How does the WT feel about dating methods?

by Christ Alone 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Christ Alone

  I'm talking about dating methods that scientists use such as Carbon 14, potassium-argon, rehydoxylation dating, etc...

  I know that many Christian fundamentalist groups speak of how false early dates can be reached by many of these dating systems. But I was wondering how much the WT rejects them. The WT DOES say that the earth is old and they believe that the universe "may" be billions of years old as science has proven. So do they accept some dating methods if it applies to this, but not others? For example, would they accept tephrochronology in the dating of volcanic ash that proves the earth is older than 6000 years, but reject Carbon dating that shows that fossils are millions of years old?

  I don't have a WT library CD anymore... So I can't look it up. BTW, does anyone know of one that can be downloaded? PM me if you do.

  The reason this came up was because of reading their new article on the gospel of Judas. Obviously they set out to disprove its validity. While they first mention that it wasn't discovered until the 70's, they do make the comment:

  Carbon-14 dating authenticated the codex as

  likely coming from the third or the fourth century

  C.E. However, the scholars surmised that the

  Coptic text of the “Gospel of Judas” had been

  translated from its original Greek at a much earlier

  period.

  Apparently they accept the age since they don't speak against this dating method in the article. But I seem to remember them condemning the dating method in other articles. I remember them condemning it much like AIG condemns it in this article: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/does-c14-disprove-the-bible

  They say that C14 dating is only valid up to its half life of 5,730 years, and then becomes unreliable. Obviously this is a joke, since to deny C14 dating, you must make the claim that the ratio of C14 to C12 was somehow different in the past (within the last 6000 years) and is not constant. You then have to assume that there were other factors that would affect the production rate of C14.

  Anyway, another point about the article that I found interesting is that they use quotes from Bert Ehrman to prove their point that the Gospel of Judas was not written by Judas. Let me say that I AGREE that it was not written by Judas and was a later gnostic gospel. But Ehrman is an interesting source to quote since he does not believe ANY of the gospels were written by the writers that we attribute the books to. Use em when you need em', I suppose....?
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  Christ Alone

  BTW, is there any young earth creationists here?
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  blondie

  Dating methods

  Must be chaperoned if with someone of the opposite sex

  No handholding

  Must be scripturally divorced

  Can't date one person for a long time

  Can't serial date
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  Think About It

  LOL- That's funny coming from an ace researcher like Blondie.
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  Apognophos

  This is a good question. I don't have the CD-ROM available at the moment, but I don't recall any detailed discussion of dating methods by the Society. I think it's a matter of "don't ask, don't tell". The Society knows that it doesn't have a self-consistent stance (esp. since dating methods are somewhat verified by each other) and so it knows that simply not discussing the subject is the best policy.

  Since you mentioned the strange stance that some creationists follow in suggesting that the decay rate of C14 changed over time, here's an interesting fact: the rate of creation of C14 is determined by the amount of radiation that passes through the atmosphere from outer space. If something major happened to the atmosphere, say, 4800 years ago, that allowed more radiation to enter, then that would radically alter the production of C14. Other factors such as the magnetic field and volcanoes affect C14 levels. However, scientists sound confident that other dating methods have now confirmed the general accuracy of C14. So a number of years ago, the Society could have attacked C14 dating with some confidence, but nowadays it's just one of many dating methods in use and they can't attack them all.
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  Christ Alone

  I was waiting to see who would make the first joke about dating...
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  Christ Alone

  A bit off topic, but here is an interesting article that comments on the age of man and the rejection of the fossil record:

  http://www.watchtowerletters.com/Attached_article.html
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  pontoon

  That would depend on whether the dating method used supported or refuted whatever the point was the WT was trying to make.
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  cofty

  A bit off topic but here is an excellent article for any young earthers who have swallowed the lies of the likes of Ken Ham & co...

  ---

  Radiometric Dating - A Christian Perspective by Dr. Roger C. Wiens

  Dr. Wiens has a PhD in Physics, with a minor in Geology. His PhD thesis was on isotope ratios in meteorites, including surface exposure dating. He was employed at Caltech's Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences at the time of writing the first edition. He is presently employed in the Space & Atmospheric Sciences Group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

  First edition 1994; revised version 2002.

  Radiometric dating--the process of determining the age of rocks from the decay of their radioactive elements--has been in widespread use for over half a century. There are over forty such techniques, each using a different radioactive element or a different way of measuring them. It has become increasingly clear that these radiometric dating techniques agree with each other and as a whole, present a coherent picture in which the Earth was created a very long time ago. Further evidence comes from the complete agreement between radiometric dates and other dating methods such as counting tree rings or glacier ice core layers. Many Christians have been led to distrust radiometric dating and are completely unaware of the great number of laboratory measurements that have shown these methods to be consistent. Many are also unaware that Bible-believing Christians are among those actively involved in radiometric dating.

  This paper describes in relatively simple terms how a number of the dating techniques work, how accurately the half-lives of the radioactive elements and the rock dates themselves are known, and how dates are checked with one another. In the process the paper refutes a number of misconceptions prevalent among Christians today. This paper is available on the web via the American Scientific Affiliation and related sites to promote greater understanding and wisdom on this issue, particularly within the Christian community.......more
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  keyser soze

  That would depend on whether the dating method used supported or refuted whatever the point was the WT was trying to make.

  You beat me to it. It's only reliable if it doesn't contradict what they're teaching.