KudoZ question not available

English translation: explains in such a way as to make irrelevant/nonexistent

11:21 May 8, 2023

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion / Creationism

English term or phrase: explains away

But it really hit me one day how inconsistent the gap theory is. It is logically inconsistent. [...]. The gap theory actually ***explains away*** the very thing it is supposed to be accommodating. What do I mean by that? Well, [...] the gap theorist says, “I’ll accept the millions of years developed by those who claim the layers of fossils were laid down slowly over long ages, and place all this in a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and then ***explain it away*** with a catastrophe called Lucifer’s flood.” And right there, he has just done away with the reason he wanted millions of years in the first place. If a catastrophe produced the fossils — then the reason for the millions of years in the first place has been destroyed! What an incredible inconsistency.

The term appears twice in the text. What is the sense in the first case? Does the second case just mean "explain"?

Ana Juliá KudoZ activity Questions: 3922 (none open) (22 closed without grading) Answers: 1027 Spain
Local time: 08:05

Selected answer:explains in such a way as to make irrelevant/nonexistent

Explanation:
An explanation that shows how what it is meant to explain is irrelevant, wrong, nonexistent or trivial.

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Note added at 16 mins (2023-05-08 11:37:50 GMT)
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I should add that the term is often used disapprovingly – the explanation/explaining away is rarely a proper explanation.

Selected response from:

Peter Dahm Robertson
Germany
Local time: 08:05

Grading comment

Thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +1

explains in such a way as to make irrelevant/nonexistent

Peter Dahm Robertson

explains and puts an end to (and solves)

Susana E. Cano Méndez

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

13 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

explains in such a way as to make irrelevant/nonexistent

Peter Dahm Robertson
Germany
Local time: 08:05
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thanks!

22 hrs confidence:

explains and puts an end to (and solves)

Explanation:
The gap theory actually ***explains and puts an end to*** the very thing it is supposed to be accommodating.

... and place all this in a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and then ***explains and puts an end to it*** with a catastrophe called Lucifer’s flood.

Susana E. Cano Méndez
Spain
Local time: 08:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish

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