SHORT ANSWERS TO HARD
QUESTIONS (Genesis Series)
Pastor David Christensen
1 HOW DO WE RESPOND WHEN
SCIENTISTS SAY THAT EARTH IS 4.5 BILLION YEARS OLD?
Scientists use astronomical data
and Carbon 14 dating along with other methods to date the origins of life and
the universe. All of these dating
methods are based upon two assumptions. These assumptions are not provable or
testable. They are assumptions that are foundational to the methods used by
scientists for dating. The first assumption is what we might call zero-based
calculations. Star light began at zero.
Carbon 14 dating uses a ratio so that age begins at zero. Young earth creationists believe that the
universe was created in motion rendering these dating methods inaccurate to
date origins. The earth was created with
age so our starting point in years is somewhere long past zero.
The second assumption is what has
been called “uniformitarianism.” For
these dating methods to work the process must have continued from start to
finish without interruption or alteration.
Life on earth must have followed a pattern (a ratio) that never
changed. No global catastrophes took
place to change the pattern. Young earth
creationists argue that the universal flood altered the record completely. Flood geology argues that layers of sediment
were changed and laid down in their current form by the flood so Carbon 14 and
fossil records can only be used to date back to the flood and not beyond.
2. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE COSMOS
WAS CREATED WITH AGE?
Genesis 1 tells us that age was
built into the creation from the beginning. Humans were created as adults not
babies (Gen. 1:27-28). They were immediately
commanded to procreate and to rule. All
the animals, birds and fish were fully developed mature creatures (Gen.
1:20-22; 24-25). Once again they were
told to be fruitful and multiply from the moment of creation. God created plants and trees fully developed
and mature (Gen. 1:11-12). They were bearing seeds and fruit from the moment
they were created. It is but a small
step to argue logically that Carbon-based organic life forms were already laid
down in the earth. One of the most
important aspects for dating the universe is the light from the stars. The travel time for light coming from the
stars is calculated to be over 10 billion years and is one of the major
arguments for an old universe. It is
clear from Genesis 1:14 that God created the stars with their light already
visible on earth from the moment of creation. This eliminates 10 billion years
of time from the very beginning.
3. IF GOD CREATED THE COSMOS WITH
AGE, ISN’T GOD BEING DECEPTIVE?
No. God is not being deceptive
because He told us what He did in Genesis 1.
How could God say it any clearer than what is said in Genesis 1? God revealed the fact that He created the
cosmos mature and in motion (with age). He has not hidden it from us. To accuse God of deception requires us to say
that God hid the information from us so we would be confused. God did not
deceive humans about the origins of the cosmos. Humans deceived themselves by
refusing to accept the record God revealed.
4. IF GOD CREATED THE COSMOS WITH
AGE, ISN’T GOD CAPRICIOUS?
No! Capriciousness is the
tendency to act without motive, to be arbitrary and make choices based on
whims. God did not act without motive or
on a whim when He created a mature earth (with age). He did not do this to fool modern scientists
or to play mind games with us. God did not create our world with age on a whim.
He is not capricious. God created a mature world purposefully and
intentionally. Everything He did was for
a purpose. God created a perfect eco-system.
He created the star light visible for humans because it was important to
the existence of life on earth to have the light from the sun and stars
visible. God created mature trees
bearing fruit because it was necessary for humans and animals to have
food. Humans couldn’t wait 30 years for
a tree to grow and bear fruit. Mature
trees require an eco-system to survive.
Decomposing organic life forms must have already been deposited in the
ground to provide nourishment to the mature trees and plants that need that
nourishment to survive. Trees could not
wait for the decomposition to take place or they would die. The decomposition of organic life forms is
the basis for Carbon14 dating. God did not build this into the
system on a whim but because the eco-system required it for life.
5. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT CREATION TOOK PLACE
12,000 – 15,000 YEARS AGO INSTEAD OF 6,000?
Bishop Usher used the genealogies of Genesis 5
and 11 to determine 4004 B.C. as the date of creation making the world about
6,000 years old. However, the
genealogies contain significant gaps making them inconclusive for dating the
earth. Fitting biblical history into the
broader framework of ancient history requires a longer period of time. Many young earth creationists today argue
that the earth is about 8,000 to 12,000 years old. I personally think that creation took place
closer to 15,000 years ago (13,000 B.C.).
We know that stratified city mounds in the Middle East show an unbroken
sequence of occupation dating back as far as 7,000 B.C. (9,000 years ago). Using Carbon14, stratigraphy,
pottery, historical records and crosschecking between all the methods
demonstrates that many cultures have an archaeological record that date back
that far. The flood must have predated them and creation before that. There is
good evidence that primitive cultures were developing as far back as 10,000
B.C. or 12,000 years ago. There is simply too much evidence for these longer
dates so I conclude that creation must have been about 15,000 years ago.
6. WHY DO YOU THINK THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT GAPS
IN THE GENEALOGIES OF GENESIS 5 AND 11?
There are at least 7 major
reasons why biblical scholars recognize that the genealogies contain
significant gaps of time. (1) The terms
“begat” and “son of” are both used to describe ancestors and sometimes distant
ancestors in the Bible (Matthew 1:8; 1 Chron. 26:24 etc.). (2) The number of years in Genesis 11 was
never totaled indicating that the purpose was not to construct a
chronology. (3) The name and years of
Cainan do not appear in the text (Luke 3:36). (4) If there were no gaps then
Noah would have died just 3 years before Abram was born and Shem would have
outlived Abram. The Bible says that
Abram’s fathers were idolaters (Joshua 24:2,14,15) which would be odd if Shem
was still alive in Abram’s life. (5) The
ancient versions of the Bible disagree on the numbers between Adam and the
Flood. (MT, 1656; LXX, 2242; Samaritan,
1307; Josephus, 2256). (6)The lists are perfectly symmetrical and stylized with
10 patriarchs followed by 3 sons of the last patriarch in each list indicating
that the purpose of the lists was not chronology but ancestry. (7) There would be approximately 300 years
between the Flood and Abram if we take the lists as strictly chronological. Into this brief time we have to fit the
migration and population growth from one family to fill an earth that had been
wiped out; the Ice Age; the Tower of Babel and the subsequent disbursement
populations; and the rise of major civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia
including the construction of the Pyramids.
John Whitcomb and Henry Morris in
their classic defense of young earth creationism allow for up to 5,000 years
between Abram and the Flood (The Genesis Flood, p.489). Archaeologists
have added more information since then so I would add a few thousand years to
that number to fit what we know about the Middle Eastern civilizations.
7. HOW LONG DID LIFE EXIST BEFORE
THE FLOOD?
According to the Masoretic Text
(MT) the genealogy indicates 1656 years between Adam and the Flood. Given that there are significant gaps in the
genealogy we can add to that number but it would at least be that much. Using
Whitcomb and Morris’s estimate of up to 5,000 years from the Flood to Abraham
we could say the same for the time frame from Adam to the Flood. These conservative numbers would place
creation around 12,000 B.C. or 14,000 years ago. (Adam to Flood – 5,000; Flood to Abram –
5,000; Abram to Christ – 2,000; Christ to our day – 2,000).
8. WHAT IS THE 2ND LAW OF
THERMODYNAMICS AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR OUR STUDY OF CREATION?
The 1st Law of
Thermodynamics says that energy is neither created nor destroyed in a closed
system. The 2nd Law of
Thermodynamics is that the amount of usable energy in closed system decreases
over time as it dissipates into unusable energy. It is sometimes called the Law of Entropy.
The point of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics is that the universe had
a beginning and is now “running down.”
Energy is being dissipated over time.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says that order moves in the
direction of disorder in a closed system.
The creation record is consistent with this law. God’s creation was complete and perfect. Life has been devolving into greater disorder
since its inception. The universe is
falling apart and disintegrating as it expands.
9. HOW DO WE DATE HUMAN HISTORY?
We rely on the science of
Archaeology for our knowledge of biblical and extra-biblical history. Archaeologists cross check their dates using
1) Written historical documents; 2) Inscriptions on tombs and temples; 3)
Stratigraphy; 4) Pottery and 5) Carbon-14.
Most of the data related to biblical chronology comes from the two
ancient civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt.
10. WHERE DO WE GET OUR
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS FOR ANCIENT HISTORY?
The oldest forms of writing were
in pictographs. Babylonian cuneiform and
Egyptian hieroglyphics were early pictographic forms of writing. Later the first
alphabets were developed for writing.
The earliest documents were written on clay tablets or white limestone
shards called ostraca. The administrative records of empires in Egypt and Mesopotamia
were extensively documented and we now have massive accumulations of such
historical records available today.
11. HOW ARE INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBS
AND TEMPLES USED FOR DATING THE HISTORY OF EMPIRES?
Kings in Mesopotamia and Pharoahs
in Egypt documented their own exploits and the stories from the past on statues
and temple walls. For example, the Palermo stone and the Temple of Seti 1 have
fairly complete lists of kings covering Egyptian history. Priests also
documented the religious history in inscriptions on temple walls. We have
uncovered the ruins of many of these temples as well as numerous other
inscriptions providing an extensive network of information that we can use for
dating events in the Bible.
12. WHAT IS STRATIGRAPHY AND HOW
IS IT USED FOR DATING?
Ancient cities were built on top
of the ruins of previous cities. The results of such construction are giant
mounds called “Tels” which can be found all over the Middle East. Archaeologists “dig” carefully down through
the mounds in a “cut” identifying each strata by the contents of that
strata. The contents are cross-checked
with similar data from hundreds of sites to determine dates. The “Tel” at
Jericho, for example, shows an unbroken sequence of occupation going back to
approximately 7,000 B.C. The flood must
have pre-dated the earliest occupation level making the flood at least 9,000
years ago.
13. WHY IS POTTERY SO IMPORTANT
FOR DATING AND HOW IS IT USED?
Pottery is a primary means of
dating because it was so common and yet distinctive for each city and
civilization. Broken pottery was
discarded but remained in the strata of ancient cities so it is readily
available to modern scientists for analysis.
A massive amount of pottery has been collected by archaeologists over
the years so comparisons can be made noting both the similarities and the
differences from one time to another and one civilization to another. Archaeologists date the pottery by its
ingredients, formation, structure and artistic styles comparing each piece of
pottery to the growing library of ancient pottery available today.
14. WHAT ABOUT CARBON-14 (RADIO
CARBON) DATING TECHNIQUES?
Carbon 14 is an unstable,
radioactive isotope that is used to date once living things. It cannot be used
to date rocks but only organic material.
Carbon14 will decay over time and become Nitrogen14. Once a living thing dies the decay process
begins. The decay rate (half life) of C14
is known because modern scientists have established that rate through
testing. Scientists determine the
starting point by comparing the ratio of C14 to C12 in
living things today. The date of the
organic material is determined by comparing the amount of C14 that
remains with the amount that exists in living things today. The smaller the
ratio the longer the organism has been dead.
Carbon14 dating is a
matter of controversy today. The rate of
decay for C14 has fluctuated over the centuries and is influenced by
the earth’s magnetic field, solar winds and climate changes. The rate is
therefore not consistent. The assumption
is that all organic materials decayed at the same rate and started from the
same point but this is not provable.
However, many studies comparing Radio Carbon dating with other dating
techniques such as tree rings have indicated that C14 is quite
accurate for recent dates but becomes less and less accurate the farther back
in time we proceed. So C14
dating is accepted as accurate when dating organic materials later than 1500
B.C. but becomes less and less accurate as organic materials get older. It is approximately accurate back to about
10,000 years when corroborated by other evidence. Furthermore, if the biblical Flood involved a
major climate change as we assume then that would have greatly altered the rate
of decay making dating beyond the Flood next to impossible. Archaeologists use C14 dating in
concert with the other forms of dating listed above to arrive at approximate
dates for organic materials.
15. WERE THERE CAVE MEN?
Yes … and no. There were (and still are) humans who lived
in caves. The Bible mentions cave dwellers (Genesis 19:30; Job 24:4-8;
30:3-8). There is considerable evidence
that early humans lived in caves but the evidence also suggests that the cave
dwelling was mostly temporary and transient.
Hundreds of human fossils and tools have been found so far in locations
ranging from Africa to Siberia and the islands of Indonesia. However, I think we have to be careful with
the data and corresponding story line pictured by many scientists. Some fossil “men” may not be human at
all. It is difficult to accurately
determine the true identity of some supposedly human fossils and we do not have
to automatically accept all claims regarding such fossil “men.” The Biblical evidence would indicate that
Adam and his immediate descendants were highly intelligent and resourceful
humans unlike the typical picture of cave men as primitive half-animal
creatures living in Stone Age conditions.
16. WHAT ABOUT NEANDERTHAL,
CRO-MAGNON AND HOMO ERECTUS?
In 1856 a fossil was discovered
in a cave in the Neander valley of Germany and named Neanderthal man. Human fossils have been discovered since then
in many parts of the world. They often share structural similarities and have
been collectively called Home Erectus.
Neanderthal fossils are found in the Post-Flood period and associated
with the end of the Ice Age. They appear
alongside Ice Age animals and plants.
Cro-Magnons appear generally in the more recent layers. Neanderthals
seem to have died out about the same time as the Ice Age ended. Some scientists date them to the end of the
Pleistocene Era which can be dated as late as 10,000 B.C. and before the
Neolithic Revolution from 9,000-7,000 B.C.
This is the age of settled agricultural living and before urban life
developed. There is no evidence that
Neanderthal man is connected to any of the ancient cities unearthed by
Archaeologists. It seems reasonable to conclude that the immediate descendents
of Noah migrated to various parts of the earth and lived largely nomadic lives
until the end of the Ice Age produced by the catastrophic climate changes
brought on by the Flood. “Cave men” would belong to this period.
