How old is the earth believed to be? Multiple-choice answers include the following choices: A) 4.5 billion years old; B) 500,000 years old; C) less than 10,000 years old; D) It was not created; it evolved. How a person answers the question likely provides a clue as to which camp they fall in regards to creation. If “C” was chosen, less than 10,000 years old, they most likely would be dubbed a Young Earth Creationist. A person’s understanding of the tenets of Young Earth Creationism (YEC) will affect how they view the creation story.
Believed to be the Young Earth Creationism’s founder, Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1561) declared in his writings, Annals of the Old Testament, deduced from the fist origins of the World, that the earth was created in 4004 B.C. (Moore, 2008). The 6000-year …show more content…
While it is in Scripture, and thus aligns with their literal belief of the Bible, it also provides explanation to the entire fossil record; “the creationist view is that every fossilized animal died in the carnage of the Flood” (Hitt, 1996, para. 20). Common thought was that trilobites settled within the sediment and then fossilized. Experiments have shown, however, different results. Rather, when exposed to air, the fossils would rot quickly, rather than the slow fossilization as is commonly believed. In addition, experiments have also shown that if no oxygen were present, then advanced decomposition would take place (Hitt, 1996). The resulting conclusion from these experiments is fossilization occurred quickly based on physical world data and Young Earth Creationists believe it was due to a catastrophic event; they believe it was Noah’s Flood in Genesis 6 (Hitt, 1996). With the fossil question resolved another significant claim made by YEC is that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. In fact, in Job 40 and 41, God speaks of Behemoth and Leviathan who YEC claim could, in fact, be