CREATIVE DAYS - How Long?

by Bloody Hotdogs! 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Bloody Hotdogs!

  Has the new June 2015 Watchtower finally done away with 7000 year creative days? The box “ The Bible and Proven Scientific Facts.” says:

  Genesis chapter 1 uses the term “day” to set out the stages in the preparation of the earth for life in all its diverse forms. The culminating event in this simple description was the appearance of humans. The Bible fixes no duration for the six creative “days.” Instead, it opens the door for modern scientists to study them and assign accurate time spans to them. We know that the creative “days” were much longer than 24-hour days.
  

  The WT still avoids saying "billions" or "millions" of years in connection with the creative "days". It seems that everything in this box is consistent with the JW teaching that each "day" was only "thousands" of years long, as repeatedly stated in previous WTs.

  I've never read a science paper that assigns "accurate time spans to [the creative days]". Didn't science dispense with the Genesis account a century ago because NOTHING in it aligns with the evidence?

  Do you think the WT's use of "accurate time spans" is similar to its use of "true science" (i.e.: whatever agrees with us is true)?

  Day seven is not mentioned... perhaps it is still of known length (7000 years)?
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  cofty

  It does look like they are trying to disown their 7000 year foolishness.

  It doesn't help them though. The whole sequence in Genesis is nonsense.
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  Phizzy

  I thought they dropped the seven thousand year creative days nonsense shortly after 1975 ?

  I seem to remember them saying a long time ago that they were certainly Thousands of years long, but that the Bible does not say how long ?????

  Perhaps Blondie could confirm, if she has time ?
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  Magnum

  Yeah, Phizzy, they dropped it at least by the 80's. The last reference I remember to the 7000-yr-long creative days was the old "Make Sure" book.

  *** it-1 p. 545 Creation ***

  Length of Creative Days. The Bible does not specify the length of each of the creative periods

  
  
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  tenyearsafter

  If true, they will join the ranks of the "old earth" believers...a big departure from their prior "young earth" stance. This takes them a step closer to traditional Christianity, who seems to be split on the old versus new belief.
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  cofty

  I think they have always been old earth creationists in so far as they don't put an age on the earth.

  They did used to limit animal life to 10s of thousands of years though. They are a bit of a hybrid.
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  Bloody Hotdogs!

  The last explicit mention of 7000 years was 1987, however it can be implied from the 1998 Creator book. Since then, the WT has very carefully stated that each "day" was "thousands" of years long (I think an argument can be made to suggest that this still means something like 7000 to 10,000 years).

  My point would be that, on careful reading, the new WT does nothing to contradict the ridiculous notion of "thousands" of years.

  I've compiled the relevant WT quotations here: http://www.jwbeliefs.com/jehovahs-witnesses-believe-creative-days/
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  DATA-DOG

  It's like this:

  Length of creative "days" according to Jwism....

  Day 1) 1 to ????? years long.

  Day 2) 1 to ?????? years long.

  Day 3) 1 to ??? years long.

  Day 4) 1 to ??????? years long.

  Day 5) 1 to ????? years long.

  Day 6) 1 to ???? years long.

  Day 7) [ The "last day"??] 1 to ????? years long.

  There you go. That's why so called "scientists" are getting varied measurements as far as the age of the Earth. The days were of unknown periods of time. ( contrary to the Bible)

  The WTBTS can pretend to agree with science and not look like tin-foil hat wearing, aluminum fearing, microwave avoiding Watchtards to the average JW reader, who is woefully ignorant of the actuall scientific articles.

  They get their WT edjumication/degree and think the GB WATCHTARDS are ahead of the game, all because of Jeehoober's spirit!

  This "unknown" length of time also provides tremendous wiggle room for the length of Jeehoober's resting day. It's only been around 7,000 years since man was created! Where is the Big A??? Why is everyone dying??

  When the current GB near the end of their WTBTS employment, the next group of "FDS" gurus can explain why the End seems to be delayed! We simply cannot know the exact length of the "days" in the Bible! Rest assured, it's soon!!!

  DD
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  James Mixon

  You folks that are still attending what are they teaching these days, ask

  one on the elders.
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  Slidin Fast

  The elephant in the room for the WT pundits is this. The 'creation' of Adam according to bible chronology is fixed at just over 4000BC. No matter how you get wooly about the length of creative days, scientific evidence about the presence of human or hominoid species of extreme antiquity blows the WT teaching of the creation account as literal completely out of the water.

  The whole doctrinal basis of WT is founded on the literal interpretation of Genesis. The volume of evidence is so immense as to the error of this position that only the naive could possibly give it credence. Why else would WT be so against anything but a restricted basic education?