Young
Or Old?
by Edward Wood
Young Earth or Old? A 6000 or 13.7 billion year old universe? That
there is a definite difference of opinion between those who believe in
the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Father of Jesus
and those who have decided he doesn't exist, really is no surprise. The
unfortunate part of this controversy is that people who do believe in
him also disagree and use this as a basis to question each other's
faith. To them I would suggest right now that they begin to follow
Paul's wise words:
Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own
master he standeth of falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is
able to make him stand.
For those who subscribe to the concept of a 6000 year old
creation, I very much respect your right to your viewpoint, even though
I disagree with it. Now, do I believe God COULD have done it this way?
Absolutely! The question is, DID he?
That is what we'll investigate here following the evidence
to see where it leads. Will all your questions be answered by the time
we are done? Of course not. I'll even go on record and admit I could be
totally wrong. All I ask is that you read with an open mind, do your own
research, and then come to your own conclusions.
SCIENCE'S PROBLEM EXPLAINING A UNIVERSE WITHOUT GOD
Science and its most zealous advocates cannot provide
as answer as to how the incredible complexity evident in this present
universe could have arisen from purely random events - other than to say
it "must" have been that way because anything which cannot be quantified
falls outside its discipline. Where science does so well describing the
causes and effects and the incredible workings of a universe which
allows something as fragile as life to exist, it falls flat on its face
when it tries to explain what caused it all to being in the first place.
Instead it asks us to accept "on faith" that it all had to have "just
happened" and randomly ended up the way it is today.
On this point, science wants us to give it a pass to break its own
rules, something it would never allow under any other circumstance of
scientific investigation. That's asking too much for my taste!
WHERE DO WE FIT IN?
What applies to the universe certainly applies to humankind
since it, like everything else, is part of it. Three thousand years ago
a king named David, ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth pondered that age-old
question about man and his place in God's Creation in these moving
words:
Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the
moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou are
mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
1) Our Origins.
There appears to be plenty of evidence that life adapts to its
environment. If the Old Earth concept is correct, then there has been
plenty of time for some really big changes
It is evident from the Bible that life in Eden before the Fall was
certainly different than it was afterward. Where edible fruit once grew
in abundance, weeds now sprouted up. In a place and time where death and
disease were once unknown, they have since become endemic to the fallen
world. That life had changed (evolved) is a therefore a matter of
biblical record.
The dispute is really over one of degree and for those who believe
evolution explains everything about life on Earth, the facts argue
against this premise, particularly regarding the origin of the human
race.
Evolutionists stubbornly insist that the genetic similarity
between humans and primates points to a common ancestor between them and
ourselves. But despite these claims there has to date NEVER been found
that undeniable "Missing Link."
It is true that there are these genetic and even physical
similarities beteen us and the primates but perhaps this points less to
a common ancestor and more to a "design that works." The fact is, we
share many characteristics with many other forms of life. Since we must
all function in Earth's environment, doesn't this really make a lot of
sense?
2) Why intelligence? The argument from science for the development of
human intelligence is that it is merely the result of natural selection
due to pressure from the environment which favors it. In order to
survive, it says, the smartest of us had smart kids who in turn had even
smarter kids because they could outwit the animals that wanted to eat
them and figure out how to get food where the less intelligent humans
could not.
The problem with this is that unless this happened very quickly, our
ancestors would have have gotten eaten or starved to death long before
they could have reproduced at all. But the evolutionists themselves say
that it took many thousands of years for us to get smart. Did the
predators hang around outside the caves for a hundred thousand years or
so waiting for the lightbulb to slowly go on in the human brain so we
could finally figure out turn them into dinner and clothes? Somehow,
this seems pretty implausible.
Another problem with all this is that if intelligence is only the
product of natural selection's response to the environment, where are
the other critters who should have "evolved" into intelligent creatures
like us by now?
Alas, for the evolutionists the problem gets much worse if we consider
the hundreds of billions of galaxies each containing hundreds of
billions of stars. This multiplies the chances for the development of
intelligent life to an unimaginable amount, some of which should have
certainly developed technology detectable from Earth by now. . . IF the
evolutionists were right.
But so far after decades of listening, the only thing our radio
astronomers have heard from all this vastness is the hiss and pop of
natural phenomena as it crosses the light years.
The facts therefore point to humans being unique, which itself
strongly suggests that our origin must likewise be just as unique -
something which is in full accord with the Bible's account.
The question here becomes one of "Who are you gonna believe?"
THE QUESTION OF TIME
The Young Earth people generally agree on a 6000 year old universe
created in six 24-hour days with Earth being the same age as the rest of
the cosmos. Old Earth adherents believe the universe is 13.7 billion
years old with a 4.6 billion year old Solar System and Earth. Both
scenarios could be certainly wrong, but only one can be literally true.
For someone who believes in the source and authority of the Bible as
being from God himself, yet who cannot dismiss the overwhelming evidence
of the great antiquity of Creation, this poses a great challenge with no
complete resolution. But we can make a start,
for within the Bible itself are clues which may point us in the right
direction. First, let's take a look at time the way God sees it:
Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years n thy sight are but as yesterday when it
is past, and as a watch in the night.
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day.
Psalm 41:13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to
everlasting. Amen and Amen
Since God is eternal, omnipotent, and ominpresent, the constraints of
time and space which bind us have no bearing on the Creator of All
Things. So, is it reasonable to think that he is restricted to the
length of a day being 24 hours? Is there any Bible evidence to suggest
otherwise? The fascinating answer is: YES!
2 Kings 10:10-11 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the
shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward
ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought
the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial
of Ahaz.
Based on the sun's apparent motion of 15 degrees per hour across the
sky, this 1o degree reversal would have added 40 minutes to this
particular day!
Joshua 10:13-14 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the
people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in
the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and
hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was not other day
like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice
of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.
Here we have a day lasting around 48 hours - the only time in history
God ever caused such a thing to occur at the petition of a man.
It would therefore appear that God can make a day last as short or as
long as he wants to accomplish his purposes. Insisting on a 24 hour day
for God does not appear to be required by Scripture, does it?
Furthermore, the 24 hour day is a characteristic of Earth's rotation
alone, and even that is variable. It is often necessary for the world to
adjust its super-accurate atomic clocks as a result to keep them
synchronized with this rotation. Do you think God would reckon his time
on an inconstant timepiece?
THE BIG BANG - THE DEVIL'S DECEPTION?
It appears that many Young Earth proponents are absolutely appaulled
at the prospect of the universe coming to exist in the manner described
by the Big Bang Theory. I have read from some who in their own words say
that they consider this a deception by Satan and, by extension, those
who believe it to gullible victims whose faith is questionable.
I must be honest with you. I find such rash statements reminscent of
the times when the thought of Earth orbiting the sun was also considered
a heretical violation of Scripture. That we have come to understand that
this is the actual case with the Earth and sun clearly shows it was a
human interpretation that was flawed, not the Bible itself. And if it
happened once . . . well, you get the idea.
Notice, also, that the Big Bang is still just a theory. But the
observational evidence that it might be true continues to mount. In a
way, because this theory points to a non-eternal universe, one that has
a beginning, it also
demonstrates something - though I prefer to think of SOMEONE - had to
cause it to exist.
Think about that. Is there anything you have encountered which has no
"cause?"
If you say, "God," you are right. But this applies to him alone. But
how can that be? Let's look at Psalm 41:13 again:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
And now Revelation 1:8:
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was,and which is to come, the Almighty.
These are but two of many verses which attest to God's eternal nature.
Since he has no beginning, he does not need a cause. But everything else
in this entire universe, including the universe itself, absolutely does.
In conclusion, may I suggest that rather than we Christians sparring
over exactly how all things came to be and how long it took, that we
find agreement in the following two verses of elegant simplicity yet
containing such profound truth?
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
John 1:1-1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and
the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not
anything made that was made.
