Genuinely disputable among serious Bible-believing Christians. Young Earth (~6,000-10,000 years, literal Genesis days) and Old Earth (~4.5 billion years, accepted science) both have thoughtful evangelical advocates. Not a salvation issue. The non-negotiables: God created everything, humans are uniquely in God's image, Adam and Eve were historical persons. Age of the earth is not among the non-negotiables. 72/100 Spiritually Safe.
The Bible does not state the age of the earth. Genesis 1 describes God creating the universe without specifying a date. The genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 have been used by Archbishop Ussher and others to calculate a creation date around 4004 BC, but biblical genealogies regularly omit generations — Matthew 1 skips generations that the Kings narrative includes. The question of how to interpret Genesis 1 is one of biblical interpretation, not whether you believe the Bible.
Genesis 1 describes six literal 24-hour days. The geological and astronomical evidence for an old earth is explained by the catastrophic effects of Noah's global flood and God's ability to create with apparent age. Genealogies are taken as comprehensive chronological records. Advocates: Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis), Institute for Creation Research, many Southern Baptist and fundamentalist traditions. Strength: most literal reading of Genesis. Weakness: requires explaining a remarkable convergence of independent evidence from astronomy, physics, geology, and biology all pointing to deep time.
The scientific evidence for an old universe and earth is accepted — the Big Bang (~13.8 billion years), radiometric dating, light from distant stars, geological strata, ice cores — as reflecting God's actual creation. The "days" of Genesis 1 are interpreted as long ages (Day-Age theory) or as a literary framework describing what God created rather than a strict chronological sequence. Humans were specially created by God, not evolved. Advocates: Hugh Ross (Reasons to Believe), C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, B.B. Warfield, many Reformed theologians. Strength: takes scientific evidence seriously without special pleading. Weakness: requires a non-literal interpretation of "day" in Genesis 1, though the Hebrew yom can mean an indefinite period.
The non-negotiables Scripture requires: God created everything (Genesis 1:1), humans are uniquely made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), Adam and Eve were historical persons whose sin affected all humanity (Romans 5:12-19). The age of the earth is not among these non-negotiables. Treating it as a test of Christian orthodoxy goes beyond what Scripture requires. See our guide on Is Evolution Compatible with Christianity? and our guide on Is the Bible True? See our Theology hub. GotQuestions on the age of the earth and the Gospel Coalition on creation views present multiple positions fairly.