5 Evidences of Noah's Flood -- #5: Geologic Evidence

Let's look at the extensive geologic evidence of a global flood.

 

 A common accusation against biblical creationists is that they operate off of blind faith and turn a blind eye toward science. Although I am sure many Christians accept the entirety of the bible on faith, we are charged to test all things, and to also be ready to give the reason for the faith and hope that we have. The flood account in Genesis makes some very bold claims that should be evidenced in both human history and in geology. The validity of the flood account has serious implications for all of us and deserves our attention. Over the next few weeks I hope to cover 5 of the numerous, strong evidences for a recent global flood that confirm the Biblical account. This post covers the extensive geologic evidence for a global flood. 
 

Was Noah's Flood local or global?

Fossil-bearing Rock Layers

It seems as though scientists claim that every "dinosaur graveyard" was the result of a devastating local flood. That a herd of dinos were swept away by a raging river, etc. These fossils are found entombed in chalk, sandstone or silt deposits and often preserved remarkably well. Frequently, the dinosaurs are in the "death pose", indicating they were being drowned or suffocated at the time of death. 

Death Pose

 
A major source of dinosaur fossils is the Morrison Formation, which is found in 13 western US states (though mostly in Wyoming and Colorado) and contains billions of fossils that were obviously buried in a flood. These fossil-bearing rock layers are quite thick and spread across much of the prairie in these states and provide a classic example of the fossil formations we find throughout the world. Creationists maintain that these layers were formed during the flood as the waters rose and tidal forces upon the rising seas caused tsunami-like waves. It was these waves that wiped out and deposited the dinosaurs and caused the extensive sediment layers to form. 

Morrison, CO where these layers are exposed

Could this be formed by a local river or lake's seasonal flood? Source License

Mixed in with the dinosaur bones in the Morrison Formation, are clam and snail shells. Scientists point to these shells (found even on the tops of the highest peaks in Colorado) and explain that they prove that the region was once an ocean bed. Creationists agree completely, since they believe the flood was global. But how do these scientists explain how these marine fossils became mixed together with land-dwelling dinosaur bones? 
Bones cannot fossilize unless they are buried, and without a rapid burial, damage, decay and scavenging will occur. These creatures were buried together rapidly across an enormous region in the same rock layers. Global flooding can explain this. Local flooding cannot. 

There are also many other sediment and rock formations that spread over massive regions. For example, the same Cretaceous chalk beds in Texas and Nebraska continue (with identical sediments and fossils) in the Chalk Cliffs of Dover England to the Middle East and Kazakhstan (1). 

 The fact that these formations stretch across multiple continents point to massive deposition at a time when the continents were together (creationist view on plate tectonics around the time of the flood). What, other than a flood of global proportions, could bury marine fossils across such a huge area?

I would be remiss to not touch on the Grand Canyon as enormous evidence for the flood, but for sake of time and space, I will provide this link for those interested in this topic.

Fossil Fuels

Likewise, coal beds are observed with the same fossilized plants across massive swaths of land. The sheer amount of coal and oil deposits across the globe are very strong evidence of a global flood washing away and burying dense vegetation. We don't see new oil or coal being created today by natural processes, yet it is found throughout the entire world. How did these deposits get laid down and buried underground without a massive flood?

 2 Peter 3:3-6 (NIV)
³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.

The evidence is everywhere. Most likely you are reading this thanks to a power plant that runs off of coal, leftovers from the ancient world. What will you do with the evidence laid out before you? Just as God provided a way for people to avoid the flood waters, he is providing an ark of safety for the world today: His son Jesus. Jesus can save us from ourselves, our sin, and the coming judgement. All we must do is put our faith in Him as our only hope of salvation.


(1) Dr. Andrew Snelling, 2008:  

Bullying is Wrong? Says Who?

Everyone knows bullying is wrong. Kids do it all the time; grown men and women even do it to gain leverage over weaker people or to feel better about themselves. Whether it is playground bullying, college hazing or the more anonymous cyber-bullying, everyone knows it is awful and wrong. 

How did we arrive at this conviction
when the animal kingdom exists because of bullying?  

The wild animal's life is chalked full of abuse from the time it is born, through adolescence and especially during the mating seasons. The weaker animal forfeits his right to breed or even eat to the stronger, healthier one. Although we as humans are sometimes pained to see this (all of creation groans, Romans 8:22) not one of us would make a claim that the alpha male wolf is wrong in achieving dominance. This is one of the keys to keeping the gene pool healthy. This is just survival of the fittest.

Sad, but necessary in today's world (Source)

Tragically, bullying is just as prevalent among people as it is among animals. Go to a playground, listen to kids on the street playing, read online forums or YouTube comments, go inside a high school sports locker room, go almost anywhere in any culture and you will see this behavior. This is a serious problem and almost everyone agrees that it is wrong. 
 

Clearly wrong

If "bullying" is what brought about the human race (as evolution would suggest), why should we abandon it now? If it worked so well by killing off weaker animals and keeping them from breeding, and humans are obviously far from perfect, why would we abstain from this behavior now?

Because we all know it is wrong.

Why is bullying wrong for humans but not for animals? It happens just as much in our culture as it does in the animal "cultures". Apparently it is just as natural to people as it is to animals. Kids don't need to learn how to bully, they have to be taught not to bully.

So how does an evolutionist explain why we have our personal convictions or our sense of morality? 

How do we know bullying is absolutely wrong?

 

In my experience, evolutionists will often say that over the years our culture evolved this heightened sense of morality as a survival mechanism. The logic behind it being, "I will scratch your back, hoping you will scratch mine". Then, after millions of years of this behavior at work, we all began to develop morals. 
So then who decides what is right or wrong? Perhaps you are convinced that harming others is wrong, but what if there existed a person who had no problem with bullying or abuse (not so far-fetched is it?). Would it be wrong for him to abuse weaker people? He is obviously just acting instinctively, just like any other animal. Perhaps he isn't evolved enough. Maybe he is actually more evolved than you. Nope, still not alright, is it?  
OK, so maybe society as a whole needs to define right and wrong. So what if an entire culture or country had no problem with bullying or even murder? Would it be OK then? Of course not! Killing Jews was perfectly acceptable among Nazi circles in Germany prior to WWII's conclusion. That doesn't mean it was moral.

Humans are clearly not animals.

Can a lion murder another lion?  No, that is called survival of the fittest.
Should a human even so much as verbally abuse another? No, that would clearly be wrong.  
 

Bullying is often a major factor in teenage suicide and also sometimes leads to acts of violent retribution. This doesn't make bullying wrong, it happens because bullying is wrong. 
God has given mankind an inherent ability to see right from wrong. We all are given a conscience, and we are meant to be different from the beasts. Although fallen and carnal, unlike animals we have capacity for compassion, love, loyalty, chivalry and conviction. These things can be tossed aside, but they clearly differentiate us from mere animals. 
Our Creator instructs us:

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.^[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

Can you imagine what our world would look like if we all followed this instruction? Morality is not conditional, but absolute. This is easily explained by, and even foundational to the Christian worldview, but incompatible with evolutionary thinking.