I believe that the earth could be both 6,000 years old and billions of years old at the same time! I know this sounds like a wishy-washy answer. I don’t believe it is, I have been thinking about this possibility since I read the post. Here is my reasoning.

Scientifically, I recalled that time is not always constant for each observer. Because this recollection was from my high school physics class many moons ago. So, I went to YouTube to make sure my recollection was correct. I was remembering time dilation! One of the parts of the theory of relativity.

So, if everything is relative it is possible for them to both be right. But my analysis doesn’t stop there. Time is a measurement. We define time in terms of seconds, minutes, days, etc.… These measurements are based on our observations of the world around us. Our measurement of time is based on the Earths rotation, which takes about 24 hours. When we face the sun, it’s day; when we are away from the sun, it’s night.

The Earth also orbits the sun. This takes 365.256 days. So, every four years we add a day and have a leap year. Historically, man has tried to keep track of the passage of time. There have been a number of different calendars used over time. The Mayan’s used the light and shadows in relationship to their temples and pyramids to track time. As our understanding of the world arounds us increase we add words and give them meaning. For instance, at some point the word nanosecond became relevant and known to more people as computer use increased.

We define words and give them meaning. So, how does this relate to the Bible? The Bible is God’s word. I believe in God, not in a religious sense but in terms of spirituality. There is a power bigger than us, whether you call him/her, God, Source, Creator, or by any other name. For me God has always been, is now, and will be forever. Thus, I think time is irrelevant to God. S/he has is no need to keep track of time; only to be.

We have given meaning to the word day, in terms of how we define day as a measurement of time. There are two possibilities. We can use hours as our measurement (24 hours in a day) or based on when the sunshine is visible (day and night). The latter is an event driven measurement. I believe God used the word day to mark the passage of time, not necessarily in terms of twenty-four hours, but based on the events related to creation. @Humanearl chose to measure time based on bloodlines in the Bible, thus his calculation of the earth being approximately six thousand years old, is correct.

It all comes down to how you choose to measure time. Scientifically, through various discoveries (carbon dating and archeology) has established the world as billions of years old. Or human existence, as evidenced by blood lines, places the world at approximately six thousand years old. Your choice, there is no right or wrong; just different facts and units of measurement used for interpretation. As Einstein proved its all relative!