The Origins and History of Young Earth Creationism

Many people today think that the belief the earth is 6000 years old is an essential belief of Christianity. That the Bible teaches that the earth is young and some Christians only started reinterpreting Genesis after modern scientific advances demonstrated the earth was several billion years old. But you might be surprised to find out this is a caricature of the truth. In fact, the modern young earth movement is relativity new and has a peculiar origin many people are not aware of.

What is Young Earth Creationism?

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) defines young earth creationism as the idea which requires that the earth be no more than 10,000 years old, and that the six days of creation described in Genesis each lasted for 24 hours. This is what we see with modern creationist organizations. Answers in Genesis states on their website that creation took place in 4004 BC. Creation Ministries International and the Institute for Creation research also have articles on their websites stating the earth is roughly 6000 years. Most young earth creationists tend to fall into this definition of stating the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and most seem to state it is roughly 6000 years old.

Early Christian Perspectives and Historical Interpretations

Several Christians in the past didn’t believe the earth was necessarily young, and some that did, still interpreted Genesis figuratively or allegorically. Many Christians long before the advent of modern geology and biology didn’t read the days of Genesis literally. In the second century AD, St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote a book responding to gnostic heretics. St. Irenaeus responded by stating that the days in Genesis were not literal 24-hour days, by drawing from 2 Peter 3:8, where it states the days in Genesis were periods of 1000 years. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed. Irenaeus thought each day of creation was 1000 years, meaning on his view, the earth would be roughly 12,000 years. Technically speaking, he would not qualify as a young earth creationists, since he states the age of the earth was over 10,000 years. The important point to take away from this is St. Irenaeus didn’t think one had to interpret the days of Genesis 1 as literal 24-hour days.

Historical perspectives continued to evolve, as Tyson tells us that 17th-century scholar Archbishop Ussher "like almost everyone one else of his time and his world… accepted the biblical account of creation as authoritative." AiG goes on to use Isaac Newton to back up Ussher’s claim. However, Newton agreed with Ussher well before scientists knew about radioactive or carbon dating and before Darwin discovered natural selection.

The Conflict Between Modern Science and Creationism

The common belief among many non-Christians today is that this is how Christians read the Bible until modern science demonstrated the earth is 4.6 billion years old. Now we can look to the rocks themselves to find our answer. Neil DeGrasse Tyson dared to declare the age of the earth to be 4.5 billion years old. Answers in Genesis (AiG), the organization run by Ken Ham, now wants you to believe that Earth’s age cannot be known through radioactive dating because it conflicts with AiG’s faith-based beliefs. AiG often uses claims such as this in order to attack scientists like Patterson and Tyson. They believe the Grand Canyon was formed in a catastrophic event; not just any event, but the great flood in the book of Genesis, and shames Tyson for ignoring this evidence. However, scientists move their views with the data at hand, looking to explain the world we know through peer-review.

Comparison of Views on Earth's Age

Source / Entity	Estimated Age of Earth	Interpretation of Genesis Days
Answers in Genesis	~6,000 years (4004 BC)	Literal 24-hour days
St. Irenaeus (2nd Century)	~12,000 years	1,000-year periods
Modern Science (Tyson/Patterson)	4.5 - 4.6 Billion years	Based on radioactive dating and rock layers
NCSE Definition	Under 10,000 years	24-hour days