How old is the earth?

I have heard of this "theory" that God made earth and creation to simply "appear" to be old, that just seems to me to be a bit on the deceptive side, and I see no need for God to be so.

 

Was it deceptive of God to create Adam "appearing" to be an adult? How old was Adam 5 minutes after he was created?

 

http://www.christianity.co.nz/science5.htm

 

The bible says God created the heavens and the earth in 6 24 hours days. But for the sake of argument, let's say these "days" were actually millions of years.

On the 3rd "day" God created vegetation, but He did not create the sun and the moon until the 4th day. How did all the plant life survive for millions of years until God created the sun and the moon?


Also, you did not answer my question about Adam's age.

 

I have no problem with Adam being a full grown adult at all.

I actually do not have a "problem" with "days". Due to issues of relativity, espoused by Einstein, we KNOW that "time" is not constant. Time as we experience it today in our neighborhood of the universe is a different clock than other locations and other "times". We KNOW that time rate is affected significantly by at least two variables......velocity and gravity. Dr. Schroeder's idea (which I like....but obviously no one knows with certainty) is a great integration of both the Genesis account of creation and modern cosmological science.

 

I hope not. But how old was he 5 minutes after he was created? Was he 5 minutes old or 25 years old?

 

haha! Yes it is!

 

It depends.... on his current velocity, and the gravity field.

 

:laugh: ........................

 

Two other quite interesting links.

http://www.christianity.co.nz/science7.htm

http://www.christianity.co.nz/science8.htm (Really worth the read )

 

I don't think its at all deceptive.

One way to make this point is that in order to achieve the coherence of reality and the kind of existence we hold in creation that certain laws had to appear to have been in place for some time. The kind of plate tectonics necessary to sustain modern life would, perhaps, require the appearance of being millions or years old.

The argument has some finer points (given the space...and my time I won't get into it in depth) which provide a more complete view.

But again, why is it deceptive to put all of creation in place with the appearance age while also doing that with Adam? What is the difference?

BTW, as a point in the thread the Eden Only view is pretty interesting to consider in this discussion.

 

If you have a link to this, I would appreciate it, as I don't quite get what you are saying.

 

He was 5 minutes old. We don't know how old he would have appeared to be to us, and he probably wouldn't have aged before the Fall, so there would be no reason to keep track of how 'old' he was.

 

Because the creation reveals the creator and knowledge about the creation. Why would God set up the study of His creation to lead mankind down the wrong paths?

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.

 

That is certainly a reasonable argument.

 

That is a VERY human-based thought. Why would we accuse God of being deceptive if He chose to create a fully mature universe? We agree that He created fully mature plants, animals, and humans, but when it comes to the universe or other signs that there may have been continual action for longer than was actually true, we seem to want to make God a liar, simply because He chose to do it that way.

Remember, He is God and created as He chose, for His purposes, and to fulfill whatever needed fulfillment by His divine decree based in His divine will.

I am still shocked that so many people can so easily attribute nefarious attributes to God simply because we may not understand (or like) something that He has indeed done. God help us all... Only He can!

 

Good thought... Adam was designed to live forever. In a sense, he had the body that we will one day inherit once we cross over into eternity. He was genetically perfect and pure -- EVERYTHING that God intended to design into we humans, as was Eve. Just imagine what that means...

Ever met a true genius? How about someone with a true photographic memory. What of the man who can run sub 4-minute miles, or those who can run marathons in mere hours instead of days. Strength, intelligence, acuity, feelings, emotions, soul, etc., were all declared by God, "very good." We can piece together what that "very good" man looked like by taking all the best attributes of humanity and wrapping them up into one person. It is only the infiltration of the evolutionary worldview that causes us to think that we have evolved to a point of superiority to Adam (or even early humans) when in fact, we have "de-volved" by genetic impurity, etc. Of note, God did not declare children by brothers and sisters impure (incest) until well after Noah. It is only as the curse of the fall has de-volved our genetic structure that this requirement was even necessary.

 

:thumbsup:..............................

 

Jes, is so true.

 

GL,

You dont know this as fact. This is your speculation. One can argue, why the need for the Tree of Life.