Fighting over creation
The creation period described in the Book of Genesis is of great interest to many Christians. As a result, much discussion has been had within Christianity itself as to the nature of the creation account and the length of time over which creation could have occurred. Many Christians in America hold to a creation period wherein the universe was formed over the course of six 24-hours periods; other Christians believe the period of creation to be much longer, perhaps even millions of years. One of the central questions related to this issue concerns the use of the Hebrew word “yom” in the opening lines of Genesis. Translations of this word into English use the word “day” in place of “yom,” so that the biblical passages indicate acts of creation on six consecutive days (as in, exact 24-hours periods). This plain reading of the word is simple and concise, likely one of the reasons a large amount (likely the majority) of Christians today hold to a 24-hour interpretation; a 24-hour period wo