I know this thread has drifted between biology and geology and usually leaning toward evolutionary biology, but I thought I'd go back and address some of the claims that weren't really previously addressed.
OneManSows said:
Personally, I believe in the appearance of age creation theory....So why can't the earth have characteristics that cause it to appear older than it really is? Why couldn't the earth appear to be millions or billions of years old, the day it was created?
There is a difference between the appearance of age in the sense of a fully-formed, mature earth and the appearance of a false history on earth, which would render such a deity deceptive and untrustworthy.
It's not just that the earth has multiple, independent lines of evidence that point to an old age relative to what Biblical literalists claim. There are features that indicate that the earth has actually existed with a history of events. If the earth is actually relatively young, that creates problems for all the evidence on earth such as:
1. Fossils of organisms that never actually existed
2. Visible light from stars that never actually existed
3. Craters representing meteorite impacts that never actually happened
4. Buried channels of rivers that never actually existed
5. Decay products of radioactive nuclides that never actually existed
And so on. Theoretically, one can have the appearance of age without the deception of also having a false history.
Let me add, that evolution requires an old earth. However, science tells us that the earth is young.
I thought you subscribed to the notion of appearance of age? Why do you claim that the evidence indicates a young earth, which implies no appearance of age at all?
To say that science tells us that the earth is young is a lie. Why do no geology textbooks reflect this assertion? Why do no scientific journals reflect this assertion? Why is there an abundance of evidence discussed in these sources, that anyone can see for themselves, that point to an old earth? Science clearly does not tell us that the earth is young. It tells us the opposite.
If the little fossil evidence evolutionists point to is as old as claimed, how can they turn around and claim that the crust of the earth is being assimilated on one side while added to from the other, and not cause a contradiction of their own claims?
This is the type of black-and-white forced dichotomy reasoning that destroyes creationist arguments and shows them as being too simplistic. Claims that either the crust must be continually disappearing and new crust cannot be developed, or vice versa such that it must be ALL one way or the other illustrates basic misunderstandings.
There are two types of crust: continental and oceanic. They differ by composition and density. That is why the more granitic, continental crust that is less dense appears "higher" than the more basaltic, oceanic crust that is more dense. The continental crust itself is much older than what oceanic crust exists today. Thus, the continents have been accumulating sediments, which preserve fossils, for billions of years. This crust is not destroyed.
Oceanic crust, on the other hand, is much younger, relatively speaking, with the oldest portions being about 220 million years old. New oceanic crust is created at spreading centers like mid ocean ridges such as that running down the center of the Atlantic. It is recycled back into the mantle at subduction zones like along part of the west coast of North America (which is responsible for the recent Mt. St. Helens activity). There is no contradiction here. It's just a bit more complicated than you realize, apparently.