Exploring Earth's Timeline: Biblical and Scientific Perspectives
Delve into the fascinating dialogue between scripture and science as we explore the Age of the Earth through the lens of faith and empirical evidence.
Insights into Earth's Age: Biblical Perspectives
Insights into Earth's Age: Scientific Perspectives
Jesus Christ vs. Julius Caesar: What do we really know?
Were the New Testament (NT) documents written close enough to the events that they record to be used. In a recent Facebook discussion regarding the latest work on Josephus’ report of Jesus, some claimed that Josephus’ writings are not useful. Why? Because Josephus...
Helium and Deep Time
PDF file available hereAre there “incontrovertible” reasons to affirm a young Earth? What does it mean to be incontrovertible? Some YEC seem to believe that this means that it is claimed by any YEC author that they appreciate. It is easy to list claims that might...
Oil Gushers over Deep Time
Figure 1. When a well is drilled into a hydrocarbon reservoir, the pressured reservoirs will release by carrying oil and gas to the surface. This is analogous to the dissolved carbon dioxide that is released when a shaken soda can is opened. Modern oil and gas wells...
Understanding Earth's Age: Common Questions Answered
Explore the intersection of faith and science with answers to frequently asked questions about the age of the Earth.
How does the Bible describe the age of the Earth?
The Bible doesn’t tell us when the Earth was created. If the genealogies are complete, then Adam and Eve might have been created about 6,000 years ago. However, there are good reasons to expect that these are not complete. In any event, the genealogies can only take us back to Adam. Learning how old the Earth is in Biblical terms also necessarily means understanding the meaning of the word: day in Genesis 1. There are multiple options for how to interpret this word.
What scientific methods are used to determine Earth's age?
Scientists use radiometric dating, geological layers, and astronomical observations to estimate Earth’s age at approximately 4.5 billion years.
Is it possible to believe both the Bible and the scientific data?
Both God’s word, the Bible and His creation in nature should tell us the same story if interpreted correctly. Humans don’t have complete understandings of either. Even so, we can understand well enough to see ways to understand both the Bible and data from science that agree well.
What are keys to understanding what the Bible teaches about the Age of the Earth?
We should first recognize that the Bible was not written to answer some of our questions, like the age of the Earth. We can use data from nature to address some of the questions that the Bible does not give. The Bible tells us that Noah’s flood was a major judgment of God on mankind, but the Bible does not tell us anything about the geologic effects of this flood. If we demonstrate by clear scientific means that the universe is significantly older than 10,000 years old, we should look for other ways to interpret the Genesis account that continue to hold scripture as the inerrant Word of God. If we examine rocks claimed to have been deposited by Noah’s flood, and find beds or sets of beds that were deposited over the course of longer than one year, we can be confident that they were not laid down during Noah’s flood. Ultimately this will tell us that we should read the Genesis flood account as a historical description that includes hyperbolic language to make it clear that this was a truly major judgment of God on to mankind.
How should Christians use scientific data pointing to an ancient Earth?
Scientific data shows very clearly that the Earth is far older than 10,000 years old. This helps us to rule out one possible way to interpret of creation in the Bible. Theologically, there is no difference between a universe that is 50,000 years old vs. one that is 13 billion years old. Both can expand our view of God. Daniel referred to God as the Ancient of Days. That title can have even greater meaning in view the antiquity of the Earth. God, from outside of our time chose to create the universe over what in human terms is a vast amount of time. He is not hurried. He will create new heavens and a new earth when He chooses as well.
Explore Our Topics
Biblical Chronology
Scientific Evidence
Historical Contexts
Faith and Reason
Geological Insights
Theological Reflections
The order rocks were laid down in:
Young Earth Creation;
Geologic Periods (Old Earth and Young Earth);
Scaled by Geologic time
- Young Earth Stratigraphic Column
- Geologic Stratigraphic Column - Unscaled
- Geologic Stratigraphic Column - Scaled
Most Young Earth Creationists view the history of the earth in terms of the ages represented here. It is scaled here to the common 6000 year history, though there are other variations.
Here stratigraphic ages and hence strata area all of the same thickness, regardless of how long they lasted
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