A friend of mine is attending a Bible study for moms. During a recent meeting, the question of the age of the earth arose. Every woman quickly and passionately expressed their views. They were all Young-Earth Creationists (YEC's), and anyone who was not was obviously wrong.
One woman asked, "Why would any Christian believe that the earth was millions of years old?" Another responded, "It's just the lies of Satan. They're believing the lies of Satan."
As you might imagine, my friend (who is not a YEC), remained tight-lipped. This didn't seem like the type of environment where a civil discussion about the age of the earth could take place, unless that meant everyone agreeing with one another and demonizing the opposition (a pattern of conversation that happens all too often among like-minded people). It is precisely this sentiment, that anyone who suggests that the earth may be older than 10,000 years is opening the door to the Devil himself, that has served as one of my primary motivations for researching this subject and addressing it in this blog.
I have been interested in this debate for over a decade. I have read many books, papers, and articles that address the issue of the age of the earth, including many from YEC's. During this process, I don't recall any conversations with Satan. Even so, my research has all pointed me to one conclusion that I cannot escape. The earth is old. Very old. We're not even talking millions. We're talking billions of years.
Depending on your perspective, you'll have a number of responses to my conclusion. You might say, "I have read just as much as you, and I've come to the inescapable conclusion that the earth is young." You might say, "I don't care." Or, you may agree with me.
First, let me address the YEC. I don't like to categorize people, but it can be helpful in certain circumstances, so please forgive me. Generally speaking, I have met two kinds of YEC's. The first is a staunch Young Earther, probably a lot like the ladies from my friend's Bible study. They are overwhelmingly convinced that the Bible clearly teaches that the earth is no older than 6,000-10,000 years old. They are fans of organizations like Answers in Genesis (AiG) and may have even been to the Creation Museum (or they would like to go). For the most part, these folks are friendly, intelligent, committed Christians. However, I doubt that anything that I am going to write will cause them to consider changing their position, even for a second. From what I have experienced, the staunch YEC has an amazingly proficient filter for opposing viewpoints. They have the uncanny ability to recognize a dissenting view and file it away as "liberal, dangerous, Satanic, etc." If this position describes you, I give you permission to label this blog as liberal (or better yet, Satanic) and move on. However, if you're feeling a bit squirrely, I invite you to consider, just for a moment, that there may be more to this issue than you have assumed. If you're willing to do that, read on.
The second kind of YEC I've met is what I like to call the "Safe" YEC. I think this person represents the majority of conservative Evangelicals. I don't have Barna Group statistics to back that up, but my experience tells me that the average conservative Christian feels that the YEC position is more conservative and generally a safer view to subscribe to if one plans to maintain their Christian faith in today's culture. These folks have usually adopted the YEC view because their pastor, Bible study leader, a speaker at a conference, or just a smart Christian once told them that the Bible clearly teaches the YEC view and that modern scientists are close-minded naturalists with an anti-Christian agenda. Furthermore, they've been told that there is ample scientific evidence for a young earth. They may have even visited the AiG website, and since those arguments seem sound and scientific, they find no reason to adopt another position. This view describes me for the majority of my life. Some safe YEC's have gone a little deeper and have done a fair amount of reading about the age of the earth, and they've discovered that there are good arguments for both the young and old earth positions. They've concluded that they can't really come to a conclusion based on the scientific evidence, and the YEC view seems to be more in line with what the Bible teaches. So, they kind of default to the YEC view. You might say that they are a YEC because they know that they are supposed to be one, and they're under the impression that there are very good reasons to be one. If this view describes you, I encourage you to keep reading.
Now, you may not care about this matter at all. You've witnessed heated debates between Christians over this subject, and you don't like the division it causes. You've never been terribly interested in science, and you're not sure what all the fuss it about. You feel that this debate is secondary, or even tertiary, to the Gospel, so we shouldn't waste so much time with it. While I agree with you that these issues are not at the core of the Christian faith, I do strongly contend that they are important. The staunch YEC would agree with me that this issue is important, but for an entirely different reason. He would say that the question of the age of the earth is intimately tied to the Gospel itself, and that believing anything other than the YEC view destroys the very foundation of Christ's message. While I don't agree with that, I would say that the question of the age of the earth is intimately tied to issues of honesty and integrity, Christian education, effective Christian witness, and Christian thought. I submit that the YEC movement has effectively and negatively influenced each of these aspects within Christendom, and that's why I find it so important to address this topic.
Finally, you may have already concluded that the earth is old. For you, I hope that you will find my thoughts a valuable addition to the materials you've already read.
I believe that the earth is old, and it's not because I'm a sucker for Satan's lies. He is indeed a good liar, the master of deception, and all of us are vulnerable to his schemes. But if Satan was attempting to get me to believe that the earth is old, he would be doing something a bit out of character: he'd be telling the truth.
Stay tuned...
James
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