Odd Names For Ages!
Genesis 1:5
There are many in Christianity, even in conservative Christianity that would have us believe that the days of creation recorded here in Genesis one are not literal days, but are, rather, representative periods that are far longer, literally ages of time passing for each day.
We have already discussed the truth that it is a rather profound mistake to attempt to reconcile and integrate the finding of science with the declarations of the Bible. Inevitably, science takes the upper hand and begins to be regarded as superior to the the plain sense of Scripture. This is disastrous. The Bible contains truths that are absolute. They are true, regardless of the verifiability. The Scripture is clear that It takes spiritual insight, granted to us by God's Holy Spirit as He teaches and enlightens us, to make clear the truths of the Scripture. They are spiritually discerned, not carnally discerned.
This is not to say that those who are not redeemed cannot see and understand, in a limited fashion, the truth of god's existence, his power, and their accountability to Him. However, we must understand that it cannot be the tenets of science that dictate how we understand the Bible, but rather, the opposite, the Scripture must be used to interpret the findings of science.
Thomas Aquinas, the great 13th century Catholic theologian, one of the last of the great schoolmen, taught that the principles and truths of the Bible could be arrived at independently of the Spirit's action. He thought that reason and logic alone were sufficient to reveal the most intimate of spiritual truths. This idea, though disputed by most of the Reformers, has found a home in modern Christianity. It ahs led to the idea that Christianity should be verifiable and demonstrable and that "real" science will always demonstrate the Bible's truth.
In a sense, that is true. The Bible is truth, and so it will correspond with any truth that an unbeliever can know. However, we are forced to disagree with Aquinas in his assertion that the truth can be known by purely intellectual mechanisms.
The passage in question is to the point. Many would interpret these days of Creation as ages, huge chunks of time during the natural evolution of the world occurred. I maintain that his cannot be so, for reasons some of which have been shared. Here we find another. If indeed each day is an age, then why did God name each part of the day as a "morning" and an "evening"? Those are odd names for ages!
One would be forced to conclude that they refer to the beginning and the end of the ages? However, that is not what is said is it? How dangerous it is, for one to look around at what science proclaims, and then, with that in mind, look again at the Scripture with the intent of "harmonizing" the two! Much better to let the Word say what it says!
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