Information Related to "Questions and Answers - Jul/Aug 2006"
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Question: How does the evidence of life on earth millions of years ago equate with the Bible claim that God created life on earth recently by comparison?
—N.J., Redruth, England
Answer: Could some forms of life, such as the dinosaurs, have been present in a world unfit for human habitation before the seven-day creation account in Genesis 1 ? If we carefully examine the first two verses in the Bible, we might be surprised at the possible conclusion.
We are introduced to the account of the creation of the earth in Genesis 1:1-2: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep."
The original Hebrew wording, compared with other passages of Scripture, has led some to conclude that a considerable time interval is indicated between these two verses. If such an interval is indeed intended, there is no discrepancy between the Bible record and scientific discoveries that indicate that the earth could be much older than a few thousand years. If, on the other hand, there is no such gap, then the earth itself must be only around 6,000 years old—which most scientists consider an impossibility.
Do other passages, as well as history, shed any light on this question?
Some scholars propose that Genesis 1:2 can or should be translated: "Now the earth became without form, and void . . ." as opposed to the common rendering "The earth was without form, and void . . ." Others dismiss this idea entirely. They assume the original Hebrew word hayah must be translated "was" and then assume the earth was originally created in this disorderly condition.
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