These are the notes from the last session of a six-session course I taught in November 2012 in the West region of the Chicago Church of Christ. This session is inspired by a class taught by Dr. Willis Hames during an International Apologetics Conference in 2007 in Elmhurst, Illinois, hosted by the Chicago Church. Dr. Hames is a professor of geology at Auburn University and a Christian since 1990.
When I first began reading the Bible, a major barrier to belief for me was the fantastic length of life ascribed to the patriarchs in Genesis. I soon realized this issue was not only my struggle. Hypotheses abound to explain these apparent conflicts with reality. It seems well-meaning Christians, in seeking to resolve stumbling blocks to their faith, have created much larger stumbling blocks for non-Christians!