10-Year-Old Rock Dated at 2 Million Years?!

In 1980, Mount St. Helens (in Washington State, USA) erupted, blasting the top and side off the mountain.

Then, as volcanoes do, it began to rebuild. In 1992, samples of new volcanic rock—KNOWN to be only about 10 years old—were dated using standard radiometric dating techniques.

The results were eye-opening.

Radiometric dating is not all it’s cracked up to be! In fact, it’s fair to ask: “Can radiometric dates be trusted at all?”

Join geologist Dr Tas Walker for a discussion of the Mount St. Helens eruption and its aftermath, the fundamental flaws in radiometric dating methods, and the relevance of the age of the earth to people’s view of the world.

⏳ TIMESTAMPS ⌛

• 00:00 Teaser
• 00:40 Introduction: What’s the deal with Mount St. Helens?
• 02:33 Dating rocks from Mount St. Helens
• 04:34 Assumptions underlie radiometric dating
• 05:57 Three samples, three dates: 350,000 – 2.8 million years
• 07:36 Story-telling accompanies radiometric dating
• 11:10 How can we get ACCURATE dates?
• 12:29 How were the Mount St. Helens dates received? Handling objections
• 17:05 Carbon dating gives good evidence for a YOUNG earth!
• 18:37 The only way to be sure of the age of something
• 19:58 Different kinds of radiometric dating
• 21:19 Radiometric dating seems so SCIENTIFIC – How can it not be right?
• 23:00 What to do when the dates don’t fit the expectations
• 27:56 Is it okay to publish dates/perspectives that don’t match existing expectations?
• 31:51 The age of the earth is a critical part of people’s worldview
• 33:38 So, what do long-age geologists think of Mount St. Helens?
• 35:55 Other lessons from Mount St. Helens:
• 36:09 → Geologic layers can be deposited rapidly
• 36:59 → Erosion can happen rapidly
• 38:02 Geologists are now more accepting of catastrophism, but won’t let go of long ages
• 39:17 In conclusion: The age of the earth matters to both the biblical and the naturalistic worldviews

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