Many people have questions concerning whether the earth is young or old. The popular position is that the earth is billions of years old. However, Scripture clearly teaches that the earth is only thousands of years old.
Although the Bible does not depend upon science, there is strong scientific evidence that supports the position that the earth is young.
Genesis 1 – Is the Earth Young or Old?
Genesis 1 indisputably teaches that the earth is young. This passage says that God created the universe in six days.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
There is extremely strong evidence that the Hebrew word translated “day” in Genesis 1 must refer to a 24-hour day. Arguments that the Hebrew word refers to a period of time ultimately fail.
Scientific Evidence that the Earth Is Young
Radiocarbon in Diamonds
Radiocarbon, or carbon-14, decays at such a rate that it can only exist for tens of thousands of years. There are diamonds that are supposedly 1-2 billion years old that have significant detectable levels of radiocarbon in them. This would mean they are at. most 55,000 years old, not billions of years old.
Recession of the Moon
There is a “tidal bulge” effect concerning the moon and earth that causes the moon to spiral away from the earth very slowly. If the universe is only about 6,000 years old, then the moon would have only moved about 800 feet, which is realistic.
However, if the universe is billions of years old, the moon would have been touching the earth, which is very unlikely.
