Does anyone here believe the earth is 5000 years old?

[agnes_therese]

It is ENTIRELY possible to believe we evolved from apes and be Christian.

Not to be nit-picky (but of course, that’s exactly what I’m about to do), the evidence is that we descended from the same ancestors as the apes did, not from apes.

 

[Fairwinds]

Not to be nit-picky (but of course, that’s exactly what I’m about to do), the evidence is that we descended from the same ancestors as the apes did, not from apes.

this is not nitpicking details. you’re correcting, again, another common creationist misrepresentation of science. this is how they argue their point.

 

[rossum]

Not to be nit-picky (but of course, that’s exactly what I’m about to do), the evidence is that we descended from the same ancestors as the apes did, not from apes.

To be meta-nitpicky, that depends on the definition of “ape” you are using. In the colloquial definition, we are descended from apes. In the scientific definition, where ape = “member of the Hominidae” then we are ourselves also Hominidae descended from earlier Hominidae.

The different definitions often cause confusion when discussing this area. In scientific terms we are apes, in colloquial terms we are not.

rossum

 

[Razanir]

To be meta-nitpicky, that depends on the definition of “ape” you are using. In the colloquial definition, we are descended from apes. In the scientific definition, where ape = “member of the Hominidae” then we are ourselves also Hominidae descended from earlier Hominidae.

The different definitions often cause confusion when discussing this area. In scientific terms we are apes, in colloquial terms we are not.

rossum

Point is, for most circumstances that don’t involve heavy science or evolution-YEC debates, saying we descended from apes should be accurate enough.

 

[Semangelof]

Such as why would God make fossils? Everyone says either “To test our faith” or “The Great Flood,” neither of which sits well with me as an answer.

Yeah to “test our faith” is a terrible answer. In particular to this question there are a lot of very strong rebuttals using science. To begin to debate it here would exceed the scope of my time, and almost immediately begin a never ending Google search debate. So I think it’s best for each of us to privately research the topic, or wait for someone more professional with the time to debate it to show up. What I mean to do here is to give people the resources, and let them know that they are not forced into any corner regarding creation, not even a little bit. Nothing is demanding an inch from us so there is no reason to give one up.

Try your questions on that site I linked, and there are a lot of youtube debates, and episodes on the subject. There are much better answers out there to the questions you have.

 

[clem456]

Take a geology course… that will cure you of young earth creationism.

Everyone who believes the earth is 5-600 yrs old owes it to themselves to take a geology 101 course. If the earth is really only a few thousand years old, there’s a lot of good people been lying to us for a long time. In fact just look at a map of the world and notice how the land masses have drifted apart, and how long that has taken to happen…

 

[devoutchristian]

The Church does not teach this. The long and short of it is that the Church only teaches that souls did not evolve, not humans.

The Church does teach that Adam and Eve were the first humans. Having a soul is necessary to be a human.