Warmup 10/20/15 According to the Biblical model, about how old would you say the Earth is? Is there any “wiggle” to this number? Objective Tonight’s Homework To understand the Biblical record of Earth’s history Read 5.4 to 5.6 p 99: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8

Creationist Earth History We’ve seen what the secular world believes, but what about what the Bible teaches? If we want to be good scientists, we need to look at the actual data and see which model fits best. So let’s erase everything from yesterday and start fresh with an alternative way of looking at things…

Creationist Earth History The Bible tells us that God created the Earth in 6 days. This would mean that all the weird animals that left fossils would have been around before the Flood, dinosaurs included. So what did this pre-Flood (or Antediluvian) world look like? We don’t know much. We do know it had to have a warmer, milder climate.

Creationist Earth History We can also assume that the continents were arranged in a very different way back then. Why? At the beginning of the Flood, the Bible tells us that the waters of the deep broke forth. What does this mean? It means there must have been a lot of water underground OR that the ground was ripping apart, letting water come up from in between. So on this point, Biblical history doesn’t require too big a difference from secular. The pre-Flood world could have easily been Pangaea that broke up at the Flood.

Creationist Earth History How long was this pre-Flood world around? It depends on a few things in Genesis that can be interpreted two different ways. Adam and his descendants are given ages for how long they lived. We’re also told which ones are sons of which other ones. If both of these things are 100% literal, then the world was created about 1650 years before the Flood. Some Bible scholars estimate about 5300 years since the Flood, so that would put the age of the Earth at about 7,000 years old.

Creationist Earth History But it is very easy to interpret some of this Biblical information differently. Many ages listed in the ancient world weren’t meant to be entirely literal, but somewhat figurative. “365 years = completeness”, “777 years = holy” etc. If this applies to the ages listed in Genesis, then we really have no idea how long each person lived. Additionally, the phrase “so-and-so was the son of so- and-so” can also be interpreted differently. Depending on the Hebrew context, “son” can be interpreted as “descendant”. If the Bible was meant to be read this way, then we honestly have no idea how old the world is.

Creationist Earth History Next we want to look at layers of rock. Is there another way of getting them besides slow build-up? Yes! There are many instances where floods have laid down a lot of sediment in a short period of time. The Earth was flooded for over a year. This is plenty of time for dozens of layers of sediment to form.

Creationist Earth History During the Flood, millions of animals died and their bodies were swept around with the waters. This is how we explain most of the fossils we see. Unfortunately, there seems to be little evidence that proves this Christian view over the secular one. There is a cave in Maryland called the Cumberland Bone Cave. This cave contains bones from over 40 different species, many of them from very different places. You would think this proves that the Flood happened, yet scientists have come up with several ways of trying to explain how this happened.

Creationist Earth History So what happened after the Flood? Let’s logically step through this. God started the Flood by opening the waters of the deep. Whatever that means, it certainly sounds violent. It had to have involved at least earthquakes. Most Bible scholars think it also involved a lot of volcanoes erupting. This would dump tons of ash into the air. All that ash would block out the sun, which would make the Earth colder. This could easily be when the Ice Age happened.

Creationist Earth History As the ice age ended, the world was a different place than it was before. Very rapid plate tectonics – called “Catastrophic Tectonics” could have occurred that moved the continents to their present locations. One big assumption made by secular scientists is that the Earth’s tectonic plates have always moved at the same speed they’re moving now. This can neither be proved or disproved.

Creationist Earth History Now that we’ve seen both views, we have to think carefully. Which view is right? Which one makes more sense? Unfortunately, we can’t simply prove it was the Flood from the evidence we see. Yes, the Biblical model is simpler, and simpler is often better, but the picture the secular scientists have built up fits with what we see, too. Both models seem to have small pieces that don’t fit, and other pieces that fit only their theory. Each of you has to make a decision. Keep researching this stuff. Keep challenging assumptions made by both science and Biblical scholars. And always remember that unless science somehow comes up with a better explanation (which it won’t), you have no reason NOT to believe the Bible.

Reflection We’ve just covered a lot of controversial stuff. Both science and Christianity make some very strong arguments using geology. Mr. C. wants you to spend the next 5-10 minutes journaling out your thoughts on this subject. Some prompts: Is it important to you that we find evidence that proves the Flood? Do you feel like both sides are being honest and telling the whole story? What other things on this topic would you like to know?

Exit Question How long did the surface of the Earth remain flooded? One week 40 days 100 days A year 10 years No one knows