Stars in your skies!
In this episode, the SAB raise two objections concerning the creation of the stars - one under the science and history category, and the other under the contradictions category.

The first objection is reproduced below:

Gen.1:16
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
God makes two lights: "The greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night." But the moon is not a light; it only reflects light from the sun. And why, if God made the moon to "rule the night", does it spend half of its time moving through the daytime sky?
"He made the stars also." God spends a day making light (before making the sun and stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a hard day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions of stars.

The SAB says "...But the moon is not a light; it only reflects light from the sun...".

The Hebrew term used for light in Genesis 1:16 is maw-ore, which more literally translates as luminary. The Oxford English Dictionary definition for luminary is
"A natural light-giving body, esp. a celestial body; pre-eminently applied to the sun or the moon. the luminaries often = the sun and moon."
The moon is indeed a light giving body. The mechanism by which the light is given from the moon (reflection from the sun) doesn't change this fact. The SAB are, not untypically imposing a biased interpretation on to the passage that is unwarranted.

The SAB says "...why, if God made the moon to "rule the night", does it spend half of its time moving through the daytime sky?...".

Why not? It would only be a problem if that adversely affected its night-ruling duties. SAB must have fallen asleep at his day job after moonlighting. Of course he wouldn't call it "moonlighting" with his pedantry elsewhere about the moon not shining by its own light.

The SAB says "...God spends a day making light (before making the sun and stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a hard day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions of stars."

Exactly, demonstrating God's immense power, so that making trillions of gigantic balls of gas is just a doddle. But scholars of the literature see this as an afterthought, though in part against pagan claims of the importance of the stars in astrology.

The second objection is reproduced below:

When were the stars made?

On the fourth day of creation, after the earth was made.	Before the earth was made.
Gen.1:16-19 He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven.... And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.	Job 38:4-7 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together.

This is another apparent 'order of creation' objection from the SAB.

But Job 38:7 speaks of some kind of celebration occurring in response to the spectacle of God's amazing creative activity at the beginning of time, which can be seen clearly if the whole of verse 7 is considered: "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:7).

It would take some very imaginative exegesis of the passage to equate the morning stars singing together with God's creation of the stars at the beginning of time. But this is clearly what the SAB are suggesting that this passage is talking about. And why call the physical stars morning stars instead of just stars? This verse clearly uses figurative language, and most biblical scholars are in agreement that the morning stars and sons of God referred to in this verse are angels (the context of the verse also favours this interpretation). So the verse actually speaks of the celebration and praise to God made by the angels in response to God's creative activities, and has nothing to do with the creation of the stars on the fourth day of the creation week.

Again, the SAB's ignorance has been exposed, and the word of God stands unmoved and defiant in the face of this and other foolish attacks.

Join me next time where we explain to the SAB "From what were the fowls created?".

Bye for now.