Did life on Earth evolve over millions of years, or was it created by God? That’s basically the debate between scientists and creationists, which has been a never-ending discussion ever since Charles Darwin published his theory in 1859. The scientific theory: The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and all life evolved from primitive, single-celled organisms. Biblical literalists reject this theory and the “evidence” and operate from the view that the Book of Genesis is a historical account of creation.