Slide 4 of 22
Notes:
Modern secular science now feels quite certain that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. The age of the universe is less certain, but is placed between 7 and 20 billion years old. On the other hand, a literal reading of the book of Genesis in the Bible seems to imply that the Earth may actually be quite young, on the order of 6-15,000 years old. For those people who want retain belief in the Bible as a true revelation from God (as it says it is), this conflict between Genesis and modern age estimates presents a dilemma. For if the Earth is actually young, how can the standard ages measurements be accounted for? Or if the Earth is actually old, how can the six creation days of Genesis be reconciled? Also, the acceptance of an old age for the Earth wants to imply an acceptance of biological macro-evolution as also true, for what could have been happening during all this time if not plants and animals evolving into more advanced forms? Yet there is no strong evidence that macro-evolution has occurred or is even possible genetically. And if the Earth is actually old and evolution has actually taken place, why wouldn't God have clearly said so in Genesis? Neither of these things necessarily diminish His power.
