Without a quote that can be positively attributed to Jews for Jesus that it holds the earth to be 5,700 years old, I cannot comment on what Jews for Jesus believes about the age of the earth. For a statement of faith by that organization, click here.
Absent a statement to examine, there might be one sense in which Messianic Jews believe the world to be about 5,700 years old. The Hebrew calendar, which is said to date from the creation of the earth, reckons 2005 on the Gregorian calendar to be 5765. While there may be non-Christian Jews and Messianic Jews who consider this date to be literal, many understand the calendar in a liturgical sense. Just as Christians recognize that the Gregorian calendar does not date exactly to the birth of Christ but retain the calendar because of centuries of liturgical and secular custom, so many Jews do not necessarily believe that the Hebrew calendar dates to the literal creation of the world but retain it because of centuries of liturgical and cultural custom.
The Catholic Church leaves questions such as the literal age of the world to science. While it is theoretically possible that the earth is young, modern science indicates that the likelihood is that the earth is much older. Should science prove the earth to be millions of years old, the Church would not have any problem accepting such a determination.
DISCLAIMER: Catholic Answers has turned over the archive to Catholic-Questions.org and no longer owns, manages, or moderates the forums. For additional apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com.
