First, I acknowledge that it is difficult to discuss the age of the earth without considering the age of the universe itself. Furthermore, many people interested in this debate find the astronomical evidence for an ancient universe to sufficiently call Young-Earth Creationism into question. I have studied the evidence for an old universe, including the substantial evidence for the Big Bang, as well as the inference of age given incredibly distant starlight. I find YEC arguments against these evidences inadequate, but I have always been more personally interested and compelled by the geological component of earth history. Whether it's my engineering background or my love of nature, I don't know, but I am genuinely intrigued by the history that lies beneath our feet in the form of geological formations. The fact that we can literally touch and see the evidence ourselves brings the argument down from incomprehensible heights, giving us something tangible for us to observe and discuss. So, I will not be discussing universal evidence, but will be focusing on geology.
Secondly, YEC's have attacked the science of radiometric dating since the inception of their movement. They contend that these dating techniques are unreliable due to built-in, unfounded assumptions. Personally, I consider the principle of radiometric dating to be generally reliable, and I find YEC's assessment of it to be misinformed and narrow. However, radiometric dating is complex and controversial, and it can distract from simpler, more significant evidences for an old earth. Subsequently, I will not be discussing radiometric dating.
And lastly, I find it helpful to distill the debate over earth's geologic formations down to the main claim made by each party. YEC's contend that the vast majority of fossil-bearing layers of rock throughout the earth are the result of the biblical flood of Noah's day. Their opposition (which consists of the general scientific community and yours truly) contends that these rock layers were laid down over extremely long periods of time called ages, just as you would see at your local museum of natural history.
I can't overemphasize how important it is to understand the debate over the age of the earth in these terms. So, let me explore this further:
YEC's believe in a 6-day, 24-hour creation week. From their perspective, ALL of earth history consists of these 6 literal days, plus the time that has passed since then, much of which is recorded in the Bible. As a result, this limits their earth history timescale to between 6,000 and 10,000 years, depending on time elapsed during the Genesis genealogies. Because no one disputes the existence of the geological formations that constitute the earths' crust, which include miles of fossil bearing layers, YEC's necessarily believe that these layers (called strata) were laid down in that same timescale.
Okay, that's simple enough. But, allow me to beat a dying horse. Everyone agrees that 6,000-10,000 years is not nearly enough time for normal processes that we observe today to create the miles-thick, fossil-bearing strata beneath us. Two well-known structures help to illustrate this point. Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramids at Geza were constructed over 4000 years ago. The landscapes surrounding these structures have remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years (meaning that thousands of feet of distinct rock layers have not formed over the structures, instead, they are still visible on the surface today). So, we can safely assume that landscapes don’t usually change dramatically over several thousand years. However, if you were to travel into the earth below Stonehenge or the Great Pyramids, you would find those same rock layers, complete with fossils and mineral deposits, that we find everywhere else in the world. The question becomes, when and how did these rock layers form?
Because of the time constraint that YEC's place on earth history, they necessarily believe that the vast majority of the fossil-bearing geological strata (including those beneath Stonehenge and the Pyramids) were deposited in a global flood described in Genesis. Additionally, they necessarily believe that Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids (along with every structure on the face of the earth) were built after the global flood, because of all the geological strata that lay beneath them. On the other hand, the scientific community asserts that these strata accumulated over a long period of earth history (billions of years). This is really the crux of the whole debate, and it is extremely important to understand it. I'll lay it out one last time:
• YEC's assert that fossil-bearing geological strata were generally deposited during the year of the flood of Noah.
• The scientific community asserts that fossil-bearing geological strata were deposited over extremely long periods of time.
If YEC's are right, we should see evidence that suggests that these rock layers were laid down during the year of Noah’s flood. If the scientific community is right, we should see evidence that suggests that these rock layers were laid down over an extremely long period of time. It really is that simple. These rocks layers really do hold the answer for us.
Given that this is really what our debate is all about, the task of anyone wishing to discredit YEC is greatly simplified. It is by no means necessary to prove that the earth is billions of years old. It is only necessary to prove that there are geologic features that could not have been created in the past 10,000 years or less.
In my next post, we will finally consider some of these features of the fascinating geological formations under our noses. I invite you to decide whether or not you think they developed according to YEC timescale or not.
James
