Parallels between Bible and Hindu teaching; Age of the Universe

​In the Institutes of Menu, which according to Sir William Jones are nearly as ancient as the writings of Moses, the account of the six days of creation so closely resembles that given in Genesis, that it is scarcely possible to doubt its being derived from the same patriarchal communication. There is, however, a particular definition given of the word day as applied to the creation, and it is expressly stated to be a period of several thousand years. If this interpretation be admitted, it will remove the difficulty that some have felt in reconciling the epochs of creation with the six days mentioned by Moses. The six days in which Creative Energy renovated the globe and called into existence different classes of animals, will imply six successive epochs of indefinite duration. The absence of human bones in stratified rocks or in undisturbed beds of gravel or clay, in dicates that man, the most perfect of terrestrial beings, was not created till after those great revolutions which buried many different orders and entire genera of animals deep under the present surface of the earth. That man is the latest tenant of the globe, is confirmed by the oldest records or traditions that exist of the origin of the human race…

Compared with the ephemeral existence of man on the earth, the epochs of these changes may appear of almost inconceivable duration; but we are expressly told, ‘that with the Creator a thousand years are as one day, and one day as a thousand years.’         

-Robert Bakewell, Introduction to Geology, pp. 15-16

Evidence that water once covered more of the earth, including high places

Marine shells lie far distant from the deep, and the anchor has been found on the summit of hills.

          -Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology

Flood legends of more ancient peoples

“​[There is a] tradition of a deluge among the Araucanian Indians… [There is a] legend also of the ancient Peruvians of an inundation many years before the reign of the Incas, in which only six persons were saved on a float…”

          -Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology

Noah’s Flood in Hindu Sacred Text

“[Hindu] sacred writings distinctly trace a deluge which bears a close and important similitude to that recorded by Moses… Swyambhoma, ‘The Lord of the earth,’ is warned of the intended destruction of mankind by a flood, and he is directed to provide a bark denominated ‘Arga,’ into which he enters with seven holy persons besides himself, and the seed of every living thing.”
          -John Briggs, History of the Rise of Mahomedan Power in India, p. lxiii

The Ways of Teshuvah (Repentance)

And this is one of the ways teshuvah (repentance), that at a time when trouble arrives, and the people will cry out over it, and sound the shofar (trumpet), everyone will know that due to their wicked deeds has this evil befallen them… and this will cause the trouble to be removed from them. But if they will not cry out and not sound the shofar, but will say this matter has occurred because it is the way of the world, and this trouble is coincidental, behold, this is the way of cruelty, and causes them to cling to their wicked ways, and upon this trouble shall be added other troubles.

          -Mishnah Berurah 576:1

Skepticism for Science, p. II

This new science news piece has been making the rounds:

“Ancient ‘Deep Skull’ from Borneo full of surprises” — http://www.geologypage.com/2016/06/ancient-deep-skull-from-borneo-full-of.html

What follows is most of the article, truncated a bit by me. The point I make here is only to highlight another example about how “conclusions” of “scientist” regarding the interpretations of ancient findings have once again been demonstrated to be false or at least highly questionable. As it should be. Science should always be an endeavor of continual learning, and therefore, as we learn more, older ideas will be overturned now and again. However, in that context, I wish to level criticism at those who constantly push contemporary scientific “belief” as “proof” against the Bible. As evidenced in this article, what scientists THINK the fossils are telling us is ALWAYS tentative, until new information becomes available to modify what we thought we knew. But when these two systems of knowledge conflict with one another, science does not checkmate the Bible. It’s just saying, “Maybe.” A person who wishes to hold on to their faith that the Bible remains true despite what appears to be evidence to the contrary is well within the bounds of reason in doing so.

“A new study of the 37,000-year old remains of the ‘Deep Skull’ – the oldest modern human discovered in island South-East Asia – has revealed this ancient person was not related to Indigenous Australians, as had been originally thought.

“The Deep Skull was also likely to have been an older woman, rather than a teenage boy.

…

“Our analysis overturns long-held views about the early history of this region,” says Associate Professor Curnoe, Director of the UNSW Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives Research Centre (PANGEA).

 “‘We’ve found that these very ancient remains most closely resemble some of the Indigenous people of Borneo today, with their delicately built features and small body size, rather than Indigenous people from Australia.’

…

“In 1960, Brothwell concluded the Deep Skull belonged to an adolescent male and represented a population of early modern humans closely related, or even ancestral, to Indigenous Australians, particularly Tasmanians.

“‘Brothwell’s ideas have been highly influential and stood largely untested, so we wanted to see whether they might be correct after almost six decades,’ says Curnoe.

“‘Our study challenges many of these old ideas. It shows the Deep Skull is from a middle-aged female rather than a teenage boy, and has few similarities to Indigenous Australians. Instead, it more closely resembles people today from more northerly parts of South-East Asia.'”

“The Deep Skull has also been a key fossil in the development of the so-called ‘two-layer’ hypothesis in which South-East Asia is thought to have been initially settled by people related to Indigenous Australians and New Guineans, who were then replaced by farmers from southern China a few thousand years ago.

“The new study challenges this view by showing that – in Borneo at least – the earliest people to inhabit the island were much more like Indigenous people living there today rather than Indigenous Australians, and suggests long continuity through time.

“It also suggests that at least some of the Indigenous people of Borneo were not replaced by migrating farmers, but instead adopted the new farming culture when it arrived around 3,000 years ago.

“‘Our work, coupled with recent genetic studies of people across South-East Asia, presents a serious challenge to the two-layer scenario for Borneo and islands further to the north,’ says Curnoe.

“‘We need to rethink our ideas about the region’s prehistory, which was far more complicated than we’ve appreciated until now.'”

David’s Cleanliness