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And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.

Genesis 1:16

 

The Claim: Genesis 1:16 is about the sun and the moon, and the Bible here is claiming that the moon emits light. However, we know from science that the moon reflects light and does not emit light. This is a contradiction.

 

The Explanation: Genesis 1:16 is talking about the sun and the moon. I will also not dispute that the moon does indeed reflect light instead of emit light. However, Genesis 1:16 is not making any distinction as to the moon reflecting or emitting light. The passage only calls the moon the "lesser light." What the contradiction claim is doing here is adding an extra meaning to the phrase "lesser light," when this meaning is not actually present in the Bible passage. Adding an extra meaning to something in the Bible, when that extra meaning is not there, does not mean the Bible is contradicting itself.

 

Simply put, Genesis 1:16 does not make a distinction between the moon emitting or reflecting light. The contradiction claim is adding in an extra meaning to Genesis 1:16, and that meaning isn't actually present in Genesis 1:16. This does not create an actual contradiction within the Bible.