EARTH’S CATASTROPHIC PA ST GEOLOGY, CREATION &THE FLOOD VOLUME 1 EARTH’S CATASTROPHIC PA ST GEOLOGY, CREATION &THE FLOOD VOLUME 1 ANDREW A. SNELLING EARTH’S CATASTROPHIC PAST GEOLOGY, CREATION & THE FLOOD VOLUME 1 by Andrew A. Snelling Third printing: October 2014 Copyright © 2009 by Andrew A. Snelling. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write: Master Books®, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638 Master Books® is a division of the New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc. Answers In Genesis, 2800 Bullittsburg Church Rd., Petersburg, KY 41080 ISBN: 978-0-89051-872-4 Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2009922120 Please consider requesting that a copy of this volume be purchased by your local library system. Printed in the United States of America Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.net www.answersingenesis.org For information regarding author interviews, please contact the publicity department at (870) 438-5288 CONTENTS VOLUME 1. The Genesis Record of Creation and the Flood Defended Foreword ................................................ix Preface ..................................................xiii Introduction Why Take Genesis Seriously? ...................................... 1 Genesis as Reliable History ........................................ 2 Jesus Regarded Genesis as Real History .............................. 6 The Apostle Peter’s Prophecy ...................................... 7 The Reliability of the Whole Bible Depends on Genesis as History ......... 9 The Pivotal Importance of the Flood ............................... 10 Section I. The Biblical Record Of The Global Genesis Flood Chapter 1 Moses Compiled Genesis ............................. 15 Chapter 2 The Duration of the Flood ............................ 19 Forty Days of Rain ................................ 19 150 Days of “Prevailing” ........................... 20 221 Days of “Assuaging” and “Abating” ................ 21 Chapter 3 The Depth of the Flood .............................. 27 Chapter 4 Geological Details of the Flood ......................... 31 Chapter 5 The Size of the Ark .................................. 35 Chapter 6 The Need for the Ark ................................ 39 Chapter 7 The Testimony of the Apostle Peter ...................... 47 Chapter 8 The Testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ ................... 53 Chapter 9 The Total Destruction of a Widely-Distributed Human Race— All Mankind Perished ................................ 57 All Mankind Perished .............................. 57 Chapter 10 The Total Destruction of a Widely-Distributed Human Race— The Human Race Had Spread Around the Earth ........... 63 Longevity and Population Growth .................... 63 The Prevalence of Violence .......................... 67 Human Fossil Evidence ............................ 70 vi Earth’s Catastrophic Past Chapter 11 Summary and Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Section II. Non-Geological Arguments Used Against the Global Genesis Flood Chapter 12 Introduction ....................................... 77 Chapter 13 The Genesis Flood Story Derived from the Babylonian Flood Myth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Chapter 14 No Global Flood in Recent Geological and Human History .. 89 Chapter 15 All Mankind Not Descended from Noah’s Family ........... 91 The Sons of Noah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 The Table of Nations .............................. 93 The Bible and Racial Distribution .................... 95 Chapter 16 Anthropology and Racial Dispersion ..................... 97 Recent Migration from Asia ......................... 97 Universal Flood Traditions .......................... 99 Chapter 17 Universal Terms: Used in a Limited Sense? ............... 107 Most Universal Terms Are to Be Interpreted Literally ..... 107 The Context Determines the Meaning ................ 108 Chapter 18 Universal Terms Are Literal in Genesis 6-9 Because of the Physical Phenomena ................................ 115 Chapter 19 Summary and Conclusions ........................... 121 Section III. Noah, the Ark, And the Animals Chapter 20 Gathering the Animals to the Ark ...................... 125 Chapter 21 The Capacity of the Ark ............................. 131 Chapter 22 Caring for the Animals in the Ark ...................... 145 Chapter 23 The “Natural-Supernatural” Philosophy of Miracles ........ 155 Chapter 24 Post-Flood Animal Distribution—The Australian Marsupials ..163 Three Major Views ............................... 163 Australian Marsupials ............................. 165 Chapter 25 Post-Flood Animal Distribution—Rapid Animal Dispersion . 171 Rapid Breeding and Diversification .................. 175 Chapter 26 Summary and Conclusions ........................... 181 Section IV. The Framework for a Biblical Geology Chapter 27 Introduction ...................................... 185 Chapter 28 The Scriptural Divisions of Geologic History ............. 193 The First Creative Act ............................. 193 Contents vii The Work of the Six Days of Creation ................ 193 The Pre-Flood Period ............................. 194 The Flood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 The Post-Flood Period ............................ 195 General Comments .............................. 195 Chapter 29 The Beginning of Creation ........................... 199 Chapter 30 The First Day ..................................... 205 Chapter 31 The Second Day ................................... 211 Chapter 32 The Third Day .................................... 213 Chapter 33 The Fourth Day ................................... 219 Chapter 34 The Fifth Day ..................................... 225 Chapter 35 The Sixth Day—Land Animals and Man ................ 229 Chapter 36 The Sixth Day—Adam and Eve ....................... 235 Chapter 37 The Seventh Day ................................... 241 Chapter 38 The Fall .......................................... 245 Chapter 39 The Curse ........................................ 253 Chapter 40 The Pre-Flood World ............................... 261 Chapter 41 The Flood ........................................ 271 Chapter 42 The Post-Flood World ............................... 281 Chapter 43 Concluding Comments ............................. 291 Section V. The Modern Geological Synthesis Chapter 44 Introduction ...................................... 295 Chapter 45 The Geologic Column .............................. 299 Historical Development ........................... 300 Terminology Used ............................... 305 Chapter 46 A Classic Example of a Local Geologic Column ........... 309 Chapter 47 Correlation of Strata Between Local Geologic Columns ..... 313 Chapter 48 The Precambrian of the Geologic Column ............... 321 Chapter 49 Implications of the Geologic Column ................... 329 Chapter 50 Patterns and Trends in the Geologic Column—Involving Different Rock Types ............................... 335 Patterns Involving Sedimentary Rocks ................ 336 Patterns Involving Igneous Rocks .................... 338 A Pattern Involving Metamorphic Rocks .............. 342 Chapter 51 Patterns and Trends in the Geologic Column—Involving Relative Sea-Level Changes ........................... 343 viii Earth’s Catastrophic Past Chapter 52 Patterns and Trends in the Geologic Column—Involving the Fossil Record ................................... 347 Chapter 53 Patterns and Trends in the Geologic Column—Involving Metal Ore Deposits ................................. 361 Chapter 54 A Brief History of Plate Tectonics ...................... 365 Chapter 55 The Development of the Plate Tectonics Theory ........... 373 Chapter 56 Global Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Model .............. 379 Chapter 57 Plate Tectonics: Controlling the Formation of the Rock Record—Divergent Plate Margins and the Ocean Floor ..... 389 Chapter 58 Plate Tectonics: Controlling the Formation of the Rock Record—Plates That Collide: Convergent Margins ......... 397 Chapter 59 Plate Tectonics: Controlling the Formation of the Rock Record—Transform Plate Margins and Plate Interiors ...... 409 Transform Plate Margins .......................... 409 Plate Interiors ................................... 410 Chapter 60 Concluding Comments ............................. 417 Selected Bibliography ..............................421 Color Figures .........................................441 ix Foreword Three great worldwide events are mentioned in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which contain the history of early earth. The first is the creation of all things, in a completed, fully-functioning, “very good” state, as related in Genesis chapter one. All of nature was in harmony, with no death, disease, or carnivorous activity among living things, and no tectonic or meteorological disturbances in the earth itself. This harmony was disrupted when creation rebelled against the Creator, disobeying His commands. The curse of Genesis three impacted every thing and every system in creation. Indeed, the entire creation groans under the penalty of this rebellion. Finally, the rebellion culminated in a great convulsion of nature in Genesis six through nine, a massive flood that judged the planet. Not only was this a watery cataclysm, but a tectonic wrenching of the once peaceful environment. Where could one go and not see evidence of creation? If God created it all, all things would bear His fingerprints. If He created it all, every rock, every life form, every system we study must give evidence of this recent creation. We observe intricate details in living things and rightly give Him credit for His creative majesty. At every level we look, we see a transcendence of design, far beyond the reach of mere chance. We see the flagella of bacteria, we see the interdependence of organs, the balance of ecology, fine-tuned interaction between stellar bodies. “All things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16). Nothing we could ever observe could be fully and correctly explained without creation. Our object of study might be far removed from the original creation, but all things ultimately derive from what transpired in Genesis one and two. Likewise, where could we go in this universe and not see evidence of His universal judgment of sin? We read in Genesis three that due to Adam’s rejection of God’s authority, the plants were cursed, and the animals also, the serpent more than the rest (Genesis 3:18, 14). Furthermore the physical realm was cursed, as we see in Genesis 3:17. All of this had been placed under Adam’s dominion, and his failure passed to all his domain. Finally, Adam and Eve tasted God’s justice, as pronounced in Genesis 3:15-19. Indeed, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), death in every aspect of creation. All we observe participated in the curse, or descended from that which did so participate. The final great worldwide cataclysm was the great Flood of Noah’s day. Described in no uncertain terms as global in extent, it covered the world. Certainly not a tranquil flood, it conquered the entire surface of the world, destroying all