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The Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth

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An issue that is very important to me, both apologetically and spiritually, is for Christian theology to be in honest conversation with scientific research, particularly as it affects our understanding of Genesis and origins. Young and Stearley have produced a hefty volume aimed at demonstrating that "several purported scientific claims advanced by young-Earth creationists do not stand up to scrutiny and fail to establish a young age for the Earth. These claims are generally based on incomplete information, wishful thinking, ignorance of real geologic solutions, selective use of data and faulty reasoning" (475). Despite this blunt assessment of young-Earth creationism, the authors' treatment of their opponents' views are characterized by great patience and charity. If simple dismissal of the young-Earth view were their aim, they would hardly have spent 500 pages (small font) establishing their case, nor would the authors have gone out of their way so often to strike such a wonderfully pastoral tone.

Our authors are both associated with the geology department at Calvin College, Young as Professor Emeritus and Stearley is professor of geology and department chair. Young will be particularly known by a broader Evangelical audience as the author of Christianity and the Age of the Earth (1982) and Creation and the Flood: An Alternative to Flood Geology and Theistic Evolution (1977). The present volume is a rewrite of the former, spurred on by Davis's colleague Stearley. Young should also be known to many of us as the son of the late Westminster professor of Old Testament, E. J. Young. That connection is not superfluous, as Young's treatment of origins from a geological point of view is fully cognizant of the theological and doctrinal issues with which Evangelicals struggle and the need to bring science and Scripture into vibrant conversation. And as I said before, the tone is pastoral: the authors have no interest in winning a rhetorical battle. Rather, their wish is to provide a thorough assessment of the available evidence, evaluate young-Earth creationism, and encourage those who hold an Evangelical faith with a paradigm for holding the two worlds together.

I first became aware of the book when, about three years ago, Young sent me the chapters on "The Bible and the Antiquity of the Earth" (chapters 6 and 7 of this seventeen chapter volume). Although their treatment of the biblical story in the ANE context is relatively brief in comparison with the book as a whole, whose focus is certainly geology, I was nevertheless very impressed at their treatment of this very important issue. More than that, the authors understood full well that the challenges of scientific research require alternate paradigms for understanding the nature of Scripture other than what is offered by young-Earth creationism. Toward that end, these two chapters rehearse the well-known position that Genesis is not a science book, but a document that spoke originally to a very ancient people. To expect a scientific model from Genesis is to misunderstand Genesis and to render incomprehensible the vast scientific data at our disposal. The authors are to be commended for moving their readers toward such a responsible synthesis.

Young and Stearley have produced a volume that not only deals a very serious blow to young-Earth creationism, but one with which Evangelical theologians and biblical scholars must reckon. The authors offer an implicit challenge to any contemporary interpreter who wishes to understand the nature of human origins in isolation from the world of scientific inquiry. If modern geology is on the right track, the age of the Earth is nearly 4.6 billion years. This challenges the young-Earth assumptions of Scripture and of the history of Judaism and Christianity until relatively recently (a topic the authors cover patiently for about 140 pages in chapters 1-5). Few Evangelicals would quibble with this, but the implications are far reaching. The scientific data, coupled with our growing knowledge of ANE literature, make a concordance model (one which reconciles science and Scripture) highly problematic to those with training in either field. Also, this seemingly innocent recognition that the actual age of the Earth does not correspond to what the Bible presents has broader implications, namely, that other portions of Genesis do not comport with scientific investigation.

From a geological point of view, the most relevant biblical episode is the Flood. Much of the book is aimed at discrediting the view that the fossil records make most sense in a catastrophic deluge model, which is the heart of a young-Earth apologetic. To speak plainly, the implication of geological investigation is that the Flood is to be understood not as a bare description of an historical event, but as an ANE story, necessarily limited in its scope, but that nevertheless tells a powerful and theologically rich story about the nature of God ands his relationship to the world. No doubt, this will not sit well with many Evangelical readers, but any counterargument will have to engage our authors on the level of evidence rather than personal preference.

Some may rejoin that such a position divorces the Bible's theology from historical events. Yes, this is true of the Flood story, but that does not mean that all of Scripture is divorced from history. This slippery slope argument will do little good in trying to present a balanced view of the issues discussed in this book. The topic under discussion is the Flood--not the resurrection, Paul's second missionary journey, or David's reign in Jerusalem. The geological evidence plus the ANE texts we have at our disposal pertain only to this particular portion of Scripture; they do not affect the historicity of the Christian faith in general.

Still, the evidence does most certainly affect our understanding of the historical nature of the Flood, and this is not small thing. In brief, what remains sorely needed in my opinion is deliberate conversation between biblical scholars and scientists (not just geologists, but physicists, biologists, anthropologists, etc., etc) on the question of origins.

On the whole, I found the book to be wonderfully well organized and presented. There are charts, graphs, and a good number of photographs. It was, however, for this humble biblical scholar, quite a challenge to get through. Even though the authors go to great lengths to present the material in as accessible a manner as possible, the discussion is necessarily somewhat technical and imbued with the jargon of the discipline. I was definitely taken out of my comfort zone of Hebrew infinitive constructs and Jewish hermeneutics and dropped down into the middle of such things as faunal succession, ecological zonation, localized natural traps, long-lived regional-scale depositional environments, Lompoc diatomite mass mortality layer--you get the idea.

Still, readers with serious interest in the intersection between Bible, origins, and science (which I hope is everyone) should attack this book with great enthusiasm, as it will profit anyone, even those without a background in science. Those that might benefit the most, however, are least likely to read it, i.e., those who feel that our understanding of Scripture can proceed in blissful isolation from advances in human thought. But their refusal to enter this vital conversation is their choice, and should not determine what others do. Young and Stearley have provided a wonderful resource for those seeking to understand our world and the God who made it.

As a public school teacher who teacher Earth science and Physics I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in the antiquity of the Earth and how it connects with the Bible.

I found that the book was organized very well because the authors didn't come right out exposing the faults of young-earth creationism. The history of modern geology gives a great basis for understanding the authors throughout the book and how geologists do science.

In Part II: Biblical perspectives bought up some theological points that bring out the historical context of the book of Genesis in a way that is truthful and insightful.

When Young and Stearley bring up the geologic perspectives, they are able to explain the geology in way that people who have never taken a geology course could understand the text without much help. I found many of these examples the authors talk about to be very easy to understand. The nice thing about a few of the examples they discuss is that I have been to a few of the sites and even if you haven't you would be able to picture it.

As an Earth science teacher who teaches about the geologic record, I will be using many of these examples in class to show the antiquity of the earth. Every year in every one of my classes there are many students who can't believe or are confused about the antiquity of the Earth. Young and Stearley talk about students being shocked by the overwhelming evidence for the antiquity of the Earth and not knowing how to process the information.

This book needs to be read by all people who speak, discuss, or who are interested in the topic of the age of the Earth before more damage is done separating people of faith from understanding how God has magnificently revealed his power and creativity through the world that we continue to study.

If you are interested in the age of the earth controversy, read this book. it is a good examination of the issues and the proof.

Actually, I almost wrote "supposed controversy" as the young-earth argument is so weak as to be practically non-existent.

The single, one-star review is honest in its intent, but fully off the mark on this book and topic, and simply wrong. The review is not about the book, and is a tiresome rehash of old arguments. I do not doubt the author's intelligence, but it is clear that the Bible has been badly misread here - misappropriated as a book of natural history. The words of Genesis which refer to the time involved in the creation of the earth are commonly mistranslated/misinterpreted (the original Hebrew words do NOT support a young earth hypothesis).

Also, while mechanical engineers certainly haver some scientific training/education, they are NOT scientists; just as I would not extend my scientific education as a biologist and chemist too far in trying to make statements about mechanical engineering, so I think the author of the one-star review should realize his limitations. As an evolutionary biologist, I have spent decades accessing the overall biological and geological evidence for evolution, and for the age of the earth.

The age of the earth argument has been progressively more and more settled as geology progressed the past few hundred years. Lord Kelvin's miscalculations seemed the strongest attack on the view that the earth is billions of years old, and it failed miserable in one step. Further, since there is nothing in the Bible to actually support the young-earth hypothesis - so science and Bible need to be at odds here.

This book does a good job of exploring the issue, and should be widely read. With all due respect (pace) IGNORE the well-intentioned, but erroneously argued, one-star review. It merely weakens the legitimate stance of religion in today's society. It is hard to conceive of a weaker argument to make than that favoring a young earth perspective. It is time to to put this one to bed, permanently.

Earth is very old, and anyone who tells you otherwise is practicing bad science. If they're "young-Earth creationists" or "flood geologists," they're practicing bad theology to boot. In a nutshell, that is the message of The Bible, Rocks and Time by Davis A. Young and Ralph F. Stearley, professors of geology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Young holds emeritus status.) Both are evangelical scholars in the Reformed tradition with a high view of Scripture and a commitment to Christian orthodoxy.

Young and Stearley divide their book into four parts. Part One outlines the history of Christian scholarship about the age of Earth from the patristic era to the modern period, concluding that orthodox Christian scholars have been able to accept Earth's great age without abandoning either their faith or the Bible's infallibility. Part Two examines the issues at stake in how Christians interpret Genesis 1, concluding that the text itself does not require us to interpret its days as solar days, instead preferring a "literary framework" interpretation of that chapter. Part Three details the mainstream geological case for Earth's age based on stratigraphy, fossils, sedimentation, the rate at which igneous and metamorphic rocks form, and radiometric dating. They conclude that flood geology's alternative explanations of the empirical data are unconvincing. Part Four examines philosophical issues related to (1) the debate between young-Earth "catastrophists" and mainstream geological "uniformitarians" and (2) the debate among Christians as to best apologetic practices vis-à-vis scientific issues. Regarding (1), the authors conclude that young-Earthers caricature mainstream commitment to uniformitarianism, which--by the way--makes room for large scale, even global catastrophes. Regarding (2), the authors argue that hitching Christian apologetics to young-Earth science entangles Christians in bad science and therefore bad apologetics.

For those readers who, like myself, were educated in philosophy (or other humanities), the arguments advanced in Part Three make for tough reading, mainly because of the specialized jargon of the geological community. However, Young and Stearley make these arguments as clearly as they can by defining terms and providing pictorial and/or graphic illustrations of relevant points. The historical, biblical, and philosophical parts of the book were, for me, easier to understand.

Although the argument Young and Stearley advance against flood geologists is hard-hitting, its tone is far less confrontational than my brief summary lets on. The authors' tone throughout is gracious, acknowledging what good scholarship there is in the flood geologist community, noting changes in young-Earth arguments, and interacting with those arguments at a scholarly level. The Bible, Rocks and Time is, as far as I know, the best single-volume refutation of young-Earth creationism currently on the market.

It is difficult to overstate how important it is for modern Christians to interact carefully with the array of scientific data that conflict with some of the traditional Christian interpretations of the book of Genesis. This book, written by two deeply devout evangelical scholars, is an excellent resource that will draw careful readers to realize that the acceptance of an ancient earth is in no way a compromise of Scripture.

For many centuries Christians believed the Bible taught that Earth was fixed in space while the sun orbited it. Early proponents of heliocentrism were considered heretical, for heliocentrism conflicts with the "plain reading" of Scripture. As the evidence for heliocentrism continued to pile up, many Christian scholars came to see that biblical passages that seemingly describe a mobile sun were not meant to be taken literally. They described such passages as "phenomenological" instead, meaning the Spirit-led authors of these biblical passages were describing things "as they appeared to a casual observer" rather than "as they would be described scientifically in the far-off future, once the scientific method was in place." Scholars adopted this measure because the overwhelming empirical evidence led them to a fork in the road: they could either go on believing in the Bible as God's inspired Word, modifying their hermeneutic in order to incorporate God's revelation in nature without creating conflict with biblical teaching, or else they could go on interpreting the Bible as teaching geocentrism and thus conclude that the Bible was in error.

I fear many people today are led to a skeptical conclusion regarding Scripture because so many Christians insist that Scripture must be interpreted literally whenever it touches on scientific matters. Ironically, most Christian Bible scholars know better than to approach Scripture in such a monolithic, context- and form-defying manner, but the lesson is lost on the masses of faithful laity and, sadly, most often their pastors as well. For instance, few if any recognized experts in Old Testament literature, Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Hebrew, or related fields insist that the Bible argues for a recent creation. They can see from linguistic and literary features in Genesis 1 and 2 that the text is not likely intended as a literal science report on God's work as Creator. They can also see that the topics discussed in these chapters seem tailor-made for addressing (and refuting) common non-Hebrew beliefs about the creation of the world that were current in Moses' day. Assuming Moses wrote Genesis in about 1440 BC, it is fitting that he would be given by God the task of bringing the Hebrews up to speed on the true theology of creation since they had just spent several generations enslaved in Egypt, learning the false Egyptian cosmogonies. It's safe to say that no Jew wandering through the desert with Moses was concerned to hear a scientifically defensible account of God's creation of the universe. What they wanted to know was: Which God is true? Why did he make humankind? What is our purpose? Why do we have war, strife, death, and alienation from God? These are the questions they were asking, and these are the questions God answered through Moses in the book of Genesis. Science was the furthest thing from anyone's mind.

I fear that many faithful Christians are reliving something like the geocentrism controversy all over again in the 21st century, putting Scripture in harm's way by insisting on a literalistic hermeneutic that conflicts with a broad, steady river of empirical evidence coming from our God-made universe. The irony is stunning: God through his creation tells us much truth about his doings as Creator, but many Christians use the Bible in such a way as to shut out his voice. This book by Young and Stearley carefully, methodically, winsomely, and very respectfully shows the many biblical and scientific fallacies of young earth creationism.

It is not true that science supports a young earth, as Christians who are practicing scientists can readily tell you. It is not true that the Bible insists that Earth is young, as the easy majority of Christian Bible scholars can tell you. And it is not true that you must compromise a high view of Scripture in order to accept an ancient creation, much less that you have to embrace a naturalistic worldview.

I follow Christ passionately, revere the Bible as God's inspired and inerrant Word, and love science as a means of delving into the glories of God revealed in creation.

Let Davis Young and Ralph Stearley introduce you to Christian discipleship that honors both Scripture and the testimony of nature.

Jeremy Royal Howard
[...]

This book effectively destroys the young-Earth view of creation. Anyone who reads this book has to conclude that the overwhelming evidence points to an ancient earth, not one that is only 6,000 years old. The evidence is quite thorough and the authors faithful to cover almost every conceivable objection a young-earth creationist could make. I appreciated the perspective of these writers as Christian scientists and the amount of work that was done to create a working interpretation of Genesis 1 in light of this evidence.

However, the book left me with many more unanswered questions. What about evolution? What about the flood? What about Adam and Eve and the geneaologies that tie together the entire narrative of the Bible? What about the first 11 chapters of Genesis? I realize these questions were not in the scope of the authors' purpose, but they are important in the framework of Christian thinking. I would have like to have seen at least an opinion on them given by the authors. This will have to be the scope for the next scientific manifesto from evangelical academia.

The two authors are extremely thorough in their writing, evidence and organization. And their Christian Faith is solid. They masterfully prove the truly ancient age of our planet. Religious folk should not feel encroached but enlightened by this fantastic book.

If you've encountered the creationist movement, but you have this strange feeling that science in its miriad forms cannot so off base about the age of the earth, read this book! Davis Young and Ralph Stearley do an awesome job putting geological concepts in layman's terms in their reviews of various observations and reasonings why the earth is ancient, not young. And they are Bible-believing Christians! The book ends with a principle believers and non-believers can benefit from: Natural sciences make observations about nature. If you believe that God is responsible for nature, then the truth of God's nature is for us to observe. That truth is just as important as the truth of the Bible.

The authors make a very strong case for an old earth and against a global Flood. Chapters 10-13 get a bit bogged down with more geology than I needed to know, and the discussion of radiometric dating (14 & 15) has been done better elsewhere. The final chapter (17) contains as good a plea as I have seen anywhere for Christians to stop promulgating YEC because it is detrimental to the spiritual health of Christian youth and also has negative consequences for evangelism and apologetics. I recommend this book for Young Earth Creationists.

The first thing to mention about this book is that the reader should probably have at least an average handle (and tolerance) of geology. I would say that about 90 - 95% of this book is scientific history and jargon. At times, I felt that large sections of the book could have been summed up by the phrase "the earth is old." Having said all that, I gave it a 4-star rating because I knew that that was the purpose of the book. The authors really bring the point home that almost all of today's scientific evidence points to an ancient earth. What I did really like about the book was the other 5 - 10% that addressed the need for Christians to educate themselves and not be afraid of potential conflict between science and faith. The Bible does not point to a really young earth (6,000 - 10,000 years). A close exegesis of the first chapters of Genesis can reveal that the Bible does not claim to give the exact age of the earth in any direction. What I took away from the book was that science can be a tool to gain insight into Scripture, but only Scripture itself can be the final authority. We must know what Scripture says and understand it from the viewpoint of the audience for which it was written at the time. Good Book. Tough Read.