Menachem Ben David

The Real Conflict in the Middle East

The Jewish rabbinic commentator Rashi lived about 1000 years ago. It is amazing that in his first comment on the Book of Genesis, Rashi defined the authentic conflict in the Middle East that exists today.

“Rashi” is the name of a medieval Jewish Biblical commentator.

The great Jewish rabbinic commentator Rashi lived about 1000 years ago.

It is amazing that in Rashi’s first comment on the Book of Genesis, Rashi clearly defined the authentic conflict in the Middle East that exists today.

The very true and very instructive principle in this comment by Rashi on Genesis 1:1 causes the woke right and woke left unending anguish:

“Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel. What is the reason, then, that it commences with the account of the Creation? Because of the thought expressed in the text (Psalms 111:6) “He declared to His people the strength of His works (i.e. He gave an account of the work of Creation), in order that He might give them the heritage of the nations.” For should the peoples of the world say to Israel, “You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan”, Israel may reply to them, “All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. When He willed He gave it to them, and when He willed He took it from them and gave it to us.”

(Rashi on Genesis 1:1)

ANTI-ZIONISM-A-DECEPTIVE-FACADE

“Anti-Zionism” is a very fake facade used to conceal one’s Jew hatred and vehement opposition to Biblical values. These Biblical values clearly indicate that God gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish nation.

The term “anti-Zionism” is a misleading straw man argument causing both Jews and Christians to fall into an intellectual trap.

The term Zionism only refers to a secular political movement that had originally developed from a Biblical world view that Jews own the Land of Israel and they must settle it.

The real issue that is the root of the Middle East conflict today is whether one’s world view is a Biblical world view or an Islamo-Marxist-White-Supremacist world view.

Woke Left and Woke Right propagandists indoctrinate many well meaning but gullible people to believe that the conflict in the Middle East is simply about “Zionism” or “Anti-Zionism”.

“Anti-Zionism” is a very fake facade used to conceal one’s vehement Jew hatred and opposition to Biblical values. Biblical values clearly indicate that God gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish nation.

No one is demanding that pro-Zionist activists, Christian or otherwise, become disloyal to America or become mouth pieces for the policies of the Israeli government.

Jewish and non-Jewish “anti-Zionists” pretend that they are “America First” and opposed to alleged policies of the Israeli government. In truth their opposition has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government.

The real conflict in the Middle East is about the Muslim jihadists and woke Left and woke right activists fighting furiously against Biblical values and against the existence of the Jewish nation.

When viewed in this light, one cannot be a Jewish “Anti-Zionist” nor can they be a Christian “Anti-Zionist”, because those viewpoints are really anti-Biblical viewpoints.

Those Jewish and non-Jewish propagandists hiding behind a facade of “anti-Zionism” should be more correctly described as “Anti-Biblical”.

MORAL DEGENERACY OF THE ANTI-SEMITIC WOKE RIGHT

The moral degenerates of the woke right and the woke left are driven to insanity by the existence of a resurrected Jewish state after thousands of years.

Around the world, physical, written, and verbal attacks on Jews have been steadily increasing since the October 7th massacre in Israel.

These attacks on Jews are a clear sign of a decadent, collapsing civilization.

What has caused the great rise of woke anti-Semitism in the last few years?

Abandonment of Biblical values and secularization causes mass confusion and mass insanity.

Some American “Christians” are reverting to invoking medieval Catholic blood libels against the Jews. I recently saw a Facebook comment by (apparently) an American Christian accusing the Jews of poisoning the wells in the Middle Ages.

Woke right and woke left hide behind fake anti-Zionism to disguise their Jew hatred and their hatred for the Jewish Bible.

The war against the right of Israel to exist is an attempt to erase the very legitimacy of the Jewish Bible. An anti-Semitic woke Christian who denies the right of the Jews to a homeland also denies any legitimacy to the Jewish Bible, he has nullified his own Christianity.

The moral degenerates of the woke right and the woke left are driven to insanity by the existence of a resurrected Jewish state after thousands of years.

The worldviews of these groups cannot explain Israel without granting some legitimacy to the Bible which they despise.

So these groups constantly reinvent history to morph Jews into “Khazars” and delegitimize Israel, while demanding replacement of Israel with a “Fakestine” nation that never existed.

The woke right and woke left will desperately invent anti-Semitic lies, such as the claims that Jews are Khazars, when we know that Khazars were a Turkic people who do not resemble most Jews.

The woke Right (such as Tucker Qatarlson) can spew out all the lies they like at the Jews, but God promised the Jews that they would always survive, He made no such promise to America.

Empires who persecute the Jews are inevitably destroyed by God while the Jews always survive.

The Bible warns the Jew haters of the retribution that God will inflict on them:

“For the day of the Lord over all the nations is close; as you have dealt to Israel shall be done to you; your recompense shall be returned upon your head.”
(Ovadiah 1:15)

Al-Qaeda calls Ramadan ‘the month of jihad,’ encourages Muslims to carry out jihad massacres

NEO-DARWINISM CANNOT EXPLAIN MAN’S DISTINCTION FROM ANIMALS

The Biblical text was not intended as a precise scientific document, but it does describe essential facts that Man needs to know, including the two phases of Man’s creation.

These phases correspond to the scientific evidence we have.

Phase I:

“And God formed the man of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living being”

(Genesis 2:7)

The term “living being” used in Genesis 2:7 is the same term used in Genesis chapter 1 to describe the animals that God created before Man.

The great rabbinic sage Sforno explains that in phase I primitive Man existed as a higher form of animal, but still an animal similar to all the other animals which are lacking the ability of speech and intellectual reasoning.

We might conclude from this that these animal like humans could have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, but they left no evidence of language, writing, civilization, or abstract thought.

Line drawings on a cave wall, with no evidence of language or abstract thought, do not really distinguish primitive Man from animals.

Phase II:

“God planted a Garden in Eden, to the East, and placed there Man whom He had formed.” (Genesis 2:8)

The rabbinic sage Sforno explains that the “Garden” is the location where Man received the “image of God” so that higher Man gained the ability for speech and intellectual reasoning that primitive Man and animals are lacking.

This second phase would have occurred less than 6000 years from the present time, IE in the year 5786 according to the Jewish calendar that counts from the creation of higher Man.

Honest scientists will admit that the oldest writing that exists is less than 6000 years old, which was the period when Man was placed in the “Garden” and received the “image of God”.

No amount of Darwinist imagination can explain Man’s ability for speech, language, writing, and intellectual reasoning. These abilities could only be granted by a supernatural Creator.

ISLAM IS IDOLATRY

“Allah” is not the God that the Jews worship. The Torah considers “Allah” as meenoot (IE intellectual idolatry).

“After Hashem, your God, shall you walk and Him shall you fear, His commandments shall you observe, and to His voice shall you hearken, Him shall you serve, and to Him shall you cleave.” (Deut. 13:5)

“But not new commandments devised by a prophet” (Commentary by rabbinic sage Sforno on Deut. 13:5)

Jews should not be hoodwinked into believing that Muslims pray to the same god that Jews pray to.

“Allah” is the false god of Islam. “Allah” is NOT Hashem, the god of the Jewish Bible whom Jews are supposed to serve.

“Allah” is not the God that the Jews worship. The Torah considers “Allah” as meenoot (IE intellectual idolatry) according to a senior Hareidi rabbi I consulted.

Belief in the Islamic deity “allah” is belief in a deity that has radically different attributes than Hashem, the God of the Bible.

Islam teaches that “allah” has attributes such as hearing, seeing, and speech, and “allah” claims that the Jews altered and distorted the Torah.

According to Muslims, “allah” rejects the Jewish Torah as having been forged by the Jews, and “allah” calls for the slaughter of Jews. How can “allah” possibly be the God of the Jews?

Many teachings of the Islamic Quran violate the Seven Noahide commandments that all non-Jews are required to accept according to the Jewish Bible. For example, Islam brutally violates the Noahide prohibition of murder and prohibition of theft, among other commandments.

In fact Islam, as an invented religion, is considered avodah zarah by many Torah authorities, even IF Muslims do not worship idols.

“Avodah zarah”, translated as FOREIGN worship, does not mean only worshiping an idol, avodah zarah includes inventing a new religion such as Islam.

Non-Jews are not allowed to invent a new religion, especially a new religion that attacks the Torah as false, which Islam certainly does.

The Rambam and many Jews might have been killed if he had spoken honestly about Islam, so he had to remain neutral.

Because Christians accept at least some of the principles of the Jewish Bible, they are actually closer to Judaism than Islam.

WALK AFTER GOD, NOT AFTER BAALESTINE

“Baalestine” worship is a barbarian death cult that serves as a “replacement theology” and pseudo-spiritual belief system for the disciples of the Red-Green Axis who have rejected any traditional Biblical religions or morality.

The Red-Green Axis

The modern “Red-Green Axis” (the Islamist-Marxist-Democrat global alliance) unites its indoctrinated disciples through their idolatrous worship of a false god I refer to with the term “Baalestine”. This term is suggestive of the false god “Baal” whose worship in ancient times brought God’s wrath upon the Jews.

The “Red-Green Axis” utilizes powerful propaganda and social movements to promote its replacement theology that is fanatically obsessed with destroying Israel and replacing it with a mythical state of “Palestine”. This mythical “Palestine” has never existed in history nor is it ever mentioned in the Islamic Quran.

The Jewish Bible that teaches that Man is “created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) is anathema to both Leftists and Islamists. The disparate groups within the Red-Green Axis are united by their depraved goals of the violent destruction of Western civilization and the destruction of Israel and the Jews. The Red-Green Axis seeks to impose a global totalitarian system where the God of the Bible and the “image of God” that resides in Man will be crushed out of existence.

Islamo-Marxist Delusions

Isaiah 5:20 describes the false narratives now being spread all over the world by the Red-Green Axis to demonize and delegitimize the Jews and Israel, while morphing genocidal Islamic terrorists into oppressed “freedom fighters”.

“Woe to those who say of the evil that it is good, and of the good that it is evil” (Isaiah 5:20)

Baalestine” worship is constructed on a mountain of false revisionist history. This fabricated history denies the existence of any ancient Jewish state in the Land of Israel, it denies that the Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel, and it replaces the Jews with a fake “Palestinian people”. Much of the core of these historical revisions derive from ancient Islamic mythology that falsely claims that all the ancient Jewish prophets were allegedly Muslims, and the Jews allegedly falsified the Torah. These nonsensical claims conveniently ignore the fact that there are no historical records of Islam existing before the 7th century C.E. There certainly are non-Jewish historical records that Judaism existed long before the 7th century C.E.

Critical or rational thinking processes are often aggressively or violently suppressed in Islamist or Leftist circles. The delusion of a non-existent country called “Palestine” is just one of many bizarre delusions promoted by Islamo-Marxists. Corrupt Western leaders, in fear of violent Muslim settlers within their countries, are now frantically working to recognize a non-existent fake state of “Palestine”. The recognition of a non-existent country of “Fakestine” on the Jewish New Year is spitting in God’s face, so to speak.

It is critical that the West, especially the Jewish nation, realize that no peace is possible with evil. Western leaders and woke activists claiming to support the creation of a “demilitarized” state of Palestine allegedly living “side by side in peace with Israel” are dishonest propagandists and charlatans. Such a terrorist state will inevitably serve as a launching pad for a genocidal jihad against Israel.

“Baalestine” Worship Brings Destruction on the World

“Baalestine” worshipers provide unconditional support for the savage Islamic terrorist gang known as Hamas. The demonically barbaric Hamas cult constantly boasts how it loves death. This barbaric cult is thus engaged in an all out war against the Jewish Bible that urges Man to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

The Hebrew word חָמַס (hamas) appears many times in ancient Jewish sources including the Bible, where it refers to the most depraved behaviors of Man. The Book of Genesis teaches us that God destroyed the world at the time of Noah because it had become filled with Hamas.

“God said to Noah, I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with HAMAS and because of them I am about to destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:13)

The brutal Hamas death cult has installed a huge network of terrorist bases within the territory of Gaza from where Hamas has repeatedly waged genocidal war against Israel. Jews have a right to self-defense, both according to Torah law and secular law.

Jewish hostages rescued from Gaza after being held hostage by doctors, lawyers, or teachers in Gaza have stated “there are no civilians in Gaza”. Jews need not suffer the slightest guilt about alleged “civilian” casualties in Gaza as Hamas terrorists are 100% responsible for these casualties, both according to Torah law and secular law. Providing any “humanitarian” aid to genocidal Gaza terrorists is not a mitzvah, it is a huge violation of Torah law.

Jews Who Identify With “Baalestine” Commit Spiritual and Physical Suicide

The West is constantly bombarded with insidious propaganda accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza. Islamo-Marxists are masters of propaganda and “taqqiya” (Islamic deception of the infidel), and experts at projection of their own crimes onto the Jews. To claim that Israeli self-defense against genocidal jihadists is genocide is a complete inversion of morality and reality.

The fierce global conflict over the Land of Israel actually is essentially a religious and spiritual conflict, and not a political conflict. In this conflict, the choice before the world is whether to submit to the values of the Jewish Bible or else to submit to the values of the false god and death cult of “Baalestine”.

Islamo-Marxist social movements and propagandists who demand that Westerners identify with and support “Baalestine” essentially function as religious “missionaries”. These “missionaries” pressure subjugated Westerners to join in a genocidal “jihad” against Israel and against the Jews. The brainwashed fools in Western streets chanting “free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea” have converted to a pagan death cult religion, whether or not they realize it.

Those Jews and non-Jews who identify with and advocate for “Palestine”have converted to the false religion of “Baalestine” worship. These persons have abandoned their own identities and religions to adopt a pagan identity and pagan religion based on “Baalestine” worship.

Jews who identify with and support “Baalestine” have sold out their ancient Jewish identity and their ancient Jewish religion to win acceptance from Islamo-Marxist Jew haters. For Jews especially, identification with and support for “Baalestine” is a form of self-inflicted spiritual, physical and ethnic suicide.

Jews and non-Jews who seek to survive this conflict should “choose life”, this means walking after the God of the Jewish Bible, and not walking after “Baalestine”.

“After Hashem, your God, shall you walk and Him shall you fear, His commandments shall you observe, and to His voice shall you hearken, Him shall you serve, and to Him shall you cleave.” (Deuteronomy 13:5)

BIBLICAL VERSE READ DURING THE WEEK OF THE IRAN WAR

On the Sabbath during the Israel-Iran war in June 2025, a relevant Biblical verse was read, highlighting themes of divine support and enmity towards those who oppose Israel. Biblical commentary suggests that hatred towards Israel equates to hatred towards God. Prophetic warnings of consequences for adversaries of Jerusalem are included.

An Apropos Biblical Verse Read On The Sabbath Of The Week The Israel Iran War

Every Sabbath Jews read a portion of the first five books of the Bible.

These Sabbath readings are based on the Jewish calendar and are scheduled years in advance.

In June 2025, on the Sabbath of the week that the Israel Iran war began, a very apropos Biblical verse was read:

“וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ׀ יְהֹוָ֗ה וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃

Rise up Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You. “

(Numbers 10:35)

“Those who hate you” –

“These are those who hate Israel, because whoever hates Israel, hates Him who spoke and the world came into existence, as it is said (Psalm 83:3,4) those that hate You have lifted up their head, and who are these? Those who against your nation they plot deviously”.

(Biblical commentary of Rashi, 1100 C.E.)

Thousands of years ago, the Jewish prophets predicted the horrific end of the jihadi jackals attacking Israel:

“As for those peoples that warred against Jerusalem, GOD will smite them with this plague: Their flesh shall rot away while they stand on their feet; their eyes shall rot away in their sockets; and their tongues shall rot away in their mouths.”
(Zechariah 14:12)

Barbarians at the Gates of Civilization

The Red-Green Axis

The barbaric attacks on Israel by Hamas Nazis on October 7, 2023, and the worldwide eruption of violent anti-Jewish attacks are campaigns in a worldwide war the so-called “Red-Green Axis” is conducting to destroy Israel and dismantle the foundations of Western civilization.

The term “Red-Green Axis” refers to an unholy alliance of Marxists, Leftists, totalitarian regimes (such as Iran, China, and Russia) and Islamic jihadists who have found common cause in waging war and terrorism to destroy Israel and also destroy Western civilization.

While Marxists/Leftist values may seem to be incompatible with Islamist values, both these groups seek to impose a global totalitarian system on the world. In that world Biblical (IE Torah) values and Israel will be eliminated from the world and replaced with totalitarian group-think, tyranny, and barbarism. In particular, the Red-Green Axis seeks to eliminate from the world Biblical principles such as ethical monotheism, Man being created in the image of God, and Man’s obligation to serve God.

The spiritual roots of Western civilization, both for Jew and Christian, originate in the Land of Israel. Values of ethical monotheism, imported from the Jewish Bible in a distorted manner, established the spiritual foundations of the West. A primary goal of the Red-Green Axis is the destruction of the West’s spiritual foundations, which requires destruction of any Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Thus, genocide of Israel and the Jews are the poisonous fuel that powers the Red-Green Axis.

Western civilization’s secular Enlightenment based philosophies have reached a dead end due to elimination of belief in a Creator and belief in Man’s obligation to serve the Creator, and the replacement of the Creator’s wisdom with Man’s flawed “reason”. The collapse of religion and values has created a vacuum being filled in by false, atheist and race based doctrines including “Palestinianism”, Marxism, Identity Politics, “progressivism”, BLM, DEI, etc.

The ethical monotheism espoused in the Jewish Bible demands that Mankind accept a worldwide value system where all people worship one God who prohibits all barbarism, cruelty, murder, robbery, idolatry, immorality etc. This means that non-Jews must be righteous, but they are not required to convert to Judaism. The God of the Jewish Bible also demands that Mankind practice charity, kindness, and honesty, and promote legal justice. All these values are anathema to the Red-Green Axis who seek to create a global totalitarian political regime designed to crush Man’s spirit.

A war to dismantle Israel and Western Civilization is being conducted on many fronts. These fronts include massive terror campaigns against Israeli citizens, rioting mobs and terrorist attacks disrupting Western societies, elimination of the US Constitution, fake criminal charges and Soviet style show trials for opponents of the Democrat Party, and destruction of the heterosexual family and destruction of gender identities.

Attacks on Jews Signal a Barbarian War on Civilization

The Jewish people and their state are the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” of civilization. The Jewish people have been plucked at by the bloodthirsty vultures and jackals of all time but miraculously they have survived with the help of God. When innocent Jews are being attacked in the streets of Western cities simply because they are Jews, that is a clear sign of a barbarian war against civilization.

“Progressive” Western countries and the Democrat Party in the US have implemented suicidal immigration policies that intentionally welcome in, through non-existent borders, large numbers of terrorists and criminals from around the world. Violent mobs of these Middle Eastern “migrants” (doublespeak for illegal aliens) have entered Western countries and are aggressively cheering and supporting (along with their “progressive” allies) unspeakable atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel. Jihadists in the US openly threaten the Jews with genocide without ever being charged with any crimes or deported. This insane situation threatens the end of civilization as we have known it.

The New Secularist Religion of “Palestinianism”

The Red-Green Axis has aggressively indoctrinated their brainwashed supporters with a barbaric, secularist “religion” that I will call “Palestinianism”. This invented “religion” promotes virulent, racist hatred of all Jews and seeks a violent replacement of the Jewish state with a mythological Arab Palestinian state that never existed in history. We are seeing a rerun of history where the Red-Green Axis, like the ancient Romans, seeks to replace the Jews and the Land of Israel with an imaginary country called “Palestine”.

“Palestinianism” promotes a secularist jihad against Israel and the Jews under a fake Leftist banner of “justice for Palestine”. Leftists protesters in the streets, mindlessly chanting “from the river to the sea…”, are asked which river and which sea? These protesters are often unable to answer. Truth and facts no longer matter, the only thing that matters is joining the Leftist collective, abandoning all reason, and shouting the correct leftist slogans.

To advance their genocidal jihad against Israel and the Jews, Islamic jihadists exploit the phony two state “peace plans” conjured up by European and Democrat politicians. These “peace plans” have no chance of producing any real peace as Islamic religious doctrine prohibits making true peace with any “infidel” state. The goal of these fraudulent “peace plans” can only be to force Israel to surrender, prevent defeat and disarming of Hamas, and allow Hamas to reconstitute its terrorist state.

American Jews have an obligation to oppose creation of an Arab terror state in the Land of Israel. The continued unreserved support for the Democrat Party by many Jews is suicidal. Jewish support for “progressive” politicians who are allied with Hamas or any jihadists must end. An America ruled by a one party Democrat regime allied with jihadists will become unlivable for Jews.

Barbarians at the Gates of Civilization

The Hamas genocidal war that started October 7, 2023 has brought the world to a cross-roads. The world must now choose between either a civilization based on Biblical (IE Torah) values, or else the totalitarian globalist barbarism of the Red-Green Axis.

Taking the road of Biblical values means embracing good instead of evil and truth instead of falsehood, civilization instead of barbarism. The road of Biblical values requires promoting ethical monotheism, heterosexual families, and limited government, and accepting Israel instead of a fake Palestine, while rejecting the Red-Green Axis and its Marxism, jihadism, terrorism, and totalitarianism.

The road of the Red-Green Axis will mean supporting Hamas, jihad, terrorism, Marxism, and a totalitarian globalist government that will crush Man’s spirit while forcing Man to worship false gods. Opponents and “infidels” against the Red-Green Axis will be persecuted, jailed, and murdered. The road of the Red-Green Axis can only lead to enormous suffering and injustice in the world.

Only the road of Biblical (IE Torah) values will maintain civilization as we have known it.

God’s Mind is Far Above Man’s Puny Mind

Could all the Neo-Darwinist scientists in the world construct even a one-celled living organism from (non-living) laboratory chemicals? I rather doubt it.

Could anything as enormously complex as a 1 celled organism have evolved from un-directed natural causes?

https://www.britannica.com/science/cell-biology

How could the cell nucleus survive before all the other components evolved?

How could the components outside the nucleus survive before the nucleus evolved?

We should have the humility to admit that God’s mind is far above Man’s puny mind.

In contrast, the pompous and intellectually dishonest New Atheists and Neo-Darwinists refuse to admit that they have no explanation for the origin of the Universe, nor can the Neo-Darwinists explain the origin of life on Earth.

At best Neo-Darwinist theories can explain minor changes within the same species (such as the size and shape of a finch’s beak) due to un-directed natural causes. These changes do not represent any increase in the complexity of the species.

The many articles and books by Dr. Stephen Meyer teach true science within the limits of Man’s knowledge.

“the probability of producing even a single functional protein (a gene product) of modest length (150 amino acids) by chance alone stands at a “vanishingly small” 1 chance in 10^164 (10 to the 164 power)”

Signature in the Cell

Young Earth Creationism: A Simplistic Interpretation of the Bible

So-called “Young Earth Creationism”, IE a belief that the Universe is less than 6000 years old, represents a simplistic interpretation of the Bible that can be exploited to promote atheistic beliefs.

“AND there was evening and there was morning, ONE day.” (Genesis 1:5)

“And…”, “one day” – The Bible is telling us that the “one day” was not the “first day”. There are ancient Jewish rabbinic sources (such as Breishees Rabbah) that indicate that long periods of time elapsed that are not detailed in the Bible because they are not pertinent to the message of the Bible.

“God separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:4)

“(prior to the fourth day) periods of light and darkness alternated due to causes other than the revolving of the planet around its own axis, due to the expression of God’s will.” (Commentary of Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno on Genesis 1:4, 16th Century C.E.)

Sforno is explaining that the “days” mentioned in Genesis are not necessarily the same length as our present days, they represent periods of time of unknown length. Thus we do not know how much time actually elapsed since the beginning of the Universe.

The Jewish Bible in the Book of Genesis is informing us that the Universe was created ex-nihilo in the finite past. However creation ex-nihilo is not a process that can be comprehended by Man nor can its details be described in the Bible.

The Bible was never intended as a science textbook for Man. The Bible is a book of ethics for Man that also contains some basic scientific information, but that information is incidental to the purpose of the Bible.

In contrast to erroneous ancient Greek science, modern science seems to agree with the Bible that the Universe had a beginning. Any finite age to the Universe claimed by the scientists may or may not be correct. Even if the scientists are claiming the Universe is billions of years old, as long as the scientists are claiming the Universe had a beginning in the finite past, they are not necessarily contradicting the Jewish Bible.

The actual age of the Universe is NOT important for understanding the Bible. What is important is that we believe that the Universe had a beginning in the finite past, such belief is not contradicting the Bible.

Religious people should not allow creation of a false contradiction between modern astronomical evidence and the Bible that enables any forms of atheism.