Old Earth? Young Earth?

Neither one is correct. Since carbon dating isn't reliable and much of what is thought to be true about the origin of the earth can't be proved (skipping huge areas of time and progress) and since James Ussher's calculation isn't even spoken of today, you're comparing apples to oranges. A general thought in Christianity is that 1) God actually created the earth in 6 real days and 2) God created the earth over a period of time that was called "days" by the historians. Either of those could be true. Which one is the right one doesn't really matter in the end. God was there and He's here now and that's all that's important.

Since I don't know how God measured time back then, or if time even existed, I have no idea how old the earth is. However, we know the earth did not begin with unchanging perfection because the Bible says, "Now the earth was formless and empty..." Genesis 1:2.

I am confused, thought I had already answered this? all the best urban

Hmmm?? Let's think for a moment. Correct me if I'm wrong. The carbon test dating used by science today is based on the radioactive decay of a carbon isotope. Hmmm??? That makes the Earth much much older. Maybe we should ask: Has God been messing with those carbon isotopes in order to make that bible story fit??? nah! I don't buy that one. Science will cause the stories to fall by the wayside. The good news is that Reality is so much better than all those stories anyway.

Any one who disputed this facts was guilty of heresies. What do you want to say with that ? Is this a fact or you added it to make religious people look stupid ? To be guilty of heresy it means there is a dogma inside a church.Even if it`s accepted as a dogma inside a church that means nothing for people outside that church. There was such a book written in the byzantine world in the 11th century, and the result was something like around 7000 years since Adam was thrown away from the Garden of Eden because it seems like there was no notion of time in the Garden of Eden.How can someone say how much Adam lived in paradise ? So if one thinks he can calculate the age of the earth based on genealogy written in the bible he can only calculate how much is it since Adam was thrown away from the Garden of Eden. How old did they thought the Earth was in the mid 18th century ?

That is one question we may not answer for sure since we werent there. I think that earth is much older than the prescribed above. Why? Because by studying the bible it says there that a single day to the Lord is just a thousand years. Therefore, one single day in the creation might mean thousand years. Anyway, i'm confused so i don't know much. Thanks for the post and letting us share. Have a great day.

Hi Chiang, This is something that I had never heard off but I do find it interesting. Not only is it a known fact today, that the earth and the universe are many millions of years old, but I see nowhere on the Bible where the age of the earth is mentioned. I have heard that many Christians today claim that the earth is only six thousand years old, but of course such a claim is ridiculous. I guess that in the Archbishop's time they had nothing to go on but the Bible but people today should know better. Blessings.

Many men have claimed to have the correct interpretation of what the Bible teaches. Many have been wrong. Does that make God a liar, because men are wrong? Many atheists are wife beaters, does that make you a wife beater? I see the same logic in many atheists way of thinking about religion and religious teachings. The Bible says; seek and you will find. It also says; be followers of Christ, not man. If more did this, there would be fewer misconceptions about what God really says.

Well this one is a hard one to answer. On one hand I would say based upon the most recent scientific research that the Earth is a very old ball of dirt floating through the Universe. However, as others have already said, we can never know what one day for God was, relative to our own perception of a day. So in that manner of speaking a "young Earth" could be feasible if one of God's days were compared to our own day.