The Bible, Rocks and Time

Is the Earth relatively young or very old?

We've all heard the controversy. The consensus regarding the age of the Earth, based on the best geological evidence, is that it is billions of years old. But many Christians believe that the Bible teaches the Earth is only a few thousand years old at best. What are we to make of this discrepancy? Geologists Davis Young and Ralph Stearley tackle this issue head-on.

Thoroughly examining historical, biblical, geological and philosophical perspectives, the amply illustrated Bible, Rocks and Time takes a comprehensive and authoritative look at the key issues related to the Earth's antiquity.



Davis A. Young (Ph.D., Brown University) is Professor Emeritus of Geology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.



Ralph F. Stearley (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is professor of geology and chairman of the department of geology, geography and environmental studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Preface


List of Figures


List of Tables


Abbreviations


Introduction


Part One: Historical Perspectives


1. The Age of the Earth Through the Seventeenth Century


2. Investigation of the Earth in the Seventeenth Century


3. The Emergence of Modern Geology


4. Harmonizing Geological Chronology and Scripture in the Nineteenth Century


5. Antiquity of the Earth: Twentieth Century to the Present


Part Two: Biblical Perspectives


6. The Bible and the Antiquity of the Earth: Part One


7. The Bible and the Antiquity of the Earth: Part Two


Part Three: Geological Perspectives


8. The Nature and Nurture of the Stratigraphic Record


9. Fossil Graveyards: A Rumble in the Jumble?


10. Sands Through the Hourglass: Sedimentation, Ancient Environments and Time


11. Of Time, Temperature and Turkeys: Clues from the Depths


12. Time and the Stratigraphy of the Michigan Basin: A Case Study


13. Illumination from the Range of Light: The Sierra Nevada


14. Radiometric Dating: Part One


15. Radiometric Dating: Part Two


Part Four: Philosophical Perspectives


16. Uniformitarianism, Catastrophism and Empiricism


17. Creationism, Evangelism and Apologetics


Index of Names


Index of Subjects