One of the more divisive topics in the church today is creationism, specifically young-earth creationism. The vast majority of the modern church--in America anyway--has swallowed the old-earth, evolutionary hogwash, hook, line and sinker. They tend to get visibly upset, emotional, when they meet a fellow believer who actually believes in what the Word plainly says. Such an emotional reaction tends to imply a weak faith (in their old-earth belief). After that, reasoned discourse is usually very difficult if not impossible.

The principles are rather simple. Either the Word of God is indeed His Word or it's not. If not, then everything is up for debate and nothing is sure--not even the Gospel. If it is His Word, then either Genesis is true or it's not. If it's not true, the God lied to us. If Genesis is true, though, then the earth is only about 6000 years old.

The word "day" in Genesis 1 is the same as elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. It's simply a day. No fancy semantics. 24 hours. One rotation of the earth. It's not six "ages" but six days. The only way to deny this plain definition of the word "day" in Genesis 1 is to deny the Word of God.

Some old-earth Christians like Hugh Ross try to do just this, deny the Word of God. They think Genesis 1 is a metaphor, despite no contextual support for this. They think each day stands for an eon of creation that closely resembles Evolution and the Big Bang, in spite of the radically different ordering (e.g., stars, sun, and moon aren't created until day 4 while light is day 1, contrary to naturalism). You cannot believe in the fable that is an old earth without denying the Word of God, and such denial has dire consequences. Once you start denying portions of the Word, other portions begin to fall. If there was death before the Fall, then either sin and death aren't related or there was sin before the Fall. Sin before the Fall would mean God did not actually create everything as good; He must have created sin and death, marring His perfect character. Only when creation is good, and only when sin is introduced through conscious choice of man and not God...only then is the Gospel not watered down or drowned out completely. When the Gospel falls, so does our Lord's victory over sin and death, so does resurrection and eternal life.

Why do so many buy into the old earth fiction? At its simplest, they're trying to be of the world and yet still a follower of Christ. You can't have it both ways. I find it poetic that you must deny old-earth B.S. in order to fully submit to God; holiness means being separate, and nothing so quickly separates a believer from the world today than proclaiming a Biblically young earth.

Besides the theology, there's the science. There's abundant evidence for a young world. As Ken Ham of Answers In Genesis states, we're all looking at the same evidence; we just interpret it differently. Old-earthers see support for billions of years. Young-earthers see support for one that's only about 6000 years old. However, much of the evidence must be ignored by old-earthers, else their faith will be shaken. They have no answers for this conflicting evidence. Young-earth scientists are few relative to Bible-deniers, but they are rapidly and steadily developing theories to fit the evidence. While the problems in old-earth theories not only abound but increase as more evidence is found, the problem sin young-earth theories are diminishing, thanks to the work of those faithful few scientists who can be honest about their faith and science.

At its core, it's simple: choose now whom you will serve. Will it be the One, True God who created the world in six days? Or will you reject God's Word by embracing the wrong theories of a world that hates its Maker?