Some Christians view passages from the Bible as allegorical stories meant to shape their beliefs and value systems; others believe in the Young Earth theory, or the idea that the book of Genesis is factual truth, and the Earth was created in six, 24-hour days by God 10,000 years ago. According to this brand of creationism, everything that inhabits the Earth - all of the flora and fauna - are not products of evolution, but rather intelligent design.
Believers claim there is evidence for a young Earth, but all of their evidence is corroborated by God and based in self-serving pseudosciences. These creationism theories are as out-there as flat-Earth theories and dinosaur conspiracy theories. Believers of the Young Earth theory are willfully ignorant, disregarding irrefutable evidence that the Earth is actually billions of years old.
This concept is so backwards that it is a bit hard to follow. Young Earth creationists believe that certain sciences - like medicine, genetic research, and agriculture - fall under the umbrella of "Operational Sciences." This artificial classification is made so Young Earth creationists can place evolutionary biology in another arbitrary class of its own. By creating these two different "branches" of study, Young Earth creationists are able to view evolutionary biology not as a science, but strictly as an attack on their religious beliefs. Scientists aren't studying evolution to draw conclusions on our Earth's past or the future of medicine - they are doing it to prove that God isn't real!
Creationists Believe God Made Fossils And Noah's Flood Wiped Out Dinosaurs
Fossils have frequently - and correctly - been cited as evidence of evolution. Instead of accepting scientific dating tools, Young Earth creationists argue that fossils are evidence that the Earth is as young as they claim. The Institute for Creation Research uses the following argument:
"First note that very few fossils are forming today and then only in the case of rapid burial by water. For instance what happens to a fish when it dies? It either floats to the surface or sinks to the bottom where it decays and is eaten by scavengers. Yet many fish fossils are so exquisitely preserved that even the scales and organs are preserved. Obviously there was no time for decay and bacterial action. We can certainly say that something extraordinary happened to form the fossils."
When they say "something extraordinary," happened, they mean that either God intervened to make the formation of this fossil possible, or that the Earth has to be as young as they claim because the fish fossils found by scientists are too intact to be older than 10,000 years.
As for dinosaurs? Noah's flood wiped them out. With the exception of Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark, every other animal was wiped out - and perhaps fossilized - during the Great Flood. Using a brand of pseudoscience known as flood geology, they propose that the fossil record can be explained by this cataclysmic event.
Some Believers Are So Convinced That They Even Built A Replica Ark
A group of Young Earth creationists based in Kentucky are so ardent in their support of the theory that in 2015, they decided to build a replica of Noah’s Ark. The massive ship cost $90 million to construct, and it was built to the exact measurements given in the Bible. The replica ark was a staggering 510 feet long and was set to be used as a museum to teach visitors about Young Earth creationism. In 2018, the ark expanded to a 2,500 seat auditorium for concerts and guest lectures.
Young Earth Creationism Gained Momentum In The '60s, Thanks To A 'Scientific' Book Detailing The Flood
Despite its rather archaic interpretation of the Bible, Young Earth creationism is a fairly recent invention. It originated as a fully fledged thought system in the 1960s, spearheaded by Christian apologist and engineer Henry M. Morris. In 1961, Morris used hydraulic engineer training and knowledge of water movement to write The Genesis Flood, an attempted systematic scientific account for creationism.
Although nearly all accounts in the book are rejected by mainstream scientists, Young Earth creationists still cling onto the 'scientific' arguments presented in the book as a foundation for their beliefs.
Young Earth Creationists Fundamentally - And Sometimes Willfully - Misunderstand Science
One of the biggest criticisms leveled at creation science and Young Earth creationists is that they use pseudoscience to justify their beliefs. Experts in physics, chemistry, and biology argue that creationists often either fundamentally misunderstand scientific concepts or purposely misrepresent them to back up their own beliefs.
The way Young Earth creationists bend the truth to fit their narrative needs is astounding. For example, curriculum for an Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) school presented the following argument on how it may be possible to harvest electricity from snowflakes (it's not):
"Scientists have known for years that snowflakes are shaped in six-sided, or hexagonal, patterns. But why is this? Some scientists have theorized that the electrons within a water molecule follow three orbital paths that are positioned at 60° angles to one another. Since a circle contains 360°, this electronic relationship causes the water molecule to have six ‘spokes’ radiating from a hub (the nucleus). When water vapor freezes in the air, many water molecules link up to form the distinctive six-sided snowflakes and the hexagonal pattern is quite evident.
Snowflakes also contain small air pockets between their spokes. These air pockets have a higher oxygen content than does normal air. Magnetism has a stronger attraction for oxygen than for other gases. Consequently, some scientists have concluded that a relationship exists between a snowflake’s attraction to oxygen and magnetism’s attraction to oxygen.
Job 38:22, 23 states, ‘Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?’ Considering this scripture, some scientists believe that a tremendous power resides untapped within the water molecules from which snowflakes and hailstones are made.
If your scientific knowledge of electricity and magnetism isn't stellar, Professor Paul Braterman, a chemist at Glasgow University, sums up the text as "sh*t on stilts," saying that it "bears no relationship to reality."
Some Argue Fossils And Other Scientific Explanations Are Hoaxes
Another, less popular, view some Young Earth creationists hold is the universe has not evolved at all. According to these followers, the world has remained almost identical to when it was created by God in the Genesis stories.
When presented with confirmed, unanimously agreed upon scientific facts, such as evolution and the fossils that prove it, Young Earth creationists argue that yes, maybe these creatures did exist, but they are not part of some evolutionary chain; they were created 10,000 years ago, along with the first humans, by God. With no other evidence aside from the faith in their hearts and made-up science, Young Earth creationists willfully ignore any data that does not fit their creation narrative.
