Omphalos hypothesis

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The proposition that God created the universe within the past few thousands of years but also introduced false evidence that the universe is of great age.

Origin

• Named after the 1857 book Omphalos by Philip Henry Gosse, in which it was argued that, in order for the world to be "functional", God must have created the Earth with mountains, canyons, trees, etc. The word Omphalos comes from Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός, an example of one such feature putatively needed for completion.