There are quite a bit of the use of the phrase ‘to this day’ in the Bible such as in
“Matthew 27:8
That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.”
If taken to mean ‘still today’ as opposed to at the time of the telling/writing there are quite a few opportunities.
Which goes to the problem the OP has, the interpretations are falsifiable, but do to the nature of this book I don’t think you will find much as falsifiable in the sense you are looking for.
You don’t know, sorry. Because the bible does not claim those two things. If you would like to dig a bit deeper you can find in the bible the verse that says to God a day is like a thousand years. And other indications that say time is different for humans and God.
Creationist like to say the things you were led to believe are in the bible, but please don’t believe that. The bible does not state the age of this planet nor that it was created in 7x24 hours.
Thanks for your time.
PS On the taking of the promised land…The order was not necessarily to kill all. It was to drive them out. There was a choice to leave and go live somewhere else for those that heeded the hint in what happened to Egypt. Those that would not take the hint and wanted a fight got what they chose. After the taking there were no more orders to expand like most empires do. They never did the Roman or Greek or Assyrian thing.
So he created all this in 6,000 years?
edited to add: And it tired out this omnipotent being so much that he had to rest for yet another thousand years?
He was doing more then resting in that bed since we do know he had a son shortly after, so he must not be all that tired. So give a hard working god a break, if you worked for 6000 years I would think you would be entitled to a little sack time too.
Ha ha, so that is where we got the stereotype of sea raiders wearing horned helmets. Would not surprise me that some early historian assumed that the vikings were just like them.
Laughable - considering that early posts have you stating you are a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses -
[QUOTE= Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God 1966 pp.26-30]
“The published timetable resulting from this independent study gives the date of man’s creation as 4026 B.C.E. According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E. So six thousand years of man’s existence on earth will soon be up, yes, within this generation. So in not many years within our own generation we are reaching what Jehovah God could view as the seventh day of man’s existence. How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand years a sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee sabbath for the proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! This would be most timely for mankind. It would also be most fitting on God’s part, for, remember, mankind has yet ahead of it what the last book of the Holy Bible speaks of as the reign of Jesus Christ over earth for a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ. It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the ‘Lord of the Sabbath,’ to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man’s existence.”
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=1966 Oct 8 pp.19-20 ]
“Does God’s rest day parallel the time man has been on earth since his creation? Apparently so. In what year, then, would the first 6,000 years of man’s existence and also the first 6,000 years of Gods rest day come to an end? The year 1975. It means that within a relatively few years we will witness the fulfilment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the “time of the end”.” Awake!
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Watchtower 1966 Oct 15 pp.629,631]
“It did not take the brothers very long to find the chart beginning on page 31, showing that 6,000 years of man’s existence end in 1975. Discussion of 1975 overshadowed about everything else. “The new book compels us to realize that Armageddon is, in fact, very close indeed,” said a conventioner. Surely it was one of the outstanding blessings to be carried home!” … Brother Franz. 'Does it mean that Armageddon is going to be finished, with Satan bound, by 1975? It could! It could! All things are possible with God. Does it mean that Babylon the Great is going to go down by 1975? It could. Does it mean that the attack of Gog of Magog is going to be made on Jehovah’s witnesses to wipe them out, then Gog himself will be put out of action? It could. But we are not saying. All things are possible with God. But we are not saying. And don’t any of you be specific in saying anything that is going to happen between now and 1975. But the big point of it all is this, dear friends: Time is short. Time is running out, no question about that."
[/QUOTE]
Now - you may be quibbling over ‘man creation’ versus the age of the planet - and that is a laughable distinction without meaning in this discussion.
eta - these quotes are in context of the JW failed prediction of armegeddon in 1975 - while that is not the topic of the thread, it does answer the question that Ruben4Ruben is trying to obfuscate - to my knowledge, the JW still believe in this timeline for how long ago Man was created, while they will deny that they were predicting 1975…
Thanks for defending me by your own words. Thank you for taking the time and effort to find publications from about 50 years ago Simster. I see you really like the topic.
I never said that God created all in 6000 years. The Bible does not state how old this planet is. I do believe that we’ve had about 6 to 7 thousand years of humanity. All the other things i do not know and do not claim. Thank you for clarifying this Simster.
If one goes back long enough in JW history you’ll find that they used to condone smoking tobacco, condoned using symbols like crosses and had different views on Biblical topics. Last week we discussed how we were wrong in the timelines of topics of Jesus Presence, gathering the grain from the weeds and the Great Tribulation. You are welcome to read it online in around 200 languages Simster.
JWs have always kept on studying the bible to gain more insight. Hence, before they chose the JW name they were know as International Bible Students.
If they find out we are wrong about a certain view JW always make it public. Most people like to believe we claim to know everything and have a static view. This is not true.
JW are also human beings. Thanks for helping clarify that Simster.
Oh and Simster, thank you for posting this bit:
I could not have explained it better myself. Now i don’t have to. Thank you.
I wouldn’t call it ‘defending you’ - the position that ‘mankind’s existence’ is only 6000 years old is laughable - we do agree that the ‘bible’ doesn’t specifically say ‘how old the planet is’ - but your “trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975” - certainly implies “young earth creationist” and includes within it all the rest of ‘creation’ even if not the ‘earth’ itself.
So, on a very, very, narrow point - we agree.
Yes - JW ‘followers’ are human beings - However the JW and the Watchtower Org hold themselves on a much higher pedestal- but this thread is not about the JW or how they ‘continue to study the bible’ - its about falsifiable claims the bible makes - so - you attempted to refute the 6000 year old claim of the ‘earth’ by using an even more falsifiable claim as to when “mankind” itself was created.
Now - the ball is in your court - show cites and reference that get you to 6000 years of ‘mans existence’ that ends in 1975 - and back it up with actual evidence, not just conjecture from the bible and/or the Watchtower publications.
Too late to edit - since the claim of "mankinds existence is only 6000 years old in 1975’ is a Watchtower claim (and not from the bible itself ) - my last ‘challenge’ to ruben4ruben is off topic - as is the discussion of the JW org itself.
My apologies for the hijack.
Pre-Linnaeus, by a few thousand years. So, not wrong at all, just a different system of classification.
Too local, too small, and there are plenty of other accounts of Herod’s atrocities. There is also a quote by one of the Emperors about Herod killing his own son during the massacre.
We have little historical record of anything during this period. Period sources might fill a bookshelf.
Sure, Jericho, like most ancient cities, was built near a water source etc. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times. There’s still a village there today.
Right, and the “massacre” is figured to be about 20 kids. Hardly a blip back then.
The fact that a certain thing is only mentioned in Biblical records and not in other contemporary records is not evidence at all it was made up.
Mind you, Jericho, if it occurred at all, was likely exaggerated.
They were but they tended to sugar-gloss stuff. Battles where we are pretty certain the Pharaoh got his ass handed to him are recounted as great victories, etc.
For centuries academics claimed the description and size of Nineveh in the Bible were false and must have been wrong. They said a city that big could not have existed in that age. Then archaeologists dug up Nineveh and the world had to accept the bible was accurate.
There’s loads of finds that were only in the Bible **before **they were dug up. Must we first locate and dig up everything before we can assume it is even remotely true when the Bible mentions a name or place?
When it comes to history backed by archaeology the Bible has a stunning track record. More so when you consider the time span the Bible covers.
The book is no a joke when it comes to recording history. Beats all other ancient religious and ancient non-religious sources hands down. Coincidence?
PS Sugar coating is still popular. Last week i saw a YouTube video on how great the Assyrian Empire was. At a certain point in the time line of achievements it only stated the date they “attacked” Jerusalem. (nothing more on that one)
Yes, it’s pretty obvious that the much of the Bible is based upon real History, with a certain amount of exaggeration, myth , numerology, legend and sugar coating, the more as you go back in time.
About the time of King Omri the OT is at least as accurate as other sources.
Certainly David is more myth than man- but so is the Scorpion King and most of the first Emperors of Japan. The Kings of England can trace their linage to Odin.
In fact King David is now thought to be real, altho nothing is known about his deeds outside the OT. For decades he was thought to be entirely mythological, but now the Tel Dan Stele indicates he was likely real.
The inscription mentions conflict with the kings of Israel and the ‘House of David’. The names of the two kings are only partial but they are sure that they are not “David”
The Tel Dan Stele does NOT mention a king named David, the “proof” is just an extrapolation and may hint a king named David exists at one point but the house may have been named from that groups mythology or another “David”.
To claim it makes it “likely” he is real is a bit of a stretch.
The bible is full of falsifiable claims, lets just start with the first creation myth in Genesis 1:6-8.
It is quite well known that the “firmament” or a great tent-like ceiling made of solid crystalline-like material that may be pierced by tower and gimlet does not span the sky.
The traditional claim that the Quran is unchanged from its inception is quite falsifiable, but I have never actually been clear whether the Quran itself makes this claim or whether it is merely broadly accepted as orthodoxy by Muslim religious leaders.