Our Sunday morning Equipping Class just finished watching a fascinating documentary called Is Genesis History? I believe it is the best documentary on the subject because of its high production quality and its unique content. Everyone who watched it was encouraged to see scientific evidence that supports the Bible’s account of a literal six-day creation and a global flood. It made me think, “If this got out it could have a dramatic impact on how Christians think about the age of the earth.”
Many of us were surprised at the evidence in the documentary. We weren’t surprised because we thought it was difficult to believe. We were surprised because it is so rare to see professional scientists support the idea that the world is thousands of years old instead of millions or billions of years old.
I did a little bit of research on why we don’t see more young earth evidence from the scientific community. I came across the story of Mary Schweitzer. In 2005, she discovered living tissue inside of dinosaur bones that were supposed to be at least 150 million years old. She told Live Science magazine, ”The problem is, for 300 years, we thought, ‘Well, the organics are all gone, so why should we look for something that’s not going to be there?’ and nobody looks.” https://www.livescience.com/41537-t-rex-soft-tissue.html One reason professional paleontologists may not have been reporting on evidence for a young earth is because their presuppositions limited their research. After Mary Schweitzer discovered living tissue in dinosaur bones people began looking at them differently.
I also came across the story of a biologist who was recently fired because he allegedly shared research with his students. Mark Armitage claims he was fired from California State University Northridge because he shared information about dinosaur tissue samples with his students. In 2016 he was awarded $399,500 in a settlement with the university after suing them for wrongful termination. “Terminating an employee because of their religious views is completely inappropriate and illegal,” said Attorney Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute. “But doing so in an attempt to silence scientific speech at a public university is even more alarming. This should be a wakeup call and warning to the entire world of academia.” https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/scientist-dismissed-after-soft-tissue-found-dinosaur-fossil-001906 Even after winning the settlement Armitage reported the discrimination didn’t stop. He discovered additional tissue in fossils on two digs, but was not able to find a journal to publish his findings. He said, “I’m clearly being blackballed.” https://world.wng.org/content/after_settlement_academia_still_opposes_creationist/
Unfortunately, it is also becoming rare for Christians to hear biblical teaching that supports a six-day creation perspective in churches and Christian schools. We need to see this trend change. We need Christians to realize this is not just an issue of what theory someone holds for Genesis 1. We need to realize all of Scripture supports a young earth view.
We usually think of only the Old Testament referring to creation, but Jesus Christ taught about creation as well. In Mark 10:6 he said, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.” He was referring to the human race being present on the fifth day of creation. There was no room for millions of years to slip into the timeline. He did not need scientific discoveries to explain the age of the earth because he had a clear understanding of Holy Scripture.
He also wrote about believing in the Old Testament. He said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” Moses wrote about the creation account outside of Genesis as well. He said, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” I believe the most natural way to understand “day” in Exodus 20 and Genesis 1 and 2 is as a 24-hour day. This fits the genre of historical narrative in the most natural way.
Let me end with this dramatic quote from pastor G. I. Williamson. He said, “I do not believe that there is, or ever will be, any scientific discovery that will be able to discredit what God has spoken. Yes, scientific theories do appear to discredit that creation account. But be patient. In time it will be seen that those humble Bible believers were right all along: it was a six-day creation.”
