Chapter 14a:
Effects of the Flood
What actually Happened after the Flood
This chapter is based on pp. 665-719 of Origin of Life (Volume Two of our three-volume Evolution Disproved Series). Not included in this chapter are at least 80 statements by scientists, plus specialized articles. You will find them, plus much more, on our website: evolution-facts.org.
The oldest historical records of mankind in our possession were written by Moses. These are the books of Genesis and Job. In the first of these is given the history of the world from about 4000 B.C. on down to about 1900 B.C. In the first two chapters of Genesis we find an account of Creation Week, when our world and everything in it were made. In Genesis 6 to 9 we are told about the worldwide Flood that occurred about 2348 B.C. (1656 A.M. [anno mundi], or about 1,656 years after Creation).
The effects of that gigantic flood of waters were so dramatic that we find many evidences of it today. It is impossible to properly study origins and earth science without an understanding of the effects of the Flood. For this reason, we are including it in this chapter.
We will begin by considering rock strata and fossil remains as an effect and evidence of the Flood.
Following this, we will view several non-strata and fossil effects of the time before the Flood, during the Flood, and a period of time immediately after the Flood ended.
In this chapter, we will obtain a better understanding of the effects of the Flood. We will also see more clearly how those effects prove, not uniformitarianism, but catastrophism. There was a worldwide Flood! It alone can explain so many geographical features on our planet today.
UNIFORMITARIANISM—A basic principle of evolution for over a century has been the theory of uniformitarianism, which teaches that "all things continue as they were from the beginning" (you will find 2 Peter 3:3-7 interesting reading).
When evolutionists gaze upon the immense ocean, the millions of fossils and thick coal seams in the sedimentary rocks, the sea shells on top of the highest mountains, the deep canyons with small rivers, vast dried-up lake beds, and thrust-up mountain blocks,—they declare that it all came about by the same fairly gentle processes and natural forces that are operating today.
"This is the great underlying principle of modern geology and is known as the principle of uniformitarianism . . Without the principle of uniformitarianism there could hardly be a science of geology that was more than pure description."—*W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1957), pp. 16-17.
Thoughtful scientists admit that the uniformitarian theory explains nothing about the age of fossils, rock strata, the age of the earth, or anything else:
"The idea that the rates or intensities of geological processes have been constant is so obviously contrary to the evidence that one can only wonder at its persistence . . Modern uniformitarianism . . asserts nothing about the age of the Earth or about anything else."—*James H. Shea, "Twelve Fallacies of Uniformitarianism," in Geology, September 1982, p. 457.
"Uniformitarianists find it particularly difficult to apply their principle, namely: (1) the cause of mountain-building; (2) the origin of geosynclines; (3) the origin of petroleum; (4) the cause of continual glaciation; (5) the mechanics of overthrusting; (6) the cause of peneplains; (7) the cause of world-wide warm climates; (8) the nature of volcanism producing vast volcanic terrains; (9) the nature of continental uplift processes; (10) the origin of mineral deposits; (11) the nature of metamorphism; (12) the origin of saline deposits; (13) the nature of granitization; and (14) the origin of coal measures. Not one of the above phenomena has yet been adequately explained in terms of present processes."—H.R. Siegler, Evolution or Degeneration—Which? (1972).
See chapter 12, Fossils and Strata, for much more information on this.
CATASTROPHISM—In contrast, the concept called catastrophism teaches that a terrible crisis occurred at some earlier time.
Geologic evidence on all sides is clear that it was a catastrophe of such gigantic proportions that rocks were twisted, mountains were hurled upward, water was pulled out of the earth, and the very atmosphere was dramatically affected. As a consequence, thousands of volcanoes erupted and vast glaciers moved downward from poles which had earlier been warm.
"[*Bretz] has been unable to account for such a flood but maintained that field evidence indicated its reality. This theory represents a return to catastrophism which many geologists have been reluctant to accept."—*W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1954), p. 401.
The evidence is so profound that many secular scientists are indeed turning away from uniformitarianism.
"In fact, the catastrophists were much more empirically minded than Lyell [who first widely championed uniformitarianism over a century ago]. The geologic record does seem to require catastrophism: rocks are fractured and contorted; whole faunas are wiped out. To circumvent this literal appearance, Lyell imposed his imagination upon the evidence. The geologic record, he argued, is extremely imperfect and we must interpolate into it what we can reasonably infer but cannot see. The catastrophists were [in contrast] the hard-nosed empiricists of their day."—*Stephan Jay Gould, "Catastrophes and Steady State Earth," in Natural History, February 1975, p. 17. [Gould is a professor at Harvard University, teaching geology, biology, and the history of science.]
"Conventional uniformitarianism, or ‘gradualism,’ i.e., the doctrine of unchanging change, is verily contradicted by all post-Cambrian sedimentary data and the geotectonic [earth movement] histories of which these sediments are the record."—*P.D. Krynine, "Uniformitarianism is a Dangerous Doctrine," in Paleontology, 1956, p. 1004.
"Often, I am afraid the subject [of geology] is taught superficially, with Geikie’s maxim ‘the present is the key to the past’ used as a catechism and the imposing term ‘uniformitarianism’ as a smokescreen to hide confusion both of student and teacher."—*Stephen Jay Gould, "Is Uniformitarianism Useful?" in Journal of Geological Education, October 1957, p. 150.
I - FOSSILS, STRATA, AND THE FLOOD
Although this section duplicates portions of our earlier chapter, Fossils and Strata, the duplication is considered necessary, for we will now correlate the fossil and strata evidence with the worldwide Flood. Without doing so, it would be more difficult to properly assess the relationships, implications, and impact of the Flood.
FOSSILS AND ROCK STRATA—Above the molten rock at the center of our planet is a mantle of black basalt, from which flows the lava which issues forth out of volcanoes. Above that basalt is to be found the light-colored, coarse-grained crystals we call granite. This is the basement rock of the world and undergirds all of our continents. At times this granite is close to the surface, but frequently a large quantity of sedimentary rock is above it.
The sedimentary rock that overlays the granite was obviously laid down by a gigantic flood of waters, and is characterized by strata or layers. The strata are composed of water-borne sediments, such as pebbles, gravel, sand, and clay.
"About three-fourths, perhaps more, of the land area of the earth, 55 million square miles [142 million km2], has sedimentary rock as the bedrock at the surface or directly under the cover of the mantle-rock . . The thickness of the stratified rocks range from a few feet to 40,000 feet [121,920 dm] or more at any one place . . The vast bulk of the stratified rocks is composed of shallow-water deposits."—*O.D. von Engeln and *K.E. Caster, Geology (1952), p. 129.
Within that strata is to be found billions upon billions of fossils. These are the remains—or the casts—of plants and animals that suddenly died. Yet fossilization does not normally occur today; for it requires sudden death, sudden burial, and great pressure.
"To become fossilized a plant or animal must usually have hard parts, such as bone, shell or wood. It must be buried quickly to prevent decay and must be undisturbed throughout the process."—*F.H.T. Rhodes, H.S. Zim, and *P.R. Shaffer, Fossils (1962), p. 10.
The sedimentary strata (also called fossil-bearing strata or "the geologic column") were laid down at the time of the Flood. There are no fossils in the granite, for that rock was formed prior to the Flood.
We would not expect to find fossils in granite since the astounding information given in chapter 3, Origin of the Earth, reveals granite to be "Creation rock," antedating the Flood. We there learned that, back in the beginning, granite came into existence in less than three minutes!
MILLIONS OF ANIMALS SUDDENLY DIED—The quantity of fossils in the sedimentary rocks is enormous.
"At this spot [in Wyoming] the fossil hunters found a hillside literally covered with large fragments of dinosaur bones . . In short, it was a veritable mine of dinosaur bones . . The concentration of the fossils was remarkable; they were piled in like logs in a jam."—*Edwin Colbert, Men and Dinosaurs (1968), p. 151.
Scores of other instances of immense "fossil graveyards" could be cited. Vast quantities of plants and animals were suddenly buried. So many fossils exist that one researcher made a carbon inventory,—and found that at the present time—most of the carbon in our world is locked within the fossils in the sedimentary strata!
There must have been an immense quantity of living plants and animals before the worldwide Flood occurred. Evidence indicates that, back then, our world had no deserts, high mountains, few or no oceans, and plants and animals flourished even near the poles. So the world would have been filled with vegetation and animal life.
MOST SPECIES ARE ALREADY EXTINCT— Some great natural catastrophe occurred earlier in history, for most of the species which have ever lived are no longer alive!
"Natural selection not only brings new species into existence—if it does—but also eliminates species, and on a colossal scale. It is calculated that 99 per cent of all the species which have ever existed are now extinct. So perhaps it may be more instructive to discover why species vanish than why they appear."—*G.R. Taylor, Great Evolution Mystery (1983), p. 86.
"There is no need to apologize any longer for the poverty of the fossil record. In some ways it has become almost unmanageably rich, and discovery is outpacing integration."—*T.N. George, "Fossils in Evolutionary Perspective," in Science Progress, January 1960, p. 1.
WHY FOSSILS ARE SO IMPORTANT—The term, "evolution," means that species change gradually into different species. If such species changes are occurring today, the transitional forms should be seen. If it has occurred in the past the fossil record will show the transitional forms.
It is of interest that evolution bases its case on the fossils. This is because there is no evidence that evolutionary processes are occurring today. Therefore the Darwinists must consider the fossils to be their primary evidence that it has ever occurred at all.
"The most important evidence for the theory of evolution is that obtained from the study of paleontology [fossils]. Though the study of other branches of zoology, such as comparative anatomy or embryology, might lead one to suspect that animals are all interrelated, it was the discovery of various fossils and their correct placing in relative strata and age that provided the main factual basis for the modern view of evolution."—*G.A. Kerkut, Implications of Evolution (1960), p. 134.
"Although the comparative study of living plants and animals may give very convincing circumstantial evidence, fossils provide the only historical, documentary evidence that life has evolved from simpler to more and more complex forms."—*O. Dunbar, Historical Geology (1960), p. 47.
But just as there are no transitional forms today, there are none in the past either! At the present time, all we have are distinct plant and animal kinds. No transitional species are to be found. (We will frequently refer to these basic types as "species," although man-made classification systems vary, sometimes incorrectly classifying sub-species or genera as "species." See chapter 11, Animal and Plant Species for more on this.)
In that great window to the past—the fossil record—we also find only distinct plant and animal kinds, with no transitional forms. With the exception of creatures that have become extinct (plants and animals which are no longer alive today, such as the dinosaurs), all fossils of plants and animals which did not become extinct are just like those living today (stasis). Only distinct species are to be found; there are no halfway, or transitional, species (gaps). Thus there is NO evidence of evolution in the fossils.
In *Kerkut’s statement, quoted above, it is "the placing" of the fossils in the strata that provides the evidence of evolution. All the Darwinists have to base their case on is placement, not transitional forms. But what caused that placement?
FOSSIL PLACEMENT—The slowest-moving creatures were buried first; after that, the faster-moving ones. As the waters of the worldwide deluge rose higher and still higher, they first covered the slowest-moving water creatures and buried them under sediment.
Then the slower-moving land creatures were covered and buried under sediment. Then the more agile creatures (both water and land) were covered. In the fossil-bearing sedimentary strata we frequently find this arrangement, with the smaller creatures in the lower strata and the larger ones higher up.
Yet even the smallest creatures are complex. Just beneath the lowest stratum, the Cambrian, we find no fossils at all! This is both an astonishment and a terrible disappointment to the evolutionists. The lowest-level life forms in the strata are complex multi-celled animals and plants.
"It has been argued that the series of paleontological [fossil] finds is too intermittent, too full of ‘missing links’ to serve as convincing proof. If a postulated ancestral type is not found, it is simply stated that it has not so far been found. Darwin himself often used this argument—and in his time it was perhaps justifiable. But it has lost its value through the immense advances of paleobiology [the study of animal fossils] in the twentieth century . . The true situation is that those fossils have not been found which were expected. Just where new branches are supposed to fork off from the main stem it has been impossible to find the connecting types."—*N. Heribert-Nilsson, Synthetische Artbildung (1953), p. 1168 [Director of the Botanical institute at Lund, Sweden].
Each twig on the imaginary plant and animal "family trees" is a distinct plant or animal type, either extinct or like what we have today (although frequently larger). But there are no intermediate life forms to connect the twigs! There are no branches and no trunk, only "twigs." The rest of the tree is imaginary.
RAPID FORMATION OF IMMENSE DEPOSITS—Nowhere on earth today do we have fossils forming on the scale that we see in geologic deposits. The Karro Beds in Africa, for example, contain the remains of perhaps 800 billion vertebrates! But such fossils are not forming today. A million fish can be killed in red tides in the Gulf of Mexico, but they simply decay away; they do not become fossils. Similarly, debris from vegetation does not today become coal. In order for fossilization to occur, the vegetation would have to be rapidly buried under an extremely heavy load of sediment.
It required massive flood conditions to do all that burying. An immense worldwide catastrophe occurred in the past. It produced the Sicilian hippopotamus beds, the fossils of which are so extensive that they are mined as a source of charcoal; the great mammal beds of the Rockies; the dinosaur beds of the Black Hills and the Rockies, as well as in the Gobi Desert; the fish beds of the Scottish Devonian stratum, the Baltic amber beds, Agate Spring Quarry in Nebraska, and hundreds more. None of this fossil-making is being done today. It only happened one time in history—at the time of the Flood.
Frequently the fossils in these beds come from widely separated and differing climatic zones, only to be thrown together in disorderly masses. Nothing but a worldwide Flood can explain this. And those fossils had to be rapidly buried. *Pinna explains why this is so.
"In fact, when an organism dies, the substances that compose its soft parts undergo more or less rapid decay, due to such factors as attack by bacteria and erosion by water (particularly the sea) . . If an organism is to be preserved, it must be protected from destructive agents as quickly as possible . . And the sooner that this consolidation occurs, the more likely it is that the organism will be preserved . . there are also certain layers, such as those formed from extremely fine-grained calcareous rocks, which have consolidated so rapidly as to permit the preservation of the most delicate structures of many organisms."—*G. Pinna, The Dawn of Life, pp. 1-2 [Deputy Director of the Museum of Natural History in Milan, Italy].
In spite of these facts, there are still science writers who imagine that when an animal falls into mud, tar, or water—and dies,—it becomes a fossil! But such an idea is only fiction.
"We can easily imagine the predicament which led to the fossilization of the three individuals [three fossil birds] so long ago. They were probably forced into reluctant flight by some pursuing reptilian predator, only to flop down on the water and mud from which they could not rise."—*R. Peterson, The Birds, p. 10.
PRECAMBRIAN VOID—The lowest stratum with fossils in it is called the "Cambrian." It has a great wealth of over a thousand different types of creatures—all complex and multi-celled marine animals.
"At least 1500 species of invertebrates are known in the Cambrian, all marine, of which 60% are trilobites and 30% brachiopods."—*Maurice Gignoux, Stratigraphic Geology (1955), p. 46.
Above this are the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian, and they all include sea creatures similar to those in the Cambrian. It is not until the Permo-Carboniferous that the first land animals are encountered.
The worldwide fossil strata give abundant evidence of a great flood of waters that covered the earth. Below the sedimentary strata, with its hoard of fossils, we find the "Precambrian period,"—and no fossils. (Some scientists claim that a few are there, others say they are not sure, while still others maintain that there are absolutely no fossils below the Cambrian.)
The sedimentary strata with their billions of fossils are both a powerful effect and evidence of the Flood. The Precambrian lack of fossils is an additional evidence of it. Evolutionists point to these strata with their fossils as proof of evolution. But throughout the fossil rock we should find transitional—evolving—types of plants and animals. In addition, at the bottom below the Cambrian should be the types that evolved into those in the Cambrian.
"One can no longer dismiss this event by assuming that all Pre-Cambrian rocks have been too greatly altered by time to allow the fossils ancestral to the Cambrian metazoans to be preserved . . Even if all the Pre-Cambrian ancestors of the Cambrian metazoans were similarly soft-bodied and therefore rarely preserved, far more abundant traces of their activities should have been found in the Pre-Cambrian strata than has proved to be the case. Neither can the general failure to find Pre-Cambrian animal fossils be charged to any lack of looking."—*W.B. Harland and *Rudwick, "The Great Infra-Cambrian Ice-Age," in Scientific American, 211(1964), pp. 34-36.
"Why should such complex organic forms (in the Cambrian) be in rocks about six hundred million years old, and be absent or unrecognized in the records of the preceding two billion years? If there has been evolution of life, the absence of requisite fossils in the rocks older than the Cambrian is puzzling."—*G.M. Kay and *E.H. Colbert, Stratigraphy and Life History (1965), pp. 102-103.
FOSSIL TREES—Polystrate trees are fossil trees which extend vertically through several layers of rock strata. They are often 20 feet [60.9 dm] or more in length. Often the entire length of each tree will be preserved, along with the top and bottom. Such a formation would easily be explained by the Flood, but impossible to be fitted into the theory of uniformitarianism, which says that the rock strata are like tree rings, and have slowly been forming over the last two billion years. Each stratum supposedly took millions of years to form.
There is no doubt that those trees were quickly covered by the strata, otherwise each tree would have decomposed while waiting for a hundred thousand years of strata to form around it. From bottom to top, these upright trees sometimes span "millions of years" of strata. Quite obviously, both the trees and sediments around them were moved into place and deposited at the same approximate time.
Many will recall the explosion of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. Research was done at the site shortly afterward; and it was discovered that the explosion filled Spirit Lake with logs, many of which were floating vertically, due to the weight of their roots. This helps explain what took place at the time of the Flood, as trees were washed into an area and then, while floating vertically in the water, were covered by a rapid deposit of sediment.
As a result of upheaval of ground, combined with successive depositions of sedimentary layers, there are instances in which vertical trees are to be found at more than one level. Given the chaotic conditions at the time of the Flood, this would be understandable. Fossil trees have been found horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and upside down.
COAL AND OIL—Most geologists agree that coal came from ancient plants, and oil came from ancient marine animals (primarily the soft parts of invertebrates, but also fish). Neither coal nor petroleum is naturally being formed today. None of it is found in Pleistocene (ice-age) deposits, but instead was quickly laid down during the Flood, before the glacial ice flows began.
"Petroleum occurs in rocks of all ages from the Cambrian to the Pliocene inclusive, but no evidence has been found to prove that any petroleum has been formed since the Pliocene, although sedimentation patterns and thicknesses in Pleistocene and recent sediments are similar to those in the Pliocene where petroleum has formed."—*Ben B. Cox, "Transformation of Organic Material into Petroleum under Geological Conditions," Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, May 1946, p. 647.
Why did no petroleum form after the Pliocene era? This is a mystery to evolutionist geologists, but it is no problem to Flood geology.
From the beginning of the Cambrian to the end of the Pliocene was when the Flood occurred.
"The apparent absence of formation of petroleum subsequent to the Pliocene must be explained in any study of the transformation of organic material into petroleum."—*Ibid.
(Some oil deposits have been found below the Cambrian level, but it was afterward learned that they seeped there from fossil-bearing strata above.)
Great masses of vegetation, that became the coal we use today, were quickly laid down. Because of Flood conditions, other things were also deposited in those coal strata:
(1) Marine fossils (tubeworms, corals, sponges, mollusks, etc.) are often found in coal beds.
(2) Large boulders are found in them.
(3) Fossil trees are found standing on an angle or even upside down in coal beds.
(4) Washed-in marine sediments will split a coal seam into two.
(5) Sediment "under-soils" will frequently be under them.
(6) Strata of deposited limestone, shale (hardened clay), or sandstone will be found in between coal deposits. These strata are often found scores of times in seams of coal.
Evolutionists maintain that oil and gas require millions of years to form, and could not be rapidly produced from vegetation, as Flood geology would require. But recent experiments have shown that petroleum can be quickly made:
"There is great promise in a system being developed by government scientists that converts organic material to oil and gas by treating it with carbon monoxide and water at high temperature and pressure . . By using the waste-to-oil process, 1.1 billion barrels [131 billion liters] of oil could be gleaned from the 880 million tons [798 mt] of organic wastes suitable for conversion [each year]."—*L.L. Anderson, "Oil from Garbage," in Science Digest, July 1973, p. 77.
Here is an instance in which recently formed coal occurred:
"Petzoidt (1882) describes very remarkable observations which he made during the construction of a railway bridge at Alt-Breisach, near Freiburg. The wooden piles which had been rammed into the ground were compressed by overriding blocks. An examination of these compressed piles showed that in the center of the compressed piles was a black, coal-like substance. In continuous succession from center to surface was blackened, dark-brown, light-brown and finally yellow-colored wood. The coal-like substance corresponded, in its chemical composition, to anthracite [hard coal], and the blackened wood resembled brown coal."—*Otto Stutzer, Geology of Coal (1940), pp. 105-106.
"From all available evidence it would appear that coal may form in a very short time, geologically speaking if conditions are favorable."—*E.S. Moore, Coal (1940), p. 143.
PROBLEM OF GRADED BEDDING—Geologists maintain that the sedimentary strata was gradually laid down over hundreds of millions of years. But various aspects of the strata indicate it was laid down rapidly under alluvial conditions. Rapid transport of various materials by water appears to have been the cause.
One example of this is graded bedding. In the strata we will find a layer of coarse pebbles and small stones, with smaller pebbles above them, grading off above to still finer materials such as sand. Below this graded bedding will be another graded bedding where the process has been repeated as another collection of sediments was washed in.
"The phenomenon of graded bedding (coarse conglomerate on the bottom, with finer material graded upward) is difficult to explain on the basis of uniformity, but not on the basis of Genesis 8:1-3 where we are told that the Creator dried up the flood-waters by strong winds that drove the waters by a "going and returning." This process, too, would more readily account for interbedding, the repetitive alternation of certain layers, in some instances as many as 150 strata. Uniformitarian geology offers no satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon.
"Then there is the matter of disconformities, that is, a sudden change in fossil types with no accompanying change in the physical composition of the rock formation, or the appearance of fossils separated by a tremendous time gap. This is not accounted for in uniformitarianism. If the deposition had been uniform, as claimed, such disconformities should not have occurred. The perplexing occurrence of so-called ‘older fossils’ above ‘younger fossils’—which paleontologists try to account for by thrust faults, can much more readily be accounted for by accepting the occurrence of worldwide volcanic and seismic upheavals such as accompanied the Deluge. In fact, the mere presence of vast numbers of fossils is explainable only if plants and animals were suddenly inundated, trapped, and buried in moving masses of sediment. It is almost impossible to explain how organisms could have been transformed into fossils if they had simply perished and had remained exposed to the decaying process of air, sun, and bacteria.
"There are so-called fossil graveyards in which is often found a rich conglomeration of organisms. One such found in Eocene lignite deposits of the Geiseltal in central Germany, contains more than six thousand remains of vertebrate animals together with an even greater number of mollusks, insects, and plants. So well-preserved are many of these animals that it is still possible to study the contents of their stomachs. It is easy to imagine how these could have been deposited by the swirling and receding waters of a great flood, but not how this could have happened under uniformitarian conditions."—H.R. Siegler, Evolution or Degeneration—Which? (1972), pp. 78-79.
UNITY OF THE STRATA—Basic to evolutionary theory is the concept that each stratum was laid down during a period of millions of years while the other strata were laid down in other epochs or eras. All of the strata are said to have required two billion years to form.
In contrast, the evidence indicates that the fossils in each strata were laid down rapidly rather than slowly. But, in addition, there is also evidence that each stratum was deposited at about the same time as all the other strata!
The primary difference is that each layer has somewhat different fossils in it, but this too would easily be explained by a gradually rising flood that washed in, and then quickly buried great masses of plants and animals. One layer and then the next was rather quickly laid down by the Flood.
Two of the most important boundary points in the geologic column are the Paleozoic to Mesozoic, and the Mesozoic to Cenozoic.
Careful research by *Wiedmann in Germany has revealed that there is no observable time break between these, the two most obvious divisions in the geologic column!
"The boundaries between eras, periods and epochs on the geological time-scale generally denote sudden and significant changes in the character of the fossil remains. For example, the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic era (about 180 million years ago) was supposedly marked by spontaneous appearance of new species . . A reassessment of the data by Jost Wiedmann of the University of Tübingen in the Federal Republic of Germany, gives a clearer picture of evolution at the boundaries of the Mesozoic (225 million to 70 million years ago). He concludes that there were no worldwide extinctions of species or spontaneous appearances of new species at the boundaries."—*Report of the International Geological Congress at Montreal: "Fossil Changes: ‘Normal Evolution,’ " in Science News, September 2, 1972, p. 152.
This is an important point that *Wiedmann brings to the attention of the scientific world. While most evolutionists maintain that the geologic column slowly formed amid the peace and tranquility of uniformitarian ages, there are other evolutionists who declare that there must have been a succession of several catastrophes that accomplished the task. But *Wiedmann carefully analyzed the two principle boundaries in the column—and discovered that "no worldwide extinctions of species or spontaneous appearances of new species" occurred at these boundaries. This is important. The entire geologic column is an integral unit and was all rapidly laid down at about the same time.
Here are some additional reasons why this is so:
(1) Rapid or no Fossils. Each stratum had to be laid down rapidly, or fossils would not have resulted.
(2) Rapid or no Rocks. The physical structure and interconnections of the strata require rapid deposition in order for them to form into rocks.
(3) No Erosion between Strata. Each strata was laid directly over the one below it, since there is no trace of erosion between them. Each strata was formed continuously and rapidly, and then—with no time-lapse erosion in between—the next strata formed continuously and rapidly over that. And on and on it went.
(4) Layers not Worldwide. There are many "unconformities," where one stratum ends horizontally and another begins. But there is no worldwide unconformity; instead one stratum will gradually grade imperceptibly into another, which thereupon succeeds it with more continuous and rapid deposition, without a time break at any point.
(5) Generally no Clear Boundaries. There is rarely a clear physical boundary between strata formations. Generally they tend to merge and mingle with each other in a zone of considerable thickness.
STRATA SEQUENCE AND OVERTHRUSTS—If evolutionary theory were correct, each layer of the cake would be quietly set in place on top of the preceding one over a span of long ages.
But instead we find "disconformity" and "overthrusts." A "recent stratum" which should therefore be near the top, will be underneath several "older strata."
This can easily be explained by the turbulence of a single worldwide Flood which laid down all the strata within a relatively short time.
But evolutionary theory is totally baffled by such a situation. So its supporters have invented the theory of "overthrusts." As we mentioned in chapter 12, the Matterhorn—one of the highest and most prominent mountains in Switzerland—is supposed to have moved horizontally many miles from some distant place. Evolutionary theories about rock strata require such a hypothesis. Either the mountains pack up and move to other lands, or evolution dies a sickening death.
The entire Matterhorn rests on top of what is theorized as "younger strata," therefore it is said to have hiked over the hills to its present location. The same is true for the Appalachians, which climbed up out of the Atlantic onto the North American continent. They arrived before the Pilgrims!
But, in reality, overthrusts are but another effect of the Flood. For example, at one point, some land animals and plants were covered by Flood-borne sediments. Then, from some distant location, waters with fish were carried in and deposited in a pile of sediment above the land creatures. And so it went.
A related problem is that, although the very bottom stratum should always be the Cambrian,—in actuality, many different strata are found at the bottom!
"Further, how many geologists have pondered the fact that lying on the crystalline basement are found from place to place not merely Cambrian, but rocks of all ages?"—*E.M. Spieker, "Mountain-Building Chronology and Nature of Geologic Time-Scale," in Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, August 1956, p. 1805.
How do you solve a problem like that? Amid the confusion of a worldwide deluge, and bursts of massive earth movements and hurricane winds, all kinds of strata patterns could occur. Flood theory can solve questions that evolutionary theory cannot answer.
FLOOD PREDICTIONS—If the Flood caused the sedimentary rock strata, with their billions of fossils, then the following points would be expected;—and, upon examination of the fossils in the strata—they all prove true:
(1) Animals living at the lowest levels would tend to be buried in the lowest strata.
(2) Creatures buried together—would tend to be buried with other animals that lived in the same region or ecological community.
(3) Hydrologic forces (the suck and drag of rapidly moving water) would tend to sort out creatures of similar forms. Because of lower hydraulic drag, those with the simplest shapes would tend to be buried first.
(4) Backboneless sea creatures (marine invertebrates), since they live on the sea bottom, would normally be found in the bottom strata.
(5) Fish would be found in higher strata since they can swim up close to the surface.
(6) Amphibians and reptiles would be buried higher than the fish, but as a rule, below the land animals.
(7) Few land plants or animals would be in the lower strata.
(8) The first land plants would be found where the amphibians were found.
(9) Mammals and birds would generally be found in higher levels than reptiles and amphibians.
(10) Because many animals tend to go in herds in time of danger, we would find herd animals buried together.
(11) In addition, the larger, stronger animals would tend to sort out into levels apart from the slower ones (tigers would not be found with hippopotamuses).
(12) Relatively few birds would be found in the strata, since they could fly to the highest points.
(13) Few humans would be found in the strata. They would be at the top, trying to stay afloat until they died; following which they would sink to the surface of the sediments and decompose.
In the above 13 points, we have a solid Flood explanation for what we find in the sequence of fossils in the geologic column.
Yet, lacking any other evidence to bring forward, it is that very sequence of fossils placement which evolutionists declare to be the primary evidence that animals have "evolved" from one another!
Ecological Zonation
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE "GEOLOGIC COLUMN"—Compare the following analysis with the two-page chart near the beginning of chapter 12, Fossils and Strata:
Recent (Holocene)—Glaciers melt. Evidences of human civilization.
Pleistocene—The Flood waters conclude their receding from the continents. Fossils, strata, and petroleum are no longer being formed. The ice age begins.
Pliocene—The Flood has ended. First mountain building begins, as continents begin rising, ocean basins dropping, and oceans filling. If this had not occurred, everything today would be under water. Some strata forming continues.
Miocene—First large numbers of birds buried. First evidence of volcanic lava.
Oliogocene—First of the very agile monkeys and apes buried.
Eocene—First faster animals (such as horses) buried. No more slow animals (including dinosaurs).
Triassic—First strong land animals buried (slowest dinosaurs).
Mississipian—First land animals buried (slow ones, such as small reptiles).
Silurian—First land plants laid down.
Cambrian—Flood begins. Fossils and strata begin. Slowest creatures buried. But plants float up to higher levels.
Precambrian—Prior to the Flood. No sedementary strata or fossils.
A more complete explanation of the above chart is given in the pages which follow.
2 - RECORDS ABOUT THE FLOOD
WORLDWIDE FLOOD—Ours is the water planet. We have 330 million cubic miles [2212 million km3] of it! Water covers 72 percent of our planet’s surface. Every cubic mile of seawater holds over 150 million tons [136 mt] of minerals. On the average, rain pours down on our planet at the rate of 1.5 tons [1,361 kg] a day. At the present time, there is 70 billion gallons [26,822 liters] of water for every person alive. The oceans of the world are so vast and deep that if Earth had an absolutely level crust, the sea would form an envelope over 8,800 feet [26,822 dm] deep.
The antediluvian world had never seen rain before. But when it came, it really came. When the Genesis Flood began, the vast water canopy collapsed and "the floodgates of the sky were opened." Torrential rains fell for six weeks.
FLOOD STORIES—Races and tribes all over the world have, as part of their traditions, stories about a great flood of water that covered the whole earth. The event was so world-shattering and life-changing that, from parents to children, stories of that great upheaval passed down through the generations. Gradually, as mythologies developed, legends about this flood became part of them. These stories include various aspects of the Genesis account of the Flood:
"It has long been known that legends of a great flood, in which almost all men perished, are widely diffused over the world."—*George Frazer, Folklore in the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (1919), p. 105.
One survey of 120 tribal groups in North, Central, and South America disclosed flood traditions among each of them (*International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 822).
(1) There was general wickedness among men.
(2) God saw that a flood was necessary.
(3) One family with eight members was protected.
(4) A giant boat was constructed.
(5) The family, along with animals and birds, went into the boat.
(6) The flood overwhelmed all those living on the earth.
(7) The deluge covered all the earth for a time.
(8) The boat landed in a high mountainous area.
(9) Two or three birds were sent out first.
(10) The people left the boat with all the animals.
(11) The survivors worshiped God for sparing them.
(12) A promise of divine favor was given that there would not be another worldwide flood of waters.
Another survey of ancient Flood literature and legends is discussed by B. Nelson in The Deluge Story in Stone (1968). In this tabulation, the stories and writings of 41 different tribal and national groups were given.
First, we will list these 41 groups, many of which were ancient races. ("A and B" indicate two different sub-groups; example: Fiji A and B.)
Assyria-Babylonia (A and B), Alaska, Andaman Island, Asia Minor, Aztecs, Brazil, Cherokee, China, Cree, Egypt, Esquimaux (Canada), Fiji (A and B), Greece, Hawaii, India (A and B), Italy, Lapland, Lenni Lenape, Lithuania, Leward Islands, Mandan, Michoacan, Nicaragua, Papagos (Mexico), Persia (A and B), Peru, Pimas, Russia, Scandinavia (A and B), Sumatra, Syria, Takoe, Thlinkut (A and B), Toltecks, Wales.
Second, we will list twelve points in their legends, according to the number of times each is included by each of the 41 groups.
Destruction by a flood—41 times.
Some humans saved—38 times.
A boat saved them—36 times.
Universal destruction by the flood—24 times.
One family was especially favored for protection— 15 times.
The flood was caused by man’s transgressions—14 times.
The flood came as a result of a divine decree—10 times.
Birds were sent out first—9 times.
Animals were saved by the boat also—8 times.
The survivors worship God after leaving the boat—7 times.
The boat landed in a high mountainous area—6 times.
After leaving the boat, God spoke favor to the saved—5 times.
An even larger collection of Flood stories is to be found in *Sir James G. Frazer’s book, Folklore in the Old Testament (1919), Vol. 1, pp. 146-330. There are 11 Hellenic stories from ancient Greece, 6 European stories, 29 Persian and Indian stories, 31 Australian, Southeast Asia, and Pacific stories, 63 North, Central, and South American stories, and 3 African stories related in 185 pages of Frazer’s book; a total of 143 Flood stories. You will find them listed in Donald W. Patten (ed), Symposium on Creation IV (1972), pp. 36-38.
An excellent five-page analysis of confusion-of-tongues legends will be found in James E. Strickling, "Legendary Evidence for the Confusion of Tongues, "in Creation Research Society Quarterly, September 1974, pp. 97-101. Quotations from a number of sources are given.
"There are many descriptions of the remarkable event [the Genesis Flood]. Some of these have come from Greek historians, some from the Babylonian records; others from the cuneiform tablets [of Mesopotamia], and still others from the mythology and traditions of different nations, so that we may say that no event has occurred either in ancient or modern times about which there is better evidence or more numerous records, than this very one . . It is one of the events which seems to be familiar to the most distant nations—in Australia, in India, in China, in Scandinavia, and in the various parts of America."—Stephen D. Peet, "Story of the Deluge," American Antiquarian, Vol. 27, No. 4, July-August 1905, p. 203.
NOAH’S NAME—If the story of the Ark and the Flood is to be found among 120 different tribes of earth, should we not expect that Noah’s name would be remembered by some of them also?
Noah’s name is found in the stories and languages of mankind. That is a striking cultural evidence of the worldwide Flood which, itself, left so many physical evidences upon our globe. Not only do the rock strata and their fossil contents vindicate the veracity of the Flood story, but the languages of man do also! Here are some interesting facts
Sanskrit (of ancient India) is a basic language, dating back nearly to the time of the Flood. According to the legends of India, Ma-nu was the man who built the boat and then, with seven others, entered it and were saved. Ma is an ancient word for "water." Ma-nu could then mean "Noah of the waters." In Sanscrit, Manu later came to mean "mankind."
The most ancient man in the Germanic tribes was called Mannus. Mannus was also the name of the Lithuanian Noah.
In the Hebrew, "karat" is the same as "Armenia." The prefix Ar means mountain, so "Armenia" probably means the mountain of Meni. According to Genesis 8:4, Noah landed somewhere in the Ararat mountains.
The legendary founder of the first Egyptian dynasty was Menes; and Minos was the man who is said to have been the first man of Crete. The nearby Greeks said that Minos was the son of their god, Zeus, and the ruler of the sea.
The English (as well as all Germanic) words for man comes from the Sanskrit, manu.
The Egyptian god, Nu was the god of waters who sent a flood to destroy mankind. They identified Nu with the rain and the atmosphere. Summerians taught that Anu was the god of the atmosphere. The rainbow they called "the great bow of Anu."
In ancient Africa, the king in the Congo was called Mani Congo. Later, Mani became the title of respect given to all leading men of the country.
In Japan, manu became maru, a name included in most Japanese ship names. Chinese mythology taught that Hakudo Maru came down from heaven to teach men how to build ships. We know that Noah was the first shipbuilder and that all ancient and modern hulls are basically designed in the same manner. The ancient boats were copied from an archtype. The Ark was the great pattern boat. Men who had to traverse the coasts of the new oceans knew that, nestled in the mountains of Ararat, was a boat which had successfully done it. They carefully copied its structural design.
In Japanese, Maru also means a protective circle or enclosure of refuge. The first people to inhabit Japan were called Ainu, and mai means "original man" in some Australian aboriginal languages.
Among the North American Indians, manu became minne, meaning "water" for the Sioux; hence our Minneapolis (city of water) and Minnesota (sky-blue water). Minnetoba (our Manitoba, Canada) meant "water prairie" to the Assiniboines.
In South America, we find the Nahuatl, managuac (our Managua, capital of Nicaragua) which means "surrounded by ponds." The fabled city, Manoa (meaning "Noah’s water"), was supposed to be the capital of the god El Dorado. A number of important rivers in South America are derived from manu: The Amazon (named after the Manau), the Manu in Peru, and also the Muymanu, Tahuamanu, Pariamanu, Tacuatimanu, etc. In all of these, manu means "river" or "water."
The Egyptians invented their picture writing—hieroglyphics, we call them—soon after the Flood. Their word for water was a wavy line. When the alphabet was later developed, that symbol became the letter "m," for mayim, the Semitic word for water. It later became the Greek letter Mu, the Roman letter Em, and our Western M.
The Assyrian name for "rain" was zunnu. The Roman god, Janus (our January), was originally the Estruscan father god of the world and inventor of ships. This could have easily have been derived from the Hebrew word for "God of Noah," and by the Estruscans, who pronounced this Jah Nu.
The Greek sea-goddess was naiade, which meant "water goddess."
The ancient Norse of the Scandinavians called their ship god, Njord (Niord), who lived at Noatun, the great harbor of the god-ships. Noa in Norse is related to the Icelandic nor, which meant "ship."
The original Sanskrit word for "ship" was nau, which later passed into our English word, navy, nautical, nausea (sea sickness).
(We are indebted to Bengt Sage for the above information. See "Noah and Human Entomology" in Creation, the Cutting Edge, pp., 48-52. The publisher, Creation Life Publishers [Master Books], in El Cajon, California has many, many other excellent books. Write them for a book order sheet.)
Creation and the Flood in Chinese
THE FLOOD IN CHINESE—According to Harvard’s Chinese-Japanese Yenching Library, written Chinese is dated at approximately 2500 B.C. This correlates closely with the end of the Flood. It is of interest that two of the earliest written languages—Egyptian and Chinese—were both picture writing.
Because of its ancientness, the pictoral Chinese script has information for us from the very earliest times. In picture writing, it portrays facts recorded in the book of Genesis.
C.H. Kang and Ethel A. Nelson did intensive research into that script and wrote the book, The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language. This is a fascinating volume, one you will want to read for yourself. Here are a few insights from the book:
(1) The Chinese character for Devil is formed from three other characters: man, garden, and private (Genesis 3:1-7).
(2) Tempter is a combination of three words: devil, cover, and tree (Genesis 3:1-6).
(3) Righteousness combines sheep, I or me, and hand (Genesis 4:2-5).
(4) The Chinese word for total is a uniting of eight people who join hands over the earth (Genesis 7:7,13; 8:13-16).
(5) Boat, in Chinese, brings together three words into one. The three words are vessel, mouth, and eight (Genesis 7:7, 13; 8:13).
(6) Rebellion and Confusion have the same script: a linking together of the words for tongue and walking (Genesis 11:4-9).
(7) One example of the unusual discoveries is Garden or Field which is a square. Inside the square are four straight lines radiating outward in a "plus sign" shape. According to Genesis 2:9-14, a river flowed outward in four streams and watered the entire garden.
Kang and Nelson revealed dozens of other Chinese words suggesting a relationship to Genesis. You will find the entire book very interesting. (In 1997, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Ginger Tong Chock, and Richard E. Broadberry released God’s Promise to the Chinese, a book which updated the study using oracle bone characters, the most ancient Chinese writing known.)
As they arrived in their new home after the scattering from the tower of Babel, and formulated their picture writing, the Chinese placed in their "picture words" recollections of those important earlier events: the Fall of Man, the early sacrificial system, the worldwide Flood, and the Tower of Babal. These are four of the outstanding events described in Genesis 3 to 11.
You may recall our earlier mention that the Chinese recorded the solar eclipse of 2250 B.C., the earliest exact historical date in history and confirmed scientifically (see chapter 4, Age of the Earth). Biblical records indicate the Flood occurred very close to that time.
THE SIZE OF NOAH’S ARK—Based on the Hebrew cubit of 18.5 inches [563.88 cm], it has been estimated that if that great boat—the Ark—was only one-half the size stated in Genesis 6:14-16—and omitting water creatures—it could still have held two or seven of each basic kind of animal and bird. The remainder of the boat was probably used for food storage. But that estimate is based on the smaller Hebrew cubit in the dimensions of the Ark. However, it is very likely that Moses used the cubit of his time—the Egyptian cubit—when giving the dimensions of the Ark. This would make that giant boat even larger. Here is the data:
According to Genesis 6:15, the Ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. The Babylonian cubit was 19.8 inches [603.504 cm], the later Hebrew regular cubit was 17.5 inches [533.4 cm], and the Egyptian cubit was 20.65 inches [629.12 cm].
Based on the Hebrew cubit, the dimensions of the Ark would have been 4,37.5 feet [1,333 dm] long, 72.92 feet [222 dm] wide, and 43.75 feet [133 dm] high. With three decks in the Ark, it had 95,747 square feet [29.18 dkm2], and a total volume of 1,395,734 cubic feet [39,499 mt3]. Its cubic tonnage would be 13,960 [1042 mt3].
Based on the Egyptian cubit used in the time of Moses, the measurements of the Ark would be 516.25 feet [1,573 dm] long, its width would be 86.04 feet [262 dm] wide, and its height would be 51.625 feet [157 dm]. On this basis—with three stories—its square footage would be 1,332,545 square feet [123,793 m2] , and its volume would be 2,293,087 cubic feet [64,894 m3]. Its cubic tonnage would be 22,930 [17110 mt].
The Ark was a barge, not a ship with sloping sides, so it had a much larger carrying capacity. It has been reckoned that, even if measured by the smaller 18.5-inch [563.88 cm] cubit of later times, the Ark would have been so huge that 522 modern railroad box cars could have fitted inside it! One each of every species of air-breathing creatures in the world today could be comfortably carried in only 150 box cars.
For 4,000 years after the Ark was constructed, ships rarely exceeded 150 to 200 feet [457-6,096 dm] in length. It was not until 1854 that a ship was built with a longer length than the Ark: the Eturia, a Cunard liner constructed in England. It was not until after World War II that ships were built which had a larger volume and cubic tonnage—the ocean-going oil supertankers.
FLOOD CHRONOLOGY—In a chapter of this nature, we should provide the Biblical dating of the Genesis Flood. Although it is impossible to provide exact dates, in accordance with conservative Biblical chronology, Creation occurred at approximately 4004 B.C. (2,000 years before the birth of Christ). The Flood began 1,656 years later (1656 A.M. [anno mundi - year of the world]), which would be approximately 2348 B.C. That is the closest approximation we can arrive at.
Here, according to Genesis 7 and 8, is a brief chronology of events during the Flood (the following figures are based on a thirty-day month):
40 days—Rain fell for forty days (7:4, 12, 17).
110 days—The waters rose and reached their greatest height at some time during or at the close of another 110 days (Genesis 7:24).
74 days—The "going and decreasing" of the waters occupied 74 days, then the tops of the mountains were seen (8:5, note the margin).
40 days—Forty more days passed and then Noah sent out the raven (8:6-7).
7 days—Seven days elapsed and then Noah sent out the dove for the first time, but the "waters were still on the face of the whole earth" (8:8; cf. 8:11, "other seven days").
7 days—Seven days later, the second dove was sent out the second time and found the olive leaf, because "the waters were abated" (8:11).
7 days—After seven more days, the dove was sent out a third time and did not return, because "the waters were abated" (8:12).
29 days—The total so far is 285 days, but comparing the dates in 7:11 with the next event in 8:14 yields a total of 314 days. During that additional 29 days, Noah waited until "the waters were dried from off the earth" to remove the covering from the Ark. By that time the raven ceased to "go to and fro" (8:7).
57 days—From the time when the covering of the Ark was removed, to the day they and the animals left the Ark, 57 more days elapsed. When the "earth" was adequately "dry," Noah left the Ark (8:14).
371 days—From the time that the rain first began falling until the Ark was vacated, would be a total of 371 days.
Some suggest that the flood waters reached their maximum height in 40 days while others think that they continued to rise for the first 150 days.
The fresh olive leaf (which was found shortly after the Ark beached in the Ararat Mountains) would have had as much as four months to sprout from an asexually propagated olive branch buried near the surface of the soil.
CREATION STORIES—Before concluding this section, it is of interest that, not only are Flood stories found worldwide, but Creation stories are also. In both we find parallels to the accounts given in Genesis. We would not have room here to discuss this; but, for example, man was created from clay, and there was an ominous serpent that caused mankind great trouble. It is frequently thought to have been winged.
"An extraordinary number of religious traditions among diverse peoples—Jews, Christians, Moslems, Native Americans, Polynesians, Austrahari aborigines—describe living things as having been originally shaped from clay."—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 84.
"Dragon legends have persisted for centuries in Norse epics, medieval English ballads, Wagnerian operas, Japanese art and Chinese folktales."—*Op. cit, p. 145.