Dear Mr. Froese,
I am 15 years old, and
I have a lot of questions. In Genesis 1, I read that God created everything in 6 days, from the infinite number of stars and galaxies down to the smallest particles that make up the atom, plus every living thing that exists on this planet today, and also those that have become extinct. Question: On the 1st day, there is light and darkness, day and night, and on the 3rd day, there are seeds and herbs and fruit trees growing; not until the 4th day is the sun created. Logically, to have night and day and to have plants growing, there needs to be sunlight. Why would God create in an illogical and confusing pattern? Sun, light and darkness and growing plants seems a lot more believable.
Now off to Genesis 6:4; there are giants on the earth that seem to have come about by the sexual union between the sons of God (angels, I assume) and the daughters of men. Question: How is that genetically possible, and it also says that these giants came after that time. Did the angels have sexual relations with women after the flood, and could Goliath have been one of the giants?
In Genesis 6:7, God says He is going to destroy every living thing He had created because, “it repenteth Him that he had made them.” In Genesis 7, God begins to talk to Noah, and in Genesis 7:4, God says he is going to make it rain for 40 days and nights and destroy every living thing that He had created. God commands Noah to put two of every living thing on the ark, because by Genesis 7:23, every living (substance) was destroyed that was on the face of the earth. So therefore, two of every living thing that exists on the planet today, and those things that have become extinct were on the ark. Question: Why do you think God had Noah put two bed bugs, two head lice, and two of many other things that cause disease and sometimes death—in fact, why did God create them in the first place? God saw that everything He had created was good, very good in fact (Genesis 1:31).
In Genesis 7:20, the waters prevailed upward until the mountains were covered. Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on earth, is about 5.5 miles high. So, let’s just say the water covering the earth was 6 miles deep.
In Genesis 8:3, the waters returned from off the earth, and after 150 days, the waters were abated. But in Genesis 8:4, the ark didn’t rest on the mountains of Ararat until the 7th month. How is that possible, when the waters returned from off the earth and were abated, after the 5th month? And then to make things more confusing and illogical, Genesis 8:5 says the waters
decreased, and not until
the 10th month did the tops
of the mountains start to become visible. To make things more believable, shouldn’t the mountain tops start to become visible in the 5th month after the flood, then the ark resting on the mountains of Ararat, and by the 10th month, the waters abating off the earth. It’s logical to me; why did God confuse us this way, or is it mistakes made by the interpreters of the Word? If so, is the Bible believable and true? I’m confused, and I’m only in the 8th chapter of Genesis. Well, I’m off to the Garden of Eden—hey, wait a second,
I just came from there! See how confused I am. I just thought of another question: why do you think the dinosaurs became extinct after the flood? Asteroids, volcanos, man or God? It couldn’t have been God, because everything He created He saw that it was very good—even bed bugs and head lice.
I would appreciate it very much if you were to answer these questions for me by letter, because I don’t always have access to your magazine. Well, let’s find out how Noah and his family are doing. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more questions.
Another question: Where did all that 6 mile deep water abate to?
-T. Quist, MN
Arno's Commentary
Answer: Being 15 years of age, you certainly are very intelligent, well educated, and a gifted writer. That’s the reason why I will not answer your questions, because they will generate many more, as you already indicated.
The Bible is a book of faith. Many things are not logical. That, however, does not change the truth; for example, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” The only way to avoid this judgment is through faith in Jesus Christ and His accomplished work on Calvary’s Cross, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
A great man of God once gave me this advice, “There are people who have questions regarding faith, salvation, and eternal life; take time. Other people have questions for the sake of questions; don’t waste your time.”
Surely, you have access to the internet, where you may find virtually unending information about these subjects, but the end is still faith.