1 The creation account was passed down by knuckle dragging, low IQ, scientific ignorant wandering nomads who borrowed the creation stories from surrounding cultures and substituted the name of the creator to their tribal god.
B2 God lied.
B3 God premeditatedly, willing, knowingly deceived readers of the creation account informing them of days when He really meant millennia.
B4 God cannot communicate clearly.
B5 God told a fable.
B6 God purposely hide the true meaning of the words except to certain enlightened, erudite individuals. Thus, to understand the words and the real meaning, we must be initiated into the secret knowledge of these individuals.
If any of the above 6 are true, then I cannot understand any of the words of the Bible. I must reject it and find out reality from somewhere else—pantheism I would guess.
I’m not making a logically correct argument, just my subjective opinion.
It is most reasonable to believe that the word day in Genesis 1 refers to a 24-hour day, not a period of time.
B1 It is the straight up reading of the passage in context.
B2 I’m not able to find it reasonable that it would be understood any other interpretation.
These articles summarize even more than what I have researched in the past. It is a Young Earth Creationist site.
It is most reasonable that God does not lie (Titus 1:2), does not deceive, does not have difficulties communicating, and does not have hidden knowledge that only certain enlightened people are allowed to know.
It should be noted that God will send a deceiving spirit, but these are for punishment, not teaching important doctrine. See 1 Kings 22:22-23, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, and Ezekiel 14:9-11. In Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah complains to God, but Jeremiah didn’t understand the timing. Speaking in parables as Jesus did is not a deception but a hiding of truth because of their rejection of the truth they already have.
I find it most reasonable to read, study, and interpret the Bible in its plain, normal sense. So should you. Do your own study if the Bible is reasonable or not.
Apologetics, Yom, Creation day, Genesis creation, Christian is reasonable