Young Earth Creationism: What ChatGPT Says About It
Does using AI to perform background research on my novel make me a bad Christian?
As some of you probably know, I’m writing a novel where the protagonist—an angel named Merkabah—comes out of the Timeless Halls to investigate the murder of Abel. It’s raw, it’s hard-boiled, it’s … weird.
But if you like stories like this (and I know some of you do), you’ll love this tall tale. It’s a hero’s journey, whodunit, and hard-boiled fantasy rolled into one mixed-genre milkshake. With a little magic realism thrown in for extra flavor.
Of course, what’s an antediluvian fantasy world without some worldbuilding, right?
When starting on the novel, I had a problem. I didn’t know much about the science of Young Earth Creationism. Therefore, I had to do a little homework. To reconstruct planet Earth according to the YEC framework, I needed to do some research. Otherwise, the story would not work … AT ALL!
That’s where ChatGPT came in.
How ChatGPT Is Helping Me Write My Young Earth Fantasy Whodunit
To understand the imagined geology and geography of Earth 100 years after creation, I asked ChatGPT to write me a report.
Of course, ChatGPT can make mistakes. Therefore, I didn’t rely on it completely. I did verify many of its claims. If interested, you can read the report here.
That said, I do have some observations. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from ChatGPT’s research on Young Earth Creationism:
YEC scientists do not begin with a blank slate. Rather, they assume that Genesis showcases an accurate description of creation. In doing so, they ignore any evidence that might contradict their hypotheses or interpret it in a way that reinforces their preconceived ideas. In other words, they shove the “science” into their understanding of scripture rather than adjust their understanding of scripture to conform to science.
YEC scientists believe every animal, including man, was designed to be vegetarian. In my mind, if this is true, then we should all be vegetarians now. Why should that change due to the Fall? But, to be clear, this science contradicts scripture itself (which YEC scientists force their conclusions to conform with) (see Acts 10:9-15 and 1 Timothy 4:3-4). If YEC scientists are correct, not only does their vegetarian claim contradict modern scientific understanding of predation, but it also contradicts mainstream Christian theology.
One observation that bears noting is that the educational debate between YEC adherents and mainstream science adherents could only occur during our historic era. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published on November 24, 1859. Prior to that date, few people would have questioned whether creationism should be taught in schools.
There exists a dichotomy in YEC circles regarding climate science. Some YEC purists—and I suspect mostly non-scientific lay people—outright reject the claims of climate science while awaiting the return of Jesus to restore Earth to its Edenic condition. Other YEC adherents bake into their theology a “stewardship posture”. That is, according to some branches of YEC theology, Man sbould be a steward of Earth and its resources, caring for them and protecting them as a “stand in” for God.
YEC extremism can be seen as “all or nothing”. Either you believe in Young Earth Creationism or you aren’t a true Christian. This stance often leads young people away from a Christ-centered religion and toward atheism. The truth is, one must not accept every claim of every YEC scientist to remain a Christian. After all, there is nothing in scripture that says one must believe in a young Earth to be saved or set aside for redemption.
One of the most interesting and compelling claims YEC scientists make is that the Flood itself reordered Earth’s geology and geography (and hints at why I asked ChatGPT to research the topic). According to YECs, major landforms such as the Grand Canyon and the Himalayas were created by the catastrophic event of the Flood, not by billions of years of geologic processes. This is interesting because, if true, modern geologic science might be ill-equipped to study such phenomena and arrive at the correct conclusions regarding them. On the other hand, YECs make their claims primarily based on theology while explaining themselves using scientific language.
Related to that, many YECs (but not all) believe Earth consisted of a single supercontinent called Pangaea before the Flood. According to them, the Flood caused a massive tectonic shift, creating the seven continents we now know (along with the aforementioned major landforms). This has stark implications regarding Noah’s ark. If the story is true, gathering all the animals in one place would not have been a great task, for there would not have been any oceans to cross before the ark was built.
Following the Pangaea argument, there may not have been as many animal species on the planet then. Some YECs believe in natural selection. However, the natural selection process is different than that of evolutionary biologists. According to YECs, the natural selection process doesn’t take as long (not billions of years) and happens only within “created kinds”. These kinds, according to YECs, would fall into the taxonomic rank around the Family or Order (rare belief) classification. In other words, Noah likely took equines (horses, donkeys, mules, etc.) rather than two of each type of equine. He likely took to dog kinds, not necessarily two wolves, two jackals, and two poodles. This would, of course, mean that the proliferation of animal species since the Flood occurred as a result of a truncated timeline for natural selection.
YEC scientists have one major hurdle to overcome, and it’s a hurdle they recognize themselves. They call it the distant starlight problem. In a nutshell, it involves the speed of light and the distance between galaxies. How can we see the starlight of galaxies billions of light years away if Earth is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old? One proposed solution is what YECs call c-decay. In short, they claim the speed of light was faster before the Fall or before the curse. Observable evidence, however, disputes those claims—a fact that even YECs admit. YECs have proposed other hypotheses, but thus far, none have grown legs.
Finally, I want to point out that mainstream science is as relevant to theology as YEC theology is to mainstream science. It would be impossible for a biologist to prove the existence of a pre-Fall paradise such as Eden, assuming that Eden existed. Likewise, science (YEC or otherwise) is not equipped to make claims regarding Original Sin, or the existence of incorporeal entities such as angels, demons, and God Himself.
These general observations on YEC are not intended to argue against them or say they are wrong. The point is simply that YECs view science through a biblical hermeneutic that may be right, wrong, or partially both, rather than allow their science to speak for itself. What it boils down to, essentially, is that YECs start with a theological view and carve out of it a science. Whether one accepts their claims depends on one’s epistemology.
YEC: Can You Handle the Truth?
As I said at the beginning, I asked ChatGPT to delve into how the Earth would look (geographically and geologically) if it were young and the Genesis accounts of creation and Cain/Abel were true. It gave me so much more. Along with the information presented, ChatGPT gave me a lot of food for thought.
I am not a scientist or a theologian, but I believe every Christian should consider YEC claims. I was already leaning toward Old Earth Creationism, but ChatGPT gave me much more to consider—things I had not considered before.
There is another view, and it doesn’t need a name. One need not define one’s belief regarding origins. It’s perfectly acceptable to be a Christian, which means you believe in Jesus Christ as the sole means of salvation and redemption, and not know (or care) how and when God created the cosmos. One mustn’t accept the Genesis account of creation literally to believe in Christ, nor is it required that you accept YEC claims that Earth was created approximately 10,000 years ago. There’s no theological, reasonable, or scriptural support for insisting that such things be true to be redeemed.
On that note, I’ll leave with this final thought: The God Who is, was, and will be holds you in His almighty hand no matter what you believe.
Allen Taylor is the author of I Am Not the King, his testimony of belief in Jesus Christ, and the forthcoming novel Strangers & Aliens: 60 Days for Abel.
Interesting timing on this article. I just did an episode/post about how I don’t think we can start with Scripture to build a case for YEC. I don’t think it’s how we are meant to read Scripture.
https://jakedoberenz.substack.com/p/why-im-not-a-creationist-anymore
Appreciate your ending words!
Interesting - I never stopped to think about the YEC position; I've always just taken it at face value. There's a lot in there to think about.
The only point I'll make is to consider that all humans, in every time and place, bring our own preconceived notions when we think about anything. I don't see how it's possible not to, as it's part of the human experience.
Which means that all of the history passed down from generation to generation is filtered through how we view the world, so it's important to remember this when we learn anything in this life.
Even scientists are subject to this very natural tendency. Or maybe that's my own preconceptions peeking out. 😁