Why do people believe that the earth is millions of years old?

Answer 1

I don't get why people will believe that we can find articles of clothing and date those back 5000 years, but fossils or rocks millions of years - no way. If it is within "god's" time it is real, if not, then it mustn't be. This is bull (Buy Bull to be exact - it's the name of the book). There is physical evidence that the Earth is billions of years old, yet there is NO proof that god exists - other than "God said so" or "because it is."

Please, learn both sides before you speak. I'm not knocking god (or any creator), I just think it's ridiculous that people are so close minded.

Answer 2

The early geologists did think it was millions of years old, and were mocked for it. But they accumulated evidence that natural processes proceed very slowly and thus the large accumulations of sedimentary rocks could only have been formed in millions of years. As the science developed, relationships were uncovered to show that even millions of years was completely inadequate to explain the history of the earth as shown by the evidence, and eventually the current estimation of about 4.5 billion years for the age of the earth was established as pretty well founded.

All you bible-toting young-earthers seem to be ignorant of the fact that historically, scientists tried to prove the bible correct, and kept finding insurmountable problems with the bible portrayal of the origin of the earth. It was not as though people set out to show the bible wrong (which seems to be what strongly religious people believe science has been trying to do), it was in fact the contrary that was the compelling drive in early science, and many scientists reached the conclusion of an old earth very reluctantly, because their own eyes and their own logic told them that what they had always believed to be true was impossible.

Answer 3

Because they think there was a gap in Genesis while the Earth is actually billions of years old. Any point anyone brought up above me in aswered here. http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
If multiple sciences came up with different answers than there would be a problem. through genetics it's about 4 billion throught radiometeric dating it's about 4.7 billion and through physics the sun is 5 billion. Quantaum theory aslo gives an estimate through particle statistics that comes to be 4.6, but I can't recall that. Every science gives the same result. The real question you should be asking is why do you people insist that your God is a loving one when he muders children.

Answer 4

Because ALL the evidence shows that it is about 4.55 billion years old.

One CAN believe in both the Bible, creation, and science. The God of the Bible is also the God of nature (as some put it, the 67th book of the Bible).

The link below is an essay by an evangelical Christian who is a scientist explaining how radiometric dating works.

Answer 5

Earth isn't millions of years old. Its billions.

So, why can't it be? Because a book written by men suggests it isn't? Pfft.

You can believe in creation and science. You cannot put stock in a book that is, at best, a somewhat accurate historical account.

Answer 6

Because there is irrefutable archeological and geological evidence to support the fact. Anyone who believes that it is 6,000 years old is lacking an education and intellectual discretion.

Answer 7

They don't. They believe it is about 4.5 billion years old. This is based on the ratio of radioactive decay products in certain meteorites, and moon rocks.

Answer 8

Some people believe it is millions or billions of years old becasuse they have rejected God's truth as written in that King James Bible.
I believe that the Bible teaches that the earth that we live on today is 6000 years old. See if you can find any history of any civilization behond that? You can't.

Answer 9

Because it is, scientists have found proof. At least that's what I've heard...=\

Answer 10

Because they choose to ignore the fact that most evidence suggest the universe is young, or they are simply only presented with a biased evolutionary interpretation of the evidence.

Most evidence suggests that the earth is young.

It is important to note that all methods of estimating the age of the earth/universe involve unprovable assumptions about the past.

Evidence for youth includes
The saltiness of the sea (would be saltier if old)
The decay of earth's magnetic field
The recession of the moon
The existence of short lived comets (Oort cloud has been invented to try and explain them)

http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3040/

Much evidence for age is clearly faulty, and often involves radiometric dating. Rock from Mt St Helens volcano was dated as millions of years old when it is known to be just decades.
Diamonds contain carbon 14 when they 'shouldn't'.
http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3059/

But check it out for yourself, and don't forget - some people are very biased and philospohically (religiously) opposed to the possibility of creation, and therefore take an unscientific stance by ruling out certain possibilities a priori.