Should Christians Believe in a Young Earth?
Introduction
The age of the earth can be a very sensitive topic among Christians. A plain, straightforward reading of the Bible tells us that the earth is young. But our secular culture insists that the earth is very old. How can we think about this?
At Biola University, they taught us that the age of the earth is not an essential doctrine. That is, can a Christian believe in millions of years and still be saved? The answer is yes, and I certainly agree. The age of the earth should not be an issue that divides the church.
That said, when I see well-meaning Christians try to fit millions of years into the Genesis account, I would ask, “why?” I think it’s because we are easily persuaded that science has proven millions of years. But it hasn’t. I’m convinced that many people just don’t know that.
The problem is that trying to fit millions of years into the creation account casts doubt on the character of God, and even undermines the gospel. Let me explain.
God’s Character at Stake
The Bible tells us that when God created everything, it was a perfect paradise. There was no pain, suffering, violence, or death. Even the animals did not eat each other (Genesis 1:29-30). Six times God looked upon what he had made and called it good. Then, on the sixth day, after he created Adam and Eve, he looked out over all of creation and called it very good (Genesis 1:31).
When Adam and Eve chose to go their own way, that’s when sin and all of its consequences, including death, entered into the world for the first time. The Bible is clear that death is a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, when Paul writes, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12).
The death caused by Adam and Eve’s sin is not just a spiritual death, as some would claim, but physical as well. Paul confirms this when he talks about the physical death of the first Adam and the physical death of Christ, the last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Also, we see that God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever. (Genesis 3:22-23).
What happened in the Garden of Eden was a terrible tragedy. But beyond Genesis, the overarching theme of the rest of the Bible is one of redemption of mankind and the freedom of all of creation, one day, from the consequences of this original sin (Romans 8:19-23). The good news, that is, the gospel, is that Jesus came to provide a rescue plan so that all who would believe will be reconciled back to God, with restored relationship, and receive eternal life. (John 3:16).
But if we add millions of years to the creation account, we have a fossil record that tells a very different story. We see violence, bloodshed, animals tearing each other apart, cancer, and the elimination of the weak and unfit. We have billions of dead things under our feet, including 100,000 years of stone aged humans. And all of this before Adam and Eve ever existed.
Answer the skeptic: how could a loving God possibly call any of this very good?
We learn throughout the rest of the Bible that one of the very attributes of God is his goodness, which can be defined as follows:
“God’s goodness is that he is the perfect sum, source, and standard (for himself and his creatures) of that which is wholesome (conducive to well-being), virtuous, beneficial, and beautiful.”[1]
To think that God would call so many horrible things very good just goes against his very character.
Death Before Sin?
But beyond that, we have a serious problem if all of the consequences of sin, including death, were present before Adam and Eve ever lived. If death was just another part of God’s creation, and was there all along, then it means that Adam’s sin did not cause death. In that case, Adam’s sin was insignificant. If Adam’s sin was insignificant, then what’s the point of being saved from it, and why do we need a Savior? In fact, it doesn’t seem to matter anymore that a real Adam and Eve ever even existed.
Can you see how millions of years of death before Adam can cause so much harm to the integrity of the scripture and the gospel?
Frank Zindler, former president of the American Atheists, shows us that atheists understand this dilemma very well. Commenting on evolution, he describes what it means if there was never an original sin:
“…If there never was an original sin there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation there is no need of a savior. And I submit that puts Jesus, historical or otherwise, into the ranks of the unemployed. I think that evolution is absolutely the death knell of Christianity.”[2]
If we can’t trust the Bible for what it says in the very beginning, how can we trust any of the rest of it? Where does truth begin, if not in the very first chapter?
Conclusion
The good news is that when we hear millions of years, we don’t have to believe it because it hasn’t been proven to be true. In fact, quite the opposite. Rock dating methods are not proof. And a perfectly reasonable explanation for the rock layers is Noah’s flood. There are many outstanding ministries and resources out there today that defend the biblical worldview in a powerful way, and answer just about any questions anyone could think of.[3]
So, should Christians believe in a young earth? That is a personal decision that each one of us is going to have to make. As for me, I find wonderful freedom and great joy in knowing that I can read and believe the Bible simply for what it says, right from the beginning.
[1] John MacCarthur and Richard Mayhue, gen eds., Biblical Doctrine: a Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 181.
[2] Frank Zindler, in a debate with William Lane Craig, Atheism vs Christianity video, Zondervan, 1996, as cited here: https://creation.com/how-religiously-neutral-are-the-anti-creationist-organisations, accessed 11/20/21.
[3] There are many ministries that effectively communicate the vast amount of evidence that supports the Biblical worldview of a young earth. See for example, Answers in Genesis, Creation Ministries International, Institute for Creation Research, and Genesis Apologetics.
This makes sense Greg…God is good!