a. when Genesis was written down, it was written down for (and by)people
that had a certain understanding of life on earth. That did not include
time spans of millions of years, but even it did not include a round globe
(the four corners of the earth.)
b.when Genesis was written down by Moses, he wrote down what he knew. He
knew that there had been floods, he knew that at times most (and I think
all) people on earth died. I have no trouble with that at all. But it
does not mean that the flood story as he wrote it, is therefor according to
"fact", for want of a better word.
c.the purpose of the bible is to tell about God's faithfulness, indeed.
But faithfulness and scientific truth are not the same. As I said before,
God talked to people in Moses time in a language they understood.
d. God talks to us now in His Word, a Word He revealed in the Bible and
Nature, and most importantly through His Son. Each of these Words have a
different purpose, and thus use a different language.
e. our scientific investigation about what happened may change, our
interpretation of he bible may change, but God remains faithful.
More could be said, and I have said much more about it in the past, but for
now, this is my last posting on this issue. In a few week's time we (my
wife and I) go to Europe for almost six weeks and we need to prepare.
Jan de Koning
Willowdale, Ont.