The Fossil Record and the Flood
Scripture:
2 Peter 3:3-7; Psalm 104:6-9
A. 2 Peter 3:3-7
According to 2 Peter 3:3-7, what three things would men scoff at in the last days?
(The creation, the flood, and the coming judgment of God)
Verse 5 says: “the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” This would
be referring to the original creation and the water canopy.
B. Psalm 104:6-8
According to Psalm 104:6-8, what caused the mountain ranges and the oceans?
(God spoke.)
According to Psalm 104:9, why did God raise up mountains and create oceans?
(He promised man He would never again flood the whole earth.)
I. The Evolutionist Will Claim: The Fossil Record Proves Evolution.
Transition question:
“Do you believe the fossil record proves evolution?”
(It actually proves there was a Great Flood.)
“Although the fossil record provides evidence that evolution occurred, the
record is incomplete. Working with an incomplete fossil record is
something like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing.
But after the puzzle is together, even with missing pieces, you will
probably still understand the overall picture. Fossils are found throughout
the world. As the fossil record becomes more complete, the sequences of
evolution become clearer.”
Glencoe Biology, 2006, pg 400
“Most sedimentary rocks form in primarily horizontal layers with the
younger layers closer to the surface. Glencoe Biology, 2006, pg 372
“Scientists use a variety of methods to determine the age of fossils. One
method is a technique called relative dating. To understand relative
dating, imagine yourself stacking newspapers at home. As each day’s
newspaper is added to the stack, the stack becomes taller. If the stack is
left undisturbed, the newspapers at the bottom are older than ones at the
top.”
Glencoe Biology, 2006, pg 372
Question # 1
“Is the actual fossil evidence anything like the chart?”
A chart, called the geologic column, is found in almost all science
textbooks in some form. The chart shows the different layers of rock
superimposed on top of each other, each representing a period of time,
and each containing the fossils of life forms that supposedly lived during
that time period. It is also referred to as the geologic timescale.
The evolutionists say the chart:
a. Represent the earth’s presumed 4.6 billion year sequence of geologic ages.
b. Records the evolutionary history of life on earth.
c. Show simple organisms evolving into complex organisms.
d. Show a gradual transition from one species to the next, finally into man.
The creationists say:
a. The earth is only about 6,000 years old.
b. The rock layers and the fossils were formed by the Great Flood about
4,400 years ago.
A. There are many problems with the geologic column
(The chart used in the textbooks).
a. Circular reasoning is used. The rock will be dated by the fossil, and the
fossil will be dated by the rock layer it is found in.
b. Those twelve layers cannot be found together in that order anywhere
in the world.
c. Sometimes there are reversed layers (Older layers on top of younger).
d. Sometimes there are missing layers.
e. Sometimes fossils and artifacts will be found in the wrong layers.
f. Sometimes fossils extend through many layers. (Polystrate fossils)
II. Evolution Requires Multitudes Of Transitional Fossils
“Darwin realized that if his theory were true a large number of transitional
fossils would be found in the fossil record. The lack of these transitional
fossils was one of the points on which Darwin said his theory would be falsified.”
Roger Patterson – Evolution Exposed – Pg 114
Evolutionist Stephen J. Gould said: “The extreme rarity of transitional
forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology, the
evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and
nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the
evidence of fossils.”
Stephen J. Gould, Natural History, Vol. 86, pgs 22, 30
Question # 2
“What about the absence of transitional fossils?”
“Paleontologists ever since Darwin have been searching (largely in vain)
for the sequences of insensibly graded series of fossils that would stand
as examples of the sort of wholesale transformation of species that
Darwin envisioned as the natural product of the evolutionary process.
Few saw any reason to demur- though it is a startling fact that,... most
species remain recognizably themselves, virtually unchanged throughout
their occurrence in geological sediments of various ages.”
Eldredge, Niles, “Progress in Evolution?” New Scientist, vol. 110
(June 5, 1986), p. 55
Question # 3
“Are there any fossils clearly in transition?”
That is a real problem for the theory of evolution, the lack of any real
transitional fossils. If evolution were true, there should be millions of
fossils that are in transition from one kind of creature to another. There
should be fish that have partially formed legs, and reptiles with partially
formed wings, and chimps that are partially human. Not only that, but we
should see life forms still in transition today. But that type of change has
never been observed in the fossil record, nor is it observable today.
When scientists come up with a hypothesis, they make predictions of what
should be observable if their hypothesis is true. Darwin did that with his
theory of evolution. He predicted transitional fossils would be found in the
future when more fossils were available. None so far have been found.
He said that would disprove his theory. So far it hasn’t in the minds of
most evolutionists.
III. Three Scoffers Whose Books Changed The Scientific Worldview
1. James Hutton 1726-1797
Scottish geologist, chemist, and naturalist. He was initially attracted to
chemistry; he entered the legal profession at the Univ. of Edinburgh;
turned to medicine, as it closely resembled chemistry; and then
became a farmer to allow him to study rocks and be able to pursue his
interests in geology.
Hutton was the first to propose the theory of uniformity of causes, to
oppose the theory of catastrophism (a great flood). He concluded that the
earth's history can be explained by observing the geological forces
presently at work, because these forces are identical to the ones that
operated in the past.
In his book Theory of the Earth, Hutton proposed the earth was much
older than most people thought.
HBJ Earth Science, p.19
(Hutton’s book Theory of the Earth, published in 1795, took away the 6000
year old earth and gave us “millions of years”.)
2. Charles Lyell - Scottish lawyer
Sir Charles Lyell’s three volume book, “Principles of Geology” published in
1830, has been called the most important book ever. It was important
because his ideas on how the earth had been formed were completely
opposite to the prevailing beliefs. Previously, it was believed that the
sedimentary rock strata seen were a result of cataclysms like Noah’s
flood. However, Sir Charles Lyell believed that cataclysms were not
responsible for forming the appearance of the earth’s crust, but very slow
processes like we see happening today.
Lyell said his goal was to “free the science from Moses”
Life Letters and Journals’, published by John Murray 1881.
He coined the cliché that “the present is the key to the past,” which has
been the motto of uniformitarianism science.
(The Bible is the key to the past, present, and future!)
(Lyell’s book Principals of Geology, published in 1830, took away the flood
and gave us “the Geologic Column”.)
3. Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin graduated from Bible college. The British government
was sponsoring a 5 year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. They wanted to
go around African and South America, etc. in order to make better maps.
Darwin left on this voyage and took with him two books: his Bible, and the
first volume of Lyell’s book, Principles of Geology.
“Disbelief crept over me on a very slow rate, but at last complete. The rate
was so slow that I felt no distress.”
Letter to Russell Wallace in 1868 published in World’s Greatest Letters
(Darwin’s book The Origin of Species, published in 1859, took away the
Creator and gave us “all life comes from a common ancestor.”)
Three books that took away:
1. The young earth
2. The great flood
3. The creator God (no creator, no sin, no judgment)
In a Great Flood, what would get buried first?
1. The things that lived on the bottom of the ocean!
2. The things that lived in the water!
3. The things that lived near the water!
4. Birds and people could survive longer!
IV. Questions About Fossils:
1. Why are fossils so numerous?
2. Did Fossils have kids?
3. Were their kids different?
4. Do fossils prove relationship?
Can you tell any of this just by looking at a fossil?
If I get buried on top of a hamster, does that prove he is my grandpa?
All it proves is, I got buried on top of him. That is all the fossil record
proves. A bunch of stuff got buried on top of a bunch of other stuff.
V. Why Did God Use A Flood And Not Just Have All The Bad People Die?
Things to consider concerning the flood:
a. The flood left evidence where a miracle would not.
b. The effects are here for all to see and be reminded of God’s judgment on
sin.
c. The warning time gave them a chance to repent.
Reviewing the Questions
1. “Is the actual fossil evidence anything like the chart?”
2. “What about the absence of transitional fossils?”
3. “Are there any fossils clearly in transition?”