6 days or 5 billion years ?

[caesar44]

I mean , the creation...

[edyzmedieval]

I prefer to think 6 days.... I'm truly pious, so you might understand why I chose this....

[caesar44]

votet yet ?

[lars573]

I refuse to believe in the fairy tales of any religion in regards to the creation of the universe.

[caesar44]

I think that most of the Americans (and I am not) , that is , 80% to 90% belive in the 6 days theory

[Navaros]

I refuse to believe in the fairy tales of any religion in regards to the creation of the universe.

better to believe a "fairy tale" from God than a fairy tale made up by foolish men who think of themselves as all-knowing intellectuals when in reality they no idea what they're talking about

oh yeah, the correct answer is 6 days

[lars573]

better to believe a "fairy tale" from God than a fairy tale made up by foolish men who think of themselves as all-knowing intellectuals when in reality they no idea what they're talking about

oh yeah, the correct answer is 6 days

If that let's you sleep at night them fine believe it. Just know that I don't, can't, and won't. And nothing you say will make me. If you believe in the judeo-christian bible without question your a fool. How can you take the fairy tales of a desert people from 3000 years ago seriously.

[Big_John]

wait.. what? what's the question? what do you mean by "creation"? 5 billion years isn't really applicable to anything. the universe is suspected to be between 12 and 15 billion years old. our solar system is suspected to be 8-11 billion years old. the earth is suspected to be ~4.55 billion years old.

of course no one "knows" (in the strictest sense) what is true, however, i believe the scientifically derived timescales and dates due to a preponderance of evidence.

[Steppe Merc]

Same questions as big John, though I don't believe in the 6 days thing, or other things that religons used to explain what they didn't know at that time.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

This is confusing, one figure is for how long the biblical creation took, and one appears to be for how old the Earth is...I'm not sure what to make of this.

As far as the earth being older than a few thousand years, I'm pretty sure the fact that we can see stars millions of light years away is pretty strong evidence for that. But then again, I'm not sure whether that's what the question's about.

[caesar44]

This is confusing, one figure is for how long the biblical creation took, and one appears to be for how old the Earth is...I'm not sure what to make of this.

As far as the earth being older than a few thousand years, I'm pretty sure the fact that we can see stars millions of light years away is pretty strong evidence for that. But then again, I'm not sure whether that's what the question's about.

The biblical creation reffers to the Earth also !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Yes, it does. I don't see how this affects what I said.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I think that most of the Americans (and I am not) , that is , 80% to 90% belive in the 6 days theory

Ive heard some false impressions of America but this one takes the cake. Yes most Americans are bible thumping Christain zealots determined to spread christianity around the world. What kind of crap do they feed you over there. Is this the impression most Israelis have of their greatest ally?

[caesar44]

Ive heard some false impressions of America but this one takes the cake. Yes most Americans are bible thumping Christain zealots determined to spread christianity around the world. What kind of crap do they feed you over there. Is this the impression most Israelis have of their greatest ally?

Why do you think my post was negative ?

[caesar44]

wait.. what? what's the question? what do you mean by "creation"? 5 billion years isn't really applicable to anything. the universe is suspected to be between 12 and 15 billion years old. our solar system is suspected to be 8-11 billion years old. the earth is suspected to be ~4.55 billion years old.

of course no one "knows" (in the strictest sense) what is true, however, i believe the scientifically derived timescales and dates due to a preponderance of evidence.

Your post have only one goal , that is , to show your enormous knowledge....

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Your post have only one goal , that is , to show your enormous knowledge....

Erm, he actually raises some pretty significant points about the validity of your poll.

[caesar44]

Erm, he actually raises some pretty significant points about the validity of your poll.

I AM SORRY , SORRY , SORRY

Why I did not mentioned the exact figures , why ? why ? why ?

Please take it slow , it is just for fun , my God (although I believe in the second figure , that is , 4,557,899,321 years , 11 months , 12 days , 5 hours , 32 minutes and 14 seconds , sorry 15 , no no 16 , no 17 hhhhaaarrraahh.........)

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Were just trying to figure out what creation your talking about. Again almost no one takes the 6 day thing literally as it is impossible to have a day without a sun.

Why do you think my post was negative ?

I didnt say it was negative I said it was ludicrous and asked where you got such an idea.

[Big_John]

no one is "playing wise", we have real questions about your strange poll. 5 billion years doesn't really refer to anything specific, afaik.. and why exclude the last 5000 years? you need to define your terms.

for example, what do you mean by creation? creation can be defined as the action of coming into being, and as such, relating a scientific timescale for "creation" to 5 billion years is somewhat nonsensical. according to the big-bang theory (the best model for the data, thus far) space, matter, energy, and time came to exist instantaneously, as such creation took exactly no time.

i think it would be better if you asked the question, "how old do you think the earth is?" or maybe, "how old do you think the universe is?".


edit: i'm not sure when matter actually came into being, according to the big-bang theory. it may be something like the end of the "plank era". but matter and energy are interchangeable anyway...

[Redleg]

Does anyone know what the time of 6 days for creations refers to in the Bible?

Is it six days of 24 hours as measured by man? which by the way is false since the rotation of the earth is slightly more then 24 hours.

Or is a metaphor for a something else that spans over greater time then mere humans - especially early man - when the writings of Genesis was suppose to happen.

For me - in the context of my faith - the six days is a metaphor - and does not mean six days as we measure them today.

[caesar44]

no one is "playing wise", we have real questions about your strange poll. 5 billion years doesn't really refer to anything specific, afaik.. and why exclude the last 5000 years? you need to define your terms.

for example, what do you mean by creation? creation can be defined as the action of coming into being, and as such, relating a scientific timescale for "creation" to 5 billion years is somewhat nonsensical. according to the big-bang theory (the best model for the data, thus far) space, matter, energy, and time came to exist instantaneously, as such creation took exactly no time.

i think it would be better if you asked the question, "how old do you think the earth is?" or maybe, "how old do you think the universe is?".


edit: i'm not sure when matter actually came into being, according to the big-bang theory, it may be something like the end of the "plank era", but matter and energy are interchangeable anyway...

1. I meant the creation of the Earth (6 days for the Earth and 5 billion years for the Earth , the bible did not refer to the universe but only to the "aretz" , that is Earth
2. 5 billion years as a round figure
3. "strange poll" , as I said , take it easy , you are not in the academy here...
4. 5,000 years of history (6,000 for you)
5. And you know how old the earth is according to the bible ? (I know)

[Big_John]

1. I meant the creation of the Earth (6 days for the Earth and 5 billion years for the Earth , the bible did not refer to the universe but only to the "aretz" , that is Earth
2. 5 billion years as a round figure
3. "strange poll" , as I said , take it easy , you are not in the academy here...
4. 5,000 years of history (6,000 for you)
5. And you know how old the earth is according to the bible ? (I know)

i get an extra 1000 years? sweet! why? and no need to worry, i'm taking this as easy as anything else.

anyway, following your #1, the question to ask would have been "how old do you think the earth is?". not "5 billion years [for] the creation?" or whatever. i don't think the bible mentions an age for the earth. it talks about the length of creation, afaik. i'm certainly not well versed in the bible though. i do know that others (e.g. usher) have come up with schemes to place the age of the earth using the bible. is this what you mean to ask; "does one believe the earth is ~6,000 years old (usher's interpretation) versus ~4.55 billion years old (several radiometric dating experiments)"?

[caesar44]

To ask "how old the earth?" is less intriguing then to ask "do you belive in 6 days creation or in the 5 billion years creation?" , why creation ? because the Earth is still in the process !

Now , in judaism the Earth is 5,765 years old , so simple

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Now , in judaism the Earth is 5,765 years old , so simple

Then you believe the same as the christain fundementalists.

[Quietus]

That's a good question ( there are no stupid questions only stupid answers).

And only valid answer there is approximately 4.5 billion years (so choice b).

1. We evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, and God did not directly guide this process.

The first statement is true. And there's no proof of god at all, in any form or theory.

The next time the word 'nonbeliever' is thrown around they should add "of the unbelievable".

Hence, you can call me a "Nonbeliever of the Unbelievable".

[caesar44]

That's a good question ( there are no stupid questions only stupid answers).

And only valid answer there is approximately 4.5 billion years (so choice b).

The first statement is true. And there's no proof of god at all, in any form or theory.

The next time the word 'nonbeliever' is thrown around they should add "of the unbelievable".

Hence, you can call me a "Nonbeliever of the Unbelievable".

You know , I have had your opinions years ago - "God...rubbish" , but now (I still think "God" is an invention made by not very smart men , no offence) I am sticking with Socrates who said "always ask questions , always say , I don't know the unswear" now , from that point of view , you can listen to science and consider - there is no God , but , I really don't know , ha ?

[ichi]

The Old Testament of the Bible is an attempt by ancient peoples to explain their creation and place in the world, and as such is a 'creation myth'.

1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

When one looks at these words they seem fitting for the understanding of goat-farmers several thousand years ago, but in light of our understanding of the world today they seem less than satifying. There is no mention of when God created gravity, or electricity, nor is there an explanation of the planets, nor of the fossils of plants and animals now extinct.

The Grand Canyon, the polar ice caps, the evidence of glaciation across Europe and North America, the Himalaya all can be explained using current geological concepts much, much better than by simply claiming God created them from an idea he had.

Plant and animal diversity, speciation and adaptation over long periods better explains the world today than does Genesis.

Surely in the future many of our current concepts will be found wrong, or somehow improved by advancements in understanding, but to think that the explanation of the world as written by some folks who didn't know about genes or plate tectonics or germs is the absolute definitive explanation is lunacy (don't get me wrong, I'm sure the ancients were great guys, but . . .).

Here's some other examples that have no more (or less) validity than the Bible in explaining the origins of this world

In the beginning there were only two: Tawa, the Sun God, and Spider Woman (Kokyanwuhti), the Earth Goddess. All the mysteries and the powers in the Above belonged to Tawa, while Spider Woman controlled the magic of the Below. There was neither man nor woman, bird nor beast, no living thing until these Two willed it to be. In time they decided there should be other gods to share their labors, so Tawa divided himself and there came Muiyinwuh, God of All Life Germs and Spider Woman divided herself and there came Huzruiwuhti, Woman of the Hard Substances (turquoise, silver, coral, shell,etc.). Huzruiwuhti became the wife of Tawa and with him produced Puukonhoya, the Youth, and Palunhoya, the Echo, and later, Hicanavaiya, Man-Eagle, Plumed Serpent and many others. Then did Tawa and Spider Woman have the Great Thought, they would make the Earth to be between the Above and the Below. As Tawa thought the features of the Earth, Spider women formedthem from clay. Then did Tawa think of animals and beasts and plants, all the while Spider Woman formed them from the clay. At last they decided they had enough, then they made great magic and breathed life into their creatures. Now Tawa decided they should make creatures in their image to lord over all the rest. Spider Woman again formed them from clay. Again the Two breathed life into their creations. Spider Woman called all the people so created to follow where she led. Through all the Four Great Caverns of the Underworld she led them, until they finally came to an opening, a sipapu, which led to the earth above.

In the beginning, heaven and earth were not divided. Then, from the ocean of chaos, a reed arose, and that was the eternal land ruler, Kunitokotatchi.

Then came the female God, Izanami, and the male, Izanagi. They stood on the floating bridge of heaven and stirred the ocean with a jewelled spear until it curdled, and so created the first island, Onokoro. They built a house on this island, with a central stone pillar that is the backbone of the world. Izanami walked one way around the pillar, and Izanagi walked the other. When they met face to face, they united in marriage.

Their first child was named Hiruko, but he did not thrive, so when he was three, they placed him in a reed boat and set him adrift, he became Ebisu, God of fishermen.

Then Izanami gave birth to the eight islands of Japan. And finally Izanami began to give birth to the Gods who would fashion and rule the world -- Gods of the sea and Gods of the land, Gods of wind and rain. But when Izanami gave birth to the God of fire, she was badly burned and died.

Izanagi was furious with the fire God and cut him into three pieces. Then he set out to search for Izanami. He went right down into the Land of Gloom looking for her. He called her, saying, "Come back, my love. The lands we are making are not yet finished!"

She came to him, saying, "You are too late. I have already eaten the food of this land, But I would like to return. Wait here for me, and I will ask permission from the spirits of the underworld. But do not try to look at me."

At length, Izanagi got tired of waiting, so he broke off a tooth from the comb he wore in his hair to use as a torch and followed her. When he found her, he saw that she was already rotting and maggots were swarming over her body. She was giving birth to the eight Gods of thunder.

Izanagi drew back, revolted. Izanami called after him, "Shame on you." She commanded the foul spirits of the Land of Gloom to slay him.

The spirits pursued Izanagi, but he managed to escape. He threw down his headdress and it turned into grapes, which the spirits stopped to eat. Then he threw down his comb, which turned into bamboo shoots, and once again the spirits stopped to eat.

By the time Izanagi reached the pass between the land of the dead and the land of the living, Izanami herself had nearly caught up with him. But Izanagi saw her coming and quickly blocked the pass with a huge boulder that it would take a thousand men to lift, so making a permanent barrier between life and death.

Standing on the other side of the boulder, Izanami shouted, "Every day I will kill a thousand people, and bring them to this land!"

Izanagi replied, "Every day I will cause one thousand five hundred babies to be born."

Then Izanagi left Izanami to rule the Land of Gloom, and returned to the land of the living.

ichi

ps please add the Gah! option to all polls

[Big_John]

maybe simplistic isn't what i was after.. i just think it'd be a good idea if you definied your terms. specifically "each other". who fits in that category for any given person, family, friends, neighbors, all other humans? i think it's important to understand what is meant by "each other" before saying, "Human nature is to be a gregarious social creature that helps each other".

[Papewaio]

humans... each other... basically those genes closest to us, also those who have shown sufficent benefit to our genes, even those not related which extends to dogs and other useful animals in the quest for survival.

[Big_John]

humans... each other... basically those genes closest to us, also those who have shown sufficent benefit to our genes, even those not related which extends to dogs and other useful animals in the quest for survival.

so are you saying it is human nature for any given human to want to help any other human (and useful animal) to survive?