Historical Geology:

Discussion and Debate:

Topic:  Old Earth versus Young Earth

The age of the Earth has been of interest for a long time.  In the 17th century, Bishop Ussher proposed an age for the Earth of a little over 6000 years, based on genealogies recorded in the Bible.  In the 1800's, the age of the Earth was hotly debated in scientific circles with the new geological principle of Uniformitarianism (James Hutton, Charles Lyell) suggesting that the age of the Earth must be immense, but other work based on the temperature of the Earth (Lord Kelvin) suggesting that the Earth must be younger than a few million years.  In the 20th century, the discovery of radioactive dating has provided an age for the Earth that is conclusive to scientists, but the age continues to be debated on religious or other grounds.

I want you to discuss this topic, thinking critically about what you believe and why.  Don't be vague, but rather find specific reasons for what you believe that would be persuasive to another person.  Don't make strawman arguments (that is, don't say what the other side believes so you can point out how ridiculous it is), don't make character attacks (pointing out character flaws in anyone who disagrees with you), don't make broad but unspecific claims (such as "we know the Earth is old because the rocks are old", or "the Earth has to be young because otherwise the mountains would all be gone"), or claims based on authority but not evidence ("we know the Earth is old because scientists tell us so").
    Questions to consider include:
         What might be scientific evidence supporting a young Earth?  (e.g. there are some geological events, such as formation of canyons in volcanic ash, that occurred very quickly, maybe other events occured more quickly than we realize - but be specific.)
         If you base your belief in a young Earth on Judeao/Christian scripture, how does that scripture support that view (e.g. the Earth was made in 7 days)?

          What might be scientific evidence supporting an old Earth?  (e.g. many different methods for deriving ages are consistent with each other and indicate a very old age - but be specific).
           If you believe Judeao/Christian scripture is consistent with an old Earth, why do you believe that? (e.g. there were days before there was a sun, and so the meaning of a day is unclear).

Sources of information:
     There is a lot of literature on the internet about scientific creationism, suggesting a young age for the Earth, although it varies a great deal in quality and scholarship.  In addition, John Morris, Henry Morris, Steven Austin, and Kurt Wise have written about scientific creationism from a geological perspective, and have published several books and articles.
     There is a great deal of literature on the interpretation of the opening two chapters of Genesis. Many Bible commentaries address this.  A view of a Jewish scholar is found in the book The Seven days of the Beginning by Eli Munk.  A summary of one conservative Christian view can be found in the book The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason Archer.
     Geological interpretations of rock layers (stratigraphy), fossils (paleontology), and ages (geochronology) can be found in geological textbooks, and are also available on the internet, although internet sources vary a great deal in quality and scholarship. An article specifically challenging scientific creationism on geological grounds is found in American Scientist, March/April 1998, by Donald Wise.

To have a good discussion, you will need to come to class prepared.  Discuss this topic at length with your group, then select a group member to participate in the debate.  The debaters will make a brief presentation, then take questions from the rest of the class.
 

My comments for those who may be concerned about how this debate impacts their faith:  Sometimes people perceive a conflict between faith and scholarship on this issue.  However, my own view is this:  Those of us who believe that the Bible is the word of God must also believe that all of Creation is His word as well, both having been spoken into existence.  Thus the discussion is not one of which authority to believe, the Bible or Creation, but rather the discussion rests on our understanding of what each authority is saying.    An open discussion, therefore, does not question faith, but rather examines critically and carefully our own understanding of what is true.

  Home Page (est.htm)     Previous Page (est2.html)