I found this radio debate about the age of the Earth on the Apologetics 315 Twitter feed.

Speakers:

Jason Lisle

Dr. Lisle graduated summa cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University where he double-majored in physics and astronomy, and minored in mathematics. He did graduate work at the University of Colorado where he earned a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. While there, Dr Lisle used the SOHO spacecraft to investigate motions on the surface of the sun as well as solar magnetism and subsurface weather. His thesis was entitled “Probing the Dynamics of Solar Supergranulation and its Interaction with Magnetism.” Among other things, he discovered a previously unknown polar alignment of supergranules (solar convection cells), and discovered evidence of solar giant cells. He has also authored a number of papers in both secular and creation literature.

Hugh Ross

At age seventeen he became the youngest person ever to serve as director of observations for Vancouver’s Royal Astronomical Society. With the help of a provincial scholarship and a National Research Council (NRC) of Canada fellowship, he completed his undergraduate degree in physics (University of British Columbia) and graduate degrees in astronomy (University of Toronto). The NRC also sent him to the United States for postdoctoral studies. At Caltech he researched quasi-stellar objects, or “quasars,” some of the most distant and ancient objects in the universe.

So both have impeccable scientific credentials. But just wait until you hear what one of them does at about 28 minutes into the debate. Oh my goodness. You will not believe the bombshell that gets dropped during this debate.

The MP3 file is here. (This is the updated version that Brian Auten fixed to remove the commercials!)

I don’t always agree with Frank Pastore, (only 95%), but he knows the topic of the debate back to front, and guides the discussion in an incredibly useful, accurate way. This is a fine debate to listen to! You will learn a lot. And you will have fun learning.

The Bible and the early church fathers

Jason Lisle

• we take Genesis literally
• the starting point of YEC is Scripture
• the plain meaning of Scripture is that the earth was made in 6 24-hour days
• science has to be interpreted in a way that fits a plain reading of Genesis 1
• the evidence for an old universe and old Earth must be rejected a priori

Hugh Ross

• we take Genesis literally
• the Hebrew word for day (yom) can mean 24 hours or a long period of time
• there are multiple creation accounts in the Bible
• interpreting yom as long periods of time harmonizes all the accounts
• the Bible says that the seventh day is not even ended
• we believe in a literal Adam and Eve living thousands of years ago

Jason Lisle

• there’s only 1 account of creation in the Bible: Genesis
• the normal view in church history is 6 24-hour days
• there are some early church fathers who that the days are long
• the other places where creation is discussed are not real accounts

Hugh Ross

• the early church did not spend a lot of time talking about the age of the Earth
• there is not unanimous agreement about the age of the Earth
• there is no definitive statement on the age of the Earth until Isaac Newton
• Newton strongly favored an old earth, hundreds of years before Darwin
• there are other creation accounts, Job 38-39
• Pslam 104 is a creation account

Jason Lisle

• a Psalm is not written in the genre of historical narrative
• Psalm 104 is not a creation account – it talks about ships, etc
• it’s talking about the modern era, not a creation account

The evidence from science

Hugh Ross

• both of us believe in an absolute beginning of time, space and matter
• both of us believe that space is expanding now
• stars form as matter coalesces during the expansion of the universe
• star formation requires a universe aged on the order of billions of years

Jason Lisle

• if you pre-suppose my interpretation of Genesis, then the universe is young

Hugh Ross

• the speed of the expansion of the universe proves an old universe
• the light emitted from the oldest stars also proves an old universe

Jason Lisle

• if you pre-suppose my interpretation of Genesis, then the universe is young

Was the universe made with the appearance of age

Jason Lisle

• any evidence for an old universe is wrong
• stars didn’t form gradually, they were created by God instantly
• stars have the appearance of age, but they’re actually young

Hugh Ross

• God doesn’t lie in the Bible or in the book of nature
• Scientists can look back in time by looking further out into the universe
• Because light takes a long time to travel to the Earth, we can see the past
• we can see a time when there were no stars yet
• stars formed slowly over time, not instantaneously
• we have photos of the universe before stars and after stars
• we can see a history of the universe by looking closer and further away

Does nature provide us with knowledge about creation?

They discuss Psalm 19 now, so here’s Psalm 19:1-5:

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

Jason Lisle

• nature isn’t a book
• nature doesn’t provide knowledge about God
• Psalm 19 doesn’t say that nature communicates to us
• verse 3 says “There is no speech nor language”

Hugh Ross

• If you read all of verse 3, it says the exact opposite of what you just said it says
  
• Verse 1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”
• Verse 2: “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”
• Verse 3: “There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.“
• Verse 4: “Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

Jason Lisle

• You can’t take the Bible literally all the time

How important is the age of the Earth?

Hugh Ross

• it’s a non-essential because it has nothing to do with salvation or inerrancy
• both sides of the debate affirm the same views of salvation and inerrancy
• professional scientists have multiple lines of evidence saying the universe is old
• the only reason it matters is that young earth creationism is a barrier to faith
• if you have to deny science to be a Christian, then it stops people from being saved
• young earth opposition to science has been used by secularists to marginalize Christianity

Jason Lisle

• there was no death in the Garden of Eden, animal or human, before the Fall
• the Bible says that death was a consequence of Adam’s sin
• so there was no death before the Fall, according to the Bible
• old earth people believe in death before the Fall

Consider Romans 5:12:

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

Hugh Ross

• Romans 5:12 says that Adam’s sin caused death to come to all men
• old earth people believe that only animal death existed before the Fall, not human death
• plant and animal death existed before the Fall – Adam and Eve were eating!

Jason Lisle

• I interpret the Bible to say that plants aren’t living creatures

What about dinosaurs, the Flood, and Noah’s ark?

Jason Lisle

• dinosaurs were created on the 6th day
• dinosaurs lived alongside humans and were vegetarians before the Fall
• dinosaurs were on the Ark – they’re not that big – just take baby dinosaurs
• it’s a global flood

Hugh Ross

• dinosaurs were created on the 5th day
• they were extinct before before humans ever appeared
• nobody in history ever wrote about dinosaurs until 200 years ago
• it’s a local flood

Related posts

• Different perspectives on the days of Genesis.
• What caused Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown to abandon his Christian faith?
• An argument for the existence of God from Big Bang cosmology

Wes Widner from Reason to Stand pointed out another debate on this topic.