>I am going to draw on history. Have you ever read Hugh Miller's Testimony
>of The Rocks? It was written in 1857 and is a wonderful book dealing with
>geology and the age of the earth and Noah's flood. Miller was old-earth,
>local flood and was quite well known and widely published in the middle of
>last century. But he had to spend a lot of time arguing against the
>young-earther's and global flood people of his day. Now it is 141 years
>after Miller published that book and we are still arguing the same issue.
>History is on my side, my friend. And it scares me.
Between 1857 and today, the popularity of YEC views has varied quite a
bit; occasionally it has been advocated by many people, but at other times,
fewer.
How about some speculative history: How prevalent do you think YEC would
be now, if there had been no "Genesis Flood" and no Henry Morris to be a
vigorous advocate? How much of the current YEC popularity is due to the
"human nature" (lack of understanding and appreciation for science, wanting
simple theological answers,...) issues being discussed, and how much to
historical contingency?
Craig