I was talking with some people on a forum that I have been involved in about Genesis and possible interpretations for it. Particularly, referring to the story of creation and how long it took to create heaven and earth. There are several different views on how to interpret this story and problems with each one. Some people take the story literally, while others do not.
There are several problems with taking the story of creation literally. One is that the earth does not appear to be as young as the story of creation would lead us to believe. Most scholars who study the Bible would say that if it is to be taken literally the earth is approximately 5,000 years old. Then if that is true then what do we make of the appearance that the earth is millions of years old? Some scholars have tried to reconcile this with science by coming up with theories. One of the theories is the young earth theory.
The young earth theory suggests that God created the world with age already built into it. In other words, when he created Adam and Even, when you look at them they would look very much like adults. This makes sense because you wouldn't think Adam would have been created as a helpless baby. So, Adam would have looked much older than he was on his first day of existence. Some would say that God did the same thing with the earth and that there were fossils and things in the ground on the first day of creation.
There are some other problems with the literal interpretation of creation such as if Adam and Eve were the first parents then who did their sons marry? They apparently had children and yet no women are mentioned with the mentioning of Cain and Abel. If Adam and Eve did have girls afterwards does that mean that Cain and Abel married they're sisters? Sounds a little strange to me.
One other theory is that of the "gap theory". In other words, some scholars place a gap of millions and possible billions of years between Genesis 1:2 and 1:3. The first two verses are said to be the first creation and then God destroyed that one and so it returned to a state of being void or formless. Then, God started all over again much like you would pottery on a pottery wheel. Smash it up and start all over again from scratch. Some would say that the dinosaurs existed on that first earth before it became formless.
If your shaking your head at this theory your in the same boat with me. Although not everyone who believes in a gap theory would go to this extent. Some would simply say that the earth existed and it was covered in water. The statement in verse 2 would support that water covered the earth. "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkenss was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." The only problem with believing in another first creation with dinosaurs is that you would never get that from reading the passage alone. It doesn't support that and scripture alone cannot be interpreted that way.
One of the other things that have puzzled me about Genesis is who is telling this story and from what perspective? In other words, is this a verbal story passed down from Adam and Eve themselves? Did God tell Adam how he created the earth and then Adam passed it down? How would God have explained the story to Adam, creating something from nothing, in a way that he would understand. In fact, how do I understand that God existed and always existed and made all things from nothing and yet never had a beginning. You would think that God would have to simplify what happened at least for Adam's benefit. Not that God lied, as much as simplified.
One other question about Genesis is do we take the story as a literal 6 24 hour days? You may notice on the first day of the story God creates light. This is despite the fact that the sun was not created for several days later. You would wonder how we would measure time at this point. Also, there is the issue of how long did the earth remain void and formless as it is when the story starts. If it is formless and void does that mean that something did exist at that point? Could that also account for the earth looking older than it is. Don't even get me started on the dinosaurs. . . .
A few links to references to Genesis
http://www.christiananswers.net/creation/menu-bible.html
http://www.religioustolerance.org/com_geev.htm
