Atheist misconceptions of Christianity

[WaterBreather]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.

<< 2 Peter 3:8 >>
Don't forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day.

So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

If you are going to make comments about a book, its a good idea to actually read it first.

 

[Shalamar]

Perhaps you should let Christians know this? They're the ones claiming that the earth is only 6000 years old, and therefor all science is wrong.

Atheists are quoting THOSE people, not making direct interpretations of the bible, which many many of them have actually read.

 

[Cavemonster]

Lurk around a bit Waterbreather.
Many members of the forum are VERY biblically literate.
I have yet to meet an atheist on these boards who is not aware that Christians hold a range of views about the age of the earth.

We have read the bible.
Have you read this forum?

 

[quixotecoyote]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.


So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

If you are going to make comments about a book, its a good idea to actually read it first.

Heh heh, you're funny. That's not where the 6000 comes from.

Even if it was, it's amusing to see you scrabble to find a verse in the New Testament in a completely different context to explain Genesis.

 

[Twiler]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.

Hnh? How does formless mean half-formed?

So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

I don't understand what you mean.

 

[Cavemonster]

As an FYI Waterbreather,

The figure of 6 thousand years or so comes from a few sources, counting the "days" of Genesis is not typically one of them.

Most use the biblically presented genealogy from Adam to Jesus:

http://www.missiontoamerica.com/genesis/six-thousand-years.html

Here is some more pseudoscience attempting to prove a young earth
http://www.gotquestions.org/young-earth-evidence.html

 

[Nogbad]

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/key-age-of-earth

Surely it these people you need to talk to.

That said, I fully accept that the bulk of Christians do not take this stance and have no difficulty with an old earth or evolution.

 

[X]

Tell that to the Creationists who insist on a 6,000 year-old Earth and 6 literal days for its creation.


Creationist groups like Answers in Genesis

[The Earth is] About 6,000 years old if you add up the ages given in the genealogies in the Bible from Adam to Christ and factor in certain other timeframes given in the Bible (and of course, add in the five days prior to Adam (since he was made on Day 6)).

bolding mine


And Mr. Hovind's Creation Science Evangelism

Creationists already have the Truth; the earth was created roughly 6,000 years ago¹. Evolutionists wish to construct their own truth; the earth formed slowly over billions of years. Both of these are subject to the same scientific method. When we observe the outpourings of data rendered from the science, we can see that the evidence greatly supports the idea of a young-earth (6,000 years old).

bolding mine


And don't forget the Institute for Creation Research

However, lest we be too concerned, every honest attempt to determine the date, starting with a deep commitment to the inerrancy of God's Word, has calculated a span of just a few thousand years, most likely close to 6000 years, since creation.

bolding mine



Stating that some Christians (Young Earth Creationists, specifically) believe the Earth to be 6,00 years old is not a misconception. It's truth.

 

[Madalch]

We have read the bible.
Have you read this forum?

Are you kidding? I have seen very few signs that he reads the responses to the threads he starts.

 

[Frozenwolf150]

In the UK, according to The Guardian, Young Earth Creationists make up about 10% of the population.

In the US, unfortunately, the numbers are much higher. Note that I'm counting those who believe in a 10,000 year age as YECs as well. Read it and barf.

 

[Nogbad]

In the UK, according to The Guardian, Young Earth Creationists make up about 10% of the population.

In the US, unfortunately, the numbers are much higher. Note that I'm counting those who believe in a 10,000 year age as YECs as well. Read it and barf.

I had a look at that second one - the respondents to the Gallup Poll appear to believe in evolution and the 10,000 year thing - talk about hedging your bets.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

I'm an atheist, and I realize that most Christians do not regard the Earth as 6000 years old. I realize that the Genesis account is not meant to be taken literally, and as far as I know, the first people to adhere to it took it as metaphor, with the literal interpretation coming along later, much like the concept of a fiery Hell. Piggy would probably be able to elaborate here.

 

[Aerik]

It's Christians that take the bible literally, and then we criticize them. We're not mischaracterising or misunderstanding the beliefs of Christians when they actually tell us that's exactly what they believe. You're a liar.

Even so, I don't know if you've noticed, but english Bibles are not written in any such way as to convey that the content is metaphor. It's written in quite literal, even if nonsensical, prose.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

This is not an atheist misconception. It is a misconception of many, but not all, Christians.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.


So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

If you are going to make comments about a book, its a good idea to actually read it first.

Did you mean to title this thread "Christian Misconceptions of the Bible"?

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Don't forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day.

So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

A nonsensical claim. The statement about a thousand years is in a completely different part of the Bible and referring to something different entirely. In context:

1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The Bible speaks about how, to an eternal being, even a thousand years is a short time. It doesn't mean God has some sort of divine time measurement system that He uses throughout the Bible to give a fallacious impression of how long things take.

 

[Damien Evans]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.


So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

If you are going to make comments about a book, its a good idea to actually read it first.

I guess you've never heard of Bishop Ussher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Ussher

 

[Tricky]

Atheists here, for the most part, only react to those making claims about Christianity. We are all quite aware of the fact that there are many many Christians and they do not all agree on the creation story, nor about a lot of other things in the bible.

But we do have the occasional Young Earth Creationist here. Search for posts by Edge, particularly those dealing with the "great flood".

It is not a mistake to say that our views of Christianity are based on our experience with a variety of Christians.

I am glad you don't buy the Creation myth, WaterBreather. Do you feel that there is more of the bible that is fables and myth as well? The flood? Joshua making the sun stand still? Jonah being swallowed by the great fish? The Hebrew children in the fiery furnace?

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I think it's a valid point to note that only a small minority of contemporary Christians are young Earth creationists or Biblical literalists.

I do believe most of us atheists know this.

I think the moderate Christian position on these matters is nearly as problematical. Throughout most of the history of Christianity, the majority of Christians did take a lot of these myths as being the truth about the natural history of the Earth (Creation and the Flood, for examples). Their sacred text was handed down by people who mostly believed what is now the minority position.

Do they think all these people had it wrong?

 

[Dancing David]

Major Misconception:
The Earth is 6000 years old.

In the book of Genesis (1:1) it states
'When God created the universe, the Earth was formless and desolate"

So the book starts with the Earth already half-formed.


So obviously, the 7 days of creation are not meant as a week. And its not meant as 7000 years either. It states 'like', not 'is'.

If you are going to make comments about a book, its a good idea to actually read it first.

Sorry dude, you haven't been to the Bible Belt, have you?

The people who disagree with you are your Xian bretheren. Sorry.

 

[Lonewulf]

HIt and run posting. Troll tactic.