Age of the Earth
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The biblical creation story, and the supposedly detailed listing of generations (also known as the "begats") reinforces the idea that the Earth must have been created within the last 10,000 years or so. Similarly, Talmudic commentaries over the last 2000 years place Creation at roughly 7,000 years, give or take many thousands of years. | The biblical creation story, and the supposedly detailed listing of generations (also known as the "begats") reinforces the idea that the Earth must have been created within the last 10,000 years or so. Similarly, Talmudic commentaries over the last 2000 years place Creation at roughly 7,000 years, give or take many thousands of years. | ||
| − | + | In the 17th century, Christians, both theologians and scientists, era attempted to define the Day of Creation more precisely. [[Issac Newton]], using the Bible as a template, worked out the age of the earth to be 4000BE, Johannes Keppler, 3992 BC, and Bede at 3952. | |
| − | + | [[James Usher]] determined that he could figure out the date of creation, by compiling a chronology of all the events in the Bible. Without explaining how he knew at what age particular "begats", "begatted", Usher decided that the date of Creation was exactly Sunday, October 23, 4000 BC <ref>Leaving science so envious that it can only at best give approximations</ref> What a nice round number. Of course, learning that there was a miscalculation in the Gregorian calendar, and that Christ's birth is roughly 3 years off, He amended his date to Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC. | |
| − | It is not at all surprising that all these dates spin near or around the 4000 mark, as they are based on a contemporary Christian theological idea that the earth only had a 6000 year life span. <ref>Meaning, if you follow, we were all supposed to be dead just over 10 years ago</ref>. | + | It is not at all surprising that all these dates spin near or around the 4000 mark, as they are based on a contemporary Christian theological idea that the earth only had a 6000 year life span. <ref>Meaning, if you follow, we were all supposed to be dead just over 10 years ago</ref>. |
===Old Earth Creationist=== | ===Old Earth Creationist=== | ||
Revision as of 17:07, 23 October 2011
The Age of the Earth is roughly 4.54 billion (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%) years old,[1][2] give or take a few millions years, according to the scientific consensus. This wouldn't be particularly noteworthy to emphasize if it wasn't for the people that completely disregard most fields of modern science and reject it out of hand. The age is calculated based upon radiometric dating of star-stuff that fell from the skies. Unless physics and geology as we know it go under a complete upheaval, there is no reason to doubt the Earth's approximate range.
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Scientific Views
Formation of the solar system
The original formation of the Earth was a violent process that resulted in an early Earth that was in effect, constantly molten. Therefore, we do not, and perhaps cannot, know exactly how old the Earth is. However, science has determined that our Solar System was formed roughly 4.54 billion years ago. This age is based on radiometric evidence from meteorites found on Earth. Lunar rock, which is collected from a body that does not have a fluid mantel or crust, so has therefore remained constant, dates to 4.4 - 4.5 billion years. Other evidence includes a few Martian meteorites that have landed on Earth, which date to a slightly older 4.5-4.6 billion years. Though not yet perfected, recently discovered technology to study the sun, helioseismics, have provided independent confirmation of the rough age of the solar system [3]
Formation of the Earth
Due to the nature of our own Earth, and the fact that the mantel is fluid and the crust has in fact undergone many stages in its formation, it is nearly impossible to find rocks that were actually created when the earth was formed. However, recently a few samples of lead, believed to be formed during the Archaeon, have been dated to 4.40 billion years[4], fitting perfectly into a theory of formation at the same time as the rest of the Solar System, at 4.5 billion years.
Other (religious) views
Simply because the concept of deep time is quite hard to wrap your head around, few cultures that existed prior to modern scientific scholarship have specifically posited an age of the Earth that expanded much beyond the longest time they could imagine. Generally, 1000s or perhaps 10,000 of years.
Early Christian and modern Young Earth Creationist Views
By and large, Christianity has always held the idea that the Earth is only thousands of years old, simply because it is difficult to consider time spans much larger than that.
The biblical creation story, and the supposedly detailed listing of generations (also known as the "begats") reinforces the idea that the Earth must have been created within the last 10,000 years or so. Similarly, Talmudic commentaries over the last 2000 years place Creation at roughly 7,000 years, give or take many thousands of years.
In the 17th century, Christians, both theologians and scientists, era attempted to define the Day of Creation more precisely. Issac Newton, using the Bible as a template, worked out the age of the earth to be 4000BE, Johannes Keppler, 3992 BC, and Bede at 3952.
James Usher determined that he could figure out the date of creation, by compiling a chronology of all the events in the Bible. Without explaining how he knew at what age particular "begats", "begatted", Usher decided that the date of Creation was exactly Sunday, October 23, 4000 BC [5] What a nice round number. Of course, learning that there was a miscalculation in the Gregorian calendar, and that Christ's birth is roughly 3 years off, He amended his date to Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC.
It is not at all surprising that all these dates spin near or around the 4000 mark, as they are based on a contemporary Christian theological idea that the earth only had a 6000 year life span. [6].
Old Earth Creationist
Zoroastrian
Buddhist
See also
- 101 evidences for a young age of the earth and the universe
- Evidence against a recent creation
- Old Earth creationism
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html
- ↑ http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/190/1/205
- ↑ The new systems for studying the sun, which is a study of the acoustic waves, gives a more general date of 4.0-5.5 billion years. These dates are not as precise as the radiometric dating, but they are an independent confirmation that we are not wildly off our dates.
- ↑ Zircons found in the Jack Hills area of Australia have returned an age of 4.4 billion, interpreted through crystallization. These same samples seem also to suggest that there was water on the earth as early as 4.4 billion years ago. ref: wikipedia [1]
- ↑ Leaving science so envious that it can only at best give approximations
- ↑ Meaning, if you follow, we were all supposed to be dead just over 10 years ago