Can you trust the Bible? - The Flood, Ice Age, Geology & Fossils
Apart from creation, of all the events in the Bible, the worldwide flood of Noah’s day should have left some evidence, right? After all, the Bible claims that the entire globe was completely covered with water to a depth of 20 feet (Gen 7.19-20). That would surely leave its mark. Interestingly, many secular sources & national parks have some kind of story about “this whole region used to be covered by an ancient ocean” as an explanation for the diverse sea fossils found in the middle of continents.
Still, some skeptics doubt such a vast source of water would have been available for the Biblical flood. But such criticism doesn’t hold water until you also have a reasonable theory for where anything came from in the first place. However, there are many reasonable theories for where all the water came from such as a water vapor canopy (akin to Saturn’s rings). But such criticism usually stems from the question “where did all the water go?” because some merely consider the world’s current topography & in assuming it’s always been the same (uniformitarianism), can’t imagine where it went.
However, it’s really not that improbable considering that today the Earth’s surface is 75% H2O. Also, keep in mind that such a catastrophic event would have exerted tremendous water (hydrodynamic) pressure on the Earth’s surface causing vast topographical changes & tectonic shifts. It’s likely that mountain ranges weren’t as tall & ocean trenches weren’t as deep back then. And if all the mountains & trenches, continents & ocean floors were leveled out today, there is enough water volume to cover the land surface 2 miles deep (Also see Fast Facts about Noah, the Ark & the Flood).
And before modern day scientists discovered a vast array of fossilized sea life on land, there have been flood stories handed down in various cultures around the globe – even by those unfamiliar with the Bible. While details of the various stories do not always agree, it is interesting that ancient cultures have independently passed along some semblance of a watery cataclysm. The chart in the link below is very interesting.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/flood-legends
While secular science struggles to identify a legitimate cause or mechanism for the ice age, the Biblical flood is the most plausible candidate. This global deluge would not only supply the needed water for the immense precipitation, but also the systemic climate change resulting from a year-long period of completely submersed land masses & related volcanic activity. The link that follows is rather technical, but very logical.
http://www.icr.org/article/ice-age-genesis-flood/
Then, of course, there is geology. Not only would there have been tremendous volcanic & tectonic activity during & after the flood as we’ve noted, there would have been a complete upheaval of soil, sand & other sediments that were on the pre-flood land surface. Because this flood was God’s judgment upon the earth for mankind’s sin at the time (Gen 6.5-8), any people & land animals that were not on the ark with Noah were destroyed. Consequently, when the slurry of sediment settled out, it buried many of the flood victims (others were fish food) – including dinosaurs as well as some fish & animal kinds we still find alive today.
As the slurry settled in an orderly fashion & solidified, it entombed & fossilized the casualties as memorials of this great event. In fact, to create a fossil, you need just such a watery catastrophe for mineral transfer (petrification & permineralization). These post-flood rock layers & fossils didn’t take eons of time to create. When an animal dies, it disintegrates fairly quickly – unless it is buried fairly quickly. Here’s a relevant link including an experiment you can try followed by another discussing rock layer & fossil order.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v6/n4/fast-formed-fossils
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n1/order-fossil-record
As you can tell, Answers in Genesis is a wealth of knowledge in this realm. Peruse their website for more information like how the Biblical flood was responsible for forming things like the Grand Canyon & many large caverns. Here’s one more link on geology which discusses & shows interesting pictures of folded & bent rock layers. These could have only formed under the circumstances of the Biblical flood where they shifted before they were hardened – not deposited over millions of years.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v4/n2/folded-not-fractured
Still, some skeptics doubt such a vast source of water would have been available for the Biblical flood. But such criticism doesn’t hold water until you also have a reasonable theory for where anything came from in the first place. However, there are many reasonable theories for where all the water came from such as a water vapor canopy (akin to Saturn’s rings). But such criticism usually stems from the question “where did all the water go?” because some merely consider the world’s current topography & in assuming it’s always been the same (uniformitarianism), can’t imagine where it went.
However, it’s really not that improbable considering that today the Earth’s surface is 75% H2O. Also, keep in mind that such a catastrophic event would have exerted tremendous water (hydrodynamic) pressure on the Earth’s surface causing vast topographical changes & tectonic shifts. It’s likely that mountain ranges weren’t as tall & ocean trenches weren’t as deep back then. And if all the mountains & trenches, continents & ocean floors were leveled out today, there is enough water volume to cover the land surface 2 miles deep (Also see Fast Facts about Noah, the Ark & the Flood).
And before modern day scientists discovered a vast array of fossilized sea life on land, there have been flood stories handed down in various cultures around the globe – even by those unfamiliar with the Bible. While details of the various stories do not always agree, it is interesting that ancient cultures have independently passed along some semblance of a watery cataclysm. The chart in the link below is very interesting.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/flood-legends
While secular science struggles to identify a legitimate cause or mechanism for the ice age, the Biblical flood is the most plausible candidate. This global deluge would not only supply the needed water for the immense precipitation, but also the systemic climate change resulting from a year-long period of completely submersed land masses & related volcanic activity. The link that follows is rather technical, but very logical.
http://www.icr.org/article/ice-age-genesis-flood/
Then, of course, there is geology. Not only would there have been tremendous volcanic & tectonic activity during & after the flood as we’ve noted, there would have been a complete upheaval of soil, sand & other sediments that were on the pre-flood land surface. Because this flood was God’s judgment upon the earth for mankind’s sin at the time (Gen 6.5-8), any people & land animals that were not on the ark with Noah were destroyed. Consequently, when the slurry of sediment settled out, it buried many of the flood victims (others were fish food) – including dinosaurs as well as some fish & animal kinds we still find alive today.
As the slurry settled in an orderly fashion & solidified, it entombed & fossilized the casualties as memorials of this great event. In fact, to create a fossil, you need just such a watery catastrophe for mineral transfer (petrification & permineralization). These post-flood rock layers & fossils didn’t take eons of time to create. When an animal dies, it disintegrates fairly quickly – unless it is buried fairly quickly. Here’s a relevant link including an experiment you can try followed by another discussing rock layer & fossil order.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v6/n4/fast-formed-fossils
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n1/order-fossil-record
As you can tell, Answers in Genesis is a wealth of knowledge in this realm. Peruse their website for more information like how the Biblical flood was responsible for forming things like the Grand Canyon & many large caverns. Here’s one more link on geology which discusses & shows interesting pictures of folded & bent rock layers. These could have only formed under the circumstances of the Biblical flood where they shifted before they were hardened – not deposited over millions of years.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v4/n2/folded-not-fractured