From Ussher to Slusher, from Archbish to Gish: or, not in a million years…

Abstract

Attempts to construct Biblical‐based chronologies of the earth, life and humanity are reviewed. There are both pre‐evolutionary attempts, such as that by Archbishop Ussher, and modern ones, by the ‘creation science’ movement, led by Dr Gish. The models constructed by the Archbishop and his contemporaries were excusable; the present‐day ones are constructed not in ignorance of modern advances in geology, palaeontology and archaeology but despite them, and involve contrived arguments intended to refute them. Resulting world‐views can be richly comic, but their purpose in overturning accepted ways of gaining knowledge is to control science, the arts and humanities, and so to exert control over politics and human minds. As such they should be taken seriously and strenuously combated by the archaeological profession, rather than ignored as is the usual practice.