Slide 5 of 22
Notes:
Obviously, the Earth has some real age. Beyond simple curiosity, our view of history will be significantly different if we believe we arrived here through slow evolution over long ages, having an ape-like form as a common ancestor, versus being created directly in a mature state by God in the "image of God". The Bible teaches in Genesis that the creation occurred over six days, and from the genealogies listed, must have occurred only several thousand years ago. Coupled with other world-changing events - the sin of Adam and Eve (which cursed the world introducing death and decay processes), and the flood of Noah's time (which completely rearranged the surface of the Earth and its environment), the Bible presents a VERY DIFFERENT picture of history that what is taught in secular history books and museums.
Knowing that the Bible teaches a young Earth, and that science has supposedly proven the Earth to be old, can be a hindrance to some people accepting the larger truths of the Bible - that God created all things, including people made in His own likeness; that He loves them, and that He eventually sent His only Son Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, so that all who would believe in the name of Jesus would have everlasting life!
People who place importance on the trustworthiness of the Bible need to reconcile the young history of the Earth implied in Genesis with the scientific measurements that apparently show the Earth to be much older. The remainder of this presentation focuses on the options and issues for harmonizing these two areas (science and the Bible) in regard to the age of the universe and the Earth.
