Can Scripture Be Used to Determine the Age of the Earth?
If we insist upon what I would call a literal-scientific reading of Genesis, that reading, when it is performed with the precision that scientific interpretation requires, tells us that, God having created heavens and earth, some period elapsedthat is, some physical processes operatedduring which light had not been made available. Scientifically, there can be no eveningend of dayuntil a half-day of light has passed. Scientifically, the first evening cannot begin until there is light and the light is separated from the darkness. The period between the creation of heavens and earth and the moment the separation of light from darkness starts the clock on the first 24 hours of evening and morning might have been a few of our moments, it might have been billions of our years, or it might have taken place completely outside of our reckoning of time. The passage of literal 24-hour days depends on the presence of light and darkness. Any physical processes operating before the division of light
