While the first verse in the Bible covers a period that is unknown, because things like the electromagnetic spectrum had not been settled into place before there was light, the KEY biblical understanding of this is that "the earth was formless and void." In other words, there is no knowledge of what went before the day that light was made. Some of it might correspond to billions of years, or trillions. Other of it would correspond to only an instant, like a nano-second or less. And some might correspond to any amount of time in between.
And you've just shot down your own belief that the bible proves the Earth's age is 6000 years by saying that any time period between Earth's creation and there being an electromagnetic spectrum could have been billions or trillions of years, or a nano-second or less. Nice work!!!
Quite the contrary. The time before time was not time. It wasn't even before time. So, using time, the thing that the year is made up of, the earth is a little over 6,000 years old. Just because it has some other things that look a little like time but aren't time, doesn't change the time.
To use your own argument against you, if the time before time was not time, then the period between the Earth being "created" and the "time" before man was "made" could be either an instant or any number of years - hence you shoot down your own argument of 6000 years.
Wrong! You don't even provide any reason for your thinking.
The so-called time before the day that light was created is a mixture of long-time, short-time, no-time, and maybe even "all-time." It is outside anything we know.
Once time was created at the beginning of the first day, since light was created the first day along with the whole electromagnetic spectrum, then the first day became a 24-hour day.
Earth is a little more than 6,000 years old... perhaps as much as 6,200 years.
Okay, let me break down my reasoning for you.
Let me assume that your calculation of 6000 / 6200 years for the age of Earth is correct.
The Bible states that light was made on the first day after the Earth itself was created. Your argument above states that "there is no knowledge of what went before the day that light was made. Some of it might correspond to billions of years, or trillions. Other of it would correspond to only an instant, like a nano-second or less. And some might correspond to any amount of time in between."
So you have a gap between when the Earth was created and when light was made. This period of time could be, in your own words, billions or trillions of years, or a nano-second or less. If this period was an instant, then your calculation of 6000 / 6200 years would be correct. If this period was trillions of years, then your calculation is trillions of years out.
Okay. Let me break your mistaken understanding down for you. Your mistake lies in the fact that you are not believing of the Bible.
As for what I have to say, the non-time "before" light was created is a mixture of things that looked and acted (to some extent) like, "... there is no knowledge of what went before the day that light was made. Some of it might correspond to billions of years, or trillions. Other of it would correspond to only an instant, like a nano-second or less. And some might correspond to any amount of time in between."
But here is the important part of what I said, "... there is no knowledge of what went before the day that light was made." Did you catch that? I'll repeat it a little shorter: "... no knowledge ..."
The closest thing that we have to understanding about the "time" before light comes in 3 parts:
1. The earth was "formless and void;"
2. There was apparently some cohesion in whatever existed because there was a "surface of the waters;"
3. How do we know that there was this cohesion and a surface of the waters? Because the "Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters."
The New International Version translators of the ancient Hebrew write it this way, Genesis 1:1,2:
Quote
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
So, now you can see your misunderstanding. It is contained in the fact that you want to believe silly science fairy tails rather than the absolute best record we have of the beginning of the earth "times," the Bible.
Before I wrote my first post in this thread I knew what type of person I was attempting to converse with, so your latest reply comes as no surprise.
The fact that I do not believe in the Bible is irrelevant to the point I raised about your argument to the Earth's age. My point was, and continues to be, that you are unable to accept that your explanation of 6000 / 6200 years relies on period of time for which there is no knowledge, again I'm using your own words here. Another way to describe "no knowledge" is unknown.
So in simple maths terms....
Earth's creation + unknown period + 6000 (or 6200 years) = Unknown
The difference between a scientific explanation and your explanation is that the scientific one recognizes and allows for a margin of error, as you yourself have pointed out, while you are unable to accept that your own also has a margin of error, although your margin is an unknown quantity rather than a margin born out of reproducible physical testing.
I know that the above will mean nothing to you and that you will attempt to teach me the error of my ways by making self referencing or circular arguments as to the legitimacy of the Bible, so knock yourself out - figuratively speaking of course.
And for the record, I agree with Spendulus's post above and like Tyrantt I also believe that time does not exist other than as a construct of man, so when I say years above I'm referring to the passage of the Earth around the Sun.
