Proofs of a "young earth"

Introduction

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What this section is about:

It describes dozens of proofs which have been put forth by young-earth creationists to prove that the earth and the rest of the universe are less than 10,000 years old. Each proof is accompanied by a rebuttal which describes why essentially all scientists who are not religious conservatives reject the proofs. We try to explain each rebuttal so that it is easy to understand by non-professionals.

Most of the proofs listed in this section are paraphrased from the original Emails that we received from visitors to our web site.

We have a corresponding essay which gives dozens of proofs by scientists to show that the earth is extremely old. Scientists who are not religious conservatives have reached a general consensus that the earth's crust coalesced in excess of four billion years ago. For balance, the arguments in that essay also contain rebuttals.

Implications of a young earth:

A young earth -- one less than 10,000 years of age -- is promoted by many conservative Jews, Christians, Muslims. and others. They often interpret the biblical book of Genesis literally, and reject evolution as the driving force behind the Earth's diversity of life.

If it can be shown that the earth is less than 10 millennia years old, then the theory of evolution would be dead in the water. There simply would not be enough time for species to evolve to their present diversity.

Proving that evolution never happened is a primary goal of many religious conservatives. Most believe that evolution is incompatible with a literal interpretation of the creation and flood stories in the biblical book of Genesis. If the Bible can be shown to be wrong -- or at least ambiguous -- in some places, then the validity of the entire Bible is thrown in doubt. Some religious conservatives feel that if the stories of creation, the Garden of Eden, and the fall of humanity found in the beginning of the book of Genesis are accepted as myths, then the need for a savior is threatened, and Jesus' death on the cross to save mankind is rendered meaningless.

Why a simple proof for a young earth is unlikely:

Scientists are driven by a desire to learn the laws behind nature. They are an unruly lot. They are always working to prove that the current understanding of nature is wrong to some degree. The "holy grail" of science is a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry, etc. Scientists dream of being another Einstein. He overturned centuries of belief in Newtonian physics early in the 20th century and forced physics in entirely new directions.

Any scientist who can prove that the Earth is young or that evolution never happened would be a shoo-in for a Nobel Prize:

• Biology is largely based on Evolution being a fact.
• Geology is largely based on the Earth being about 4.5 billion years of age.
• Cosmology is largely based on a universe that is about 13.5 billion years of age.

Proving that the Earth and the rest of the universe is less than 10,000 years of age would completely revolutionize many areas of science. The name of the discoverer of the proof would become a household word.

All of the proofs cited here are easy to understand and easy to disprove. We suspect that if a rigorous proof is ever found, it will be complex in nature.

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Copyright © 1996 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last updated: 2011-AUG-14
Author: B.A. Robinson

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