The Story of Creation as Told By Theology and By ScienceAckland, T. S. (Thomas Suter)
Religion
The Story of Creation as Told By Theology and By Science
Ackland, T. S. (Thomas Suter)
Bible and science; Creation; Religion and science
But for this purpose it is of little importance to us whether
Creation is described as taking place in a moment, or in six
ordinary days. If the division into six days indicates orderly
progress and watchful care, we naturally expect to find the same
indications in each of the subordinate parts. To our imperfect
conceptions each single day's work would bear that same character
of vast instantaneous action which seemed so undesirable. It would
not help us to realize what it is so important that we should
thoroughly feel. The very fact then that the history of Creation
is divided into days carries with it a strong presumption that
those days are not ordinary days.
In the 14th and following verses, when Moses is describing the
formation of the heavenly luminaries, he is particular in
mentioning that one part of their office was to "rule over the day
and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness."
Hence it is sometimes inferred that he was under a mistake in
speaking of day and night at an earlier period. But such a mistake
seems incredible. To suppose that Moses did not perceive that what
he wrote in the 14th and following verses was incompatible with
what he had written in the 4th and 5th verses, if such an
incompatibility really existed, is to impute to him an amount of
ignorance or carelessness which is at variance with the whole
character of his writings from beginning to end. Instead of this
it will be shown hereafter that, in all probability, his
statements rested on a wide knowledge of facts. If then, under
such circumstances, he uses the word "day" long before he comes to
the formation of the sun, the natural inference is that he did so
designedly--that it was his intention that his readers should
understand that he was speaking of something very different from
that natural day which is regulated by sunrise and sunset.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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