Best Free Book About God "No Scientific Validity?" Pt 2 Chapter 1

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NO SCIENTIFIC VALIDITY?

 

The Lie: The Bible is scientifically incorrect

 

        Because of the theory of evolution and several other modern scientific views, many people believe that the Bible has no scientific validity.  These people accept the opinions of certain scientists solely on faith while they willfully reject the testimony of the book that has endured for ages.*  The Bible was certainly never intended to be a science book, but that does not mean that it is scientifically incorrect.  In fact, some of the major break-throughs in science could have been attained much sooner if scientists had only realized the significance of certain statements made in the Bible. There are numerous scientific truths that were written into scripture long before they were ever officially discovered.  Some of these truths will be briefly considered before addressing the conflict between scripture and evolution.

        Since the dawn of history, people have had many erroneous concepts about the shape and structure of our planet.  Some thought it was flat, some thought it was square, and others believed that it was supported by pillars. Positive proof of the earth’s roundness was not established until the early 1500’s by Ferdinand Magellan.  However, the oldest book in the Bible contains an interesting statement concerning the earth.  In the seventh verse of the twenty-sixth chapter of Job, the Bible says concerning God:  “He stretches the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing.”  Can modern science say much more than that our earth “hangs upon nothing.”  Sure, the force of gravity is said to account for the earth’s position in the universe but that doesn’t really explain anything because scientists don’t even know what gravity is.  All they can do is observe and measure the phenomenon that occurs as a result of the unknown force of gravity.

An additional description of the earth is found in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah in which the prophet says of God:  “It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth.”  (The Hebrew word for “circle” in the text can also be translated “sphere;”¹) therefore, by considering this verse in Isaiah along with the previously mentioned verse in Job, a person could visualize a round earth suspended in space.  This is especially remarkable when one realizes that both Job and Isaiah lived more than 2500 years ago.

Astronomy

 

Long ago, astronomers would spend endless hours trying to count and identify the stars.  In fact, before the invention of the telescope, several astronomers had arrived at what they considered to be the total numbers of stars.² They did this in spite of the fact that two thousand years before the invention of the telescope, the prophet Jeremiah stated that the stars of heaven could not be numbered.  Of course, with modern technology, we now know that there are billions of stars in our own galaxy and possibly billions of other galaxies like our own.  We now see that Jeremiah was right - the stars of heaven can’t be numbered.

While on the subject of astronomy, it should be mentioned that critics sometimes refer to verses in the Bible that portray the sun moving across the sky as evidence of the unscientific nature of the Bible.  One example of this type of verse is found in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes and another is found in the nineteenth Psalm where David speaks of the sun as traveling from “one end of heaven to the other.”  However, what the critics don’t like to consider is the fact that most of us in this modern advanced age still speak of the sun in similar terms because of simplicity and because this is how the sun is observed from our natural view-point.  It is much easier to measure the movements of the sun, stars, and planets by assuming the earth to be the central point around which they travel and it is from this very viewpoint that modern astronomy charts courses and positions of the heavenly bodies.³

Besides, statements about the sun moving from one end of heaven to the other don’t seem so unscientific anymore because most astronomers now believe that our entire solar system is racing through space at a tremendous speed.  In all honesty the Biblical writers were probably not thinking of this phenomenon when they wrote such statements about the sun’s movement.  However, if the critics want to be exceedingly technical, the Bible student can be likewise.

The most probable reason for such statements in the Bible about the sun is that people of ancient times were absolutely convinced that the sun indeed traveled from one end of the earth to the other.  And, since the Bible was primarily written to communicate with average people about man’s spiritual condition rather than his intellectual state, it would be easier to speak to humanity in terms that were understandable.  The Hebrews probably had enough difficulty understanding many futuristic statements made by their prophets; but, could you imagine their reaction if the Lord had inspired the Psalmist to write something such as:  “The sun remained still while the spherical earth rotated on its axis.”  Such a statement would seem ridiculous to ancient people and it certainly wouldn’t be very poetic.

Meteorology

 

The science of meteorology is relatively new.  Throughout history people have observed the weather with little understanding of its behavior.  However, some of the most basic facts of meteorology were stated in the Bible long before they were officially discovered.  Consider the water cycle for example:  We know that water is precipitated and falls to the ground as rain, snow, hail, etc; this water is then returned to the oceans through a system of rivers, where it evaporates, forms clouds, and is carried off by the wind to be precipitated over land again.  We also know that there are major wind currents involved which travel in definite circuits around the world.

These basic facts were stated in the Bible long before they were understood.  For example, in the thirty-sixth chapter of the book of Job, verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight say:  “For He draws up the drops of water, they distill rain from the mist, which clouds pour down they drip on man abundantly.”  These verses accurately summarize the process of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

Now consider the words of King Solomon that are found in the sixth and seventh verses of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes:  “The wind goeth toward the south and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.  All the rivers run into the sea yet the sea is not full.  Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” (KJV)

These two books of the Bible contain a simplified, yet accurate description of the complete water cycle and our great wind currents.  Isn’t it remarkable that this information was contained in scripture thousands of years before it was scientifically discovered?

Health, Diet and Agriculture

 

The books of Moses contain many instructions pertaining to diet, agriculture, medicine and sanitation.  These instructions were extremely advanced for their time and their significance has only recently been discovered.

For example, the Israelites were instructed to let their farm lands remain idle every seventh year in spite of their food demands.  It was not until thousands of years later that man “discovered” that the land needs a complete rest every seven years even if crops are rotated.⁴ If this is not done, the ground begins to wear out, crops become poor, and the land eventually becomes useless.

The Jews also received many instructive warnings against eating certain foods.  These prohibited foods were consumed by neighboring nations; yet, the Israelites avoided them because of God’s warnings. We now know from modern science that the forbidden foods are those that are most likely to cause sickness, disease, or parasitic infection, while the foods that the Israelites were permitted to eat are considered to be among the safest for human consumption.⁵ Other dietary regulations included abstinence from eating any animal that had died a natural death; plus, they were also forbidden to drink stagnate water or any other water that had been contaminated by dead animals or meat of any kind.  These and other dietary regulations were thousands of years ahead of their time.

The bubonic plague has been responsible for killing millions of people at different periods throughout history.  The “Black Death” took so great a toll because people in the past centuries had no practice of isolation or sanitation in dealing with the disease.  The Bible contains some instructions that would have prevented such tragedy if only people had realized the importance of these instructions.  Consider these statements that are found in the fifteenth chapter of Leviticus, verses two through five:  “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge (pus) from his body, his discharge is unclean. This, moreover shall be his uncleanness in his discharge:  It is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow, or whether his body obstructs its discharge.  Every bed on which the person with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean.  Anyone, moreover who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water…’  People of the past had no knowledge of germs or any practice of this type of sanitation or isolation (except for the Jews) until certain discoveries were made by Joseph Lister some 3400 years after the book of Leviticus was written.⁶

Another tragic killer was a disease known as “childbed fever.”  Many mothers died from this disease up until the late 1800’s because doctors would go directly from anatomy classes in the morgue, right to the delivery room without ever washing the hands that had just touched dead bodies.⁷ Once again, the Bible contains several ceremonial instructions that involved a ritual of washing and purification whenever a dead body was touched.  This practice would have saved the lives of thousands of women.

There are many other instances in which the Bible records information that was not scientifically discovered until thousands of years after it was written.  The examples of this phenomenon are so plentiful and so significant that it would take an entire book to cover them all.

Who’s Who

 

Some of the greatest scientists of all time have been Christians who believed the Bible to be the inspired word of God.  Among these great scientists are men like Lord Kelvin, Louis Pasteur, Michael Faraday, Kepler, Lister, Herschel, Maxwell, Galileo, and the most famous scientist of all, Sir Isaac Newton.⁸

Unfortunately, this past century has experienced a drastic change in the attitude of the scientific community toward the Bible.  Now the majority of scientists have rejected the testimony of the Bible concerning the earth’s origin and development.  This disagreement with the Biblical record has been the result of a popular acceptance of the theory of evolution.  However, although the majority of scientists reject the Biblical creation account, there are still many scientists today who strongly support it with a wealth of convincing evidence.  Today there are literally thousands of scientists with advanced degrees who are members of scientific organizations that accept the Biblical record of special creation.  Some of these men call themselves “creationists” and their numbers are increasing rapidly.  Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that these people are bona fide scientists in every sense of the word, they have recently been labeled as anything but scientists because of their dissatisfaction with the status quo of evolutionary thought.

This is a tragic situation but not a surprising one because history reveals that any divergence from the mainstream of scientific thought often results in ridicule. Some of History’s most significant scientific breakthroughs were discovered by people who were scoffed at by the overwhelming majority of their contemporaries. This is not to say that every alternate theory that is met with criticism from the mainstream may be valid; but, only to say that opposition from the mainstream is never a true gauge.

The theory of evolution has been so deeply engrained into the minds of the masses during the past few decades that most people now attain to its general precepts without question.  Any divergence from the basic tenants of evolution is usually met with a fury of scornful debate because too many careers, programs and egos are now at stake.

Ever since the theory of “spontaneous generation” was disproved by Louis Pasteur, evolutionists have been grasping at intellectual “straws” because spontaneous generation (The idea that life could spring forth from non-life) was the very foundation of the theory of evolution.  The collapse of this foundation and the continuous barrage of evidence that defies evolution has only caused the evolutionists to “dig in deeper” because they would prefer to fight to the death than acknowledge that man is more than a “higher animal.”

To most people, the literal Biblical account of special creation is almost laughable.  For this reason, this very “laughable” viewpoint will be expounded to show that there is far more scientific evidence in favor of even this extreme, biblical viewpoint than there is to support the theory of evolution!  It is understood, of course, that many dedicated Christians and Jews are in disagreement with this literal creationist theory but that disagreement should not become a hindrance to taking a curious look at some of the evidence in favor of it.  However, before taking a look at some of that evidence, it is first necessary to recap the theory of evolution and then summarize the theory of special creation.

Evolution

 

Modern evolutionists believe that the earth is several billion years old.  There are differing theories about the origin of the universe but in each case there is no provision or necessity for a God or planner behind its existence. One of these theories is known as the “big bang theory” which states that an explosion occurred in space and somehow converted energy into matter and formed the heavenly bodies of the universe.  According to this theory, the universe is still expanding from this explosion. Another theory known as the nebular theory claims that large masses of gas and dust coalesced to form the planets and stars.  This theory infers that this process is still continuing today although it has never been observed.

Regardless of differing views about the origin of the universe, most evolutionists agree that about two billion years ago, (or longer) the earth cooled off enough for life to be generated from non-living matter by some sort of random combination of proper elements under ideal circumstances which caused the first living cell to be formed.  This living cell later divided and one-half became the first ancestor of the plant kingdom while the other half gave rise to the animal kingdom.

After more than a billion years or so of mutation and chance variation, evolution had produced small insect-like sea animals such as trilobites.  Then, after another one hundred seventy million years, these insect-like creatures gave rise to various types of fish.  The fish developed into amphibians during the next thirty million years or so and the amphibians evolved into reptiles after about another hundred million years.  The evolutionist believes that reptiles gave rise to one line that lead to birds and another line that lead to mammals.  The first birds and mammals were allegedly developed about one hundred eighty million years ago and this uphill progression of change continued until man finally evolved from a common ancestor of the ape about one to two million years ago.

The evolutionist believes in the “doctrine of uniformitarianism” which, in a nutshell states that physical process occur at the same rate now as they have in the past.  The uniformitarian believes that mountain ranges, canyons, delta formations, fossils, sedimentation, etc… can all be explained by the slow processes which we observe today having occurred at the same rate throughout history.  He believes that “the present is the key to the past.”  Until recently the evolutionist did not believe that there had ever been any major catastrophic events with proportions greater than the local catastrophes that are observed in the present.  The evidence now states otherwise and that is why new “adjustments” in the theory have transpired.  Nevertheless, the concept of a world-wide flood such as the one mentioned in the Bible still seems ridiculous to the evolutionist.

In summary, the evolutionist believes that our present world environment is the result of a process that has transformed random particles of matter into the great planets and stars of the universe.  Our planet somehow generated the first “simple” form of life from non-living materials and then this life-form managed to reproduce itself and slowly change from simpler forms of life into more complex systems.  The classic evolutionist believes that these processes are continuing today although they are too slow for man to observe.  The main support for this theory is claimed to be found in the fossil record of the geological column.  (This evidence will be dealt with later in this section).

 

 

 Special Creation

 

The Biblical theory of special creation is radically opposed to the theory of evolution because the creationist believes in a relatively young earth that is probably no more than six to twenty five thousand years old (opinions differ).  He also believes that the earth and all of the heavenly bodies are the finished result of special creative processes that are no longer taking place today.

The earth and all of its life-forms (including man) are also believed to have been initially created in a completely mature state.  In other words, plants, animals and man himself were created as “full-grown” and would have had the appearance of being fully developed even when they were only minutes old.  Furthermore, these special creative acts are believed to have taken place during a period of six literal days by an Omnipotent Creator.  After the six day period ended, special creation was ceased and the world was left to operate under its own built-in laws and systems for preservation, conservation, and reproduction of life which are being sustained by God’s own life-giving power to this very day.

The creationist believes that all life systems have built-in mechanisms that allow for change and variation in order to increase chances of survival in adverse conditions.  However, these changes are believed to be made within restricted limits and can never result in producing a different “kind” or type of organism. There are several places in the first chapter of Genesis where both plants and animals were commanded by God to bring forth after their “own kind.”  In other words, if variation occurred it could never have transcended the divine limits that separate one kind from another kind.  For example, the creationist believes that a white moth may eventually produce a grey moth, but will never evolve into anything but a moth.

The creationist also believes that our present environment is quite different from the earth’s original environment.  Some believe that the earth was once surrounded by a translucent canopy of water vapor in the stratosphere that would have filtered out harmful radiation and created a worldwide uniform tropical climate.  Such a condition would create a “green house” effect around the entire earth and would promote the general health and longevity of all living things.  A canopy of water would have also inhibited any changes or variations in weather conditions since the sun’s heat would have been evenly distributed around the earth.

UPDATE: From the time of writing this section about the creationist theory in regards to a canopy of water vapor existing above the earth; this author’s view concerning certain aspects of this idea has since changed due to problems that have been identified in the testing and analysis of this theory. Some creation scientists still support this idea as originally theorized but others have since revised or rejected it. The concept of a more limited vapor canopy still has validity, but it could not have contained the massive amounts of water previously postulated because of the heat retention involved. The supporting comments relative to this aspect of the strict literal creationist theory have been left unedited in this book because the problems encountered with the canopy theory after further analysis are still not as insurmountable as the myriad problems that face so many aspects of the theory of evolution - yet still go unchallenged in our educational systems! Reference will be made in the next “UPDATE” to a more logical explanation and accounting of where most of the water for a universal flood came from and why there is evidence of a previous uniformity in climate on the great land masses. Much can be explained by focusing upon the pre-flood “subterranean waters” (which were mentioned before the next update but not in great depth) and how their sudden release can account for and explain the great flood and its impact upon life and geology.       

The creationist believes that this canopy of water vapor, in conjunction with vast oceans of subterranean waters, was instrumental in providing the necessary amount of water to cause the universal flood that is recorded in the book of Genesis.  It is believed that God caused a catastrophic upheaval in nature that opened up the great “Fountains of the Deep” (subterranean waters) and caused the canopy to precipitate and fall to the earth.  The end result of this catastrophic event was that the entire earth was covered with water and all terrestrial life was destroyed (with the exception of those who escaped judgment by entering Noah’s Ark).

It is believed that before the great flood occurred, the highest mountains on earth were probably less than seven thousand feet and the ocean basins were much shallower than they are today.  The great pressures and forces of the flood waters caused the earth’s crust to undergo some massive changes and resulted in forming many of the current characteristics of our great mountain ranges, canyons, and ocean depths.  There were also other physical changes made upon the earth’s crust as God caused the flood waters to recede.

After the Noahic flood, the climate was no longer uniform and the longevity of living systems began to decrease.  This was possibly due to increases of harmful radiation that had previously been filtered out by the canopy and also due to other environmental changes produced by the flood. Although this speculation about a water canopy and a universal flood probably sounds a little unbelievable to some people, the creationist has several good reasons to believe that such conditions actually did exist.  There are many scientific reasons for this theory and there is also the testimony of certain unique Bible verses that tie into the scientific evidence and lend credence to this theory.

Noah’s Ark 

 

The concept of a universal flood is pivotal to the theory of special creation.  Therefore, before considering any of the supportive evidence, it is first important to dispel any erroneous assumptions concerning Noah and his ark.  The book of Genesis contains an interesting story about this man named Noah, who lived more than four thousand years ago.  He lived in a world that had become so corrupt and degenerate that God finally decided to destroy every living thing upon the earth by causing a global flood.

Noah was unlike the rest of the people in the world, so God offered him and his family a means of escape from this great judgment that was to come upon the earth.  God told Noah to build an ark (or a great ship) according to His specific instructions and details.  This vessel was to be used for preserving Noah, his family, and at least two of every kind of animal upon the earth.  It took Noah and his family more than 100 years to build this great ship, and once the flooding began a period of one year elapsed until the land was finally dry again.  The result of this holocaust was the destruction of all terrestrial life except the lives of those who found safety within the ark.

This Biblical account of Noah and the flood has received more criticism and ridicule than any other record of the scriptures.  Much of this criticism has resulted from numerous misconceptions about the ark and its carrying capabilities.  The Bible says that the ark was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.  So what’s a cubit?  A cubit was the distance from a man’s elbow to his finger tip.  Obviously, the cubit would vary between individuals; this is why the ancient Hebrews established two standard measurements for the cubit.  The shortest measurement was 17.5 inches and the longest measurement was 22.5 inches.⁹

By converting the shortest measurement of 17.5 inches to feet, the size of the ark is calculated to be approximately 440 feet long, 70 feet wide and 40 feet high.  This means that the ark was almost one and one-half times the length of a football field, even if the shortest measurement for a cubit is considered.  Its height included three separate decks and it was designed to withstand extremely turbulent conditions without capsizing.

The obvious question is:  “Could the ark possibly have been large enough to carry two of every kind of species on earth?”  According to some of the world’s leading authorities in animal classification, there are over one million species of animals on earth today.¹⁰ However, most of these animals are sea creatures and would obviously not have been required to enter the ark since God’s judgment was a water cataclysm.  Many sea creatures did indeed perish during the flood from rapid sediment burial but many others would have survived destruction.  The Bible states that, “Everything that was on the dry land was destroyed” but it makes no mention of all sea life being destroyed too.  Therefore, Noah’s only concern would have been for the dry land animals and possibly the amphibians.

Since there are only about 17,500 species that fit into these “dry land” categories, Noah might have needed enough room for 35,000 animals since he was to take two of each “kind.”¹¹ The average size of these 17,500 species has been estimated to be approximately the size of a sheep.¹²

In order to understand the logistics involved, consider that one standard railroad stock car can hold approximately 240 sheep.  This means that it would take about 146 railroad stock cars to accommodate 35,000 sheep.  However, there are also about 850,000 species of insects which need to be considered.¹³ Therefore, it would have been necessary to take at least two of each kind of insect which gives a total of 1,700,000 insects.  How much space would the insects need? Consider once again the size of a stock car.  The average stock car has a carrying capacity of 2,670 cubic feet.  This means that there is more than 4,600,000 cubic inches of space in each car.  Therefore, twenty box cars would provide more than 50 cubic inches of space for each individual insect.  Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the 35,000 animals and 1,700,000 insects could be carried in the space provided by 166 railroad cars.

So what do railroad cars have to do with Noah’s Ark?  Consider this:  Even by using the smallest measurement for a cubit, it can be determined that the ark had the same cargo capacity as 522 standard rai1road stock cars.¹⁴ This would have been more than enough room to accommodate the animals and insects.

The Great Round Up

 

There are a1so some ridiculous misconceptions regarding the method in which the animals were gathered and cared for.  Many people picture Noah as running madly about the earth trying to corral two of every type of specie.  This assumption is quite contrary to the Biblical record because the Bible states in Genesis chapter six, verse twenty:  “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive.”

Noah didn’t have to round up the animals because the animals came to him.  It may have been at this particular time that God instilled within certain animals, the mysterious instinct of migration.  To this very day, animals migrate in order to escape unfavorable future conditions and in many cases this instinct seems to be almost a supernatural phenomenon that nobody really understands.  (Remember, they wouldn’t have had to migrate great distances because the uniform climate of the pre-flood world would have allowed all species to inhabit any and all parts of the world).

Noah didn’t have to worry about ferocious animals either because “In the beginning” man was made to have complete dominion over the animals.  (Genesis 1:28).  It wasn’t until after the flood that man’s relationship with the animals was changed.  God warned Noah shortly after leaving the ark that the animals would now be afraid of him (Genesis 9:2) and that the possibility of being killed by an animal was present (Genesis 9:5).

Another question that is often raised by critics is:  “How could Noah and his family have possibly taken care of that many animals?”  There are many zoos in our country that require large crews to maintain proper care and feeding of far fewer animals than Noah had to contend with; but, the answer to this problem may be found by considering yet another animal instinct that can be observed today.  This animal instinct is hibernation.

The first verse of the eighth chapter of Genesis begins:  “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark.”  Now, it is obvious that the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent God of the Bible would be incapable of “forgetting” those whom He had led to safety within the ark.  Therefore, it is quite possible that this word “remembered,” refers to some type of divine assistance with Noah’s problem. Hibernation would definitely be a feasible solution because animals neither eat, drink, nor eliminate body wastes when they are hibernating.  Hibernation presently occurs among mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and at least one type of bird.¹⁵ Therefore, since this miraculous phenomenon is observed among all types of animals in our present age, it is not presumptuous to assume that an all powerful God could have instilled it within the animals of Noah’s ark.

The concept of a universal flood is one of the most important aspects of the theory of special creation.  It is for this reason, that some of the more frequently asked questions concerning the Biblical account of Noah’s ark needed to be given some consideration before expounding on any other areas of the creationist theory.

The Flood 

 

In the first chapter of Genesis, verses six through eight read, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters.  And God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse and it was so, and God called the expanse heaven…”  (Sometimes the word “heaven” merely refers to our atmosphere as it does in this case).  Those who believe that this verse is simply referring to the clouds that are formed in our troposphere encounter some difficulties with science and with several other verses in the Bible.  One of the scientific difficulties is:  If all the moisture in our present atmosphere was precipitated all at once, it would only provide enough water to cover the earth to a depth of two inches.¹⁶ This would certainly not be enough to cover the highest mountains and totally destroy all terrestrial life.

To understand what the Bible could be referring to in regards to “waters which were above the heavens,” let us consider the structure of our atmosphere.  Our current atmosphere extends upward for a distance of about 300 miles.  It is composed of three zones or layers which are known as the troposphere, the stratosphere, and the ionosphere.  The troposphere contains the air we breathe and it extends upward from the earth to a maximum distance of about ten miles.  The temperatures in the upper regions range from minus 50° to minus 100° Fahrenheit.  A plane can usually escape adverse weather conditions by flying above this layer and within the second layer called the stratosphere.  The stratosphere extends upward for about 50 miles and it is this layer that contains our ozone belt.  The temperatures above and below the ozone belt are sub-zero, but the ozone area has a temperature of plus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.  Some creationists believe that this level once contained a canopy of water vapor because temperatures and conditions would have been compatible for its maintenance.  The canopy would have held additional heat and thus increased the temperature at this level.  This canopy and, to a greater extent, the vast quantities of subterranean water would have effectively supplied the necessary amount of water needed for a universal flood.¹⁷

It was mentioned previously that this canopy would have inhibited any variation in weather.  This is because the heat from the sun would have been evenly distributed around the earth to cause a uniform tropical-type climate. There is plentiful evidence within the fossil record that such a worldwide tropical climate actually existed.  Fossils of tropical plants and animals have been discovered in the Polar Regions beneath the ice and various rocks from all of the supposed geological “ages” contain fossils that testify of a worldwide warm climate.¹⁸ Furthermore, in some of the frozen wastelands of the world, huge animal graveyards have been uncovered and many of these animals have been preserved completely intact with the hair and skin still on their bodies.  What’s really interesting is that, in several cases, the animals still had tropical plants in their mouths and stomachs.¹⁹ (This phenomenon will be elaborated on in a later section.) 

Another discovery was made in Alaska that uncovered wolves, bears, sheep, horses, bison, a wolverine, a fox, a mammoth, a saber- toothed tiger, a moose, a camel, a yak, a mastodon, and several other various species within the same frozen area.²⁰ Now what would a camel and some of these other animals be doing in Alaska if the climate in time-past was not drastically different?

The only explanation offered by the evolutionist for this type of phenomenon is to say that continents from warmer zones must have drifted to the Polar Regions.  However, this theory is not nearly sufficient to account for the prolific and worldwide distribution of the warm climate fossil record.  It further violates the doctrine of uniformitarianism because the forces that would be required to achieve continental drift would be of catastrophic proportions that are not present in today’s world.  Ironically the only recorded event that could sufficiently explain the “possibility’ of continental drift would be the universal Noahic flood.²¹

In addition to the physical evidence, there are also several Biblical reasons for believing that weather conditions before the flood were much different than conditions after the flood.  The second chapter of Genesis states that, “It did not rain upon the earth… but there was a mist that went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”  Such an occurrence would indicate that atmospheric conditions upon the earth were probably different and it lends further support to the canopy theory.

The seventh verse of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews also states that Noah was warned about things “Not yet seen.”  That which had “not yet been seen” was possibly rain.  We find further indication of this in Genesis chapter nine, where Noah apparently sees the first rainbow.  Furthermore, the first mention of any type of climactic variation is not mentioned until the eighth chapter of Genesis which is after Noah and his family disembarked from the ark.  At this time God said, “While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Another indirect Biblical reason for believing that a canopy of water vapor may have existed can be found in the recorded ages of people who lived before the flood as opposed to those who lived after the flood. The Bible records some life-spans, of men who lived before the flood, that seem quite improbable when compared to modern life spans.  For example, Adam lived 930 years.  Seth lived 912 years, Enosh lived 905 years, and Methuselah lived to be 969.  However, after the flood there is a marked, progressive decline in longevity with each successive generation.  This could possibly have been due, in part, to the increasing amount of radiation that penetrated the atmosphere as climactic conditions re-adjusted within the new environment.  Today, a relatively small amount of water vapor and ozone in our atmosphere serve as a protective screen against the lethal amounts of cosmic, ultra violet, and X-radiation that would otherwise destroy all life.  Some of this radiation still penetrates this protective screen and has been empirically proven to be detrimental to our health.  This excess radiation, along with other factors, apparently began to take its toll on human vitality after the flood; whereas, before the flood, a heavy canopy of water vapor may have filtered out the excess radiation, enhanced the general climate and served to promote the health and longevity of plants, animals and man himself.

It is also interesting to note that man was never told to eat meat until after the flood.  This could possibly indicate that the nutritional value of plants was superior before the flood, due to the greenhouse and filtering effect provided by the canopy; apparently the quality, and obviously the quantity, of plant life after the flood was diminished enough to require an alternative food source.

As the flood gates opened, the structure of the earth’s crust underwent massive changes.  The tremendous and prolonged weight of the water upon the earth’s crust would have caused widespread faulting.  Plus, the volcanic activity and release of the great chambers of subterranean waters would have caused many tidal waves and left the waters in a state of continuous agitation.  Erosion would have carved and re-shaped the earth’s surface entirely and many living creatures would have been rapidly buried by the sediments in the beginning stages of the flood.  The more mobile creatures would have tried to escape to higher ground until they too were either washed away or buried by sediments.

The seventh chapter of Genesis states that after 150 days God caused the “Windows” and “Fountains” to stop.  The agitation of the waters would have eventually stopped and the remaining suspended sediments would rapidly begin to settle.  After the water flow stopped, the earth’s crust began to uplift in some places and depress in others.  This uplifting allowed the waters to recede to the deeper ocean channels and, what had probably been a 50/50 ratio of land to water had rather suddenly become our present day ratio of only 30% land to about 70% water.

UPDATE: The following three paragraphs were added to this work after attending a public debate at Arizona State University in the mid 1980’s between Dr. Walter Brown and the head of the ASU Science Department. The debate was a real eye-opener and some of the initial laughter from students turned into silence as Dr Brown scientifically defended his “Hydroplate” theory and provided overwhelming evidence for a young earth and special creation. Dr Brown was a former evolutionist for most of his life but after years of study, he became convinced of the scientific validity for a global flood and special creation. Dr. Brown received his Ph.D. from M.I.T. where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow. He spent 21 years in the Military where his duties included: “Director of Benet Research, Development, and Engineering Laboratories, in Albany, New York; tenured associate professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy; and chief of Science and Technology Studies at the Air War College.” There will be links at the end of this book to Dr Brown’s book “In the Beginning” and to many explanatory facts and illustrations he has provided for further research.   

Some theorize that this sudden folding of the earth’s crust occurred as a result of the rapid release and subsequent depletion of subterranean waters.  It is believed by some (not all) creationists that the earth’s crust was at one time resting upon vast interconnected chambers of subterranean water under great pressure.  One day, this pressure broke through the crust with an energy release exceeding one trillion megatons of TNT²² and caused a great land mass to split apart, forming the American and Eurasian-African land masses.

The point where this break-up occurred is believed to be evidenced by the great mid-Atlantic ridge.  The great explosion of force would have expelled, into the atmosphere and across the surface of the earth, enough sediment to account for most of the earth’s sedimentary material as well as the formation of the innumerable fossils contained therein.  Furthermore, the consequences of this event would provide a better explanation for the sudden formation of controversial phenomenon such as salt domes, glaciers, the ‘ice age,’ coal formation, major mountain chains, over thrusts, ocean trenches, submarine canyons, the Grand Canyon, magnetic patterns on the ocean floor strata, continental shelves and slopes, submarine volcanoes, metamorphic rock and other strange features.²³

This great explosion of force would have caused each part of the broken land mass to begin moving away from the other, gliding atop the rapidly depleting ocean of subterranean waters.  Eventually, these land masses would come to a “grinding halt” once the water lubricant beneath them was depleted to a point where the greater forces of friction would take over.  This sudden slowing down of the continents would have caused considerable folding, faulting, buckling and general havoc upon the earth’s crust, similar to what would happen to a moving automobile that was suddenly slowed down by an encounter with a block wall.

Psalm 104 mentions this re-shaping of the earth’s crust in verses six through nine, “Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters were standing above the mountains.  At thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of thy thunder they hurried away.  The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst establish for them.  Thou didst set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they may not return to cover the earth.” (KJV)  The higher mountains and deeper oceans are the main reason that water “may not return to cover the earth.”

Another contributing factor in God’s flood prevention program is that much of the water was precipitated and frozen in our polar regions.  If the polar ice caps were to suddenly melt, our oceans would rise 200 feet; which in turn, would completely submerge most of the costal states and many countries of the world.²⁴ The temperature change that caused the once tropical polar regions to become solid ice, was also responsible for the formation of the great continental ice sheets or “ice age.”  There is really no valid scientific explanation for the origin of these great ice sheets unless one considers the possibility of a global flood.  There have been approximately thirty different theories to explain the phenomenon of this widespread glaciation²⁵ and, in each case; these theories were destroyed by subsequent scientific evidence against their validity.

In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that he would never destroy the earth again with a flood.  God kept His promise by establishing our high mountain ranges, our deep oceans and our polar regions.  It is no longer possible, through any natural processes, for the earth to ever be covered again with water.

In summary, the strict creationist theory maintains that the earth is relatively young and that it was designed and created by God.  The creationist also believes that corruption entered the world and brought forth death and decay.  This process of deterioration is slowly causing the entire universe to change from an orderly state to a disorderly state and will eventually cause the universe to die if it is left to itself, furthermore, the creationist believes that our present earth and environment are quite different from the original earth and its climate as a result of a global flood and its catastrophic effects.

The creationist theory is diametrically opposed to the theory of evolution in almost all areas.  The most important difference between evolution and creation is the Biblical Creationist concept that categorizes man as a special being created in the image of God, and possessing special attributes that no animal can attain to.  Furthermore, man has a special purpose in life that can only be fulfilled through fellowship with his Creator, the source of life.

Before delving into the wealth of evidence against the theory of evolution, it should again be stated that not all Christians believe in the literal creationist theory.  Some endorse other theories that attempt to somehow harmonize creation with evolution; while others claim that the first chapters of Genesis are merely poetic and are not to be taken literally.  This claim is made in spite of the fact that a literal six-day creation is referred to in other books of the Bible.  Their contention is: If the first page of the first book of the Bible has no literal significance, then who is to say that other pages throughout the rest of the Bible can’t be discounted as well.

One of the alternative Christian theories is known as the “Day Age” theory.  The “Day Age” theory claims that the six days of creation actually represent six long “ages” or periods of time that spanned millions of years.  This assumption is made because the Hebrew word “yom,” which has been translated to read “day” in the first chapter of Genesis, can sometimes be used to represent long indefinite periods of time.

However, such reasoning encounters numerous difficulties when given a closer consideration.  True, the word “yom” can at times mean a long period of time but this is seldom the case.  Furthermore, the context of Genesis strictly prohibits the translation of this word to mean anything but a literal 24 hour period.  This is because there is an orderly sequence of “days” from one to six and each day of creation ends with the statement, “. . . and there was evening and there was morning…”²⁶

Even if the “days” of Genesis were actually “ages,” the Biblical sequence of creative events would still be drastically different from the stages of development that are proposed by the theory of evolution.  For example, the Bible says that plants, herbs and trees were made on the third day while living creatures of the sea didn’t come about until the fifth day.  Another difficulty is found in the fact that the sun and moon weren’t created until the fourth day, which would mean that the plants would have had to survive without energy from the sun for possibly millions of years since they were created on the third day or “age.”

This theory is not only unscientific, it is also unscriptural.  It is an inadequate attempt to explain the apparent discrepancies between evolutionary assumptions and the Biblical account of creation.  Advocates of this theory will soon discover that such rationalizations are not necessary, once they become acquainted with the overwhelming evidence revealed in the next chapters of this book.

Another compromising theory is known as the “gap theory.”  This theory suggests that there is an enormous gap in time between the first and second verses of Genesis, chapter one.  The first verse simply says:  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  The second verse says:  And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep…”  Proponents of this theory state that there was an abundance of life on the planet after the creation account described in Genesis chapter one, verse one.  They claim that this “pre-Adamic” civilization was then judged and destroyed by God, possibly because of Satan’s rebellion.  The end result of this judgment was the formless, void dark earth mentioned in Genesis chapter one, verse two.

This theory is another attempt to explain the great geological ages that are so frequently referred to by evolutionists; as well as to provide an explanation for the many extinct creatures found in fossilized form.  The “gap theory” accommodates the evolutionary assumption of an earth that is billions of years old and it offers an explanation for the fossil record.  Why?  To avoid any conflict between the scriptures and popular evolutionary thought.

From a Christian prospective, the biggest problem with this theory and the previously mentioned “day age” theory is that suffering and death would have entered into the world, long before the first real man (Adam) was created.  However, the Bible says that death entered the world after Adam willfully sinned against God.  Another Bible reference that is likewise damaging to both Christian theories is found in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, verse eleven which says:  “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them and rested (ceased) on the Seventh day.”  This verse negated the “gap theory” because it includes the “heavens and the earth” within the six days of creation.  It contradicts the “day age” theory because it states that creation took place in six literal days.  Why, because the Hebrew word used here for “days” is “yamim.”  This word occurs almost seven hundred times throughout the Bible and in each case refers to literal 24 hour days;²⁷ plus, the most important aspect of this verse in Exodus is that it was personally written by God Himself on tablets of stone according to the Bible.

Christians who are advocates of the “gap” and “day age” theories should carefully re-evaluate their credibility because it is not necessary to sacrifice one’s intellect in order to believe the literal creationist theory.  The creationist has a substantial amount of scientific data to support his theory - including the same fossil record that has been erroneously used by evolutionists to support their theory.  However, it should be emphasized that total acceptance of the creationist theory is not a prerequisite to being a good Christian or Jew.  Nevertheless, it can be categorically stated that acceptance of the classical theory of evolution is certainly not harmonious with classical Jewish and Christian beliefs.  There is no academic reason to accept the theory of evolution because it is confronted by many obstacles that it cannot effectively overcome.  Some of these obstacles will be addressed throughout the following pages. (By Robert Linkey)

 

The Truth:

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1: 1)

 

“In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened…. Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth….. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered….. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered…. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.”

 (Genesis 7: 11,17,19, 20, 24)

 

“You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.” (Psalm 104: 6-9)

 

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.”

Is the Bible Truth or Myth?       Is Jesus God, Man or Both?         Is Jesus Dead or Alive?
Is Jesus Coming Back Again?      Is God Cruel or Loving?             Is the Gospel even Real?
Is Heaven Attained by Works?   Many Pathways to Heaven?      Is the Bible Against Science?
Evolution Improves with Time?    Fossils Prove Evolution?           Missing Link Ape-Men?
Origin of Life by Chance?           Reference & Note Section     Bible Truth or Myth? Synopsis
Jesus God Man Both? Synopsis  Jesus Dead or Alive? Synopsis  Jesus Coming Again? Synopsis
Is God Cruel or Loving? Synopsis    Is the Gospel Real? Synopsis  Heaven by Works? Synopsis
Many Paths to Heaven? Synopsis Bible v Science? Synopsis Evolution Improves Life?Synopsis
Fossils Prove Evolution? Synopsis  Missing Link Ape-Men? Synopsis Life by Chance? Synopsis

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