How do you reconcile the biblical creation in six days with scientists’ claims that current conditions evolved over billions of years (Genesis 1:1–2)?
This question and thousands more can be found at the FrankBall.org website. The Discussion Bible is an unending work in process.
Some people say, “I just believe what the Bible says.” Really? How do they know for sure what Scripture says? Actually, they are saying, “I believe my interpretation, so please don’t confuse me with any facts.” I’m not that kind of believer, endorsing blind faith. Because of my insatiable appetite for the true truth, I’m eager to give up what I thought was true. Then I can have a better understanding of the way things really are.
God’s perspective is different from ours.
Considering different perspectives can give us a better understanding of reality.
One day isn’t much different from 365,000 days (2 Peter 3:8). Since God’s view of time isn’t the same as ours, his six days of creations might easily be the same as our 13.8 billion years. Both could be true.
A “day” is a “length of time.”
The Hebrew word yowm, which is usually translated “day,” can refer to any period of time with a beginning, middle, and end. In the Genesis creation story, the six periods could even be of different lengths.
In his book The Science of God, Gerald Schroeder makes an interesting comparison between Earth time and God’s time for creation, associating distinct developmental periods with each of the six days, from the Big Bang to human beings on Earth.
What we can see is always a fraction of what God sees.
The prophet probably made an understatement when he said that God’s thoughts are as distant from ours as the stars (Isaiah 55:9). Whatever the distance is, we should recognize our extreme disadvantage in trying to discover the truth on our own. We’re like an ant building a research mound to study quantum physics.
Hypothetically, how long do you think God would need to create an adult male? Would it be an instantaneous miracle, a five-minute process, or a longer period of time? Whatever length you choose, that time can’t match what our independent observation would insist was true—that an eighteen-year-old adult male took eighteen years to develop.
Given the fact that God created the universe, we have no means to place limits on the amount of time he chose to take. As far as we know, he is capable of creating a billion-year-old rock in a day.
What we do know for sure is that he took whatever amount of time was needed for each stage of creation to perfectly suit his purpose, since each “day” was judged to be “good.”
Since God is infinitely great, learning more about him and his creation can continue forever.