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Genesis 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
As you can see, a most literal interpretation of Genesis would require a geocentric universe. If young earth creationists already reject modern biology, why not take it a step further and take the Bible at its word that the sun and moon orbit the earth?
Note that I am not attacking young earth creationism and am currently deciding whether I am a young earther or an old earther, but I found it interesting that even today there are some young earth creationists who believe in a geocentric universe and point to the theory of general relativity to back it up.
I've read the passages you posted twice over and I don't see where you're getting a "literal interpretation" suggests geocentricity. Maybe you could spell it out for me.
All I see is God creating the sun, moon and stars, and their purpose. How you read into it that that somehow means geocentricity is beyond me.
Oh, and I don't "reject" modern biology. I simply reject molecules-to-man Darwinian evolutionary theory.
I've read the passages you posted twice over and I don't see where you're getting a "literal interpretation" suggests geocentricity. Maybe you could spell it out for me.
All I see is God creating the sun, moon and stars, and their purpose. How you read into it that that somehow means geocentricity is beyond me.
Well you have to combine it with other Scriptures on the subject, such as where the sun stands still in Joshua. Plus, the King James version says God placed the sun and moon into the firmament. Perhaps the biggest supporter of geocentricity is the fact that God created the earth before the sun. That is something I really struggle with when it comes to believing a literal Genesis.
I am not a geocentrist, but I have become somewhat interested in that viewpoint because I didn't even know it existed until now. It has sparked some interesting questions in my mind.
God created Earth first because we are the center of His attention, His focus. We are his special creation and therefore our home was created first. This doesn't, to me, point to geocentricity.
Joshua's long day ... If you really think on these passages, they are written from man's perspective here on Earth and uses terminology that corresponds to this. It's the same as when the weather forcast provides the time for sunrise and sunset. We know the sun isn't actually rising or setting, but from our perspective it is. I do, however, see why folks focus on this to "prove" the bible "teaches" a geoctric cosmology. But I don't fault the bible for what man reads into it instead of what they should be getting out of it.
As to the word "firmament" that is, IMO, due to a lack of understanding of the original language then being translated into old english. In the NIV and Young's Literal Translation, the word is translated "expanse", which is more appropriate. However, once again, I see where people can find this a stumbling block and read their preconcieved notions into what the bible is telling us.
And, this is JMHO, in all honesty we cannot be 100% certain that we are not at or near the center of the entire created universe. We're not at the center of our galaxy, but we can't be 100% positive that if we were to look down from God's perspective over the entire created universe that we're not the center of it all. After all, we are his primary concern and focus. I'm not saying we are the center of the universe, but it's not conclusively proven (to my knowledge) that we are not.
As you can see, a most literal interpretation of Genesis would require a geocentric universe. If young earth creationists already reject modern biology, why not take it a step further and take the Bible at its word that the sun and moon orbit the earth?
Have you ever wondered why the account of creation is split into two sections? The first is Genesis 1, and the second starting in Genesis 2:4. It is broken down like this for a reason.
Genesis 1:2
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
the words 'formeless' and 'empty' rhyme in Hebrew, and create a parallel structure in a literary sense. This is setting the next section up to make a point, and to continue to follow this parallel structure.
First, lets look at 'formless' (also meaning chaotic in Hebrew), then at 'empty'
Day 1: God creates light-------------Day 4: God creates lights
Day 2: God creates sea and sky-----Day 5: God creates creatures of the sea and sky
Day 3: God creates land-------------Day 6: God creates creatures of the land
In the first three days, God takes what is formless and chaotic and makes order out of it. After that is done, God takes the emptiness in those same things and fills the emptiness.
This is the reasoning behind the start of Genesis (it was written so we can take this point away, not just so we see a recipe of how the world was made). It speaks to the character of God. God takes what is chaotic and empty, first he takes the chaos out of our lives, then when that is done he fills them with purpose/meaning. Really the only reason this passage was written is to show us the character of God. It has little to do with a geocentric model of the earth.
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