{"id":407,"date":"2013-10-12T23:12:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-12T23:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2013\/10\/response-to-a-young-earth-creationist.html"},"modified":"2013-10-12T23:12:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-12T23:12:00","slug":"response-to-a-young-earth-creationist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2013\/10\/response-to-a-young-earth-creationist.html","title":{"rendered":"Response to a Young Earth Creationist…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a><\/div>\n

This \u00a0Question was asked recently:<\/span><\/p>\n

Suppose God were attempting to convey that the days of creation were six literal days. Never mind if that were possible, imaginable or feasible. That is what He is trying to say. How should God have instructed Moses to write it \u2013 what manner of words should He have used \u2013 to make that point clear?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Editorial Note:<\/i>\u00a0this is a common tactic by young earth folks to try to get you to say that God would have communicated 6 day creation in JUST the way that he did, and that therefore it is safe to interpret Genesis 1 as a literal historical, and scientific account.)<\/p>\n

My Answer\u2026 in a creative dialog between God and Moses:<\/span>
<\/a>
God<\/b>: Hey Moses\u2026<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: Hey God!<\/p>\n

God:<\/b> Ok, Moses I want to tell you something, and it\u2019s kind of a Big deal so we\u2019ll have to get a few things straight first. Is that ok?<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: sure thing<\/p>\n

God:<\/b> First I want to tell you about this thing called \u201cHistory\u201d that hasn\u2019t been invented yet\u2026.<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: Ok, what\u2019s history?<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: \u201cHistory\u201d is a way of talking about events where each aspect of the story conveys the literal, face value, facts and events. There is no mythic language, there is little role for symbolism, there is no chaiastic reworking of the structure, poetic parallelism, or creative redaction of other peoples works or myths .<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: That sounds really boring! How would anyone ever communicate truth if all they were able to do is list facts!<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: I know it sounds boring\u2026 but it can actually be really interesting, and useful for helping people create honest pictures of peoples and cultures that are not their own, or to reconnect people to their own cultural history.<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: Ok God, I\u2019ll take your word for it\u2026 so what do you want to tell me in this genre called \u201chistory\u201d?<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: I want to tell you this history of how the earth was made\u2026<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: Just the facts?<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: Just the facts!<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: ok I\u2019m listening\u2026<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: I made the earth in 6 days\u2026 each day I made something new\u2026. light, then air and sea\u2026 then dry ground\u2026 then the moon sun and stars\u2026. then fish and birds\u2026 then ground animals and people like you\u2026 all said and done it took me 144 hours.<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>: Are you sure that\u2019s history? It kind of sounds like some of the myths I\u2019ve heard around from some of my neighbors, are you sure you didn\u2019t take the myths and language that people here know and understand and present part of your own identity in a subversive and imaginative reweaving of the cultic mythology of the region?<\/p>\n

God<\/b>: Nope\u2026 I wanted to give you the facts in a genre that you wouldn\u2019t understand that is bereft of the structures and languages that you use to determine meaning in a text\u2026<\/p>\n

Moses<\/b>:\u2026. um no offense but\u2026 that\u2019s kind of silly God<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u00a0Question was asked recently: Suppose God were attempting to convey that the days of creation were six literal days. Never mind if that were possible, imaginable or feasible. That is what He is trying to say. How should God have instructed Moses to write it \u2013 what manner of words should He have used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1678,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nResponse to a Young Earth Creationist...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This  Question was asked recently:Suppose God were attempting to convey that the days of creation were six literal days. 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