Does Biblical Inerrancy Necessitate a Young Earth?

If we truly believe the Bible is God’s inerrant Word, we must start with God’s Word and not reinterpret it to fit into man’s ideas.

Yes, it does because belief in a young earth is a consequence of our stand on biblical authority—if we truly believe the Bible is God’s inerrant Word, we must start with God’s Word and not reinterpret it to fit into man’s ideas. And when we start with God’s Word, it’s obvious that the earth and universe are young. “Millions of years” comes from starting outside the Bible—you won’t find long ages anywhere in Genesis!

Of course, this message of biblical authority is central to the Answers in Genesis ministry. In October of last year, one of our researchers and speakers, Dr. Terry Mortenson, debated Dr. Hugh Ross, a progressive creationist who believes in an old earth, at an apologetics conference in South Carolina. The debate question was:

Does belief in inerrancy necessitate a particular view of the age of the earth?

It was an interesting debate, and Dr. Mortenson did a great job defending the young earth position. I encourage you to watch this 13-minute highlight video:

Or check out the entire debate on our Youtube channel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.