The “Disease” of Millions of Years

For an article in an upcoming Answers magazine, I wrote the following (slightly modified here):

“As an analogy, the idea of millions of years is like a disease (although we know sin is the ultimate disease/reason for the secularist position), and biological evolution is like the symptom. Many Christians are willing to deal with the ‘symptom,’ but not the ‘disease.’”

Here are some conclusions I have come to after 35 years of ministry.

Many Christian leaders think that as long as they reject biological evolution, then it doesn’t really matter about the age of the earth. These pastors and theologians believe that by rejecting Darwinian evolution, they have shut the door to compromise regarding the authority of the Scriptures.

The reality, however, is that by allowing for millions of years, these Christian leaders have kept a “compromise door” open. If that door is not completely shut, then the next generation of leaders will push the door open further.

This compromise has led to a catastrophic loss of biblical authority in the church (and culture as a whole)—which includes the devastating consequence of moral relativism permeating the church.

Did you know that more often than not, when the secular media report on our Creation Museum, sometimes the reporters don’t even mention our stand against evolution, but are more focused on the issue of the age of the earth/universe?

For instance, in 2010, one secular news source, in covering our Creation Museum and future Ark (see p. 3), stated: “The ministry, Answers in Genesis, believes the Earth is only 6000 years old—a controversial assertion even among many Bible-believing Christians . . . .”1

A 2010 Vanity Fair magazine article about the museum declared: “Science has given itself millions of years, eons, to play with, but the righteous have got to get the whole lot in, home and dry, in less than 6,000 years, using just a pitchfork and a loud voice. It’s like playing speed chess against a computer and a thousand people with Nobel Prizes.”2

When ABC TV’s Good Morning America broadcast live during the opening of the Creation Museum (May 2007), ABC reported: “Exhibits at almost every natural history museum teach that dinosaurs are millions of years old, and that they died out long before human beings existed. But at the Creation Museum, they say God created dinosaurs and humans at the same time…”

Why is the issue of time so important in the secular world? Well, without the supposed millions/billions of years, secularists cannot even propose biological evolution. An old age is absolutely crucial for the secularists in their attempt to explain life without God.

It is vital for Christians to understand that:

1. The Bible does not even hint of millions or billions of years. If you take the Bible as written, it’s obvious God created in six literal days. With the specific history given in the genealogical lists, it’s very clear that there have been only about 6,000 years of history since time began.
2. All dating methods devised by humans are fallible; they are based on fallible assumptions. The only true reliable dating method is the historical record that God prepared for us: the Bible.
3. When Christian leaders try to add millions of years into God’s Word, then they are making God responsible for death, disease, thorns, carnivory, and suffering millions of years before sin. The Bible makes it clear such things are a result of man’s sin!

Ultimately, the issue over the age of the earth/universe is one of authority: will it be fallible sinful man’s authority, or will it be God’s? Should we take man’s fallible understandings about the past and reinterpret God’s Word, or do we judge man’s beliefs against the absolute authority of Scripture.

The secular world has intimidated so many pastors and Bible college/seminary academics to believe in millions of years, for if they don’t accept an old earth, they will be accused of being anti-intellectual and anti-science. It’s largely a problem of academic pride.

The idea of an earth that is millions of years old is the foundational religion of this age for secularists.

Why such intimidation from the world? Because the idea of an earth that is millions of years old is the foundational religion of this age for secularists, who need to explain the universe and all of life without God. These atheists and agnostics must have billions of years to support evolution.

Compromising Christian leaders need to give up not only biological evolution, but geological and cosmological evolution (i.e., billions of years). I call on Christians everywhere to shut the door to this compromise that is undermining the church and culture. Indeed, we are seeing the collapse of biblical Christianity in the West as scriptural authority is questioned.

The idea of millions of years is like a disease in the church; biological evolution is just a symptom. Your support of AiG, with God’s blessing, will help prevent the disease from spreading further.