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Some factual house-cleaning is required as a follow up to my introduction to this Heredity in Humans study.
The Bible does not say when God began to create the universe or how long this took. It simply states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Also. the Bible does not specify when “the beginning” occurred. However, the sequence of events recorded in Genesis places it before the six periods, or “days,” of creation.
Were the six days of creation literal days of 24 hours? Good first question! And the answer is...
No. In the Bible, the word “day” can refer to various lengths of time, depending on the context. For example, one portion of the account describes the entire creative period as one day.—Genesis 2:4.
What happened during the six days of creation?
God transformed the “formless and desolate” earth into a habitable planet. (Genesis 1:2) Then he created life on earth. The Bible describes six groups of events that happened during the days, or epochs, of creation:
Day 1: God made light reach earth’s surface, resulting in night-and-day cycles.—Genesis 1:3-5.
Day 2: God formed an expanse, or a division between water on earth’s surface and water high above its surface.—Genesis 1:6-8.
Day 3: God made dry land appear. He also created the vegetation.—Genesis 1:9-13.
Day 4: God made the sun, moon, and stars visible as distinct luminaries from the earth’s surface.—Genesis 1:14-19.
Day 5: God created aquatic life and flying creatures.—Genesis 1:20-23.
Day 6: God created land animals and humans.—Genesis 1:24-31.
After the conclusion of the sixth day, God rested from this work, or stopped creating.—Genesis 2:1, 2.
Were the six days of creation literal days of 24 hours? Good first question! And the answer is...
No. In the Bible, the word “day” can refer to various lengths of time, depending on the context. For example, one portion of the account describes the entire creative period as one day.—Genesis 2:4.
What happened during the six days of creation?
God transformed the “formless and desolate” earth into a habitable planet. (Genesis 1:2) Then he created life on earth. The Bible describes six groups of events that happened during the days, or epochs, of creation:
Day 1: God made light reach earth’s surface, resulting in night-and-day cycles.—Genesis 1:3-5.
Day 2: God formed an expanse, or a division between water on earth’s surface and water high above its surface.—Genesis 1:6-8.
Day 3: God made dry land appear. He also created the vegetation.—Genesis 1:9-13.
Day 4: God made the sun, moon, and stars visible as distinct luminaries from the earth’s surface.—Genesis 1:14-19.
Day 5: God created aquatic life and flying creatures.—Genesis 1:20-23.
Day 6: God created land animals and humans.—Genesis 1:24-31.
After the conclusion of the sixth day, God rested from this work, or stopped creating.—Genesis 2:1, 2.
All of which prompts a lot of questions:
Is the Genesis account scientifically accurate?
The Bible’s account of the creation of the world does not claim to be a detailed scientific analysis. Rather, it describes creation in such a way that readers even in Bible times could easily grasp the basic sequence of events. The creation account does not contradict proved science. Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow writes: “All the details differ, but the essential element in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis is the same; the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply, at a definite moment in time.”
When were the sun, moon, and stars created?
The sun, moon, and stars already existed as part of “the heavens” created in “the beginning.” (Genesis 1:1) However, their light evidently did not reach the earth’s surface because of a dense atmosphere. (Genesis 1:2) So although diffused light became visible on the first day, the light’s source was not yet recognizable. On the fourth day, the atmosphere apparently cleared up. The Bible says that the sun, moon, and stars now began to “shine upon the earth,” evidently describing how they would have been seen from the perspective of an observer on earth.—Genesis 1:17.
How old is the earth according to the Bible?
The Bible does not comment on the age of the earth. Genesis 1:1 simply stating that the physical universe, including our earth, had a beginning. For me, this statement conflicts neither with sound scientific principles nor with scientists’ estimates of the age of the earth.
Is the Genesis account scientifically accurate?
The Bible’s account of the creation of the world does not claim to be a detailed scientific analysis. Rather, it describes creation in such a way that readers even in Bible times could easily grasp the basic sequence of events. The creation account does not contradict proved science. Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow writes: “All the details differ, but the essential element in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis is the same; the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply, at a definite moment in time.”
When were the sun, moon, and stars created?
The sun, moon, and stars already existed as part of “the heavens” created in “the beginning.” (Genesis 1:1) However, their light evidently did not reach the earth’s surface because of a dense atmosphere. (Genesis 1:2) So although diffused light became visible on the first day, the light’s source was not yet recognizable. On the fourth day, the atmosphere apparently cleared up. The Bible says that the sun, moon, and stars now began to “shine upon the earth,” evidently describing how they would have been seen from the perspective of an observer on earth.—Genesis 1:17.
How old is the earth according to the Bible?
The Bible does not comment on the age of the earth. Genesis 1:1 simply stating that the physical universe, including our earth, had a beginning. For me, this statement conflicts neither with sound scientific principles nor with scientists’ estimates of the age of the earth.
REASONS FOR RACE DIFFERENCES
Dark-skinned people in India, the Arab countries and North Africa are best protected against the hot (ultraviolet) rays of the sun because of the heavier underlying deposit of meaning pigment particles in their skins. Whites, on the other hand, have an advantage in cooler climates because their more lightly pigmented skins permit a maximum of the beneficial vitamin D irradiation from the sun.
Some differences too have been brought to light only recently. The Mongolian skin fold at the eye corner, some authorities believe, may help in protecting the eyes from the glare of the sun (or, with Eskimos, from ice and snow glare) by narrowing the slits through which the eyes are exposed.
Just as individuals differ in their blood types, there are blood type differences among racial and ethnic groups, of particular interest to anthropologists because of the clues they offer in tracing the origins and relationships of racial and ethnic groups and may also be useful legally in disputed paternity cases.
Looking at inherited physical traits as a whole, the racial or ethnic differences among human beings are extremely small, and what is most remarkable is that despite many centuries, or even thousands of years of living largely apart under disparate conditions in varied environments, human beings the world over are so much the same in all major physical respects.
We'll zero in on "sameness" of the races in subsequent posts, because that is the motivation for this very superficial study, presented in bite-sized pieces for ease of literary consumption in a fast-paced day and age.
*In my next post I will take a look at "racial qualities" and "the changing human species."
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