> Allen wrote,
>
>> So, when we look at the phrase 'windows of heaven' the idea of something
>> lurking in the heavens seems appropriate. Unlike the stars and planets,
>> asteroids are largely invisible to the naked eye, even up to the point of
>> entry into the atmosphere, thus they could be thought of as lurking in
>> space waiting to crash in ambush to the earth.
>>
>> The phrases 'the windows of heaven were opened' (7:11) and 'the windows of
>> heaven were stopped' (8:2) could be refering to the onset and the
>> subsequent suspension of an ambush by asteroids which had been lurking in
>> space. And thus a possible Biblical explanation of the astroblems.
>
> This interpretation seems to be quite a stretch. It does not fit the
> historical and biblical context. In the Bible "the windows of heaven" are
> sluices in the firmament above which is an ocean. When they are opened, the
> ocean above pours down; and when they are closed the ocean above is dammed up
> again by the solid firmament. In the biblical context asteroids would be
> considered stars and would be embedded on the underside of the firmament, not
> above it in back of the sluices; so sluices would not have to be opened to
> have them fall to earth.
Young-earth creationists are required to force Scripture to fit these types of
interpretations since they require virtually all Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks
to have been deposited during Noah's flood and there's clear evidence of
meteorite impacts throughout Phanerozoic time. Therefore, the Earth, in YEC
cosmology, must have been intensively bombarded during Noah's flood. Scripture
is then searched for justification for this idea. This belies the oft-repeated
claim by YEC's that they are simply holding to a plain and literal reading of
Scripture. They interpret Scripture as much as non-YEC's.
- Steve.
-- Steven H. Schimmrich Assistant professor of geology Department of Geology and Geography sschimmr@calvin.edu (office) Calvin College schimmri@earthlink.net (home) 3201 Burton Street SE 616-957-7053, 616-957-6501 (fax) Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 http://home.earthlink.net/~schimmrich/