I keep on hearing that opponents of evolution claim the universe is “under 10,000 years old”, but there seems to be some hedging on the exact figure.

It used to be that Creationists accepted a 6000 year old universe, ( Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC) as was proposed by Archbishop Ussher in the 17th century using calculations based on the ages of the prophets in the ‘Begats’. Since not all the ages are specifically listed in Scripture, there is a little wiggle room there, but I’d always heard the earth was about 6000 years old.

These new numbers, extending that figure somewhat, indicate to me the Creationists have come across new data, or have otherwise modified their beliefs for some reason, and I’m curious to know what it is.