Forensic Science, Creation, and the Age of the Earth

When investigating a crime scene or conducting any kind of historical research, eyewitnesses are of primary importance. Of course, they can have confusion, factual errors, or even personal agendas that may color their testimonies. Confirming stories with other witnesses is important (as long as they were not kept together, enabling them to "get the story straight"). Witnesses can be affirmed or discredited by several factors, including physical evidence.

The concept of forensic science has been around for quite a spell, but has not been all that consistent and scientific until recent years. Some elements of forensics as well as logic were used by characters in A. Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe, Erle Stanley Gardner, and others. It is primarily used in the investigation of crime scenes and to bring criminals to justice, and has been very successful. Ideally, the investigator must be completely objective, which may be difficult to do because it goes against human nature. 

Image credit: Pixabay / byrev

How far back can a detective take an investigation? There have been cold cases that have been solved after many years, but the older the incident, the more unreliable the information becomes, and witnesses may no longer be available. Historians can use written testimonies as well as physical evidence regarding, say, World War I, and have a reasonable reconstruction of the events. The events in Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars in 55 BC are sketchy at best.

Some folks try to use forensic science to reconstruct the origin of Earth, and life itself. Both biblical creationists and evolutionists use historical (forensic) science, but neither side is unbiased: both want to see if the facts support their worldviews. Creationists do have an eyewitness, God the Creator, who gave us his written Word. Reason and evidence support the testimony contained therein.

There are multiple scientific disciplines, but there has not been one in recent years that has captured the attention of the general public like the investigative research of forensic science. Forensic science gained popularity in the early 2000s due to several crime-related TV shows, which have dramatized the realistic framework upon which forensic investigation operates. This phenomenon called the “CSI effect” continues to foster the whimsical interpretation of this scientific discipline; however, forensic science provides police agencies and the community a realistic medium upon which to investigate past crimes and review current evidence. Forensic science requires trained personnel to evaluate evidence for intrinsic value and to make educated hypotheses as they attempt to reconstruct past crimes. Eyewitness testimony works in conjunction with the physical evidence and can be used to corroborate or invalidate the reasonable conclusions about the evidence’s relationship to the crime.

When considering the origin of the earth and mankind, one must consider two major and conflicting viewpoints: creation by a perfect God or naturalistic evolution. The creation account in Genesis is not only supported by the evidence found in creation itself (Romans 1:20), but is internally consistent throughout Scripture as an infallible eyewitness testimony of a perfect God (Proverbs 30:5). Secular evolutionists assume that the origin of life occurred by chance and that, through random occurrences, life continues to evolve with no purpose. Most importantly, evolutionary explanations for life have never been observed and there is no eyewitness account to support the claims. As a forensic investigator searches for clues to past crimes, evolutionists, particularly since Darwin, continue the exhaustive search for evidence to support their ideas.

To finish reading, click on "Can Forensic Science Trace the World’s Origins?"

Forensic (historical) science is very useful, but can it answer questions about the origin of Earth and life on it?