Up until recently I had
remained neutral in my position of a Young Earth verses an Old Earth view.
Since it's not a fundamental Biblical doctrine pertaining to salvation, I
didn't take sides in the issue; however, I can no longer remain neutral. I'm
generally slow to figure things out, and it took me awhile to see the truth,
but I clearly see it now. After reading this article I am confident that you
will too.
Basically, proponents of an Old Earth view believe that the earth was created by God—did not evolve—has existed for millions (if not billions) of years—and that the human race is young, having only been in existence for 6,000 years (since 4,000 BC). Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) and Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) believed this and so do I. This is often called the 'Gap Principle' (that is, a time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2).
Consider the following powerful statement by Pastor Max D. Younce...
“Should one desire a continued, concentrated study of the years from the flood to the birth of Christ, they would arrive at approximately 2,345 years. Thus, from Adam to Christ is close to the figure of 4,000 years. Add another 2,000 plus from Christ to the present, and you have man on the earth for only 6,000 years. Therefore, the Gap Principle, as documented in Scripture makes evolution an absolute impossibility. The Gap Principle made it possible for me to lead many people to Jesus Christ as their Savior, who had been influenced by the evolutionary philosophy.” [emphasis added]
SOURCE: The Truth About Evolution; Or, Don't Let Satan Make A Monkey Out Of You, by Dr. Max D. Younce.
I realized recently that 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 thinkers 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. Well, now you can KNOW the truth about the matter and explain it to others. The earth is indeed very old, but humanity has only been here since about 4,004 BC. Please continue reading and you will learn.
Have you ever known someone who was totally wrong, yet they fought relentlessly to defend their wrong position? We've all done it at times. Why do people do this? It is because part of our sinful human nature is stubbornness and pride. We don't like to admit when we are wrong. It makes us feel foolish and inferior, so we tend to defend our paradigm (the world we live in) to the utmost degree, even desperately grasping for straws if need be to do so. Since we know that it is also human nature to discredit others when they make mistakes, especially when they admit those mistakes, this makes it even harder to admit when we are wrong.
A good case in point is the heresy of a Young Earth Creation. The proponents of Young Earth Creationism are ignorant of the Bible. Like the Biblical pretribulation Rapture, coming to the correct conclusion of Old Earth Creationism requires deductive reasoning of the Scriptures. For those newer believers and less skilled Bible students who read the Bible as a newspaper, they don't see the truth, so in a misguided attempt to provide answers to curious questions about the origin of the universe, man and dinosaurs, they fabricate a seemingly plausible solution based upon unscholarly conjecture. Legitimate science supports an Old Earth. The claim that dinosaurs roamed the earth 5,000 years ago is insane! Despite compelling scientific, Biblical, historical, archaeological and paleontological evidence of an old earth, stubborn religious people desperately grasp for straws in an attempt to bolster their straw-man heresy of a Young Earth.
I heard actor Matt Damon make a comment about potential U.S. Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2008, implying that he would never vote for someone who believes that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,000 years ago. Can you blame him? I have a problem with that claim myself. Albert Einstein said, “Religion without science is blind.” 1st Timothy 6:20 warns us about “science falsely so called” (such as the lies of Evolution); however, if we also reject legitimate science in ignorance, then we only discredit ourselves as preachers. It's important that preachers be scientifically correct as well as Biblical correct if they want people to respect their opinion and listen to them.
Actor Matt Damon has publicly expressed his disdain for a young earth view. People don't have much patience when preachers teach that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,500 years ago. The flood occurred at approximately 2,500 B.C. and the Bible dates creation in Genesis at 4,004 B.C. Humanity DID NOT exist prior to 4,000 B.C.! Here are Matt Damon's comments...
On September 10, 2008, a video of actor Matt Damon was released to the press that quickly got posted on YouTube, and has now gotten over two million hits. Here’s what he said:
I think there’s a really good chance that Sarah Palin could be president, and I think that’s a really scary thing because I don’t know anything about her. I don’t think in eight weeks I’m gonna know anything about her. I know that she was a mayor of a really, really small town, and she’s governor of Alaska for less than two years. I just don’t understand. I think the pick was made for political purposes, but in terms of governance, it’s a disaster. You do the actuary tables, you know, there’s a one out of three chance, if not more, that McCain doesn’t survive his first term, and it’ll be President Palin. And it really, you know, I was talking about it earlier, it’s like a really bad Disney movie, you know, the hockey mom, you know, “I’m just a hockey mom from Alaska”—and she’s the president. And it’s like she’s facing down Vladimir Putin and, you know, using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink, you know, it’s just absurd. It’s totally absurd, and I don’t understand why more people aren’t talking about how absurd it is. I ... it’s a really terrifying possibility.The fact that we’ve gotten this far and we’re that close to this being a reality is crazy. Crazy. I mean, did she really—I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. That’s an important … I want to know that. I really do. Because she’s gonna have the nuclear codes, you know. I wanna know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago or if she banned books or tried to ban books. I mean, you know, we can’t have that. [emphasis added]
SOURCE: Matt Damon vs. Sarah Palin and the Dinosaurs - Christian News, Commentary
Science has repeatedly evidenced by using tests on ACTUAL dinosaur bones, that dinosaurs lived tens-of-millions of years ago...
When I lived in Chicago I saw “Sue” the T-rex on display at the Field Museum Of Natural History. The skeletal dinosaur remains were unearthed in the state of Montana. I recall looking up, because Sue is really tall. There's no way that these horrific, yet beautiful, creatures dwelt with humanity. Any thinking person has a hard time believing that Noah left the dinosaurs behind. It is superstition. The truth is that dinosaurs never coexisted with mankind.Dinosaurs Survived Mass Extinction by 700,000 Years, Fossil Find Suggests
ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2011) — University of Alberta researchers determined that a fossilized dinosaur bone found in New Mexico confounds the long established paradigm that the age of dinosaurs ended between 65.5 and 66 million years ago.
The U of A team, led by Larry Heaman from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, determined the femur bone of a hadrosaur as being only 64.8 million years old. That means this particular plant eater was alive about 700,000 years after the mass extinction event many paleontologists believe wiped all non-avian dinosaurs off the face of earth, forever.
Heaman and colleagues used a new direct-dating method called U-Pb (uranium-lead) dating. A laser beam unseats minute particles of the fossil, which then undergo isotopic analysis. This new technique not only allows the age of fossil bone to be determined but potentially can distinguish the type of food a dinosaur eats. Living bone contains very low levels of uranium but during fossilization (typically less than 1000 years after death) bone is enriched in elements like uranium. The uranium atoms in bone decay spontaneously to lead over time and once fossilization is complete the uranium-lead clock starts ticking. The isotopic composition of lead determined in the hadrosaur's femur bone is therefore a measure of its absolute age.
Currently, paleontologists date dinosaur fossils using a technique called relative chronology. Where possible, a fossil's age is estimated relative to the known depositional age of a layer of sediment in which it was found or constrained by the known depositional ages of layers above and below the fossil-bearing horizon. However, obtaining accurate depositional ages for sedimentary rocks is very difficult and as a consequence the depositional age of most fossil horizons is poorly constrained. A potential weakness for the relative chronology approach is that over millions of years geologic and environmental forces may cause erosion of a fossil-bearing horizon and therefore a fossil can drift or migrate from its original layer in the strata. The researchers say their direct-dating method precludes the reworking process.
It's widely believed that a mass extinction of the dinosaurs happened between 65.5 and 66 million years ago. It's commonly believed debris from a giant meteorite impact blocked out the Sun, causing extreme climate conditions and killing vegetation worldwide.SOURCE: Dinosaurs survived mass extinction by 700,000 years, fossil find suggests
Dr. Henry Morris of the Creation Research Institute (CRI) teaches a young earth view (as does Dr. Kent Hovind, whom I tremendously respect and admire for his uncompromising stand and battle for what he believes). Dr. Curtis Hutson and Harry A. Ironside believe in a pre-Adamic creation when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and so do I. Dr. John R. Rice however believed in a strict 6-day creation and taught that the universe did not exist in any way prior to Genesis 1:1. There are many faithful preachers who believe both views. Albeit, the truth is the truth. You can even find the word “old” in Psalms 102:25, “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” The issue is hotly debating, some even attacking the salvation of others who disagree. I think that is wrong.
It needs to be considered that a Young Earth view drives people away from the Gospel. As much as I admire Dr. Hovind, his Young Earth views give his enemies credible ammunition to discredit his correct teachings in the eyes of intelligent people. Matt Damon is serving the Devil with his life, but he's no fool. I completely understand his frustration with the idea that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,500 years ago. Kent Hovind is correct about evolution, but wrong about the age of the earth. The Bible says that Satan blinds the MIND of unsaved people, to hinder them from recognizing the Gospel (2nd Corinthians 4:4). A thinking person with a college degree won't listen to anyone who thinks that dinosaurs lived 4,500 years ago. Matt Damon is proof of what I am saying. I agree with him.
What really bothers me is that Dr. Hovind attacks adherents of the Old Earth view, claiming that they are corrupting the Gospel message. Mr. Hovind states:
"Therein lies the gap theory’s greatest error, the placement of sin and death prior to the existence of Adam. If death existed prior to Adam’s sin, then how could it be the result of sin?"
SOURCE: Creation Today » The Gap Theory Denies the Purpose of the Cross Comments Feed
I don't like the term 'Gap Theory' because it's not a theory. It's best to call it the 'Gap Principle.'
Dr. Hovind argues that since Adam's sin brought
DEATH into the world (Romans 5:12), then how could there have been a
pre-Adamic world where dinosaurs lived and DIED? Dr. Hovind assumes that
dinosaurs died. How do we know? Perhaps God made them to live forever (as
would have Adam and Eve if they hadn't sinned). Science plainly teaches that
an EVENT wiped out the dinosaurs. Jeremiah 4:23-28 plainly teaches us that
God Himself became angry and rendered the earth “WITHOUT FORM AND VOID.”
God In His Anger Made The Earth 'Without Form And Void'
Ezekiel 28:13-19 teaches that Lucifer was stripped of his heavenly position, authority and glory when he rebelled against God in seeking equality. Earth became Satan's new home. It is commonly believed (and I disagree) that Satan in his anger and rage destroyed the earth. In fact (and you're about to be amazed), God destroyed the earth in His own anger. Yes, that's right, GOD DESTROYED THE EARTH IN GENESIS 1:1...
Jeremiah 4:23-28, “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.”
Could the Bible be any clearer that God in His anger made the earth without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep? The cities were inhabited by angels. Man had not been created yet. This is when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Argue as one may, these Scriptures plainly evidence why the earth was without form and void in Genesis 1:1. In fact, Jeremiah 4:23 even repeats the exact phrase word-for-word. These Scriptures cannot be ignored if one is to be an honest Bible student.
Carefully notice that Lucifer dwelt upon the earth prior to his rebellion. Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer's sin was wanting EQUALITY with God. This is the same sin of feminists today, who want to be EQUAL with male authority in marriage, home, church and society. God has ordained masculine authority in the humanity. Women are equal in worth, intelligence and importance to God; but the man is to lead, not the woman.
When Lucifer sinned, he wasn't punished by God. We know that Lucifer wasn't banned from Heaven because Satan appears before God in Job 1:6-7. Satan will be judged, convicted and punished at The Great White Throne Of Judgment with the rest of the wicked (Revelation 20:11-15). Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna - Hell) forever to burn and be tormented night and day without rest. 2nd Peter 2:4 also tells us that the angels bound in Hell are RESERVED unto judgment. So neither the Devil nor the demons have been punished yet for their wickedness.
Those who believe in a Young Earth vehemently reject the idea that there's a Gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2; but as you've just read, God destroyed the cities of the earth and made the land desolate. Light ceased to shine (the sun, moon and stars were blocked out by God). The mountains trembled and moved. The earth had been a fruitful wilderness where dinosaurs and prehistoric birds and mammals lived. But God became angry for some reason (which is not specified).
I believe the answer is clear in consideration of Isaiah 14:14. Lucifer rebelled against God, drawing one-third of the angels with him to rebel, and it angered the Lord greatly. “The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.” When have the heavens ever been black since creation? They haven't! The only logical, reasonable and Biblical answer is found in Genesis 1:1 where we are told that darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Without Form And Void (by Arthur C. Constance)
Dinosaurs Lived Long Before Man
