YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Discussions on creation beliefs within Christianity, and topics related to creation.
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theophilus
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YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by theophilus »

People who study the Bible disagree about how to interpret the creation account found in the first chapter of Genesis. They can generally be divided into two groups: those who believe the earth was created only a few thousand years ago and those who believe it is much older. Anyone familiar with this controversy will know the meaning of the first two groups of letters in the title. YEC stands for Young Earth Creationism, the belief that the Bible account of creation is to be interpreted literally and the age of the earth should be expressed in thousands of years rather than millions. OEC stands for Old Earth Creationism, the belief that the earth is much older. Generally adherents of this belief fall into one of two groups: those who think the days of creation aren’t literal days but much longer periods of time and those who believe that the days are literal but that what is described isn’t the actual creation of the earth but its restoration after it had been reduced to a state of chaos. But what does UAEC mean?

UAEC stands for Unknown Age Earth Creationism and is what I have come to believe as a result of my study of this subject. The Bible doesn’t give enough information for us to know for certain which of the other two beliefs is the correct one.

I agree almost completely with the YEC position and that is the creation position I chose for my profile. The earth was formed in six literal days and this took place only a few thousand years ago. The fossil record which many people point to as evidence that all life developed over millions of years by a process of evolution is in fact one of the results of the world wide flood which took place during Noah’s life. But there are two YEC beliefs which I believe might be wrong.

One is about the nature of the six day creation in Genesis 1. Verse 2 says,
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The earth already existed but was in a chaotic state before the week of creation began. The six days were actually a transformation of the earth to make it suitable for supporting life. Nothing is said about how long is existed in this state. It is possible that it was created this way and the first day began immediately. On the other hand it could have existed in this condition for a long time. It is also possible that the earth was created perfect at some time in the past and this state of chaos was the result of some catastrophe that it experienced in the past. Either view is compatible with what the Bible tells us.

The second possible error of young earth creationists is the interpretation of Genesis 1:14-16.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
Many people think that this describe the creation of the sun, moon, and stars but that isn’t necessarily the case. It only says that God lights in the sky, not that he created the bodies that were the source of those lights. It is possible that the lights appeared because he did create the sources at this time, but there is another possibility. We have all known times when clouds made it impossible to see the sun but there was still plenty of light. It is possible that this condition existed on the earth prior to this time and God simply removed the clouds so the sun and moon could be seen. The Bible doesn’t give us enough information to enable us to determine which of these explanations is true.

In interpreting the creation account we need to keep in mind Psalm 115:16:
The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
Since the earth is the only part of creation that is given to us there is no reason for us to know anything about how God created the rest of the universe or what happened on the earth before the time God began to prepare it to be our home.
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Re: YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by RickD »

But there are two YEC beliefs which I believe might be wrong.

One is about the nature of the six day creation
The second possible error of young earth creationists is the interpretation of Genesis 1:14-16.
Only two errors in YEC? or, are those the two that you find the most glaring?
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theophilus
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Re: YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by theophilus »

RickD wrote:Only two errors in YEC? or, are those the two that you find the most glaring?
I'm not certain these are errors. The Bible simply doesn't give enough information to determine whether or not the YEC position is correct.
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Re: YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by PaulSacramento »

We always need to start for this position when trying to interpret any ancient text:
WHO was it written for?
Who was it written by?
What was the intention of the writer?
How would his audience have taken what he wrote?
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Re: YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by B. W. »

PaulSacramento wrote:We always need to start for this position when trying to interpret any ancient text:
WHO was it written for?
Who was it written by?
What was the intention of the writer?
How would his audience have taken what he wrote?
Paul you mention some very good ways to actually uncover what certain passages in the bible mean.

I would also add these to your list: 1--note the historical and social context 2--avoid reading one's modern culture norms and prejudices into it.

Often people get hung up on certain passages and can never get past these due to reading their personal social/cultural norms and prejudices into it, especially regarding the Old Testament.

Lastly add this principle: Scripture interprets Scripture plus knowing the original language by use of many Greek/Hebrew study aids out there, helps a bunch as well.
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PaulSacramento
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Re: YEC, OEC, or UAEC?

Post by PaulSacramento »

B. W. wrote:
PaulSacramento wrote:We always need to start for this position when trying to interpret any ancient text:
WHO was it written for?
Who was it written by?
What was the intention of the writer?
How would his audience have taken what he wrote?
Paul you mention some very good ways to actually uncover what certain passages in the bible mean.

I would also add these to your list: 1--note the historical and social context 2--avoid reading one's modern culture norms and prejudices into it.

Often people get hung up on certain passages and can never get past these due to reading their personal social/cultural norms and prejudices into it, especially regarding the Old Testament.

Lastly add this principle: Scripture interprets Scripture plus knowing the original language by use of many Greek/Hebrew study aids out there, helps a bunch as well.
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I agree.
I also think that being honest with oneself and knowing what preconceived ideas we already bring tot he table helps a lot.
The bible is one of those books that you get out of it what you put into it and you will find whatever it is you are looking for.
I also think that, from the Theistic POV, it is crucial to understand that the bible is a PROGRESSIVE revelation of God's will and that it also is an accommodating one at that.
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