Young Earth Creationists? Really believe it? Really?

[balotelli]

Cant believe that anyone actually thinks that the earth was created by a god 6000 years ago!

I have to agree with Richard Dawkins who said they are either ignorant, stupid or insane.

If you do believe it, explain dinosaurs!

www.creationism.org/topbar/dinosaurs.htm

Google is your friend.

That link made me wee myself laughing. What a load of CRAP.

Dragons?

Really?

OMG that link is hysterical. As you say, OP, Really? really??

The link actually makes it worse I think! Dragons... yeah right! :o

Oh and Genesis = historical record. Of course...

I lived with a Young Earth Creationist who told me in all seriousness that people lived to a much older age back in Old Testament times because up until the time of the Flood it never rained (he had some Bible quote to back this up) and therefore the sky was really cloudy all the time so people were protected from the harmful aging rays of sun.

I know sun exposure can cause wrinkles, but not convinced that avoiding it can help you live for hundreds of years!

He was really intelligent, by the way, got a First at uni with no problems.

I might have done as a teenager as this was what was taught in one, unenlightened more literal church who were not that well educated on theology. also a lack of school education on early history.

do not any more. to me the creation account in the Bible is about the WHO not the HOW.

Carbon-14 dating of carbon buried in the same layer with dragon bones helps to confirm that they are really only thousands of years old

From that website.....they really will say anything to prove their point.

God will send them to Hell for fibbing. :(

I'm a devout christian, but I am also not a creationist!
My view on genesis is this: the bible is a record of Gods word as given to man, and written by man, and I view the creation story as mans interpretation of how it was, as he struggled to make sense of the world around him. I think this also helps to explain the huge life spans of the people mentioned early in the bible, as our concept of years is almost certainly not the same as a "year" way back then! In fact translations of certain words are very difficult in ancient languages, so there is bound to be some confusion!
As I read scripture I try to take the message rather than the literal meaning of what I'm reading, knowing that whilst I am reading Gods word, I am reading it as heard and interpreted by the human mind, with all it's failings, influences etc.
I do tend to take the gospel more literally, with the exception of Paul whom I find had a very low opinion of women, and therefore I try not to be too insulted by his views on that subject!

I agree with rogersmellyonthetelly about not taking the early parts of the bible too literally.

Here you go. This is the most well known place to find out what creationists believe and why. i'm not one, by the way, but I have come into contact with people who are. In fact, I got kicked off an internet HE support group because I questioned the full historical accuracy of Genesis 1.

If it never rained they wouldve dehydrated and died some folk have some weird funny ideas. TBh people can believe what they like I can't process god and creating the earth I just can't get my head round why people have blind faith in this, but each to their own ,

I married the easygoing moderate evangelical in a very conservative evangelical family, so know/know of quite a few young earth creationists. The first surprise (to me anyway) is that young earth creationists can be very intelligent and educated (one I know of has an Oxbridge PhD in biology). I once read an interesting article on the creationist scene by a secular journalist pointing out that it can actually take a lot of intelligence to argue your way around the theory of evolution, and some creationists can come up with extremely complex, well-informed arguments. It isn't all "the devil made dinosaur bones to fool us into doubting the Bible" stuff. Ironically enough Christian creationists miss out on the fact that evolution actually fits with the Genesis account very well, much much more so than it does with any other ancient creation story (take the order in which things happen). From my non-creationist Christian POV that means that Genesis is a story about creation, which reflects how things were created through evolution in language people in the ancient world could understand. Young earth creationism is not integral to Christianity in any way. If I recall correctly the 'literalness' of the Genesis account was debated even in Jesus' day and the early Christian saint and theologian Augustine criticised people who took it too literally as a bit daft.

BTW, its worth noting that UK creationism is now much more a Muslim than a Christian thing.

Giraffe, the reason that people lived longer in Genesis, many hundreds of years for the most part, is because man was closer to the fall in those days and God's curse hadn't had as long to work it's corruption. The whole world slowly degraded until we reached the position we are in now. Apparently, it is the Curse that is responsible for changing climates, desertification etc. as well as the degradation in mankind (both lifespan and morality.)

PS Balotelli If you really want to know what they think (rather than letting off steam about how much they annoy you ), why not just ask them? I think Answers in Genesis is the big English-speaking creationist organisation.

So what if people believe this, they believe in a God as do most people on this planet, is it harming you or anyone else by believing this?

These threads take me to the fair, there are some aspects of all religions that beggar belief but people have faith to believe what they believe is right.

Live and let live.

Somewhere, that's the site that I linked to.

I was brought up in a devoutly Christian home.

My parents and many dear and beloved old friends are young earth Creationists.

You may not be able to understand how thay can believe this, but they do.

My parents are neither ignorant, ill-educated, or stupid.

I see no value in threads which are designed purely to mock sectors of the population. YOu may not be able to understand how people can have faith that leads them to these conclusions, but you must be able to understand how profoundly wounding and hurtful it is for people like me to read this stuff.

Tango - but they are harming people. In many parts of the US, and some parts of the UK, young earth creationists with powers over the education system want to restrict or stop the teaching of alternative views (ie the views of most of current science). To censor education in this important way is a form of harm.

BTW Before someone jumps on me, I am not against the teaching of creationism in schools if it is part of a philosophical debate, so I'm not guilty of the same censorship.

Jodie you said it much better than I did, people who poke fun or try to make others feel stupid for aspects of their faith are the ignorant ones.

Perhaps if these idiots looked into why people believe these things before they try to undermine them this world would be a much more tolerant place.