Six Days or One Instant?

I have a children’s book in mind about the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and the age of the earth. I have studied scientific explanations of these concepts, and believe that God did not give us measurable phenomena in order to, as Daddy quoted from II Thessalonians, make us “believe a lie.”

I believe:

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
            the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
        Day after day they pour forth speech;
            night after night they reveal knowledge.
        They have no speech, they use no words;
            no sound is heard from them.
        Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
            their words to the ends of the world.”

 

The intent of my book is to gently move children (and adults) away from the misconception that the description of creation in Genesis is in any way intended to be scientific. I equate the creation story with the poetry of Job or Psalms. It speaks truth in ways that move our hearts and resonate in our souls, but it is not scientifically accurate. Every word is supernaturally true, but written to a people who had no physics, biology, geology, or astronomy.

My concern is that many children are told by the world, by their parents, and by religious leaders that they must either believe the Bible or science, that they cannot believe both. I have seen home school curriculums in which the so-called science is more Bible lesson. Homeschool curriculum writers cater to parents who believe teaching their children that the earth was created in 6 literal days will somehow save them from hell.

Arguing about how long it took God to create the world is irrelevant—the pure fact of the matter is that God created every atom of matter, every law of science, every moment of time, every joule of energy, and every bit of information now in existence in an instant so short that it cannot be measured. (Some people leave out the God part, but some people are fools.)

I have contacted a Christian a friend of mine who is a poet, a physicist, and a Christian. He and my husband/theologian have promised to help. Now, where to begin??