Saving Faith
Everything about God and the Christian faith.
5 - Evidence of a young Earth
Atheistic science claims that our Earth is approximately 4.8 billion years old. The Bible, however, speaks of an age of approximately 6,000 years. There are a number of indications that argue against the claims of science and support the accuracy of the biblical chronology. A selection of these is listed below.
Insufficient population growth rate
The population growth rate has remained stable since it was first recorded. If one extrapolates backward from the current 7 to 8 billion inhabitants of the Earth based on these data, one arrives at a figure of approximately 4,500 years of human history. This is the amount of time it would take for eight individuals—the eight survivors of the Great Flood—to multiply into 8 billion people. This calculation accounts for both natural and unnatural mortality caused by epidemics and other catastrophes. Were humanity millions of years old, there would be approximately 150,000 people living on Earth today for every square meter of land.
Plants that are too young
The oldest living organisms on Earth are bristlecone pines and coral reefs. Among the oldest trees are the giant sequoia and the bristlecone pine. These plants can reach a maximum age of up to 4,500 years. The Great Flood occurred approximately that long ago. Researchers have determined that the oldest existing tree—a bristlecone pine from North America—belongs to the first generation of trees. These constitute the first vegetation to emerge on the landmasses following the Great Flood.
Too little oil
The petroleum contained within the earth is under enormous pressure. However, the rock in which the oil is embedded is porous. If the Earth were millions of years old, the petroleum would have long since dissipated—or rather, it would have seeped out through the pores.
Too much Carbon-14
Carbon-14 (radioactive carbon) has a half-life of 5,700 years. If the Earth were several million years old, no C-14 should remain in any carbon-bearing material older than 250,000 years. However, it is impossible to find any natural carbon source dating from below the Pleistocene (Ice Age) that does not contain significant amounts of C-14—even though such rock layers are sometimes dated to many millions of years. Most recently, the world's leading laboratory confirmed the high C-14 content of such samples. This fact suggests that the Earth is only thousands, rather than billions, of years old.
Too little salt and mud in the sea
The salinity of the oceans currently stands at 3.8 percent. Based on the current rate of accumulation, it can be calculated that salt first entered the oceans approximately 6,000 years ago; otherwise, the percentage of salt in the oceans would be vastly higher. Conversely, after 3.8 billion years, the oceans would have to possess a salt content more than fifty times greater than what is observed today. Every year, water and wind erode approximately 20 billion tons of material from the continents and transport it into the oceans. This material accumulates as loose sediment (e.g., mud) atop the hard basaltic rock of the ocean floor. The average thickness of this sediment layer across the entire ocean is less than 400 meters. This process is known as plate tectonic subduction. The ocean floor moves slowly (at a rate of a few centimeters per year) beneath the continental plates, carrying some of the sediment along with it. According to scientific literature, however, this process removes only about 1 billion tons of sediment per year. The remaining 19 billion tons accumulate on the ocean floor. At this rate of deposition, erosion would have deposited the current volume of sediment found on the ocean floor in less than 12 million years. According to mainstream science, however, the processes of erosion and subduction have existed for as long as the oceans themselves—that is, for an alleged 3 billion years. Were this timeframe accurate, the aforementioned rate of erosion would have resulted in the oceans being choked by sediment layers several kilometers thick.
Excessive heat loss from planets
It is well known that planets lose heat over time. If planets had existed for millions of years, their internal temperatures would long since have ceased to be what they are today.
Planetary rings dissipating too quickly
Astrophysicists have discovered that Saturn is losing its rings, as they drift away from the planet over time. If Saturn were several million years old, it would have lost its rings long ago.
Too few supernovae
According to astronomical observations, galaxies like our own experience a supernova—that is, the explosion of a star at the end of its life—approximately every 25 years. The gas and dust remnants of such explosions (such as the Crab Nebula) expand rapidly and should remain visible for over a million years. Nevertheless, the observable parts of our galaxy contain the remnants of only about 200 supernovae. By extrapolation, this figure would suggest an age for our galaxy of approximately 6,000 to 7,000 years.
Excessively fast earth rotation
Earth's rotation is slowing down at a rate of one-thousandth of a second per day. Extrapolating back in time, the rotational speed one billion years ago would have been so rapid that the waters would have been flung out into space due to the resulting centrifugal forces.
Lunar motion and lunar dust
The Moon, too, is slowly drifting away from the Earth. If the Moon were several million years old, this would imply that it was once situated very close to the Earth. This would have triggered such extreme tidal surges that all life on the planet would have drowned twice a day. According to scientific calculations, approximately 3 centimeters of cosmic dust accumulate on the Moon every 10,000 years. However, only 1.5 centimeters of cosmic dust have been found on the Moon to date. This amount corresponds precisely to what one would expect after approximately 6,000 years.
Decrease in the magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is steadily weakening. After millions of years, Earth might no longer have a magnetic field. Yet, it still exists.
Excessively rapid DNA decay
Natural radioactivity, mutations, and decay rapidly degrade DNA and other biological materials. Measurements of the mitochondrial DNA mutation rate have compelled scientists to revise the age of the so-called "Mitochondrial Eve" downward from the theoretical 200,000 years to approximately 6,000 years. DNA experts insist that, in a natural environment, DNA cannot survive for longer than 10,000 years. Nevertheless, it appears that intact DNA strands have been recovered from fossils of far greater antiquity. These include, among others, Neanderthal bones, insects preserved in amber, and even dinosaur fossils. Bacteria allegedly 250 million years old have also been discovered containing undamaged DNA.
Conclusion
This selection of facts speaks strongly against current scientific estimates regarding the age of the Earth. If the Earth is indeed only approximately 6,000 years old—as the Bible asserts—then the entire theory of evolution is thereby refuted, since no evidence exists for the evolutionary development of organisms within such a short timeframe. This, in turn, leaves a Creator as the only plausible explanation for the origin of the universe and all life.
________________________________
6 - Quotes from leading scientists about GOD
Andre Marie Ampere (1775-1836) - French physicist and mathematician:
"The most convincing proof of the existence of GOD is the evident harmony that sustains the order of the universe—a harmony through which living beings find, within their own organisms, everything they require for their survival, reproduction, and the development of their physical and spiritual faculties."
Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) - French physician and naturalist, Nobel Prize winner 1912:
"It is no greater shame to pray than to drink and to breathe. Man needs GOD just as he needs water and oxygen."
Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882-1944) - British astrophysicist:
"Modern physics necessarily leads us toward GOD, not away from Him—none of the inventors of atheism was a natural scientist. All of them were very mediocre philosophers."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - German physicist, founder of the Theory of Relativity and Nobel Prize winner 1921:
"The common notion that I am an atheist is based on a great error. Anyone who deduces this from my scientific theories has scarcely understood them."
"To every deep-thinking natural scientist, a kind of religious feeling must come naturally, for he cannot conceive that the immensely subtle interconnections he perceives are being thought by him for the very first time. In the incomprehensible universe, a boundlessly superior Reason reveals itself."
"It is not GOD who is relative, nor is it Being, but rather our thinking."
"I want to know how GOD conceived the world."
"GOD does not play dice. Rather, He created the world according to an orderly plan—one which it is the task of scientists to discover."
"There can be no legitimate conflict between religion and science."
"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."
"In this materialistic age, serious scientists are the only truly religious people."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) - French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher:
Faith may well say what the senses do not say, but it does not say the opposite of what they perceive; it is above them, not against them.
Carl Friedrich Gauß (1777-1855) - German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist:
"In this world, there exists a pleasure of the intellect—one that finds its fulfillment in science—and a pleasure of the heart, which consists primarily in human beings mutually alleviating one another’s hardships and the burdens of life. Yet, were it the task of the Supreme Being to create creatures upon separate spheres—and, solely to afford them such pleasure, to allow them to exist for a mere eighty or ninety years—that would be a pitiful design. Whether the soul lives for eighty years or for millions, if it is ultimately destined to perish, then that span of time is nothing more than a stay of execution; eventually, it would all have to come to an end. One is therefore compelled toward a view—one for which so much else speaks, even in the absence of strictly scientific proof—that alongside this material world, there exists a second, purely spiritual order of the world, possessing just as many manifold varieties as the one in which we currently live—and of which we are destined to partake." — "When our final hour strikes, it will be our ineffably great joy to behold the One whom, in the course of our labors, we could only dimly surmise."
Carl von Linné (1707-1778) - Swedish naturalist, founder of modern botany, and founder of the plant system:
"I have seen the eternal, infinite, omniscient, and almighty GOD pass by, and I have fallen to my knees in awe."
Charles Lyell (1797-1875) - British geologist and founder of modern geology:
"In whatever direction we conduct our inquiries, everywhere we discover the clearest proofs of a creative intelligence—of its providence, wisdom, and power."
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) - New Zealand physicist and Nobel Prize winner 1908:
"It is a misconception among laypeople that the scholar—who knows more about the nature of existence than others—must therefore be devoid of religion. Quite the contrary: our work brings us closer to GOD. It deepens our reverence for that colossal power before which our meager instruments—however titanic they may appear to us here on Earth—fail miserably."
Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1838-1917) - Inventor of the Airship:
"GOD is the artist, and I am His instrument!"
Friedrich Dessauer (1881-1963) - German biophysicist and natural philosopher, founder of deep X-ray therapy and quantum biology:
"If, over the last seventy years, the stream of discoveries and inventions has surged into our time with such overwhelming force, it signifies that GOD—the Creator—is speaking to us through researchers and inventors more loudly and audibly than ever before."
Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel (1738-1822) - German astronomer, discoverer of Uranus:
"The more the field of science expands, the more numerous and irrefutable become the proofs of the eternal existence of a creative and almighty wisdom."
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) - Italian mathematician, physicist, and astronomer:
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same GOD who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect requires us not to use them."
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) - German mathematician and physicist:
"Order, proportion, and harmony enchant us. (...) GOD is pure order. He is the Author of universal harmony."
Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) - Italian inventor and Nobel Prize winner 1909:
"Science alone cannot explain many things—and above all, the greatest mystery of all: the mystery of our existence. Who are we? Where do we come from? How did we come into being? Ever since man began to think, he has grappled with these problems, and yet they have remained unsolved."
"I proudly declare that I am a person of faith. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in it not only as a devout Catholic, but also as a scientist."
Gustav Mie (1868-1957) - German physicist:
"We must say that a thinking naturalist must necessarily be a pious person. For he must bow in reverence before the divine spirit that is so clearly perceptible in nature."
Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) - Danish physicist and chemist, founder of electromagnetism:
"Every thorough investigation of nature leads to the knowledge of GOD. (...) Were one not to know it beforehand, one would have to learn it here: that we are nothing compared to GOD, but something through GOD."
Hans Spemann (1869-1941) - German zoologist, Nobel Prize winner 1935:
"(...) I must confess that, in the course of my experimental work, I often experience the sensation of a dialogue—one in which my interlocutor strikes me as being vastly the more intelligent of the two. Confronted with this immense reality, the researcher is time and again seized by a sense of deep, reverent awe."
Isaac Newton (1643-1726) - English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer; founder of classical theoretical physics; discoverer of the laws of gravitation:
"The wondrous order and harmony of the universe could only have come about through the design of an omniscient and omnipotent Being. This is, and remains, my ultimate and highest realization."
James Maxwell (1831-1879) - Scottish physicist, founder of the electromagnetic theory of light:
"The solar systems remain today—in number, measure, and weight—just as perfect as they were on the day of creation; and from the qualities indelibly imprinted upon them, we too may learn that precision in our resolutions, truthfulness in our judgments, and integrity in our actions—qualities we count among our noblest attributes—are fitting for us precisely because they constitute essential features of the likeness of that Being who, in the beginning, created not only the heavens and the earth, but also the very substance of which the heavens and the earth consist."
Johannes Keppler (1571-1630) - German mathematician and astronomer, discoverer of the laws of planetary motion:
"I sought to proclaim the sublimity of Your creation to mankind, insofar as my limited intellect could grasp Your infinity."
To practice astronomy is to read GOD's thoughts.
Johann Heinrich Mädler (1794-1874) - German astronomer:
"A serious naturalist cannot be a denier of GOD; for whoever—like him—has gazed so deeply into GOD's workshop and has had the opportunity to admire eternal wisdom must bow his knees before the workings of the Supreme Spirit."
John Glenn (geb. 1921 - 2016) - American astronaut who, in 1962, became the first American to orbit the Earth:
"What I am driving at with all of this is the order that prevails everywhere in the universe—from the smallest atomic structures to the colossal star systems spanning diameters of several million light-years. Could all of this have come about merely by chance? Did some sort of cosmic flotsam simply and suddenly fall into ordered orbits of its own accord? I cannot believe it (...) There must be a power that assigned the celestial bodies their paths and ensures that they adhere to them."
John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) - British physicist and radio engineer:
"The vast abundance of modern discoveries has completely destroyed the old materialism (...) Today, the universe reveals itself to our eyes as thought. But thought presupposes the existence of a thinker."
Julius Robert von Mayer (1814-1878) - German physician, physicist, and discoverer of the law of conservation of energy:
"True and genuine natural science and philosophy must lead to faith in GOD."
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) - German chemist:
"The greatness and infinite wisdom of the Creator will be truly recognized only by the one who strives to decipher His thoughts from the mighty book we call Nature."
Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876) - German-Baltic naturalist, zoologist, embryologist, anthropologist, geographer, explorer, and discoverer of the human egg cell:
"What we discern today from the language of nature is a wondrous symphony of sublime order and beauty. One day, as I contemplated the human body, I felt as though I were hearing a mighty sermon. I bared my head, and it seemed to me that I ought to sing "Hallelujah."
Max Hartmann (1876-1962) - German zoologist and natural philosopher:
"The findings of the most advanced natural science—physics—stand in not the slightest contradiction to the belief in a power standing behind or above nature and governing it. To the critical natural scientist, too, all things can appear as a grandiose revelation of nature, compelling him to believe in an almighty Giver of Meaning who stands behind this meaningful existence."
Max Planck (1858-1947) - German physicist, founder of quantum theory, Nobel Prize laureate in 1928, holder of eight honorary doctorates:
"Thus, wherever and however far we may look, we find nowhere a contradiction between religion and natural science; rather, precisely on the decisive points, we find complete agreement. Religion and natural science do not exclude one another—as some today believe and fear—but rather complement and condition one another. For the believer, GOD stands at the beginning of all thought; for the physicist, at the end."
Max von Laue (1879-1960) - German physicist and Nobel Prize winner 1914:
"The natural scientists wanted to see GOD face to face. Since that was not possible, their exact science asserted that He did not exist. How much more humble we natural scientists have become! We bow in humility before the Transcendent, before the All-Powerful, the eternally Invisible, the never-to-be-grasped."
Nikolaus Kopernikus (1472-1543) - German astronomer, founder of the modern worldview:
"Who would not be led to admiration of the All-working Architect through constant observation of—and contemplative engagement with—the magnificent order of the universe, guided as it is by divine wisdom!"
Pascual Jordan (1902-1980) - German physicist, co-founder of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory:
"Modern developments have eliminated the former obstacles to a harmony between natural science and a religious worldview. Current scientific knowledge no longer presents any objection to a Creator GOD."
Paul Sabatier (1854-1941) - French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate 1912:
"To place natural science and religion in opposition is the mark of people who are poorly informed in both disciplines."
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) - American inventor:
"(...) the greatest respect and the greatest admiration for all engineers—especially for the greatest among them: GOD!"
Walter Nernst (1864-1941) - German physicist, chemist, and Nobel Prize laureate 1920:
To practice physics is to look behind GOD's act of creation.
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) - German physicist and Nobel Prize winner 1932:
The first draught from the cup of natural science makes one an atheist, but at the bottom of the cup, GOD awaits.
Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) - German-American rocket engineer:
Manned spaceflight is an astonishing achievement. Yet it has opened for us only a tiny door, through which we can catch a glimpse of the awe-inspiring vastness of space. Our view through this peephole—upon the mysterious infinity of the cosmos—confirms our faith in its Creator.
Above all stands the honor of GOD, who created the vast universe—a universe that man and his science, in deep reverence, continue to penetrate and explore day by day.
The occasionally voiced opinion—that in the age of space travel we know so much about nature that we no longer have any need to believe in GOD—is entirely without justification. To this very day, natural science has, with every new answer, uncovered at least three new questions!
Only a renewed faith in GOD can bring about the transformations capable of saving our world from catastrophe. In this endeavor, science and religion are siblings—not opposites.
Werner von Siemens (1816-1892) - German physicist and founder of electrical engineering:
The deeper we penetrate into the harmonious workings of the forces of nature, the more we are inspired to humble modesty. The higher rises our admiration for the infinite, ordering wisdom that permeates all of creation.
William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907) - British physicist and discoverer of several natural laws:
Overwhelming evidence of intelligence and benevolent intent surrounds us, reveals to us throughout all of nature the workings of a free will, and teaches us that all living beings are dependent upon an eternal Creator-Ruler.