So what is this little book trying to say?
I believe the Biblical account of creation is correct and that approximately 6,000 years have passed since the creation of the world. And I also believe scientists are correct when they say there is evidence the earth and our solar system appear to be billions of years old.
How can I hold both these beliefs simultaneously?
Simply, I believe when God created the universe, He created it immediately as being billions of years old. If you believe Adam was created as a full-grown man and the animals were created as full-grown mature animals, it makes logical sense that the universe was also created as a full-grown, mature, billions-of-years-old universe.
And to emphasize that this "instantly full-grown mature" method of creation was His chosen method, in Genesis 2:22 God created Eve "right before our eyes". It says He caused Adam to go into a deep sleep and then created Eve from Adam's rib - instantly. When Adam awoke there was Eve - a full-grown, mature woman.
So this little book is trying to illustrate this idea with a simple childlike story: Imagine a tree created full-grown one day and then cut down the next day by a scientist trying to investigate how old it "really" is. Using science's most sophisticated technology (counting the rings) the scientist determines the tree is "positively" 52 years old.
However you, the reader, knows that despite the scientific evidence, the tree was actually created yesterday. Hence the title "If I Could Create a Tree Today, How Old Will It Be Tomorrow?"
So am I saying "Yes, I definitely know this is the way God created the universe?" No, of course not. I wasn't there but then again, no one else was either. Everyone is playing the "maybe" game.
However, because science offers "proof" the universe must be billions of years old, that "proof" seems to demand the Biblical Creation account must be wrong, and by implication, questions the inerrancy of the whole Bible.
I am simply offering a different possibility. I think science and the Bible are both right.
Even atheistic scientists are stuck with the question "who or what, caused the Big Bang?" These scientists believe that Something triggered a perfectly designed Big Bang that billions of years later, resulted in life and our marvelously complex universe.
Now if you can believe that miraculous scientific Big Bang design story, why can you not believe this same Something (or Someone) used that same design ability to create it instantly as a mature, fully-functioning, billions-of-years-old universe?
Glen Navis
