I have an image in my mind of the abundance of life on the Serengeti, though apparently many of those populations are now in decline. In North America herds of buffalo stretched across the plains as far as the eye could see, and passenger pigeons existed in the billions. here is evidence the Valley of the Nile and the Fertile Crescent also once were home to that same abundance...
Abudance persists since creation. This planet continues to have the resources to support a human population of approximately 7 billion plus many domesticated and wild animals. It's remarkable and something for which the faith-full can give thanks.
Cycel said:
...In the last eighty years the bird population of North America has gone into a severe decline. What is present now is only a shadow of what once existed. You don't know what's disappeared because you never saw what once was there. It's not just about numbers of birds, it is more about the numerous species that have simply disappeared. Fisheries are also in severe decline in many areas. The loss of lobster habitat is also becoming widespread. Check out dead zones.
Dead zone (ecology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are tales of the density of fish being so great off the Grand Banks that fishing vessels were slowed by the friction. When I was a kid in the 1950s we were shown films in school by the National Film Board of Canada of the abundant cod fisheries. Now the cod stocks are depleted.
Surely, depletion of resources and damage to wildlife and the environment have been realities. I sympathize with cause like recycling, trail management and wilderness protection. I favor sensible development and managed care of renewable natural resources but not waste.
I think that Almighty God also cares about needless destruction of the earth. When God's righteous judgment is no longer held back but begins to be displayed, then the Book says that God will "destroy those who destroyed the earth" (Revelation 11:18).
For a remarkable example of the abundant, large cod fish that once existed around the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, I saw that you (Cycel) recall films from school. I recall the classic 1937 film, Captains Courageous, with Spencer Tracey, Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore among the cast. There are memorable images of abundant fish in that film. Although I am not Canadian and have only made a few visits, I can imagine understandable Canadian nationalistic pride being associated with such wonderful fisheries.
Cycel said:
Nl, anyone in biblical antiquity, who was literate, could have written the words found in the Genesis creation account. There really is nothing there that requires inspiration by God. As I’ve said to others, the account – when examined closely – reveals an ancient cosmology that looks very much like the one described by the Babylonians. It looks nothing like the universe we all accept today. Below is a diagram of the world as described in Genesis 1.
Cycel, that's quite the graphic chart that you found and posted.
That's a rather firm looking firmament (with windows). It resembles a sky dome. I would hold that the Bible doesn't teach a sky dome.
If you could prove that the Bible really teaches a sky dome like what this chart conveys, then you would have proof against the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy.
Many people would celebrate if you could prove the Bible to be false and that there was no God who would ever bring them into judgment for their deeds. Of course, that means that justice would never prevail in many situations. Lord, have mercy.
The word firmament meant heaven. The Bible elsewhere uses phrases like "heaven" and "heaven of heavens" so multiple zones are implied. The English word "firmament" was derived from an alliterated Hebrew word "raqi" that meant a stretched out expanse.
Genesis 1 does teach waters above so we do have teaching about a formerly different structure to atmosphere and the water of the earth. The mechanism for waters above may have been a gaseous pressure barrier holding back gravitational forces but I don't know how it was done. Genesis 2:5-6 would teach that there was no rain and that the earth was well-watered by a mist such that there might have been no deserts. We do know from the geologic record of fossil fuels that wide areas of the earth once had prolific, tropical-like production of vast amounts of organic matter that became coal, petroleum and natural gas. That was a different earth then.
Genesis 1:1 tells us (like science) that the visible universe had a beginning. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man in his own image. That would be something to explore. Genesis 1 has much to teach. Sky dome cosmology might be explored further to confirm that it wasn't being taught but I wouldn't ignore the other content in Genesis 1.
