Why is it important for creationists to believe that the age of the world is only a few thousand years old?

[msitu]

I can't think that god is in such a hurry.

[Old_Geezer]

Because that is what they deduce from the holy documentation that was apparently written with divine instruction. Not sure hurry has much to do with it. After all God finished in under a week, and then had a day off.

[R1Geezer]

They need to reconcile their brainwashing with their book of fairy tales. Mainly because they need a way to convince themselves that religion is not a total load of c0bblers that would require them to own up to themselves that their parents brainwashed them with what they had previously been brainwashed with. The cycle continues.

[brionon]

Because you either Believe the Bible or you don't .Picking and choosing is fraught with dangers to the faithful.

[keyplus90]

But then there are other teachings than Bible. I believe that Universe was created by a creator but I do not believe it is only few thousand years old. And nothing contradicts my book or its teachings either.

[Clanad]

To be clear however, neither the Old Covenant nor the New Covenant of Scripture teaches the age of the Earth or the universe for that matter.

We have James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and his studied calculations from many different sources, including genealogies in the Old Testament, from which he published a voluminous document in 1650 claiming to detail the creation of the Earth within the preceding 6,000 years.

Since then, scholarship, both secular and religious have shown his calculations to be in error... grossly so...

[jake-the-peg]

I feel there may be a culture in some sects to demonstrate their faith by professing belief in contraversial doctrine.

The more contraversial the more difficult to adhere to and the more it seen to be at odds with modern culture the stronger their faith must be.

I don't know this I haven't much personal experience of young-earthers (remember not all creationists think the Earth is young)

It's just a suspicion

[Manwithnoname]

Because it dovetails nicely with their beliefs.

[notasyoungasiwas]

Personally, I think that people who believe the world is only a few thousand years old are terribly naive. How do they explain dinosaur bones which are millions, billions years old? Bones of ancient man, fossils etc. etc. etc? The universe is vast and ancient - doesn't that make more sense?