In 1911, B. B. Warfield addressed the theological significance of a growing challenge to the Christian faith. New geological data appeared to demonstrate that the earth was quite old, and this was becoming hugely problematic for those who accepted that the biblical date for the creation of the universe was 4004 BCE. This date was calculated from the biblical chronologies and is often attributed to Archbishop Ussher.

Warfield’s essay, entitled “On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race”, was his effort to demonstrate that the importance of the biblical chronologies was to be found in their demonstration of the unity of the human race as descendants of Adam and Eve, not in their value for dating the creation of the earth. As Warfield explains, the genealogies given us in Scripture are not comprehensive—they are selective. It is wrong-headed to use them to attempt to determine the precise date of creation. Warfield devoted a significant portion of his essay to explain why such is the case.

The scientific evidence Warfield marshals throughout his 1911 essay is now badly outdated, which should be no surprise given how rapidly scientific data from the hard sciences, coupled with human DNA research, has changed the way we now understand human origins. All those cheek swabs and spit sent to DNA ancestry companies from those of us seeking to find out if we descend from royalty, coupled with significant DNA extraction from the skeletal remains collected for the last four centuries across Europe (and to a lesser degree elsewhere) and stored in university repositories are now being tested. These tests have generated a tidal wave of new DNA data. As this data is examined and correlated, it will, no doubt, impact our understanding of the age of the human race and may present a significant challenge to the biblical account of the creation of Adam. But as always, Christians will capably respond, since the two books of general and special revelation will not remain in conflict when all is said and done.

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