Creation science is a study of science
from the presupposition that God created the universe and life
on earth as described in Bible. However, the debate between atheistic
and theistic scientists involves more than just the origin
of life. The Bible clearly states that God created humans,
and yet the scientific community adamantly teaches that man
evolved from apes. Creation science does not just challenge
abiogenesis, but the origin
of the fossil record as well. The
Biblical creation account
clearly teaches that the world was created with a functional ecosystem in
6 days, and according to Biblical chronology
the earth is almost exactly 6000 years old. The
Bible also teaches that a
global flood-driven catastrophe destroyed the earth about 4500 years
ago, and was so severe not even man could survive the event without divine
intervention. The geological community recognizes neither the mature
creation nor the Noachian flood, and therefore has failed to take these
factors into consideration when deliberating as to
the earth's age.
Old Earth Presupposition
If the Bible is correct, then the scientific
community is simply unable to interpret the history of our
world because supernatural effects would be assigned natural
explanations. Evolution is a well thought theory, but the
Bible says there was a flood that no animal could survive. If this
event occurred, our scientific community could never interpret
the evidence left behind because many of the animals in the
fossil record are still alive today, and the scientific community
must explain their presence naturally. Although the
entire earth is covered in hundreds of feet of flood sediment,
a naturalist must say the sedimentary deposits which comprise
the geological column must have
accumulated at a rate modern animals could have survived naturally,
but the Bible says there was a global flood no animal could survive
without divine intervention.
The
old-earth perspective of the fossil record was derived from uniformitarian
theory which is in opposition to catastrophism.
The entire world is covered in massive layers of sediments known as the
geological column, which were originally interpreted by geologists to
be the result of catastrophes such as the great Biblical flood of Noah.
However, early in the 1800s, Charles Lyell and others revolutionized
geology by introducing the notion of the uniformity of known causes or
processes throughout time. Uniformitarianism basically assumes that
conditions on earth have remained essentially constant.
Although the earth is completely covered in hundreds
of feet of flood sediment, it is now believed by geologists that these
layers have accumulated gradually over millions of years. The ages of the
various layers in the geological column were assigned dates using
relative age dating techniques that compared current environmental
rates of accumulation to the quantities of sediment that cover the earth.
However, it has become clear that stratified layers such as those in the
geological column are deposited rapidly under catastrophic flood
conditions, and in fact many of these layers are now believed to have been
the result of repeated catastrophes. Although it is now well recognized
that catastrophes have occurred in earth's history, it is assumed because
life exists, that no catastrophe was capable of destroying all life on
earth as described in the
Bible.
Given the extensive volumes of sedimentary deposits
that cover the earth, it is plainly obvious the world has been destroyed
by floods. Sedimentary rock hundreds of feet
thick is all around us, but secular geologists claim they are not the
result of a single massive flood. If the
flood occurred as described in the Bible, the fossils in the
geological column have been misinterpreted and erroneously dated. The
position of fossils in relation to one another is likewise not an
indication of the relative time in earth's history when they lived, but
rather the sequence of events in an unrecognized global catastrophe that
entombed them forever in tons of sediment.
An Impossible Interpretation for a Naturalist
If
the flood occurred as
described in the Bible it would be absolutely impossible for a
naturalist to interpret the geological evidence as being
formed by a single global catastrophe
because modern animals are only here as a result of
supernatural intervention via the ark. A great many of the animals
entombed in sedimentary deposits are still
alive today, and their presence must be explained naturally by modern
scientists. Therefore a philosophical necessity exists among modern
scientists for the geological column to have accumulated at rates that
could be survived naturally.
However, the Bible has given us another explanation
for the geological column. If the
flood occurred as described in the Bible, the event would have
deposited the sediments of the geological column much more rapidly than is
theoretically possible from a naturalistic perspective. Techniques used to
date fossiliferous sediments have been accepted or rejected based on their
adherence to the theoretic necessity of gradual accumulation. Any
naturalistic interpretation of the strata known as the
geological column is erroneous because of the philosophical inability
to accept the massive global catastrophe which required supernatural
intervention for life to exist today. This philosophical inability has led
to excessive age determinations when
performing
radiometric dating of these layers in accordance with standing
presuppositions.
Evolution Theory
The evolutionary
theory owes its' inception to the
existence of the fossil record and the fact that organisms evolve
through time. The fossil record convinced early scientists that
the earth was much older than previously thought, and animals
have changed so tremendously that theoretically anything is possible.
God has provided all organisms with the mechanisms necessary
to modify their own genomes so they may adapt to almost any possible
habitat. The evolution that has occurred, did so through cellular
performed genetic recombination
which functions by design. However, we do not yet understand
these rearrangements well enough to limit their ability, nor
the extent mutations may be tolerated as a source for new information.
The molecular machinery is still largely beyond our comprehension,
and the evolutionary potential exhibited through classic
breeding has demonstrated a range that makes it truly difficult
to specifically determine the Biblical
kinds.
A significant amount of evolution has occurred,
but life on earth requires the simultaneous coexistence of numerous
types of organisms, which is exactly what the Bible says God created.
It is generally accepted by creationists that the species common to any particular mammalian Family
have evolved through basic genetic recombination and selection.
Each species released from the ark has essentially evolved into
many unique genera with several species each. This
quantity of evolution is what the evolutionists refers to
as macroevolution because taxonomic groups above the species
have developed. However, the fossil record does not itself offer proof
of evolution beyond that evident in living population. These layer have most certainly been misinterpreted,
and without their evidence, nothing more than variations within
the Biblical kinds has been
established.
If the evolutionist is correct, then we
are just another animal. But it is possible we are the result
of a special creation, and destined to live toward a much greater
goal. Examine this issue carefully, and recognize that all secular
scientific theory has a presuppositional
basis in atheism which at times forces a conclusion against
the obvious. This debate is ultimately between a naturalist and
a super-naturalist with the former demanding the presentation
of only naturalist evidence. The creation position begins
with Biblical insight and supernatural events which the scientific
community must reject as possible explanations. They will never
determine the truth because they will only accept natural history
of a world that has a supernatural past.
Closing Comments
How old would the world appear after being created fully
formed only a moment ago? Since the world was created with a functional
ecosystem, our inability to properly assign ages
to the earth independently of Biblical insight is not unexpected.
The scientific community has also failed to recognize the flood
occurred as described in the Bible, therefore their age calculation
of these layers must be highly erroneous as is the evolutionary
theory which relies upon the fossils for evidence.
In
the book of Genesis, God described the creation in phases that were defined by specific lengths of time,
and according to this account, the earth was created mature in six of our
days. Today our world requires the simultaneous coexistence of many kinds
of organism and the Bible says god created many such kinds at the same
point in time, including humans. If God created humans
then we are not just another animal. We may indeed be the spiritual beings the Bible describes
us to be, and the world was instead created specifically for
us. We may indeed be here for a purpose much greater than anyone
realizes.