Book Of The Week V

The age of the earth and questions about dinosaurs are very common. There is a broad difference between 10,000 years and 14 Billion years. It is very common in some conservative circles to make the age of the earth a divisive issue. If some one believes in an old earth they are liberals and heretics, but this should not be the case. Plainly stated Moses and God are not concerned about telling when the earth was created, but they are very concerned with conveying copious amounts of information about whom that Creator is. I personally am open minded and critical of both positions and I am still seeking God's guidance on the matter.

So, in hopes of finding more information on the subject, I read and am rereading A Biblical Case for an Old Earth by David Snoke. Snoke spends some time with the scientific arguments for an old earth, which he summarizes quite well. These include arguments from starlight, from magnetic domains on the ocean floor, and from other phenomena on Earth showing the passage of time. He also spends some time showing how flood geology will not account for the geological layers we observe. I liked this book quite a bit, and it challenged many of my assumptions about creation, sin and death. The crux of his Biblical argument is that very good creation of Genesis contained both positive, helpful, parts, and dark, dangerous parts. He argues this by explaining the place of the "sea" and "sea monsters" in Hebrew biblical thought which is neglected by most and crucial to understanding Genesis.

He also deals very nicely with the "appearance of age" theory (that God created the earth with the appearance of age). He agress that God created Adam miraculously with a 30-year-old body. That would make sense because in order to exist, Adam had to exist at some stage of physical maturity. But, he argues that it does not seem plausible that God would create the universe with the appearance of huge numbers of specific prehistoric events, from supernovae down to the life and death of individual animals.

The best part of this book was that Snoke attempts to make a Biblical case. I am fairly ignorant when it comes to science, but competent when it comes to Scriptures. I found most of his exegesis refreshing and seemingly accurate. He is PCA and very conservative. He completely denies evolution, holds to a literal Adam & Eve. This is a worthwhile read, but it takes time to consume and digest his ideas, which are new to me. I appreciated the headache the book gave me, and the book gave me much food for thought.

Pastor Phillip