Virtually everyone, at some time or another, has been fascinated by the amazing surroundings of the Earth in which we live. The beautiful trees, extravagant mountains, the crystal blue bodies of water, and of course, the cute animals we all adore. Curiosity has always surrounded the specific age of our earth. The question of the age of the earth has produced controversy on all platforms. In fact, even the church is divided on this issue regarding the age of our earth.
There is a 2012 article written by David J. Stewart on his Jesus-is-Savior website entitled "Why A Young Earth View Is Harmful". In his article, Stewart presents his argument on why he believes Young Earth Creationism to be Biblically and Scientifically "harmful". In Christian theology, there are two predominant views regarding the age of the earth: Old Earth Creationism and Young Earth Creationism. Old Earth creationists view the universe and earth as being created by God billions of years ago. Old Earth Christians believe that the modern scientific consensus of the earth's age is correct. On the contrary, young Earth creationists believe the universe and earth to be created by God only a few thousand years ago (approximately 6,000 to 10,000 years ago).
I believe in young Earth creationism. David J. Stewart believes in old Earth creationism. Thus, Stewart believes that my view on the earth is incorrect while his view is the right one. In his article, Stewart begins his refutation of young earth creationism by agreeing with the comments issued by an actor known as Matt Damon. Matt Damon stated in 2008 that he would never vote for Sarah Palin (who was running for vice president at the time as John McCain's running mate) because she believes that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,000 years ago.
In his article, David J. Stewart agrees with Matt Damon's comment, which was nothing more than an ad hominem fallacious attack on Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin's belief in young Earth creationism doesn't disqualify her credentials, nor makes her unworthy of being the vice president of the United States. Obviously, Matt Damon was biased in his commentary on Sarah Palin's candidacy. Steward (2012) wrote the following "There is an abundance of solid evidence, both Biblically and scientifically which testifies of a very OLD EARTH, but a young human race. It is tragic that so many Christians today are so dumb!" (para 2). David J. Stewart also commits an ad hominem fallacy by attacking Christians who believe in a young earth view by labeling them (myself included) as "dumb". Such a fallacious attack is an act of desperation. Stewart, who professes to be a devout Christian, should not be tempted into such disrespect and indecency.
Additionally, Stewart's argument claiming that the Bible testifies to "a young human race but old earth" is theologically inconsistent. Jesus taught that "'God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation" (Mark 10:6 NLT). According to Genesis 1 and 2, God made Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation (1:26-31; 2:7, 21-25). Jesus referred to this very occasion and indicated that God made them "from the beginning of creation." Also, the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans alluded to how long man has been on the earth. He wrote: "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:20 NLT, emp. added).
Stewart is incorrect in his old earth view. Truly, humans were not created by God millions or billions of years after the foundation of the world. Rather, the Bible makes it clear that mankind has been on earth from the creation of it. Stewart cannot logically nor theologically argue that the earth is old and that the human race is young. Either the earth is old and the human race is old or the earth and human race are both young. In his article, Stewart (2012) admits that the human race is young. He wrote: "Humanity DID NOT exist prior to around 4,004 BC!" (para 2). Personally, I attest to Steward's conviction that mankind is only few thousand years old. Steward is correct about that. Adding up all of the chronological dates listed in the Bible will grant this factual conclusion. However, Stewart fails to realize that the earth itself is also only a few thousand years old as well. Scripture makes it perfectly clear to us that man was on the earth from the foundation of the earth's creation. God's Word never hints at such a "billions or millions of years" longevity between the creation of the universe, earth, and the creation of man (known as the "Gap Theory" which Stewart believes). There is no million or billion of years of time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Stewart has been deceived by the worldly.
Furthermore, another false argument initiated by Stewart is his reinforcement in the modern scientific consensus "proving" that dinosaurs are millions of years old. Stewart (2012) writes, "Science has repeatedly evidenced, by using tests on ACTUAL dinosaur bones, that dinosaurs lived tens-of-millions of years ago..." (para 3). To justify his argument, Stewart features a 2011 scholarly article from ScieneDaily entitled "Dinosaurs survived mass extinction by 700,000 years, fossil find suggests". The article states that researchers from the University of Alberta tested and determined the femur bone of a hadrosaur as being 64.8 million years old. The article further states that researchers used a direct-dating method known as U-Pb (uranium-lead) dating to arrive at this conclusion.
However, there is a problem with this conclusion. Grigg (n.d.), a reputable Chemist and Missionary, clarifies that "In reality, no scientific method exists for measuring the age of something directly. All dating methods rely on unprovable assumptions" (para 19). In other words, scientists have no legitimate evidence to verify that dinosaur bones are indeed millions of years old. The dating methods used are faulty and the scientists use circular reasoning to arrive at their conclusions.
According to Stewart and evolutionists, dinosaur bones are at least 60 millions of years old. Stewart (2012) wrote that "It is simply absurd to claim that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,500 years ago" (para 5). However, Stewart failed to mention in his article that more evidence has come to light of dinosaur bones being found with soft tissues and blood vessels. In fact, Dr. Mary Schweitzer and her colleagues discovered a T. rex bone with soft tissues. The T. rex bone was thought to have been 70 millions of years old. Yet, the bone still had soft tissues and blood cells. Schweitzer and her colleagues reported the find in Science magazine, describing the demineralized T.rex bone as "highly fibrous," "flexible," and so "resilient" that "when stretched, returns to its original shape" (Schweitzer et al., 2005, 307:1952,1953; Schweitzer et al., 2007, 316:277).
Paleontologists are finding soft tissues more and more pervasive in the fossil record (Boyle, 2007). My question to Stewart is the following: If dinosaurs lived over 60 millions of years ago, why do we still find dinosaur bones with well-preserved soft tissues? How could an alleged "million-year-old" T-rex bone still contain soft tissue with blood? The most reasonable explanation for this is that dinosaurs once lived on earth in a recent past--only a few hundred or thousand years ago, not 60 million years ago.
In conclusion, as a brother in Christ, I encourage Stewart to give serious thought to the many Bible passages and recent evidence that indicates dinosaurs to be thousands of years old and that these creatures co-existed with mankind in the ancient past. I sincerely encourage Stewart to reject his old earth view and accept the young earth position. Later in his article, Stewart writes, "The unsaved world laughs at Christians who hold to a Young Earth view, in particular concerning the matter of dinosaurs. It discredits a preacher when he goes against legitimate science, because most people are objective thinkers when it comes to preachers and they know bogus teachings when they hear it. It is simply absurd to claim that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,500 years ago. The flood of Noah's time is estimated to have happened around 2348 BC[1]). Very few Christians know how to reconcile the reality of dinosaurs and science with the Genesis account of creation in the Bible" (para 5.)
Tragically, old earth creationist/gap theorists such as Stewart, are trying to modify God's Word to make it agree with modern scientific assumptions. Personally, I will always accept God's Word over man's opinion, regardless of how unpopular my theology or beliefs may be. The unsaved world may laugh at me all they want but I will always remain loyal to God's Word of truth. Paul wrote "Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true" (Romans 3:4 NLT, emp. added). Stewart is severely misled in his view of us who believe in a young earth. Young Earth Creationism is consistent with a literal interpretation of God's amazing Word! The biblical and scientific evidence makes it clear that Behemoth (Job 40) and Leviathan (Job 41) are real, yet extinct dinosaur creatures that once lived with man. Old earth Christians, like David J. Stewart, for the most part, have become so conditioned to think in terms of the long ages of evolutionary geology that the truth never occurs to them that mankind once lived in the same world with the great animals that are now found only as fossils. I can only pray that Steward opens his eyes and realize that young earth creationism is consistent with legitimate science and the study of the Bible.
References
Boyle, A. (2007, July 24). Finding a dinosaur's soft spots. Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2007/07/25/4349749-finding-a-dinosaurs-soft-spots
Grigg, R. (n.d.). Pre-Adamic man: Were there human beings on Earth before Adam? Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://creation.com/pre-adamic-man-were-there-human-beings-on-earth-before-adam
Schweitzer, M. H., Wittmeyer, J. L., Horner, J. R., & Toporski, J. K. (2005). Soft-tissue vessels and cellular preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex. Science, 307(5717), 1952-1955.
Stewart, D. J. (2012, June). Why A Young Earth View Is Harmful. Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evolution Hoax/young_earth_view_harmful.htm
