The Earth: How Old Does It Look?

Even many of those who believe that the earth is ‘young’ think that it looks ‘old’. But does it? The earth is only seen as ‘looking old’ because we all take unconscious belief systems to the evidence. In other words, it could be said that the earth looks neither old nor young—it all depends on the ‘belief glasses’ through which one is viewing (interpreting) the evidence. Pondering this, it is possible to be unconsciously influenced by the notion that the earth, though young, looks old, even when the biblical record and recent-creation evidences are strong.

The Biblical Perspective on the Earth’s Age

How old is the earth according to the Bible? To answer this, we can start with the fact that the Bible says that Adam was created on the "sixth day" of our planet's existence. Genesis chapters 5 and 11 provide genealogies, which are like family trees in a sense, covering all the families from Adam to Abraham. By figuring out where Abraham fits into history chronologically and adding up the ages we find in Genesis 5 and 11, it becomes clear that the Bible teaches the earth to be about 6,000 years old, give or take maybe a few hundred years. This assumes that the Genesis account is accurate, that the six days of creation were literally 24 hours, and that there were no unknown or vague gaps in the chronology.

Scientific Views and Dating Techniques

What does science say? Of course, most scientists and schools today teach that the earth is billions of years old—not just 6,000. There are two techniques used in science to determine the age of any given thing: radiometric dating and the geologic timescale. However, scientists on the side of a "young earth" say that radiometric dating has its flaws because it is based on a bunch of false assumptions. They also say that the geologic timescale is flawed because it uses circular reasoning. Furthermore, there is often a misunderstanding about how long certain geological events take to happen—like stratification and fossilization, and even how long it takes for diamonds, coal, oil, stalactites, and stalagmites to form.

Evidence Consistent with a Young Age

There are several scientific observations that support a timeline of thousands, rather than billions, of years:

• Continental Erosion: The continents are eroding too quickly. If the continents were billions of years old, they would have eroded by wind and water many times over. Mountain uplift and other ‘recycling’ processes are nowhere near capable of compensating for this.
• Helium in the Atmosphere: There is not enough helium in the atmosphere. Helium, a light gas, is formed during radioactive alpha decay in rock minerals and rapidly escapes into the atmosphere. All the helium in the atmosphere could accumulate in a maximum of 2 Million years, which is far less than the assumed 3,000-million-year age of the atmosphere.
• Rapid Fossilization: Many fossils indicate that they must have formed quickly. There are billions of fossil fish in rock layers around the world which are incredibly well-preserved, showing intact fins and often scales. In the real world, dead fish are scavenged within 24 hours or fall apart within weeks. This indicates that they were buried rapidly and the rock hardened quickly.

Comparison of Age Interpretations

The following points summarize how different viewpoints interpret physical and historical data:

• Old Earth Advocates: Must trust that methods such as radiometric dating are reliable and have faith that nothing has occurred in history that may have disrupted the normal decay of radio-isotopes.
• Young Earth Advocates: Must trust that the Bible is true and have faith that other factors explain geological evidence, such as the global flood, or God’s creating the universe in a way that makes it look older than it is.
• Appearance of Age: For example, God created Adam and Eve as adults, not babies. If a doctor had examined them on the day they were created, the doctor probably would have guessed them to be around 20 years old, even though they weren't even one day old yet.

The Role of Faith and Assumptions

In the end, the age of the earth cannot TRULY be proven by science. Whether we believe in an earth that is 6,000 years old or billions of years old (or anything in between), we must put our belief on faith and assumptions. It is just as valid for one to say, looking at the world through the ‘lens’ of the Bible rather than the humanistic, evolutionized lens of our culture, that it ‘looks young’. Just as the young carpenter, a truly independent thinker, did not ‘see’ the millions of years, we must recognize that no facts ‘speak for themselves’ anyway. It is wise to remember that whether you believe in a young earth or an old earth, that doesn't make a difference when it comes to salvation. Only faith in Jesus as your Savior from sin can save you (John 14:6; John 3:16).