re: Noah had dinosaurs on the Ark...

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I believe something is out there. It's 100% not an omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent being. That is a fact.

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What do you believe is out there? Why do you believe something is out there? Honest question, I am not trying to be an arse or turn this into a gotcha- it is a very sincere question.

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The Hebrew word day has referred to various lengths of time in certain parts of the Bible, not just always a 24 hour cycle. I mean just a little later in Gen. 2:4 Moses talked about the six creative days as being one day. Right after Gen. 1:24 mentioned by the other poster, you have Moses giving another meaning/time frame for the word day.

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I am aware that day can mean various lengths of time... what I find interesting is the framing of day in the creation account- it says evening and morning for each day of creation.

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Also, on the first creative day in Gen. 1:4, “God began calling the light Day, but the darkness he called Night.”. So you have another Gen. verse describing another time frame that isn't 24 hours as a day.

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I don't think that contradicts. Because it says, there was evening and night and that was the (1st...) day.

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God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

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Gen 1:5

It specifically gives an night/day cycle to each creative day.

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I guarantee you there's LOTS of differing beliefs going through the minds of Catholic faithful every mass.

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Of course there is. We are human, so we have different opinions. But I'm not running off and starting my own church every time I disagree with the pastor on some passage from the old testament.

Protestants are largely empowered, and encouraged, to have their own interpretations of the bible. Which could be a good thing, depending on your perspective. But it has also caused a massive splintering and the proliferation of hundreds of different denominations. Again, that could be considered a good thing. I'm not judging.

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Protestants are largely empowered, and encouraged, to have their own interpretations of the bible.

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Some are, most aren't. I think the problem lies in the modern disdain for authority. Most people have no idea what it means to be bound to a creed or confession.

Good post

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What do you believe is out there? Why do you believe something is out there?

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Things in my life that happened that just aren't coincidence. Good things. I don't believe this being looked out for me, because that's arrogant to think, but, let's say it did. Why me? I don't pray, I don't believe in Yahweh, won't set foot in a catholic church again etc.

There has to be something that set all this in motion. Could be humans/aliens from ancient civilization, idk. There's something out there but I don't think it loves me more than those teen girls that are missing.

Please don't use the "it's part of God's plan" either. That's the biggest farce of its existence.

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Things in my life that happened that just aren't coincidence.

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There has to be something that set all this in motion.

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Good answer.

and... we're anchored...

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If I believe any different than what was recorded then I am deviating from scripture and substituting my own, limited worldview and understanding. I just don't roll that way.

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You're not condemning yourself. You'd be using your brain. The Bible says a lot of stuff, but what does it teach? That's your job as an interpreter, and like any good interpreter I recommend relying on those who came before you and are smarter than you.

Are you part of a confession of faith? That's probably the best place to start, right after the Apostles Creed.

Your anger and sense of injustice about the young girls is enough to tell me that you want wrongs to be made right.
I challenge you to find one system of belief that offers a better path forward than the one found in Jesus of Nazareth, the God who intimately knows our suffering.

I'm with you man. It sucks. Part of God's plan? I wouldn't even say it, and quite frankly don't believe it. But I do believe, as the Bible says, that Christ will make all things new. What better hope is there? I don't have a reason not to believe in that future.

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Same, but I've privately departed from it in my mind. What a terribly rigid document.

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Yeah, there are parts I have a beef with, too. I think it's nigh unto impossible for men to condense the bigness of God into creeds, confessions, catechisms and whatnot... although they are wonderful jumping off points for thought and discussion.

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I am aware that day can mean various lengths of time... what I find interesting is the framing of day in the creation account- it says evening and morning for each day of creation.

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Yea, fwiw, I'm not trying to argue, I find it interesting too.

I guess another way to see it is that a day carried into another day making it longer than a 24 hour period.

For example, before the first creative “day” started, light from the already existing sun was somehow prevented from reaching the earth’s surface, possibly by thick clouds. (Job 38:9) During the first “day,” this barrier began to clear, allowing diffused light to penetrate the atmosphere. In the description of what happened on the first “day,” the Hebrew word used for light is ’ohr, light in a general sense, but concerning the fourth “day,” the word used is ma·’ohr', which refers to the source of light.

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On the second “day,” the atmosphere evidently continued to clear, creating a space between the thick clouds above and the ocean below. On the fourth “day,” the atmosphere gradually cleared to such an extent that the sun and the moon were made to appear “in the expanse of the heavens.” (Genesis 1:14-16) In other words, from the perspective of a person on earth, the sun and moon began to be discernible. These events happened gradually.

The Genesis account also relates that as the atmosphere continued to clear, flying creatures?—including insects and membrane-winged creatures—?started to appear on the fifth “day.”

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Took that from a reference material because it says it better than I can I just think when you take the account as a whole, you see that some of the days are n't just one day, like our and Moses' prospective. That they actually are extended periods of time, or some of the major acts happened gradually. At least of of the creative days.