YEC vs OEC - Does it matter?

[acid1103]

So, obviously, a fairly hot topic and current debate in Christianity is YEC vs OEC. Here's my question: does it matter?

God is the creator of everything. We all agree on that. God is omnipotent, and we all agree on that as well. Who's to say, then, that God could not have formed this entire universe in a literal week? Who's to say God couldn't have planned out this monstrosity of a plan that would, eventually, create this universe (that is, the big bang)? God is omnipotent, so He can do any and every thing.

I understand the usefulness of OEC. It may show nonbelievers that we're not, as far as they're concerned, crazy.
I understand the practicality of YEC. It's more inline with the Bible.
I understand the applicability of OEC. It helps describe our observations of this world around us in a way YEC struggles to do.
I understand the reassurance in YEC. If we believe the Bible as we are best able to understand it, we don't have to worry about the potential of our own, personal misinterpretation of the Bible.

However...

If we love God and accept Christ's sacrifice, we are guaranteed heaven. (See Ephesians 2) As I'm sure we all know, God isn't going to deny one of these two groups, while accepting the other. No, so long as you love God and accept Christ's sacrifice, you will have the the unimaginable joy of hearing those words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

So, my question is, does the whole YEC vs OEC debate matter? If so, in what ways does it matter, and why are those reasons important?

[Silvertusk]

Good post, you are right, it does not matter. Totally agree with you.

[Danieltwotwenty]

It matters little and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is preaching a Christ and... Gospel which I believe is false. The thing to remember is that no matter how educated you are in the language of the writers, any conclusions about the meaning or intent of the original authors are just educated guesses at best. I think it is best to say we don't know based on the available data.

edit* Changed nothing to little, as I hadn't worded it as I meant it as Jac's post highlighted that.

[Ivellious]

I would say that, from a Christian perspective, I don't see it as a major issue in terms of faith or being saved or anything like that. From the perspective of society at large, there is some reason why this "debate" has relevance, especially when many are actively pushing for YEC Christian ideology to be taught in public school science classrooms as an "alternative" to mainstream science, which it absolutely should not ever be taught as. But again, that isn't a spiritual or religious issue, that is a public policy and science education issue.

[neo-x]

It doesn't matter really.

[Jac3510]

Does it matter to what? To whether or not a person is going to heaven? Of course not. No one thinks it does (not even Ken Ham). But I would ask, then, what in the Bible "matters" if that's our standard? 99% of Scripture doesn't "matter." John 3:16 and related verses would be pretty much it.

Does it "matter" whether or not God created the universe at all?
Does it "matter" whether or not Adam was a real person?
Does it "matter" what Jesus meant when He talked about the Son of Man "coming back on the clouds"?
Does it "matter" whether or not we have to keep the Sabbath anymore?
Does it "matter" whether or not God predestined some to heaven and some to hell?

I could go on and on. Read any topic on this forum--this Christian Theology board--and the VAST majority don't relate directly to whether or not a person believes in Christ. So if you are saying that none of that matters . . . well then I would just suggest you have implicitly answered a final question:

Does it theology "matter"?

tl;dr - just because something doesn't directly impact whether or not a person believes in Christ, it does not follow that it doesn't "matter," because things can matter to a lot of things other than personal salvation.

[PaulSacramento]

It matters on the way a believer understands, interprets and uses the bible.

[Philip]

I understand the practicality of YEC. It's more inline with the Bible.

TOTALLY false, not to mention to assert this one has to have certain assumptions about the original meaning of the relevant texts.

I understand the reassurance in YEC. If we believe the Bible as we are best able to understand it, we don't have to worry about the potential of our own, personal misinterpretation of the Bible.

But that means having not only faith, but also an unshakeable confidence that one's personal interpretation is entirely correct.

And even IF one has the perfect understanding of Scripture's alignment with OEC or YEC, you can bet they are likely incorrect in their understanding of a dozen other theological issues. And so why is it that some use the OEC or YEC issue as some kind of spiritual litmus test for a more "authentic" Christian but not other debated Scriptural issues

[Danieltwotwenty]

tl;dr - just because something doesn't directly impact whether or not a person believes in Christ, it does not follow that it doesn't "matter," because things can matter to a lot of things other than personal salvation.

I actually kind of agree with Jac here except I would add that there is a sliding scale of importance, Christ being at the top and working your way down through all the way to the bottom of the barrel which would be creation perspective. While it does matter in some small insignificant way, it is not really important enough to actually waste time worrying about.

[acid1103]

Woah, guys.. I think you might have misunderstood..
I'm not trying to imply that it doesn't matter at all. I fairly clearly stated that it doesn't matter, as far as salvation goes.
Also, I'm absolutely not trying to step on anyone's toes. I'm simple trying to open the floor for discussion.
When I gave my examples of how they can be useful, I know I didn't give perfect examples, and I'm not trying to debate which is ultimately better for a Christian.
We all have different personalities and characteristics, so different beliefs are better suited for different people.
I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything, I'm just wanting to have a thorough discussion on this topic.

[RickD]

Woah, guys.. I think you might have misunderstood..
I'm not trying to imply that it doesn't matter at all. I fairly clearly stated that it doesn't matter, as far as salvation goes.
Also, I'm absolutely not trying to step on anyone's toes. I'm simple trying to open the floor for discussion.
When I gave my examples of how they can be useful, I know I didn't give perfect examples, and I'm not trying to debate which is ultimately better for a Christian.
We all have different personalities and characteristics, so different beliefs are better suited for different people.
I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything, I'm just wanting to have a thorough discussion on this topic.

Acid,

Because you're new here, you're not aware of some of the "hot button" issues. Now you know, OEC/YEC is one of those issues.

I'm only telling you this so you can be aware that it can be a very emotional topic. But, if it's important to you, we can discuss it. Back when I joined the forum, it was one of the main issues I liked to talk about.

[Danieltwotwenty]

Woah, guys.. I think you might have misunderstood..
I'm not trying to imply that it doesn't matter at all. I fairly clearly stated that it doesn't matter, as far as salvation goes.
Also, I'm absolutely not trying to step on anyone's toes. I'm simple trying to open the floor for discussion.
When I gave my examples of how they can be useful, I know I didn't give perfect examples, and I'm not trying to debate which is ultimately better for a Christian.
We all have different personalities and characteristics, so different beliefs are better suited for different people.
I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything, I'm just wanting to have a thorough discussion on this topic.

No toes stepped on here buddy, sorry if you felt my first post sounded heated as I assure you I didn't mean it to feel that way.

You gotta ask yourself however is what is more important, God being the creator or how he did it, Why God created or how many days did it take etc....etc....

The how is right on the bottom of what's important, it barely even registers with me anymore and anyone who preaches that it is of vital importance in my opinion is preaching a false gospel.

So what would you like to discuss about creation other than you initial question?

[acid1103]

Rick, thanks for letting me know. I'll try to be more aware of that in the future.
Daniel, I didn't really have anything specific in mind. I just figured that I'd see where this went, but I see now that that might be a bad idea. I mean, I don't particularly want to offend anyone, and, since this topic isn't really too important, I don't mind just dropping it. Unless anyone else wants to continue it.

Also, no one has offended me personally. No need to worry about that.

[Danieltwotwenty]

Rick, thanks for letting me know. I'll try to be more aware of that in the future.
Daniel, I didn't really have anything specific in mind. I just figured that I'd see where this went, but I see now that that might be a bad idea. I mean, I don't particularly want to offend anyone, and, since this topic isn't really too important, I don't mind just dropping it. Unless anyone else wants to continue it.

Also, no one has offended me personally. No need to worry about that.

Sweet as bro.