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Why there was a “Beginning” is still a mystery. Religious leaders claim God, for His own reasons, decided the moment was right for Him to create the universe, life on Earth, and Man in His own image. Many theologians say it is unimportant when God began His Creation, only that He did. Others, however, insist God accomplished His creation less than 10,000 years ago; they require their parishioners to ignore, confront, and deny any scientific evidence that proves otherwise. Even some universities that award “academic degrees” require their professors to teach The Young Earth Theory. I presume the reason why the timing of “The Beginning” is so important to them is because a literal interpretation of Genesis would lead you to conclude that Earth is less than 10,000 years old and the Bible is God’s infallible word, is it not? If the timing of “The Beginning” is wrong, what else might be?
Many scientists think “The Beginning” was simply the moment all energy transitioned from its contracting phase to its expanding phase (see my commentary Our Eternal Universe). Using over 40 different methods of radiometric and carbon dating, scientists now believe “The Beginning” occurred 14 billion years ago plus or minus 300 million years, and the age of the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old!
Most naturally occurring elements, made only in stars, are very stable and never change. Some, however, have one or more alter egos geologists call isotopes. Some of them are radioactive, meaning they decay over time to form other elements. The decay rates of many of these isotopes have been determined and published by many scientists for many years. Geologists use this information to accurately determine the ages of rocks and fossils by measuring the quantities of elements and their alter egos present in rock samples and then comparing their ratios with their known decay rates.
Radiometric and carbon dating methods have been used for many years and are well accepted in all fields of scientific research. The ages of unearthed fossils are determined by dating the ages of the rocks immediately above and below where the fossils are found. Say the rocks above the fossil were found to be around 60 million years old and those below around 70 million. Logic would dictate that the fossil, if undisturbed for the entire period, would have to have been trapped in place for more than 60 and less than 70 million years. Of course, it is possible geologic events might have moved the fossilized remains during this period, so accurately dating fossils requires comparing individual findings with those of many other scientists over a long time.
Read Settled Science if you want to learn how scientists think our universe formed, how life began, and how we got here.
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