@Rhythm
Gotcha.
I was thinking through two different positions, 'have rainbows always existed?' or 'were they created at the time of their designation as a sign?'
So far I don't have a satisfactory reason as to which one is true (though one may be more plausible than the other). Honestly it's somewhat irrelevant to me which of these two hypothesis are true within the context of our conversation. Either way, God created the water cycle and the nature of light and thus the rainbow. Either at the time of creation, or at the time He designated it as a sign.
I misunderstood the value you would get out of our conversation. Namely you were looking to explore how God could have changed the water cycle to create rainbows at the time He designated them as a sign and not what I was pondering. Since the former is of interest to you I would suggest looking into Whitcomb and Morris. From what I understand one or both of them hypothesized a model that involved what is called a vapor canopy. It's not something I'm very familiar with but from my understanding they hypothesized that the earth's atmosphere was in such a state that the planet was like a giant terrarium. In this environment there would be no rain and so no rainbow. They further hypothesized that the effect of the flood on the atmosphere changed it into a state that we observe today (along with the 'newly created' water cycle). And thus, we have rainbows immediately following the flood but not before.
I must caution you though. From what I know most scientists who look at creationist models have rejected the 'vapor canopy' model as viable.
Gotcha.
I was thinking through two different positions, 'have rainbows always existed?' or 'were they created at the time of their designation as a sign?'
So far I don't have a satisfactory reason as to which one is true (though one may be more plausible than the other). Honestly it's somewhat irrelevant to me which of these two hypothesis are true within the context of our conversation. Either way, God created the water cycle and the nature of light and thus the rainbow. Either at the time of creation, or at the time He designated it as a sign.
I misunderstood the value you would get out of our conversation. Namely you were looking to explore how God could have changed the water cycle to create rainbows at the time He designated them as a sign and not what I was pondering. Since the former is of interest to you I would suggest looking into Whitcomb and Morris. From what I understand one or both of them hypothesized a model that involved what is called a vapor canopy. It's not something I'm very familiar with but from my understanding they hypothesized that the earth's atmosphere was in such a state that the planet was like a giant terrarium. In this environment there would be no rain and so no rainbow. They further hypothesized that the effect of the flood on the atmosphere changed it into a state that we observe today (along with the 'newly created' water cycle). And thus, we have rainbows immediately following the flood but not before.
I must caution you though. From what I know most scientists who look at creationist models have rejected the 'vapor canopy' model as viable.
If it could be proven beyond doubt that God exists...
and that He is the one spoken of in the Bible...
would you repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus Christ?
