Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Biblical calculations
In any second-hand bookstore one can find old copies of the King
James Bible, often bound in black leather with gilt-edged pages,
shelved high up out of reach. These neglected volumes were more
often than not prizes awarded by some religious group such as the
Attercliff Baptist Sunday School for proficiency in answering ques-
tions on scripture, and signed by the local cleric and superintendent.
How many of the beneficiaries of such prizes would have noticed the
odd inscription 'Before CHRIST 4004' or '4004
BC
' printed in black or
occasionally red ink either in the margins or between two columns of
versified text at the opening of the Book of Genesis? If they did, what
did they make of it? What questions did this figure conjure up in their
minds and how often was it debated on Sundays?
Shout '4004
BC
' in a crowded lift travelling to the fifteenth floor
of an office building, or in a coffee shop on a Sunday morning, and 50%
of the occupants will think they are sharing space with some crazed
individual and want to get as far away from you as possible, while the
other 50% will probably think either 'Creation' or 'Ussher'. As many
people know, 4004
BC
is the date of the Creation arrived at by James
Ussher (1580-1656), Archbishop of Armagh, in Ireland. However, he
was not the first person to attempt to date Creation using the pages of
the Bible, nor was he the last.
One of the first biblical computations was by Theophilus of
Antioch (d. 191) who converted to Christianity in adulthood and was
later consecrated Bishop of Antioch, in present-day Turkey. He wrote
an important tract Ad Autolycum (To Autolycus) in which he stated
that the age of the Earth from its creation to the time that he wrote his
letter was just over 5,698 years. The longest duration was 2,242 years,
which represented the period from the Creation to the Flood.
