Evolution and an Orthodox Patristic understanding of Genesis

Patristic theology, and traditional teachings of Orthodoxy from the Church fathers of apostolic times to the present. All forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.


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What do you believe vis a vis Creationism vs. Darwinism?

I believe in creationism like the Holy Fathers and Bible teach

20
83%

I believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution and think the Church Fathers were wrong

2
8%

I am not sure yet, I need to read more Patristics and scientific theories

2
8%
 
Total votes: 24

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Pensees
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Post by Pensees »

jckstraw72 wrote:

God could have easily created the universe with starlight already reaching earth.

Are you saying that God purposely created the universe with the appearance of age? Did he also plant dinosaur bones in the fossil record?
Given that God cannot lie, He would not create such deception.

As for Moses' wanderings in the wilderness, that's the story of the Exodus.

Peace.

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jckstraw72
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Post by jckstraw72 »

Are you saying that God purposely created the universe with the appearance of age? Did he also plant dinosaur bones in the fossil record?
Given that God cannot lie, He would not create such deception.

it only seems to have the appearance of age if you work with the same assumptions as evolutionists. i do not assume uniformitarianism, therefore it doenst make the world appear old to me. if i have the understanding that God can create a star with its light already reaching the earth then that starlight in no way implies an old creation to me. just like when many of the Fathers write that the trees were created fully grown, this doesnt give the illusion of age in the tree bc we know that it was created that way. if adam and eve were created with the ability to walk and talk does that mean God created deceptively because although they were but a few minutes old, they appeared as what we call adults?

as for the Exodus, i must have misread your question.

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尼古拉前执事
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Why?

Post by 尼古拉前执事 »

If God made Adam fully grown, why not the rest of the universe too?

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Post by jckstraw72 »

If God made Adam fully grown, why not the rest of the universe too?

exactly...the kingdom was fit for the king.

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Pensees
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Re: Why?

Post by Pensees »

Deacon Nikolai wrote:

If God made Adam fully grown, why not the rest of the universe too?

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

If the attributes of God are clearly seen in the Creation, then Creation cannot lie, given that God cannot lie. Why not just accept the obvious, that the universe is ancient?

If God created the universe with the appearance of age, how do we know that God didn't create us five minutes ago, with false memories of a fictional past?

Geologists, long before Darwin, discovered the antiquity of the earth.
If the geological column were deposited by a global flood, less than 10,000 years ago, we'd find elaphants jumbled up with dinosaurs.

Peace.

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Post by jckstraw72 »

If the attributes of God are clearly seen in the Creation, then Creation cannot lie, given that God cannot lie. Why not just accept the obvious, that the universe is ancient?

the universe only appears ancient to you because you choose to accept the same assumptions as the evolutionists. i choose to accept the Biblical text at its word, as the majority of the Fathers did, and thus the world does not seem ancient to me at all.

Again, if God created Adam and Eve as walking, talking adults, does that mean He was deceptive?

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Pensees
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Post by Pensees »

As already demonstrated, the fathers disagreed as to the length of the creation days. The antiquity of the earth was discovered before Darwin was even born. Please put two and two together.

Your assumption are what prevent you from believing that the universe was created five minutes ago.

Peace.

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