Originally posted by: RapidSnail
Evolution will
never ever be compatible with the Bible or Christianity. Theistic Evolution is just a lame attempt at giving evolution some sort of credit among the "religious" community by slapping on a word that suggests divine intervention by God. However, the weak "evidence" behind theistic evolution (and evolution as a whole) demonstrates how little thought was put into it.
The first thing that must be established in any form of evolution is that it takes a long time. Theistic Evolution supporters turn to 2 Peter 3:8 to "validate" their claims.
2 Peter 3:8 (King James Version)
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Looking past the fact that 2 Peter 3:8 is taken far out of context, there is one inherent flaw in the assumption. The verse quoted states that "one day is with the Lord
as a thousand years..." The word "as" is critical in that it identifies a simile, not a mathematical equation of "one equals one thousand and vice versa." God is indicating that he is above his creation and thus outside of time. In Revelation 22:20, the Lord says "...Surely I come quickly." Obviously, he could not have been referencing time as we see it, but as he sees it. It has been two thousand years since his ascension which is a lot of time to us; but to the Lord, it's just another tick on the clock.
Of course, if you wish to apply 2 Peter 3:8 to Genesis 1, you must also apply it throughout the Bible. You cannot just pick and choose where you want the verse to apply. This is obviously a ludicrous idea, as it is would render impossible the greater part of the Bible (Christ in the tomb for three thousand years!?) and makes absolutely no sense at all.
But let us assume, merely for the purpose of debate, that the seven days of creation really were long periods of time. It is a well known fact among evolutionists that their theory requires large amounts of time for its effects to be carried out. This number is up in the millions and billions of years. What is being inferred here is that one thousand years is far too little time for full evolutionary effects to occur. However, I will play along; and in our little example, one day is equal to one thousand years as "proven" by 2 Peter 3:8.
Now I'm sure many of you are aware that in biology there is a term called
symbiosis which describes a relationship between two organisms in which at least one of them benefits. This process is very prominent throughout nature. According to Genesis, on the third day of creation God made the plants. As just stated, many different plants and animals are involved in a symbiotic relationship. That is to say they cannot survive without one another. The first animals were created on the fifth day, two days after the plants. Day-age theorists would have that mean
at least (Remember that evolution requires much more time than what has been given; we merely use this low amount due to the passage above) two thousand years. Do tell me, will you, how those plants could have survived past the creation week without their symbiotic partner to spread their seed. Two thousand years without the ability to repopulate, and yet they are still here!
Genesis 1 also makes it very clear that each day was broken into two periods: day and night. With our one thousand year days, how could the plants and animals have survived a 500 year period of light and a 500 year period of darkness? It is vital for a very large amount of organisms (especially the flora) to receive light, which is required for photosynthesis, energy, health, and whatnot. Without the ability to make food for 500 years, how could they have survived? Also, how did these same not die from gross over-exposure to the light?
The conclusion is that Theistic Evolution is not possible according to the Biblical account of creation. The people who wish to twist 2 Peter 3:8 out of context and give it a literal meaning are incorrect.
Also note that the Hebrew word for day [yôm] which has several different meanings, including "age", is used 2301 times in the OT. Whenever used with the terms "evening" or "morning" it always indicates a 24-hour day.