Mar 12, 2010
How Old Do You Think the Earth Is?
According to a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota, how you answer that question is a “strong predictor” of what you think and know about the theory of evolution. They interviewed 400 college students taking an introductory biology class but not majoring in the subject and found that students who understand the Earth is more than 4.5 billion years old are much more likely to understand and accept evolution.
This is an important finding, says Sehoya Cotner, a biology professor who led the study, because it means the “role of the Earth’s age is a key variable that we can use to improve education about evolution.” That said, the researchers recognize that deep time is a tough concept to grasp, and it’s a lot easier to teach and learn creationist ideas about the age of the Earth than it is to work through the scientific evidence and explanations.
The researchers also found that students who are more religiously and politically conservative are more likely to endorse young-Earth beliefs than students with more liberal views are, and they’re less likely to correctly answer questions about evolution. Yet, as the team writes in its paper:
Holding young-Earth views may not significantly impede a student’s ability to learn facts about evolutionary theory. Thus, although it is not the role of biology instructors to engage in political or religious proselytizing, there remains the possibility of changing what students know about evolution via academic instruction.
Here’s a simple question that I’ve never seen a creationist even attempt to answer:
Finding oil is a very high-stakes issue for oil companies. Trillions of dollars are riding on it. When they look for the most likely spots to drill, do they use Flood geology, or mainstream? Which one actually delivers the goods?
If the Earth is only 6,000 years old, where did the oil come from? If created in the ground, is there a way to predict where it might be found? Or perhaps it did form from plankton, but 10,000 times faster than any chemist thinks it could in those conditions? A young Earth and a Flood would imply some interesting questions to ask, some extremely valuable research programs to start. How come nobody’s actually pursuing such research programs?
Why don’t creationists put together an investment fund, venture capital for things like oil and mineral rights? If “Flood geology” is really a better theory, then it should make better predictions than standard geology does. The profits from such a venture could pay for a lot of evangelism. Why is no one doing this?
Then how many have you asked?
“How Old Do You Think the Earth Is?”
Scientists say it’s about 4.6 billion years old, and that sounds about right to me. Christian extremists think it’s about 6,000 years old. I’m going to have to go with the scientists on this one, and not the insane uneducated morons who believe in supernatural magic.
“role of the Earth’s age is a key variable that we can use to improve education about evolution.”
An even better way to improve education about evolution is to somehow first eradicate the Christian death cult.
Darwin predicts that these weak minded religious people will go the way of Dodo.
As a card carrying Christian extremist who thinks the earth is closer to 6,000 years than 6 billion years old, geologists generally use geology to find oil. They don’t use “evolutionary” geology because there is no benefit to the term. Rocks and rock layers that trap oil and natural gas are features of this Earth and do not have any different configuration no matter what one blieves about their origin or how they came to be layed down in their present position.
There is evidence today that some oil and gas fields are regenerating themselves. Check it out. There is no evidence that oil or gas is a “fossil” fuel. Coal is definitely made from dead plants that were buried before decomposing. So coal is definitely a fossil fuel.
What caused these plants to be washed out and covered by dirt quickly enough is disputed. What caused a flood isn’t known. How many floods is not known. Whether the word “flood” is the correct term is unknown. But these plants had to be buried by dirt quickly to keep their carbon character intact.
I prefer the Genesis account, others don’t.
Actually, Mike, if the reproduce faster, they might go the way of the housefly, which is to say WAY up in population, and quickly.
“There is no evidence that oil or gas is a “fossil” fuel.”
What? There’s plenty of evidence that oil is a fossil fuel. From Wikipedia:
“Extensive research into the chemical structure of kerogen has identified algae as the primary source of oil. The abiogenic origin hypothesis fails to explain the presence of these markers in kerogen and oil, as well as failing to explain how inorganic origin could be achieved at temperatures and pressures sufficient to convert kerogen to graphite. It has not been successfully used in uncovering oil deposits by geologists, as the hypothesis lacks any mechanism for determining where the process may occur.”
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum
Billions of years old. However, that doesn’t contradict God or religion. According to a new theory we are living inside an expanding parallel universe whose influence is fairly recent in cosmic terms. One of its achievements is to provide intelligence, free-will and language skills to otherwise primitive creatures.
D J Wray
http://www.atotalawareness.com/documents/packagedevolution.pps
OK – Chris is correct. Given algae, then oil/gas are fuels made from dead things. Often though we think fossil fuel means millions of dead things buried for long periods of time. Like I was taught in school that they were from dead dinosaurs, etc. But these fuels are produced by organic processes, algae being one and others active in their production. Oil/gas are not a fossil fuel like coal.
And D J Wray is also correct that billions of years doesn’t contradict God or Religion. But it does contradict the Bible. I still prefer the Genesis account of origins.
Henry J
Come on America get control of your out-of-control lunatic creationists. For America and the rest of the world, I beg you.
My reasoning: America is the superpower, if creationists are allowed to carry on growing in number it will be a super power ran by religeous nuts.
@Henry J
S you agree coal is millions of years old, now we are getting somewhere.
Wrong johnny Smithy. Coal is not millions of years old. Coal requires the correct conditions of plant burial for the organic matter to generate the coal. Time is not one of these conditions. Heat and lack of oxygen play a role. Fence posts were partly turned to coal after the Mount Saint Helens eruption. The part above ground was wood still and part below ground was partly turned to coal. Very little time was necessary.
Oh, by the way, “ran by religeous nuts” is bad grammar. Shouldn’t it be “run” instead? And if the word “creationists” is plural shouldn’t “number” be “numbers” also, as “growing in numbers?” At least in English grammar we should agree in number?
Oh come on, get it right, Henry J. It IS millions of years old, otherwise how could hundreds of layers of earth and other organic material compress the original layer into coal? And get off your high horse and stop preaching to the rest of us about grammar, you smart-arse. You don’t even have it right, for God’s sake! It is “growing in number”, so you can shut up, can’t you. Do you even have any right to go around correcting people’s grammar? Are you a qualified teacher?
Ok people listen. Everyone is going to have different ideas on how old the Earth is. In actuality, NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW OLD IT IS!!!! and I honestly don’t think they ever will. Why are we wasting our time arguing about this if it doesn’t even matter? I’m a Christian, and I believe the Earth is old, but I don’t know exactly and I’m not going to sit there and argue about that. People can believe what they want, but you can’t tell them they’re wrong–so don’t try to change their opinion.
The approximate age of the world has been proved over and over again with real science, in peer reviewed scientific journals. Different dating methods show that the earth is around 4.6 billion years old. Not a single creationist pseudo scientist has even been able to prove that all these dating methods are wrong, nor have they been able to come up with a decent method themselves. All they can do is create conspiracy theories and spread unscientific lies. Sure, carbon dating won’t work in a coalmine, but that’s why there are other methods. Methods that can make accurate predictions on where in the geological strata you can find what. No creationist theory exists that can do that.
it dnt mattr, jst knw tht its old..u cannot prove the greatness of God using science, no matter hw solid the evidence may be.
I have no idea why some people think the Earth was created around 4,000 BC. Maybe it’s because the universe was created in 4,001 BC and the Big Bang never happened.
Fact is, the Church felt threatened by science around (probably not exactly, but near) 1,000 AD… and it was not until they felt threatened by science that lo and behold, wow, the Earth is somehow YOUNGER than alot of the MANMADE artifacts in the world.
I believe science and religion can coexist… and for me they do… I believe in alot of both. But when people tell me that the Earth is 6,000 years old and proven science is wrong, I get OFFENDED! How can they be so ARROGANT as to say proof beyond the shadow of a doubt is wrong?
If what is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt is wrong, that means Bin Laden is innocent, Hitler never killed Jews, 9/11 never happened… Because they were proven too.
So I’d like to ask the Young Earth Creationist theorists out there… how can you possibly be so STUPID?
The earth is 5,6 billion years old..
I know no one will believe me, but to show that I know what I am talking about, consider the following;
Daniel 8:14 is actually written 200300 days which equals 556.388888 days (rounded)and is April 20, 33 AD, just as Jesus said it was in John 20:1-22.
Everthing Jesus said in the book of Revelation is true and I know what every word means, every word.
Disciple, you are either uneducated or deluded or both. Maybe if you went to college for a few years and studied science you would understand more. You should watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6oOLJ_zbm0&playnext_from=TL&videos=XjxSU-v38Qw
Hey Disciple,
Please read my deconversion story posted just yesterday. It may help.
http://new.exchristian.net/2010/06/awaken-from-coma.html
[...] is hardly a “detail.” For one thing, we know that how people answer that question is a “strong predictor” of what they think and know about evolution. And as Barbara Morrill of the Daily Kos points out: [...]
The bible provides a complete genealogy from Adam to Jesus. If you do the math……..it gives you a total of just over 4,000 years and it is now 2,010 AD………This equates to a total of just over 6,000 years.
According to the Bible………..God (!) took 6 days to create everything (see below).
Day 1: The heavens, the earth, light and darkness.
Day 2: Heaven
Day 3: Dry land, the seas, and vegetation.
Day 4: The sun, the moon and the stars.
Day 5: Living creatures in the water, birds in the air.
Day 6: Land animals and people.
Day 7: God “rested”.
The oldest know fossils are Stromatolites. Some of which date back some 3.5 BILLION years.
The oldest know fossil for multicellular organisms. Date back some 600 Million years !
Forget using the formation of oil as an example…….Use fossils. Lets see how the “believers”. Try to use their book of stories (fiction). To explain
fossils away. Bearing in mind that “God” created everything around 6,000 years ago……….So there was nothing here before.
I have NOTHING against anyone who is religious…….I am a live and let live sort of person. I just get tired of all the bull shit. Where, people who are SOOOO very wrong. Still try to explain/justify. Their beliefs, based on what they were (for the most part)…….”taught”…….by their parents (who were equally brainwashed/indoctrinated……….in turn, by their parents.
Like I said……..how do they. Explain away. The existence of fossils ?????
One day science will totally discredit the writings in the Bible……to be just a collection of meaningless fiction.
Religion has been used for thousands of years to suppress and control people. If today, they (in the face of all the evidence). Wish to continue. To be treated in such a manner……….all I can say is MORE FOOL THEM
Me I have a brain………and am not prepared (and I was brought up in a religious background)……..then so be it.
……..Oh and if anyone wishes to pick me up on spelling/grammer etc. Be my guest. It is now 3am GMT…….and I am tired.
JM