Abstract
There is an ongoing debate within the Christian community surrounding the nature of
creation. The two main theories are the Young Earth theory and the Old Earth theory. Young
Earth theory posits the age of the earth is somewhere between 4000-6000 years old based on the
genealogies given in Scripture. Old Earth theory takes a more interpretive approach to scripture
to account for scientific research that lends to the earth being millions to billions of years older.
Based on the examination of the scientific data and what Scripture has to say, a third hypothesis
is put forth that recognizes the age of the earth in conjunction with Young Earth theory while
seeing how created things and beings are created with age measuring longer from its perceived
instance.

The goal of this paper is to examine how the two prominent creation theories of Young
Earth and Old Earth theory work and look to see what similarities and differences they share. Is
one more trustworthy than the other? Is there a middle ground to be explored? This topic has
divided Christians and potentially even estranged those in the scientific community who wish to
hold to a pragmatic and fundamental understanding of the universe on the merit of science alone
apart from outside influences such as religious text. All three of these viewpoints will be
explored and examined to see if common ground is possible to have a strong healthy
understanding of the created world for the Christian that can be grounded both with Scripture
and science without either contradicting each other.
The first theory to be talked about is the Young Earth theory. Dr. Terry Mortensen defines
Young Earth theory as the belief that “the creation days of Genesis 1 were six literal (24 hour)
days which occurred 6,000-12000 years ago.” Genesis 1 is considered a historical accounting 1
more than poetic literature. The word used in the account of creation for the word day is the
Hebrew word Yom which is understood to mean a 24-hour period of time. Young Earth
creationists hold to a view that looks at science with the Bible as the base of truth and anything
that contradicts the Bible, the Word of God, in the scientific order must be wrong. Ken Ham
considers this an authority issue. He says, “As soon as you surrender the Bible’s authority in one
area, you “unlock a door” to do the same thing in other areas.”2

There are several elements that Young Earth creationists look at when considering the
understanding of science and what is held in scripture. Genesis 1 is the beginning of everything:
time, matter, and life. Death doesn’t come into the picture for Christians until the fall in Genesis
3 so any supposed hypothesis of evolution that would imply years of decay and death before the
fall in Genesis 3 must be considered false because it would become a contradiction to Scripture.
Mortensen summarizes this by saying, “The evolutionary idea of millions of years is
diametrically opposed to the Bible’s teaching about death.” Young Earth theory also posits that 3
the idea of a God of evolution stands against the character of God in the Bible as He would then
become a God of waste and ineffectiveness. Young Earth theory relies on Scripture to be the
foundation for scientific understanding no matter what.
Old Earth theory is less strict in its sense of adherence to simple interpretations of the
Scripture and instead opts for a more abstract way of looking at the creation story that is told.
Wayne Grudem supports this idea and believes that since the purpose of Scripture was not to
give simply the age of the earth and that the scientific theories that date the earth millions to
billions of years old is scripturally plausible given the interpretation of the Hebrew word Yom.
Grudem says that since the first three “days” couldn’t have been literal days marked by day and
night since the sun and moon weren’t created until day four and instead he posits that the “days”
in question are more akin to times of creation or ages. Old Earth creationism is more willing to 4
accept the scientific theories and findings presented about troubling aspects of creation that
Young Earth creationists would generally not be able to.

Outside of the religious debate between the Young and Old Earth creationists, the
scientific community has presented the Big Bang Theory. Matt Williams puts this theory simply
as, “the Universe as we know it was created in a massive explosion that not only created the
majority of matter, but the physical laws that govern our ever-expanding cosmos.” This is the 5
most accepted and popular theory in the scientific community and is widely regarded as being
reliable. The beginning of the Big Bang created the known universe and it has been continually
expanding for millions of years. This has led to the question of whether or not there is an
endpoint that the universe will experience since it had a starting point. Scientific discussion
incorporates philosophical discussion and debate as much as religious discussion does about this
topic. Old Earth and the Big Bang theories both agree that the universe must be millions of years
old due to what has been observed and studied in the cosmos and nature.
All three of these theories are looking to answer one of the biggest questions in the
universe: when and how did life begin? They all use time as the basis for their theories and
conclusions. Young Earth looks at the timeframe given in the Bible and takes the dates in a literal
manner. Old Earth looks at what science has said or shown about the age of the universe and thus
has interpreted the time given in Genesis to allow for a timespan of millions to billions of years
old. The Big Bang theory sees that the universe began in a single moment and has been
expanding over millions of years. They all agree on one thing: at the beginning, a singular
moment occurred that started all life. Genesis begins with this verse, “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV)

Grudem had stated that because the sun and moon hadn’t been created yet the day and
night pattern established in the first three days couldn’t have meant 24-hour days since the
timekeepers weren’t present. He even goes as far to say that the creation account just happens to
be the one time where the word day, Yom, didn’t mean literal 24-hour days. The creation account
first was not written to be a scientific explanation of the created world but was used to show the
audience who God was. That audience was the ancient Israelites. With the audience in mind the
first day laid out to the reader begins with God separating light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4).
Light with no light source is created first. This separation is what we see as the creation of Time.
This is when Time is established as a real element in the Universe. That means before this verse
Time had yet to be established for the earth.
This leaves theories surrounding the spiritual fall of Lucifer from heaven before this
verse in tact as now we understand that that rebellion has occurred outside of time and space.
The Big Bang says that the universe was expanding for millions of years after the Big Bang took
place. Since we see that time comes after the creation of the heavens and the earth that means we
have measured an event in time that occurred before it. Therefore it seems we get this
astronomical number that dates the earth as millions of years old apart from what it seems to say
in the Bible. Young Earth creationists understand that when God spoke something into existence
it didn’t require thousands or millions of years for it to occur. God spoke and it happened. When
God created animals and sea creatures they were all fully formed and didn’t take years to grow or
develop.
Adam was also created this way. He was formed by God and God breathed life into His
nostrils. (Genesis 2:7). It is understood here that Adam was a fully grown man. He didn’t start as

an infant and grow up into a man but rather he was created as a man. What age then is Adam
after he is created? Is he one day old or is he a thirty-year-old man? The Young Earth creationist
would probably have to say that he is one day old since he was instantly created by God on day
six. The Old Earth creationist would probably say that he is thirty years old and that day six was
an extended age that sees the full formation of all the animals and humanity from development.
A scientist would probably measure and look at his biology to determine his age scientifically.
The answer may be in the middle of all three viewpoints.
God is not restricted to time and space considering He is the one who made it, therefore
when He creates He is capable of creating life forms and an earth that looks older than we would
believe it to be. God created Adam on one day and yet he can be observed to be older than one
day. Adam is simultaneously one day old while being a fully grown man of thirty and having the
physiology of someone thirty years old. Young Earth creationists have missed this key element
of creation and thus have waved off any data that says anything about an older created earth. Old
earth creationists have missed the power of God’s ability to be simple yet powerful in creation
when he says a day, he means a day, yet the creation itself can be created with age. Roger Olson
in The Mosaic of Christian Belief summarizes the debate taking place between these two groups
best by saying, “They strain at gnats and swallow camels.”6

1 Terry Mortenson,. “Systematic Theology Texts and the Age of the Earth.” Answers Research Journal 2 (2009):
175–200.https://answersresearchjournal.org/systematic-theology-texts-age-of-earth/

2 Ken Ham “Does the Gospel Depend on a Young Earth?” n.d. Answers in Genesis.
https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/young-earth/does-the-gospel-depend-on-a-young-earth/.

3 Terry Mortenson,. “Systematic Theology Texts and the Age of the Earth.” Answers Research Journal 2 (2009):
175–200.https://answersresearchjournal.org/systematic-theology-texts-age-of-earth/.

4 Wayne Grudem. 2022. “Our Old Earth: Arguments for Billions of Years.” Desiring God. July 7, 2022.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/our-old-earth.

5Matt Williams. 2015. “What Is the Big Bang Theory?” Phys.org. Universe Today. December 18, 2015.
https://phys.org/news/2015-12-big-theory.html

Roger Olson, The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity 2nd Ed. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press. 2016. Pg 17

Sources:

Mortenson, Terry. “Systematic Theology Texts and the Age of the Earth.” Answers Research
Journal 2 (2009): 175–200.
https://answersresearchjournal.org/systematic-theology-texts-age-of-earth/.
Ham, Ken “Does the Gospel Depend on a Young Earth?” n.d. Answers in Genesis.
https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/young-earth/does-the-gospel-depend-on-a-youn
g-earth/
Grudem, Wayne. 2022. “Our Old Earth: Arguments for Billions of Years.” Desiring God. July 7,

2022. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/our-old-earth
      Williams, Matt. 2015. “What is the Big Bang Theory?” Phy.org. Universe Today. December 18,
2023. https://phys.org/news/2015-12-big-theory.html