Jim wrote: "Before you expect me to read a book, you could at least give
me the courtesy of addressing one of my arguments. This is a discussion
forum, is it not?"
Of course. I will therefore address one of your questions with the
following:
You question how some of the verses of Genesis might fit "modern
science."
My answer is that what we see in Genesis, as well as in many places in
scripture, is quite obviously "history metaphorized." To read these
metaphors as history is to, of course, "historicize metaphors." (both
phrases from the writings of Marcus Borg). Now metaphorical language is
-- by its nature -- not literal; its meaning is always "to see as."
When one treats a metaphor as literal history, it leads to all kinds of
strange results. Our YEC friends do this extensively; their resulting
"science" is, therefore, mostly a collection of data, "might bes," ad hoc
explanations, etc. Ad hoc is perhaps their most serious failing. Example:
YEC: The flood was global
ME: We have found no evidence of such
YEC: Can't prove by negative evidence
Me: Where is the debris one would expect after such an event?
YEC: Well, maybe God cleaned up
Me: Where did the waters come from?
YEC: God made them for that purpose, and then erased them
Me: How did the fresh water fish survive in brackish water?
YEC: God must have miraculously preserved them
Me: How do the kangaroos get to Australia?
YEC: God must have picked them up from the ark and moved them
Me: How did all those animals survive on the ark for a year?
YEC: maybe they hibernated
Me: what kind of lights did Noah have on the ark?
YEC: Floodlights, of course.
etc. Sorry for the last pun.
Now I know that does not answer any of your DIRECT questions, like what
the dickens happened on "Day 4," for instance. What it does say to your
questions is that they are simply nonsense questions, questions without
any intrinsic meaning. They start as meaningful questions, but quickly
degenerate into something else; Example:
Q: What was Red Riding Hood's last name?
A: "Hood," of course.
Q: How was she related to General Hood of Civil War fame?
A: ???
Cordially,
John Burgeson (Burgy)
http://www.burgy.50megs.com
(science/theology, quantum mechanics, baseball, ethics,
humor, cars, God's intervention into natural causation, etc.)
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