I need help with teaching

[My2girls]

In the SoW it says that nomads roamed 7000BC. But Adam and Eve are calculated to be 4004 BC How do I make this comprehensible even for me?

[bolt.]

Sounds like you would benefit from more research into Biblical interpretation, as well as archeology and it's value for the study of history.

 

You are quite right that a person can not hold the opinion that archeology (as it currently stands) is accurate /at the same time as/ approaching the Bible through a fundamentalist hermeneutic. You will probably have to pick one or the other.

 

You can ignore or dispute archeology, and stick with a fundamentalist hermeneutic /or/ you can approach the Bible with greater respect for its genre, and not worry about "calculating" dates for Adam and Eve from religious writings.

 

It's going to have to be sorted out way or the other -- but I suggest not teaching in the topic until you have settled your mind on the issue.

[Ellie]

No one knows for sure, because none of us were there. Just teach it that way, with an approximate time, and move on. :-)

[mommymilkies]

Didn't Cain marry when he left the garden?  So one could theorize about nomads outside of that.  Of course, I'm not a YEC and you'll find not everyone on here is!  So I guess it depends on your belief system as to what you'd teach about that.  I think it's funny that it's calculated down to a year and not even a time frame.  How exact.

[Carol in Cal.]

There are other ways of being a YEC and taking the Bible chronologies seriously and still arguing for a date before 4004BC.

There are some signs within the Bible itself that generations are sometimes skipped in geneologies.  Just compare the ones in Matthew and Luke, for instance.  Father can mean forefather, not immediate lineal father, at times.  

So I would teach about the nomads, and put Adam and Eve before them, but put Abraham after them.  The dating back that early is not exact, and we have to accept that.

[Tanaqui]

No one knows for sure, because none of us were there. Just teach it that way, with an approximate time, and move on. :-)

 

 

That's a level of proof that isn't required for anything else in life. If I go into the fridge and see bite marks on my cheese, I know a child has been in there. I can even use the evidence to determine *which* child was nibbling on the cheese. I don't throw up my hands and go "well, nobody knows for sure what happened, because I wasn't there and nobody else admits to being there either!"

[Lang Syne Boardie]

There are other ways of being a YEC and taking the Bible chronologies seriously and still arguing for a date before 4004BC.

There are some signs within the Bible itself that generations are sometimes skipped in geneologies.  Just compare the ones in Matthew and Luke, for instance.  Father can mean forefather, not immediate lineal father, at times.  

So I would teach about the nomads, and put Adam and Eve before them, but put Abraham after them.  The dating back that early is not exact, and we have to accept that.

 

:iagree:

 

It sounds as if you don't personally have solid reasons for believing in either date, so why teach them? Especially to very young children; this really just doesn't matter yet. As Carol says, place Adam and Eve before nomads and Abraham after, and then you are in line with biblical chronology without conflicting with secular history on Abraham's dates.

 

Sometime between now and the logic stage, get yourself set on your beliefs regarding YEC and dating methods, through a combination of religious and secular study, so you'll be able to talk with your older children about why you believe as you do. But for now you can just proceed sans timeline and not be in conflict with any of your goals for teaching correct history while honoring scriptural teaching.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

That's a level of proof that isn't required for anything else in life. If I go into the fridge and see bite marks on my cheese, I know a child has been in there. I can even use the evidence to determine *which* child was nibbling on the cheese. I don't throw up my hands and go "well, nobody knows for sure what happened, because I wasn't there and nobody else admits to being there either!"

 

I'm sorry, I've read this three times and I still don't understand it. Could you phrase your point another way, please?

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

CBD or a Christian store may have a Bible Timeline you could incorporate.  

 

Years ago, when I was one of the first persons in our area to read TWTM and purchase SOTW... I too was learning about Young Earth for the first time in Bible study and by watching Sky Angel teachings.

 

I recommended the books to several people and many were in our hs support group.  

 

CC uses the books

 

MFW does not use the first SOTW book

 

It is up to you whether you skip the first part or just use a different book or books.  

 

SWB is a Christian  : we all have different views on history as we are limited in our resources.    We were not there, but we do have writings.  

 

I have been personally bashed for this book by a woman I barely know and never even told her about it... go figure.  I still defended SWB!  

 

Just don't get bogged down with this and if you are making a timeline, you already got some great advice here.

 HTH!

[Tanaqui]

I'm sorry, I've read this three times and I still don't understand it. Could you phrase your point another way, please?

 

Nowhere else in life do you need to have actually witnessed something occuring to know that it happened. You compile the evidence. I wasn't there when my parents got married, but I know it happened because I have the evidence - their marriage certificate and a few photos. I wasn't there when I was conceived, but I know that happened too, because I'm here now. Nobody today was alive during the American Revolution, but we have ample evidence for that as well.

 

And the same goes for the distant past. Nobody living was alive during the Roman Empire, but we have so much evidence that it existed that you'd never claim it didn't. And from the Romans we can go further and further back, one step at a time. We don't need to have been there to have some idea of what happened, we just need to look for the evidence and see where it leads.

[My2girls]

It was actually Mystery of History curriculum that dated Adam and Eve as 4004BC which I had purchased thinking as a Christian I could marry Biblical history with SOTW.

You are right that I am struggling. Someone mentioned skipping this part until the children were older but this is where history begins so for us that will not work. I really need to figure this out perhaps by talking to my pastor.

[My2girls]

Folks thank you for all of your wise words and because of this site I found the Genisis website and it is going to be exactly what I need. Thanks again

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

In m opinion, I go with a range.  The exact year the earth began of 4004 BC started from Archbishop Ussher in the 17th Century, coinciding with the King James Bible.  He added up all the dates in the Bible.  Those who followed the Septuagint placed it around 5500 BC.  Jews and other early Christians also placed it around 4000 BC, following the Masoretic text.  The Bible is ancient historical evidence, as well as other sources historians and archeologists find.  However, our interpretation of the evidence is somewhat inconclusive to an exact date, imo.  Scholars disagree as to which Egyptian pharoah ruled over Moses, as well.  Each uses evidence to support their theory, but I think it's important to understand that there is discrepancy that is not there with your parent's wedding photos or cheese marks in the fridge.  When the evidence is conflicting or inconclusive, I think Ellie's approach is sound.  Personally, I do not use an exact date for Adam and Eve but a range or just discuss "The beginning" and go forward."  I will delve deeper into this with my children when they are in the dialectic stage and have been researching these things even further with more material for us to discuss in a deeper manner to include old-earth theories in the discussion as well.

 

SOTW 1 is my least favorite because of some of these issues, but I think any ancient history text has to either posit a theory, present a theory as fact with no discussion, or present an open-ended understanding with no conclusion.  They all have their issues.  There are some great stories in there, but if you are seeking to present Biblical portions of history, you will need to supplement, and I recommend pre-reading and perhaps replacing or supplementing the story of Abraham from the Bible.  However, SOTW1 does do a good job at presenting ancient cultures we may not always read about in other history texts.  My son loved the stories.  

 

FWIW, the differing genealogies of Christ in Matthew and Luke are reporting two different types of genealogies...legal and physical.