“This universe that we live in is … fourteen billion years old and there’s no question about it”

Pat Robertson, the Conservative Christian televangelist, roundly rejected the belief of the universe merely being 6,000 years old. He termed such an idea “nonsense.” The 89-year-old told the viewers of a television program that there is no doubt the universe is billions of years old, and the proof of this lies in the geological records. There is no way of the 6,000 years claims being true. He made his comment when a viewer informed him that church teaches her the universe to be only 6,000 years old and such teachings confuse her.

Robertson was quick to dispel her doubts. He pointed out that Regent University, the school he established, taught Old Earth view and expressed the opinion that creation science is “nonsense” and an “embarrassing” subject. He added his school teaches the truth of the universe is 14 billion years old, and Christians deserve to know the truth. Only the truth can awe believers, and God has created the galaxies, the stars, and the solar system. The almighty also created a “billion trillion stars” scattered all over the universe. It is essential, he added, to give God credit for his achievements and not try to restrict the almighty to a measly 6,000 years.

Christian pastors are divided when it comes to the Earth’s age. A Lifeway Research survey done in 2011 showed that 46 percent of the pastors believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old. About 43 percent reject the Creationist point of view. It was seen that graduates are less likely to coincide with the Young Earth Creationism theory. According to the supporters of the latter, the 6,000 number is arrived at by the addition of five days of the creation (the Bible states that Adam was created on the sixth day) around 2,000 years between the days of Adam and Abraham and approximately 4,000 years between the Abraham time and the present. As per Biblical scholars, Abraham lived sometime around 2000 BCE.

Go @700club!!! I am no liberal, but have come to believe through years of study that @aigkenham is the one who wants his ears tickled. Young Earth Creationism is a poor and eventually dishonest interpretation. — Martin Blumrich (@MartinBlumrich) May 3, 2019

The Young Earth view has found traction in recent times. Films like Is Genesis History? was released in theatres in 2017 to support this view and offered a pushback against rationalists who hold the belief of Young Earth concepts to be stupid or unscientific. Del Tackett, who promoted the film, said there is a belief that science has settled this issue while clearly, it has not.

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