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Loren writes: "Here is a quick glossary of terms used in my post":
DAY/AGE VIEW. This is one way to interpret Genesis 1 as literal history.
The word used for "day" in Hebrew is also translated elsewhere as "age"
or "epoch," indicating an indeterminate amount of time. This allows the
universe and the earth to be very old while still allowing a "literal"
interpretation of the Genesis text. In its basic form, this view assumes
that each "day" of creation was completed before the "day" next began.
OVERLAPPING-DAY/AGE VIEW. This view allows each new "day" of creation to
begin _before_ the previous one was "completed." So for example, ocean
life (Day 5) can appear _chronologically_ before land plant life (Day
3). This view still assumes that the "days" of creation refer to
supernatural acts of God which occur _in_the_order_listed_ in Genesis.
DAYS OF PROCLAMATION VIEW. This view interprets Genesis 1 as six literal
days, at the beginning of creation, during which God "proclaimed" his
creative intention. God's word is effective, and the consequences of
these "proclamations" were carried out during the course of history.
FLAT-EARTH/"SKY SANDWICH" COSMOLOGY. In this view, the "primeval waters"
mentioned in the early chapters of Genesis 1 were separated vertically
(on Day 2) to create an expanse, "the sky," with water above and water
below. The sky holds the sun, moon, and stars, the earth was raised out
of the "waters below," and the "gates of heaven" keep the "waters above"
in place. In this cosmology, when the flood narrative talks about the
"gates of heaven" and the "fountains of the deep" being opened, this
would be literal, not poetic, language; it would be a partial undoing of
the second and third days of creation.
GEOCENTRIC VIEW: The earth is the center of the universe.
HELIOCENTRIC VIEW: The sun is the center of the universe (or at least of
the solar system).
IDIOMATIC LANGUAGE: We still use words like "sunrise" and "sunset" even
though we _know_ that the sun does not rise or set, but rather, the
earth rotates. The ancient authors might also have used idiomatic
language.
LANGUAGE OF APPEARANCE: The ancient authors did not use "scientific"
language because the very concepts of science did not exist yet. They
simply and accurately described how things APPEARED. The earth really
does appear to be stationary and non-moving; the sun really does appear
to rise and set. Many biblical texts which _seem_ to indicate a "flat
earth" are easily handled by remembering that the ancients used
"language of appearance."
PUNCTUATION MARKS: The Hebrew text of Genesis does not include punctuation
marks. This allows some room for debate, for example, about where to
insert the quotation marks in Genesis 1. Which things did God say, and
which things were commentary added by the human author?
THE "FINE TUNING" OF THE LAWS OF NATURE: The various laws of nature seem
to be "fine tuned" in order for life to exist. Scientists measure the
ratio of the strength of the strong nuclear force to the electromagnetic
force, the ratio of the strength of the electromagnetic force to the
gravitational force, the masses of the various fundamental particles,
and so forth. It turns out that these fundamental constants must fall
within a VERY NARROW range of values -- otherwise, life could not exist.
SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGY: Here's a VERY quick review of the sequence of events
which scientists believe took place between the "Big Bang" and the
present.
--Big Bang: 10-20 billion years ago. All of the fundamental particles and
forces of nature were set. Hydrogen and helium atoms produced.
--Galaxies and stars formed from gravitational collapse of clouds of
hydrogen and helium. The heavier elements -- including carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, iron, and so forth -- were produced by nuclear fusion within
these stars and during stellar explosions ("nova").
--Planets like the earth formed (orbiting newly-forming stars) by
gravitational collapse of asteroids and atoms containing these heavier
elements. (The earth about 4 billion years ago.)
--As the earth formed, the constant bombardment by asteroids (and the
energy from radioactive decay) heated the earth. Gasses such as oxygen,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and water -- which had been trapped in the rocks of
the asteroids -- were released by the heat and formed the earth's
atmosphere. As the earth slowly cooled, the water condensed, it rained,
and the oceans formed.
--The first fossils of living organisms (in the ocean) appear about 3.8
billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the earth
"cooled down." The first fossils of multi-cellular life (still in the
ocean) appear 3 billion years later (800 million years ago). The first
fossils of land vegetation and animals occur sometime after that.
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