Geologic Time (Billions of Years vs. Thousands of Years) - Research Paper Example

If the evolution of the old-Earth theory is traced, it can be seen that “one of the earliest refutations of the Christian tradition of a very young earth through reasoning based on observation and scientific theory was by Benoit de Maillet, French diplomat, savant, and amateur naturalist” (Darlymple, 1994, p.25). It was in the “middle of the seventeenth century” that two opposing theories on the age of Earth began to become distinct- one based on Biblical calculations and the other founded on physical and chemical processes (Jackson, 2006, p.32). The latter evolved to become the scientific theory of the age of Earth and proclaimed that Earth is billions of years old.

The modern age has accepted this view as the authentic one and the educational system that we have worldwide endorses it. Yet, the young-Earth theorists also hold sway among a considerable section of the world population. Old-Earth View The old-Earth view is based on the big bang concept (Morris, 2007, p.34). The big bang theory says that “the universe began some 10 to 20 billion years ago with a big bang” (Morris, 2007, p.34). . As time passed, the gravitational force of larger chucks of material attracted the smaller chunks and formed the galaxies and solar systems we see today (“How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?”, n.d.). According to this theory, the solar system was formed from this big bang and its after explosions, around five billion years ago (Morris, 2007, p.34). Life on earth is supposed to have been born out of chemical reactions “about three to four billion years ago” and man is thought to have evolved “around one to three million years ago” (Morris, 2007, p.34). Extensive scientific methods have been developed ever since science started its quest to assess the age of Earth.

There are methods like K-Ar method, Rb-Sr method, isotopic studies, fossil studies, and so on (Darlymple, 1994, p.184). Based on the results of the studies carried out using these assessment methods, certain rocks in the Yilgarn block of Western Australia have been found to have an age of 4.0 Ga (Darlymple, 1994, p.189). This substantiates the old-Earth theory. Science has used four different methods to substantiate that Earth is billions of years old (“How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?”, n.d.).

These methods are used either singularly or in combinations (“How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?”, n.d.). These are radiological measurement, stratigraphic superposition and the fossil record method (“How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?”, n.d.). The radiation measurement method dates rocks based on the radioactive disintegration of the radio isotopes present in them (“How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?”, n.d.). Using this method, the charcoal collected from bed of ash near Crater lake, Oregon, was found to 6,640 years old