Counsels on Christian Worldview

Counsel #6 — Measuring Time

Picture: Counsel #6 — Measuring Time CCW 143.1

Can time be measured in rocks? Due to radiometric dating, many believe rock layers are millions of years old ‒ information contrary to the Bible record. Radiometric instruments measure the quantity of specific elements in rock samples, which are then used to calculate the rock layer’s age. Physicists understand how one element decays (changes) into another form,^[213] and how long this process takes in laboratory experiments. While this understanding is logical, the method’s application to rock samples is flawed.^[214] A sample in the earth for several thousand years could have been affected by various factors, such as a catastrophic flood. No instrument can directly determine a rock’s age in years; they only measure the amount of each element in the rock, and the ratio between elements ‒ not the rock’s age. Researchers then make some assumptions and calculate an age. Studying the ancient past always requires making assumptions.^[215] CCW 143.2

“Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. And that same word of God is keeping the skies and the earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of all people who are against God.” 2 Peter 3:6, 7 CCW 143.3

“Relics found in the earth do give evidence of conditions differing in many respects from the present; but the time when these conditions existed can be learned only from the Inspired Record.” Ellen White in Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 112 CCW 143.4

Reflect: What is your belief regarding the biblical flood account based on? CCW 143.5