A Matter of Days, ch. 16-23

Chapter 16 seeks to demonstrate the reliability of radiometric dating. He seeks to make this very complex issue accessible, but I still walked away feeling a little bit like an outsider looking in. Ross does acknowledge the limitations of radiometric dating, but continues to hold that the burden of proof is on the YUCs.

Chapter 17 turns its focus on the challenges of holding to a young universe. He offers a series of responses to evidence that YUCs consider to be conclusive:

A. The continents erode too quickly for Earth to be old.

B. Lunar dust accumulates too quickly to allow for an old earth.

C. Earth's magnetic field decays too rapidly to allow for an old earth.

D. The Sun burns by gravitational contraction, so it must not be billions of years old.

E. Galaxy clusters would be more widely dispersed if the universe were old.

F. The crystal halos that arise from radioactive Polonium decay indicate that the earth is young.

G. Rapid sedimentation and peat deposition following the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption demonstrate that geological processes are rapid, not gradual. So, earth could be young.

H. Computer models of galaxy structures show that spirals tend to collapse after two or three rotations, so spiral galaxies must be relatively young.

I. Trails of human footprints beside or crossing over dinosaur prints prove that dinosaurs were contemporaries with humans, not millions of years old.

J. Since a comet's average life span is only a few thousand years and the supply of new comets is limited, the existence of comets today proves the solar system cannot be more than several thousand years old.

K. The lack of greatly expanded supernova remnants proves that such remnants have been expanding for no more than a few tens of thousands of years.

L. Backward-rotating planets and backward-revolving moons in the solar system demonstrate that the solar system cannot be very old.

Chapter 18 offers a new way of looking at the physical realm. What was most helpful was Ross' 'Science says... Theological Signifance response' on p. 212-3. He cuts through the arguments and seeks to reconcile what he believes are solid scientific discoveries with theological conclusions. In doing so, he hopes to demonstrate that old-universe creationism is orthodox and accurate.

Chapter 19 is an extremely short chapter that deals with time windows in the cosmos. He hopes to demonstrate that God has perfect timing in his creative activity.

Chapter 20 shows what makes man different. Picking up on qualities of the soul, Ross shows that man is uniquely designed by God. I appreciated this chapter because he properly weds his science with his theology. It was fun to read.

Chapter 21 takes on a number of things, not the least of which is the existence of 'bipedal primates' prior to Adam and Eve. It is difficult to understand where Ross is going with this as he makes no conclusions. It seems like his only point is to say that there is no conflict with the Bible record.

Chapter 22 revisits councils, but contemporary ones in particular. The conclusion is that this debate over young or old universe should not divide. Seeking to create openness, dialog and synthesis, Ross goes back to where he started - a plea for peace in the storm.

Chapter 23 ends with a plea for reconciliation and reconnection under the banner of orthodox Christianity. Young-universe creationists have labled old heretics and that has caused an unnecessary rift in our faith. This book ultimately deals with two issues: 1. the need for unity in this debate, 2. the likelihood (as Ross sees it) of an old-universe creation.