I don't argue for a young earth, but some do and they present physical arguments. Imo, the Bible does not indicate that the days of creation are 24 hour periods, but at the same time, if that was the case, the earth could still be very ancient and the 24 hour "day" idea be true.
Though you and I seem to be on par for the most part, I disagree with this one instance. The geophysical effects of the earth's rotation would have concievably spun much faster in the past because the Earth loses its kinetic energy at a fairly constant rate that we've been able to quantify due to all forms of friction acting upon it, which is perfectly compatible with the 2nd Law. In fact, the US Naval Observatory has to add leap seconds continually just to keep the timekeeper accurate. We know the earth is slowing down, which means there wasn't a 24 hour day in the past, but much shorter, maybe as much as 21 hours. Extrapolating backwards at the same rate, if the earth was 4.5 billion years old, it would have spun so fast so as to make it inhabitable due to the Coriolis Effect. If the earth didn't slow at the same rate as it measurably is currently, then old-agers have to figure out why that is.
That's the physical reason to help support a young-earth model. The Scriptural evidence can be found in Genesis. Moses stated,
"In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day. Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day. Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed--the third day. -Genesis 1:1-13
Genesis 1 follows in this vein for all of the days. God gives him the distinction that it was day, then it was night, thus culminating in one day. So, the question is, why did he make such a distinction if it actually meant long epochs of geologic time?
I'm not a YEC or an OEC. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. I have not made a 100% determination on where I stand. But in these two instances I feel that the Young-earth model is best supported.
“Always be ready to give a defense to
everyone who asks you a reason for the
hope that is in you.” -1st Peter 3:15
™ Version 4.2
