My name is Gary Collins; I am a newcomer to this list, and have been
following the arguments with a great deal of interest. I understand that it
is customary for newcomers to say a little about themselves by way of
introduction, so here goes.
When I was at school (a good few years ago now!) I was attracted to the
young earth side of the debate because it was easier to reconcile with
scripture and that makes one's belief so much simpler. I have since realised
that things are not nearly so clear cut as I would have liked them to be,
and as some try to make them out to be. I made the transition from young
earther to old earther after reading a book called "Creation and Evolution:
the Facts and Fallacies" by Alan Hayward (which, sadly, is out of print now).
It showed me that the young earth position is completely untenable from a
scientific viewpoint.
I am a software engineer with little knowledge of some of the specialist
stuff discussed here, which is why to date I have been content to sit back
and enjoy the banter of others, but I couldnt resist being drawn in to this
one!
John Tant wrote,
>
> Greetings all,
> I wanted to ask a question of the folks on the list, particularly
> the old earth crowd (theistic and non-theistic). If we would agree that
> humans and the stars of Jurassic Park were never contemporary, what was
> Job looking at in Job 40:15-20? The description certainly doesn't
> really seem to match a hippo or elephant. The YEC crowd certainly makes
> considerable hay with this one, yet I don't recall seeing an adequate
> OEC, PC &/or TE response. This came up in one of my classes today.
> Thanks,
> jbt
>
I would like, if I may, to answer this question with a (similar) question:
What kind of creature is it that has hair like a flock of goats, teeth like
a flock of sheep just shorn, temples like the halves of a pomegranate, a
navel which is a rounded goblet, a waist like a mound of wheat, a neck
like an ivory tower... (see Song of Songs, 4:1-5 and 7:1-4)?
OK, OK, so this is very "tongue in cheek," but the point I make is that
Hebrew poetry of that time (and the passage in question from Job is poetry)
is of this "wildly exaggerated" style. Quite frankly, the creatures referred
to as "behemoth" and "leviathon" could be almost anything; the hippo and the
crocodile respectively have been suggested, and these suggestions do not seem
unreasonable to me, given the style of writing we are dealing with. Of course,
no-one knows for sure that these assignments are correct, but are probably
not far from the mark.
/Gary