I’ve been to AIG’s Creation Museum. I have a few posts about Young Earth Creationism and Intelligent Design. But, I’ve never really done a post about why I’m a YEC–Young Earth Creationist. So, that is what this is.
First, I reject Darwinian monkey-to-man evolution because it is incompatible with the Bible. Plain and simple, the Bible says that God created. The Bible then goes on to say that God created kinds of animals that would reproduce within their own kind. I also reject the idea of the big-bang or theistic evolution. So, it should be fairly simply why I believe in the Creationism part of Young Earth Creationism.
Second, I reject old earth creationism because young earth is the simplest reading of the Bible text. First, most forms of OEC (old-earth creationism) require some form of the day-age form of creation. Just in case you don’t know, day-age ideas say that each day in Genesis was actually a long period of time instead of a literal as we know it 24 hour day. I believe that the days mentioned in Genesis were actual days. Why? Well, read it for yourself. That is the simplest reading of the text. Add to that, the Bible itself–in Genesis 5–tells us when people were born, how long they lived before their son was born, and then when they died. Simple math there (and with other places in the Bible) will get you a figure of 6,000 to 10,000 for the age of the earth.
Third, small changes seen today (darwin’s finches, the spotted moth, and others) are not a problem and are not evolution in the Darwinian monkey-to-man model. As a YEC, I don’t not believe that changes within kinds can happen. They even explain the diversity seen today. For example, from a medium-haired dog “kind” you can end up with short hair dogs, long-hair dogs, and poodles. We see horses and donkeys produce mules. Within “kinds” this can and does happen.
Fourth, I think that dating methods–carbon dating and the like–are based on assumptions that may or may not be the case (or may not have always been the case). So, in carbon dating the amount of c14 is measured. Based on the steady rate of change, scientists can determine an age (many other dating methods work the same). This would be like you entering a room with a bathtub being filled at a steady rate and being asked to determine how long it had been being filled. Sure, you could measure the rate of the water-flow, size of the container, and amount of water. However, you couldn’t determine what had happened before you entered the room. What if the container started out 1/3 full? What if the container had a small leak that was plugged in the past? What if the flow was faster or slower in the past? What if the temperature in the room were different (so the evaporation rate was different)? See where I’m going here?
Finally, a strong stand on YEC gives a “high” view of scripture. This high view and little compromise makes it more likely that I’ll keep a firm foundation on which to build other positions. Meaning, I think this position doesn’t compromise any Biblical position while others (theistic evolution, day age theory, etc…) cause compromise.
If you want more reading, check out this page on the Answers in Genesis website.
Image from NASA Goddard Photo and Video via flickr