The secular world continually disputes our belief that the world is only less than six thousand years old. Their arguments are supported by the many fossils which have been found, dating, according to their scientific calculations, millions of years back.

How can our belief that the world is less than 6,000 years old and their findings be reconciled?

Surely, the G‑d-given Torah, not developed by the human mind, is more accurate. People may err, using means of measurement and understanding which are only human. Even if we accept the opinion of the secular world, there are many explanations which we can offer to eliminate the seeming contradiction to Torah. One of them is the following:

According to the Gemara (Chullin 60a), Hashem created the world in an already developed state. The trees were fully grown and already bearing fruit. Likewise, Adamwas not created a new-born baby, but rather a fully-grown man. Thus, according to our measurements, if we were to find the remains of Adam, it would be “correct” to claim that they are older than the actual age of the world.

Likewise, it is possible that during creation, Hashem created stones which had the characteristic of ones millions of years old, and therefore the scientific calculations are “correct.” This does not, however, mean that the world was created millions of years ago, but that the stones bear the traces of the years since creation plus their “age” at creation.