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| The Age of The Earth |
Text: Genesis 1:1
Introduction: The Bible, contrary to expectations of some and the criticism of others, does
not specifically state when the world began: it does not record the year, the month, the day
and the hour the universe came into being. The chronology of the Irish “arch-bishop” James
Ussher, placed in the margin of the English Authorized Version by the “Bishop” of
Worchester, has been accepted by some as being a part of scripture. It places the date of
creation at 4004 BC and 5314 BC respectively. The exact time is not given; however, the Bible
clearly shows the age of the earth to be only calculated in the single digit of the thousands.
On the other hand, there are many who place the age of the earth at 4.5 to 5 billion years,
declaring the Bible to be totally unreliable in its representation of the origin of the universe.
They declare that by “scientific means” the age of the earth, and of the very universe itself
has been determined.
The discrepancies between the two dates, and the correlating theories underlying them is
irreconcilable. Either the earth is of an early age or the Biblical account of creation is
unreliable and incorrect. Thus, the question of the time of the beginning is one of great import,
and worthy of our time and attention.
Have “scientific means” correctly established the age of the earth, and of the very universe?
Are there any “scientific means” which would tend to verify an early or young age for the
earth and the universe?
There are two passages of scripture which we should remember during our study of these
concepts:
O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings
and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; which some professing have
erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. (1 Timothy 6:20-21 ASV)
But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear,
neither be troubled; but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give
answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with
meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they
may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ. (1 Peter 3:14-16 ASV)
May this study help you reject “science falsely so-called” and help you have “an answer to
present for the ehope that isin you with meekness and fear.”
DATING METHODS
The important thing to remember as the dating methods are examined is the great
diversity of results achieved. This proves the unreliability of any measure of the age of the
earth accurately.
Chemical Composition of Ocean
Element Year to Accumulate from River Flow
Sodium 260,000,000
Magnesium 45,000,000
Silicon 8,000
Potassium 11,000,000
Copper 50,000
Gold 560,000
Silver 2,100,000
Mercury 42,000
Lead 2,000
Tin 100,000
Nickel 18,000
Uranium 500,000
Aluminum 100
Sediments 30,000,000
Fresh Water 340,000,000
Other Methods of Calculation
Method Age of Earth
Helium 4 175,000
Meteoric Dust Approximately 10,000
Nickel Erosion Approximately 10,000
Continental Rocks 14,000,000
Volcanic Rocks (Lava) 500,000,000
Decay of Magnetic Field 7,000 – 10,000
Radiocarbon (C-14) for Atmosphere 10,000
Population Statistics 4,000
Potassium-Argon Method – P-40 to Ar-40 to Ca40 ½ to 1.3 billion years
Problems
• Calibrated by U-Pb dating. Up to 50% unknown.
• P-Ar open system. (Ar gas, P – 80% removed by distilled water in 4.5 hours)
• Ar-P present at time of formation. (Hawaii 200 yr. rocks date 22 million years, O – 3.34
million, 160 million to 3 billion)
• P decay rate changeable.
Rubidium – Strontium Dating
Ru87 – St87 half life is 47 billion years (?60-120)
Problems
• Calibrated by U-Pb dating.
• Decay rate changeable.
• St87 absorbed from surrounding rocks.
• ST87 from St86 by neutron capture.
Radio Carbon (C-14)
C-12 combines with N-14 to create C-14.
C-14 decays into N-14. Half-life is 5,730 years.
Supposed usable to 29,000 years. (Accurate to 2,000-3,000 years.)
Problems
• All living systems not in equilibrium for C-14 exchange (living mollusks have dated 2,300
years)
• Radiocarbon (C-14) decay may not be consistent. (vegetation density effects)
• C-14 ratio may not be steady state (production may exceed decay by as much as 25%)
Ocean Sediments
27.5 billion tons per year – There are 820 million billion tons
30,000,000 years
Helium-4
---------------- x (5x10) = 1.75x105 [top – 3.5x10.15, bottom – 1020]
Rate of 5x109 gm/year no original helium
175,000 years
Meteoric Dust
14 million tons/year
If 5 billion year age = 182 feet thick all over world
Nickel Erosion
.75 billion pounds/year
7,000 billion pounds in ocean
Approximately 10,000
Continental Rocks
383 million billion tons
14,000,000
Water in Oceans
1 cubic mile/year
340 million cubic miles
340,000,000
Volcanic Rocks (lava)
0.2 cubic kilometers/year/volcano
2.4 cubic kilometers/year
10 cubic kilometers/year
Crust 5x109 cubic kilometers
500,000,000
Decay of Magnetic Field
Half life of 1400 years
7,000-10,000
Population Statistics
G = 100[ (----)-- - 1] ½%/yr. rate
Present rate 2&
4,000 years
Uranium Methods – 4.5 – 5 billions years.
U-238 to Lead 206 + 8 helium atoms
• Half life 4.5 billion years
U-235 to Lead 207 + 7 Helium atoms
• Half life .7 billion years
Thorium 232 to Lead 208 + 7 helium atoms
• Half life 14.1 billion years
Problems
• Open System, not closed.
• Lead 208 formed other ways.
• U + Pb migrate in shale + pitchblende.)
• Decay rates may not be uniform.
• Neutrino influx.
• Daughter produces present at formation.
• Discordant results.
• Rocks from 1800 measured 22 million years old.
• Age consistant with evolution accepted.
MAN AND HIS AGE
Antelope Mountain – trilobite fossil in a sandal footprint
Paluxy River (Glen Rose,TX) – human and dinosaur (brontosaurus, etc.) footprints in
same rock strata
Calveras, CA – human skulls in “old rocks”
Human bones in coal formations
Etc.
These show man present from earliest times.
THE CONCEPTION OF AGE
“God saw that it was good”
“good” = mature, able to reproduce
God formed: man not a baby, trees not seeds, chickens not eggs, etc.
Therefore, in reference to geology and geologic formations, the ful range of chemical
elements would be present.
Creation at one minute would have the appearance of age.
Only creation can account for the variations in dating methods.
Conclusion: To say that dating methods are imprecise is an understatement to say the least.
Dating methods for antiquity are poor and for establishing the age of the earth are useless.
There is nothing about the “scientific means” of dating, when they are properly understood
and evaluated that conflicts with, let alone nullifies the age of the earth and the universe
presented in the scriptures. In fact, as all of the means and methods are examined and taken
into account, only creation is able to explain their discrepancies; therefore, rather than
conflicting and nullifying creation, they support it.
There is nothing about true science, a detailed study of the physical universe and all of its life
forms, with animal and vegetable that conflicts with scriptural presentations. In fact, a proper
understanding and interpretation of the facts, laws and observations of science strengthen
faith in the Almighty and His act of creation.
Introduction: The Bible, contrary to expectations of some and the criticism of others, does
not specifically state when the world began: it does not record the year, the month, the day
and the hour the universe came into being. The chronology of the Irish “arch-bishop” James
Ussher, placed in the margin of the English Authorized Version by the “Bishop” of
Worchester, has been accepted by some as being a part of scripture. It places the date of
creation at 4004 BC and 5314 BC respectively. The exact time is not given; however, the Bible
clearly shows the age of the earth to be only calculated in the single digit of the thousands.
On the other hand, there are many who place the age of the earth at 4.5 to 5 billion years,
declaring the Bible to be totally unreliable in its representation of the origin of the universe.
They declare that by “scientific means” the age of the earth, and of the very universe itself
has been determined.
The discrepancies between the two dates, and the correlating theories underlying them is
irreconcilable. Either the earth is of an early age or the Biblical account of creation is
unreliable and incorrect. Thus, the question of the time of the beginning is one of great import,
and worthy of our time and attention.
Have “scientific means” correctly established the age of the earth, and of the very universe?
Are there any “scientific means” which would tend to verify an early or young age for the
earth and the universe?
There are two passages of scripture which we should remember during our study of these
concepts:
O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings
and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; which some professing have
erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. (1 Timothy 6:20-21 ASV)
But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear,
neither be troubled; but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give
answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with
meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they
may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ. (1 Peter 3:14-16 ASV)
May this study help you reject “science falsely so-called” and help you have “an answer to
present for the ehope that isin you with meekness and fear.”
DATING METHODS
The important thing to remember as the dating methods are examined is the great
diversity of results achieved. This proves the unreliability of any measure of the age of the
earth accurately.
Chemical Composition of Ocean
Element Year to Accumulate from River Flow
Sodium 260,000,000
Magnesium 45,000,000
Silicon 8,000
Potassium 11,000,000
Copper 50,000
Gold 560,000
Silver 2,100,000
Mercury 42,000
Lead 2,000
Tin 100,000
Nickel 18,000
Uranium 500,000
Aluminum 100
Sediments 30,000,000
Fresh Water 340,000,000
Other Methods of Calculation
Method Age of Earth
Helium 4 175,000
Meteoric Dust Approximately 10,000
Nickel Erosion Approximately 10,000
Continental Rocks 14,000,000
Volcanic Rocks (Lava) 500,000,000
Decay of Magnetic Field 7,000 – 10,000
Radiocarbon (C-14) for Atmosphere 10,000
Population Statistics 4,000
Potassium-Argon Method – P-40 to Ar-40 to Ca40 ½ to 1.3 billion years
Problems
• Calibrated by U-Pb dating. Up to 50% unknown.
• P-Ar open system. (Ar gas, P – 80% removed by distilled water in 4.5 hours)
• Ar-P present at time of formation. (Hawaii 200 yr. rocks date 22 million years, O – 3.34
million, 160 million to 3 billion)
• P decay rate changeable.
Rubidium – Strontium Dating
Ru87 – St87 half life is 47 billion years (?60-120)
Problems
• Calibrated by U-Pb dating.
• Decay rate changeable.
• St87 absorbed from surrounding rocks.
• ST87 from St86 by neutron capture.
Radio Carbon (C-14)
C-12 combines with N-14 to create C-14.
C-14 decays into N-14. Half-life is 5,730 years.
Supposed usable to 29,000 years. (Accurate to 2,000-3,000 years.)
Problems
• All living systems not in equilibrium for C-14 exchange (living mollusks have dated 2,300
years)
• Radiocarbon (C-14) decay may not be consistent. (vegetation density effects)
• C-14 ratio may not be steady state (production may exceed decay by as much as 25%)
Ocean Sediments
27.5 billion tons per year – There are 820 million billion tons
30,000,000 years
Helium-4
---------------- x (5x10) = 1.75x105 [top – 3.5x10.15, bottom – 1020]
Rate of 5x109 gm/year no original helium
175,000 years
Meteoric Dust
14 million tons/year
If 5 billion year age = 182 feet thick all over world
Nickel Erosion
.75 billion pounds/year
7,000 billion pounds in ocean
Approximately 10,000
Continental Rocks
383 million billion tons
14,000,000
Water in Oceans
1 cubic mile/year
340 million cubic miles
340,000,000
Volcanic Rocks (lava)
0.2 cubic kilometers/year/volcano
2.4 cubic kilometers/year
10 cubic kilometers/year
Crust 5x109 cubic kilometers
500,000,000
Decay of Magnetic Field
Half life of 1400 years
7,000-10,000
Population Statistics
G = 100[ (----)-- - 1] ½%/yr. rate
Present rate 2&
4,000 years
Uranium Methods – 4.5 – 5 billions years.
U-238 to Lead 206 + 8 helium atoms
• Half life 4.5 billion years
U-235 to Lead 207 + 7 Helium atoms
• Half life .7 billion years
Thorium 232 to Lead 208 + 7 helium atoms
• Half life 14.1 billion years
Problems
• Open System, not closed.
• Lead 208 formed other ways.
• U + Pb migrate in shale + pitchblende.)
• Decay rates may not be uniform.
• Neutrino influx.
• Daughter produces present at formation.
• Discordant results.
• Rocks from 1800 measured 22 million years old.
• Age consistant with evolution accepted.
MAN AND HIS AGE
Antelope Mountain – trilobite fossil in a sandal footprint
Paluxy River (Glen Rose,TX) – human and dinosaur (brontosaurus, etc.) footprints in
same rock strata
Calveras, CA – human skulls in “old rocks”
Human bones in coal formations
Etc.
These show man present from earliest times.
THE CONCEPTION OF AGE
“God saw that it was good”
“good” = mature, able to reproduce
God formed: man not a baby, trees not seeds, chickens not eggs, etc.
Therefore, in reference to geology and geologic formations, the ful range of chemical
elements would be present.
Creation at one minute would have the appearance of age.
Only creation can account for the variations in dating methods.
Conclusion: To say that dating methods are imprecise is an understatement to say the least.
Dating methods for antiquity are poor and for establishing the age of the earth are useless.
There is nothing about the “scientific means” of dating, when they are properly understood
and evaluated that conflicts with, let alone nullifies the age of the earth and the universe
presented in the scriptures. In fact, as all of the means and methods are examined and taken
into account, only creation is able to explain their discrepancies; therefore, rather than
conflicting and nullifying creation, they support it.
There is nothing about true science, a detailed study of the physical universe and all of its life
forms, with animal and vegetable that conflicts with scriptural presentations. In fact, a proper
understanding and interpretation of the facts, laws and observations of science strengthen
faith in the Almighty and His act of creation.
