CHAPTER ELEVEN

METHODS USED TO DATE THE EARTH'S AGE

Chapter eleven is actually a continuation of the subject which we considered in chapter eight. The title of Chapter 8 is, "Why does the earth look so old?" We interrupted our study of the age of the earth so that we could enjoy an uninterrupted study of the Genesis flood. As we already noted, the Genesis flood is not only our best proof of a young earth, but it also provides the answers to many other interesting questions.

We will now continue the discussion of the earth's age. In Chapter 4, we saw that the Bible claims the earth to be less than ten thousand years old. In contrast to the young age of the earth, claimed by the Bible, many scientists insist that the earth is at least five billions years old.[1] Why do these scientists believe that the earth is so old? Is it possible to prove that the dating methods which scientists use are inaccurate? In our present chapter we will attempt to answer these questions.

WHY DO MANY SCIENTISTS INSIST THAT THE EARTH IS OLD? Without a belief in God and an understanding of the flood, it would be easy to believe that the earth is much older than it actually is. At first glance, almost all the indicators appear to point to an ancient earth. Some of these methods of dating the earth's beginning are: The existence of oil, coal, and diamonds, the evidence of extreme erosion, star explosion, tree age, fossilized strata, stalactite growth, the carbon 14 test, the uranium or potassium technique, meteoritic dust and similarities between different animals.

In previous chapters we saw that several of the dating methods, which are mentioned above, do not show the earth to be older than ten thousand years. We have already discussed extreme erosion, star expulsion, the age of the oldest living things (trees), and the existence of coal, diamonds, and oil. Instead of showing the earth to be billions of years old, these dating methods prove that the Bible is accurate when it claims that the earth is young, and when it claims that there was a universal flood. With regard to oil, the present pressure of underground oil indicates that it is not over ten thousand years old. If oil had been in the ground for millions of years, it would have lost all its pressure by now.[2]

FOSSILIZED STRATA: Fossilized strata are just fancy words that means animal and plant remains which are found in various layers of dirt. Fossilized strata, by the way, is considered to be the best proof of evolution and of the very old age of the earth.[3] If we could successfully defeat this piece of evidence, we would wield a death-shattering blow to the billion year age of the earth theory. Archaeologists have found, in many areas of earth, that when they dig into the earth's crust the very deep layers of dirt contain the remains of very small, underdeveloped forms of life. These scientists also found that as they rose through the layers, larger and more complex forms of life were discovered.[4] The conclusion that many have drawn from this is that through the millions of years of evolution each generation was buried and a better generation followed until, finally, the complex human being evolved. There are some very good reasons to REJECT these conclusions.

FOSSILIZED STRATA DOES NOT PROVE THE EARTH TO BE OLD. In order for the fossilized strata argument to hold any value, we would need to prove that the smaller, underdeveloped fossils are always found deeper than the larger, more developed fossils. However, there are many localities around the earth where the supposed older simpler fossils are, in fact, deposited above the "younger", more complex fossils. For example, Glacier National Park has a section of land which is 350 miles long, 35 miles wide and 6 miles thick. This huge tract of land has every appearance of being laid by the normal sedimentary process and, yet, as indicated above, the larger, complex fossils are buried deeper than the simple fossils. This large section of land and many others like it, prove that the simple fossils are not older than the complex fossils.[5] The lower strata, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, has no fossils in it at all. As a person raises from the bottom of the canyon eventually fossils appear. At this very spot, and the rest of the way up both simple and complex fossils are found mixed together. With this evidence, we must reject "fossilized strata" as a reliable dating method.

Large fossils of animals, plants and even tree trunks are sometimes found extending through several layers of strata. The trees are sometimes twenty feet or more in length. These large fossils are evidence that all these layers of dirt were laid very close to the same period of time. The layers had to be laid within a few years of each other, probably not more than ten years total, or the trees would have rotted away at the top edge of the lower strata.[6] The trees simply could not have remained standing in their upright position through millions of years while the other layers of strata were being formed around them.

The very existence of fossils requires a rapid process. Under normal conditions, decay destroys the plant and animal remains before they have the opportunity to leave their mark on the new forming stone. There is overwhelming evidence that most of the earth's fossils were originally laid by water.[7] There has never been such an opportunity to produce fossils as at the time of the Genesis flood.

Turbulent churning water provides a sifting effect on the materials that it contains.[8] The scientific word for this is decanting. Walk along a river bank and notice how, at some spots, clean gravel will be piled up and at other locations there will be a sand bar. If you were to take a tall vessel containing liquid with suspended material of different weight (density), and shake the vessel, then quickly pour off the top, you would separate the heavier material from the lighter materials. By continuing this process, you could separate the material into many different groups.[9] This method, however, is never 100 % accurate. We always find some mixing of the larger and the smaller materials. With fossilized strata, there is generally some mixing of the heavier and lighter materials.[10] This mixing is to be expected if the fossils were originally laid by a great flood, say, the Genesis flood. If we were to allow the idea that fossils were laid during the process of evolution, through millions of years, this mixing could not be explained. Animals, obviously, could not have been buried millions of years before they were created or had evolved.

The ability for animals to move is closely related to their complex make up and size. If there was a flood that laid these layers of fossils, logic would demand that the smaller animals would have drown first and would have been buried before and deeper than the larger, more complex animals. Larger animals would have run for their lives and escaped to higher ground.[11]

When we take the Genesis flood into account, we completely do away with all the evidences that fossilized strata seemingly provides, that the earth is billions of years old.

God has preserved, through the fossils that He has laid all over the earth, a monument to His sovereign control of the earth.

STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES XE "STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES" : One reason many scientists believe that the earth is very old is because of stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites are the icicle-like structures that hang from the ceilings of caves. These formations are made by water that seeps through the ceilings and deposits tiny amounts of limestone, and other minerals. Today, some people estimate that stalactites are growing at the rate of 1 inch per 1,000 years.[12] The conclusion, therefore, is that the stalactite, and thence the earth, is at least several millions of years old.

DO STALACTITES PROVE THE EARTH TO BE MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD? A bridge was built between Olney and Flora Illinois on the present Route 50 in 1923. Seventy nine years later, on January 1, 2002 this author photographed and removed a 10 inch long stalactite from the bottom edge of this bridge. A metal sign is attached to one end of the bridge which reads as follows. “Station 673 +70 Built 1923 by State of Illinois with bond issue of 1918 Route 12 Section 9.” According to the above mentioned rule of one inch per every 1,000 years, this bridge is now 10,000 years old. It should be noted that this was not a cave underground which received a constant supply of water and minerals but a bridge that would only have water present when it was raining.

A stalagmite was found in Carlsbad Caverns, in New Mexico, that contains the carcass of a bat.[13] Obviously, the stalagmite was not formed over a long period of time or the bat's remains would have decayed before it was completely covered in the formation.

There once were stalactites beneath the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C. The memorial was erected in 1923. The stalactites were measured in 1968.[14] The stalactites were found to be five feet in length. The growth period was forty-five years. The rate of growth was 1 1/4" per year but some scientists would have concluded that, because of their size, they were 600,000 years old.

A stalagmite found in a lead mine that was only fifteen years old was so large that the so-called experts said it was 220,800 years old.[15]

The Encyclopedia Britannica has this statement regarding stalactites. “The average stalactite, seven feet long, took 4,000 years to grow. Large ones may be as much as 200,000 years old.”[16]

According to this seven feet per 4,000 years rule, stalactites grow at the rate of one inch per every 48 years or 347 feet in 200,000 years. There are several interesting observations that can be made regarding this calculation.

First, if the above calculations are accurate they’ve got an enormous stalactite. This 347' stalactite would be 34 stories high and would require a cave even bigger to hold it.

Second, we should observe that the article above states that this is the average growth. From this statement it is admitted that at least half of the stalactites grow at this rate or faster.

Third, Evolutionist says “Large ones may be as much as 200,000 years old.” By this statement they admit that they are just guessing. We should note that there is no scientific way to determine the rate of growth if we cannot first determine the time of growth. There is a scientific way, however, to determine the rate of stalactite growth because we can give a definite time of growth to the stalactites under the Lincoln memorial. We know that in 45 years they grew 5 feet, therefore we can scientifically establish that a stalactite can grow 1 1/4” per year. We must note however that this is probably a much slower rate of growth than that of stalactites underground for many stalactites in caves receive a constant supply of growth chemicals. The stalactites under the Lincoln memorial could only grow when it was raining. If we were to take the 1 1/4" times 200,000 years, we would find that the average 200,000 year old stalactite would have grown 2,083 feet. The Empire State Building in New York City is 1,250 feet high.[17] A 2,083 foot stalactite would stand 833 feet or 83 stories above the top of the Empire State building. Again, quite a cave!

It is my hope that the ridiculous nature of the evolutionists’ thought process will alert the reader to the fact that it takes much more faith to believe in the religion of modern day evolution than to believe the pure, logical, scientific words of God. The above figures prove that stalactite growth cannot be used as an accurate measurement of time.

Actually, these formations grow strictly at the rate that the materials are deposited. Larger amounts of water and minerals, such as would have been available at the Genesis flood, would have made these formations in a relatively short period of time.[18]

DOES THE CARBON 14 TEST PROVE THE EARTH TO BE MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD? The carbon 14 test does not prove the earth to be millions of years old because the more ancient the material tested, the more unreliable the Carbon 14 test becomes. The accuracy of this test breaks down very rapidly by the time you reach the period of the Genesis flood.[19]

A living sea animal, a mollusk, was tested by the carbon 14 method and was found to have died over three thousand years ago. Similar results have been found when testing starfish and other animals that live under the sea.[20]Several bristle-coned pine trees, that were properly dated by their rings, were shown by the carbon 14 test to be two thousand to three thousand years younger than they actually were.[21]

The water vapor barrier that existed between our atmosphere and space before the Genesis flood would have acted very much like the waters of the sea. This water barrier would have protected the earth from the sun's radiation and, thus, it would have caused all carbon 14 tests to become completely unreliable when testing materials older than the date of the flood.

DOES THE URANIUM OR POTASSIUM TECHNIQUE OF DATING ANCIENT MATERIALS PROVE THE EARTH TO BE MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD? A considerable number of volcanic rocks known to have been formed in modern times have been dated by the potassium or uranium techniques and were shown to be millions or even billions of years old.[22]

DOES METEORITIC DUST PROVE THE EARTH TO BE MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD? There is no measurable accumulation of meteoritic dust (dust from the stars) on the earth's surface today. However, if the present rate of dust accumulations had continued for the past one million years, there would be a one-eighth inch layer of dust all over the earth's surface and a fifty-four feet thick layer if this rate had continued constant for five billion years.[23]

DOES THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN VARIOUS ANIMALS AND EMBRYO  PROVE EVOLUTION AND, THEREFORE, A VERY OLD AGE OF THE EARTH? Some scientists believe that because there are similarities between various animals, and various embryos, that this is proof of the evolutionary process which would require millions of years to produce. The similarities between different houses, or different cars, do not prove that one gave birth to the other, or that one evolved from the other. Instead, similarities show us a common designer. The same God designed both men and monkey, but monkey did not give birth to the man, nor did the man evolve from the monkey. This theory in no way gives evidence to an "old" earth.

DO THE POPULATION STATISTICS PROVE THE EARTH TO BE OVER A MILLION YEARS XE "DOES THE POPULATION STATISTICS PROVE THE EARTH TO BE OVER A MILLION YEARS"  OLD? Population statistics show that the most probable date for the beginning of the human population to be about 2000 B.C. This was about the time of Noah.[24]

SUMMARY: In this chapter we attempted to answer two questions. Why do many scientists believe the earth to be older than ten thousand years and is it possible to prove that the dating methods, which are used by some scientists, are inaccurate?

We considered the fossil record and found that large fossils, such as tree trunks, often penetrate through several layers of strata. Therefore, the fossil record points to the Genesis flood, but does not point to the proof of evolution or the extreme old age of the earth.

We thought about the stalactites and stalag-mites, which are so often used as proof of an ancient earth. And we noted that a stalactite grew under the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in only forty-five years. This stalactite was so large that, according to the figures, it should have been several hundred thousands of years old. In other words, stalactite growths are not an accurate measurement of time.

We looked at the carbon 14 test and found that living sea animals have been shown to have died over three thousand years ago. Therefore, this test is not an accurate measurement of time.

We studied star expulsion, the rate that stars seem to be traveling away from a common origin, and saw that God created the universe with age and set the stars in motion just a few thousand years ago.

We observed the extreme erosion of the Grand Canyon and found that the Genesis flood could explain its origin. The flood covered the earth for nearly a year and then laid layers of mud which were thousands of feet thick. The rushing water, as it returned to the ocean basins, could have easily carved the Grand Canyon from the soft mud, in a matter of a few months.

Coal and oil deposits are also used to prove the ancient earth theory, but the Genesis flood would have set all the elements in order so that coal and oil could be formed almost overnight. The present pressure of underground gas indicates that it is not very old.

When considering the extreme age of trees, we noted that the oldest living things on the earth began their growth at almost the same year as the flood. This indicates that the flood wiped the earth clear of all living things.

When we considered the subject of meteoritic dust, we found that the accumulation on the earth proves the earth to be very, very young.

The similarity between animals and embryos proves only that they had the same designer. It does not prove the earth to be old.

We Can Know . . .

  1. We can Know God made America Great!

2. We can know that evil people and evil nations will be punished if they don't repent.

 3. Faith and Knowledge

  4. The Bible claims there is a God, He created the Heaven and the earth, the Bible is His word, and that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. We can know the Earth is less than 10,000 years old!

  5. We can Know the gap theory and the million years per day theory are unfounded.

  6. We can know scientific evidence proves God's existence.

  7. We can know prophetic evidence proves God's existence.

  8. We can know why a young earth looks so old.

  9. We can know the answers to flood questions such as: Where could all the water necessary to flood the whole earth come from; where could it go; how could a boat be built large enough to hold all the animals; how could the animals get from one continent to another?

 10. We can know what it was like before the Genesis flood.

  11. We can Know why many methods to date the earth are unreliable.

 12. We can know our Bible is accurate.

  13. Final summery and conclusion.

 14. Common questions such as:

• Which came first the chicken or the egg?

• Was sex the forbidden fruit? Was prostitution the first profession?

• Were did Cain get his wife?

• Could God have created other people beside Adam and Eve?

•  Does "replenish the earth" mean there were people on the earth before Adam?

• Where do cave men fit into the Bible picture?

• Is there life on other planets?

• Where does the Ice Age fit into the Bible picture?

• Why do good people suffer?