Origin of the Earth
About
The planet Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago by accretion from the solar nebula.
Evidence
Evidence for an earth that is at least millions of years old includes:
- wikipedia:Geomagnetic reversal: given the rate at which rock emerges from the mid-Atlantic ridge, and the fact that volcanic rock tends to retain the magnetic polarity that was prevalent at the time of its formation, it is possible to estimate the times at which geomagnetic reversals took place. If the ocean floor had been created in a single event less than a million years ago, one would expect no magnetic differentiation -- or at least no correlation with the magnetic polarity of volcanic rocks in other locations
Faith-based Hypotheses
Two varieties of Christian anti-science hold that the Earth was created by the deliberate act of a supernatural being either 6000 years ago (young Earth creationism) or perhaps as long ago as indicated by science (old Earth creationism); in either version, supernatural intervention was necessary. The former is in flat contradiction to the evidence, and the latter would seem to be an attempt to compromise between evidence and a literal interpretation of Christian scripture (the Bible) by simply stating that "God did" whatever pieces of the puzzle have not yet been thoroughly worked out.