5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Why is it that we are to believe the earth started 6,000 years ago?  It makes no sense.  I think that God created the universe six billion years ago, and at every stage, He has built and destroyed along the way.  The dinosaurs, for example, why couldn't He have gotten bored with them, killed them off, and one million years later came back and created something new on the earth?

My point is that Satan was already Satan before Adam and Eve, but before that he was an angel and had dominion over the earth.  Okay, well when?  When it was without shape or form?  Makes no sense.  I think God has created destroyed and recreated this earth many times over, and for the life of me, my very soul, I can not be blind to how old this earth is.  My faith is not in question; my question is with the church because I think God has done this since He created the universe.

I do not want to limit His power because I'm told by a human the earth is six–thousand-years-old, and I also think these half-human ape-looking bones that geologists find could be His first shot at making mankind, and things did not go so great, and He wiped them out.  I don't believe in earth evolution, but perhaps a God evolution where it took Him a while to create living, breathing, thinking beings… and I do not limit His power in thinking this.  This has to come from God Himself.  I think my question is for Him.

Sincerely,
REALLY Old Earth

Dear REALLY Old Earth,

There is one major problem with what you’ve asserted – it is the opposite of what the Bible says, and God wrote the Bible.  The idea of evolution, even theistic evolution, is contrary to Scriptures.  You listed a smorgasborg of contradictory theories: multiple destructions of the earth, ape-men existing before Adam & Eve, and God “learning” how to create.  It would take more faith than we here at AYP have to believe in the ideas that you are trying to have us swallow.  The Bible answer is much simpler.  God created the universe in six days (Gen 1:1-31).  When God created the universe, He created everything good – the first time (Gen 1:31).  If the theory of evolution is true, then God didn’t create everything good; He created it flawed, warped, and dysfunctional.

The Bible says that it is mankind that introduced the curse of sin into the world (Gen 3:17).  The world was perfect, without flaw and without defect.  Animals lived in harmony with man, and there was no bloodshed.  If evolution is true, not only did God not create a good world, Adam & Eve never existed!  Adam & Eve don’t exist in evolutionary models; they are replaced by a slow progression from amoeba to man.  We cannot accept both the Bible account of creation and the Darwinian theory of evolution – they are not compatible with each other.  Theistic evolution is an attempt to reconcile evolution with the Bible, but in truth, the two cannot be reconciled.  Science doesn’t disagree with the Bible – the two are in perfect harmony (visit AnswersinGenesis.org to see some of the impressive things scientists are finding out that prove the Bible to be true).  God says that the creation speaks of His existence (Rom 1:18-20).  It isn’t a battle between science and the Bible; it is a battle between evolutionists and preachers.  We here at AYP accept the Bible account of creation, and we prayerfully suggest you do the same.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Based on 1 Cor 11:4-7, can a man pray while wearing a hat/cap?

Sincerely,
Covered or Uncovered?

Dear Covered or Uncovered,

1 Cor 11:1-15 is a discussion of men’s and women’s roles.  Part of that discussion involves the way that men and women look.  Women are supposed to be veiled (1 Cor 11:5), and God has given women a natural veil – their long hair (1 Cor 11:15).  Likewise men are supposed to have heads that are unveiled (1 Cor 11:4), i.e. short hair (1 Cor 11:14).  It is always wrong for a man to have long, feminine hair.  There is great debate over whether or not a man wearing a hat while praying is a sin.  One cannot be too dogmatic on this point.  The verses of first Corinthians eleven are primarily dealing with hair length, not with caps or hats.

Having said that, it is culturally appropriate in America for a man to take his hat off while praying – as a sign of respect.  Therefore, since we cannot all agree on whether leaving the hat on is a sin, but we can be sure that removing the hat is respectful… probably just best to take the hat off (Rom 14:13).