Q and A
Isn’t it foolish to believe in the story of Noah and the flood when modern geologist have explained the earth’s formation?
We often have to take the word of scientist, because we have no way to prove them right or wrong. Fortunately, when we talk about the flood, there are ways we can see evidence for ourselves.
Evidence #1—Use your mind’s eye, anytime there is a flood, there is major change in the area flooded and the run-off areas. Just imagine what a worldwide flood would do! There would be huge amounts of sediments and there would be huge tidal waves because many underwater volcanoes caused by shifting of rock layers.
Evidence #2—Most of the earth’s land surface is covered by sedimentary (laid down by water) rock, easily recognized by layering, at times thousands of feet deep. The Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas and the Alps are all sedimentary rock which at some time where uplifted. This type of uplifted sedimentary rock is known all over the world; from rolling hills to steep inclines of high mountain ranges.
Evidence #3—incredibly, there is a huge rock formation know as the Niagara escarpment, which begins in our area. The escarpment is a ridge/cliff that runs from just south of Green Bay north-east along the northern shores of Lake Michigan and Huron, then through the Niagara Falls and along the south side of Lake Ontario. This ridge is caused by an uplifting of a huge area of sediment rock upon which much of the Mid-West rests. This massive ‘table top’ of rock can be seen at:
Harrington Beach, in the old stone quarry,
The east side of Lake Winnebago as it protrudes near the surface as a high bluff,
SW of Madison along Highway 151,
South of Chicago (the quarry), and in many places in Ohio.This Niagara escarpment was uplifted and broken to form the Niagara Fall. This rock formation continues into the New England states.
Evidence #4—Many places around the world give us a clear view of more sediment rock. Just two should be evidence enough. The White Cliffs of Dover are part of a rock formation that runs under much of Europe and into Russia. Second, the Grand Canyon is cuts through rock formations that underlay many states. Just looking at the Grand Canyon walls shows some layers very level, some uplifted and broken off and many others curved or bent without being broken (indicating they were not solid when they were ‘bent’). Both the uplifted and bent formations could not have been formed over millions of year as they would have been brittle.
Evidence #5—Fossils. Sediment rock is fossils are mostly marine life, often far from the ocean and high on mountains. Fossils of mammals are really not very common. Where they are found, they are found in large numbers; indicating that they had gathered on high ground or were floating on the surface and the water movements pushed them together. This would explain why most large fossils are found in upper sedimentary levels.
Evidence #6—It has been assumed that millions of years were needed to form sedimentary rock, layer by layer. However, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 showed that layers of sediment rock can be formed VERY quickly: one day, not millions of years!
There are some popular misconceptions about the flood of Noah’s day. One is that there is not enough water to fully cover the earth. This is not true, because if the land were a perfectly smooth ball the water would be over a mile deep covering the whole earth. Another misconception is that the land masses today are pretty much the way they have been for eons. However, the Bible in 2 Peter 6:3 says “By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.” We can only speculate what the world was like before the flood of Noah’s time.
When we see mountains and rock formations they should remind us of two things. One is that the Bible tells that God created the earth and everything in it in a very short time. Another thing to remember is that much of the rock uplifting and mountain ranges were caused because God punished sin by sending a worldwide flood.
2 Peter 3:10 says, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed with fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” God does take sin very seriously. In fact, God will be very fair as all sin will be punished. Noah needed the ark to protect him from God’s judgment. For us, the unlimited power of Jesus Christ is available to protect us. Trust in Him to take the punishment of your sin.
For more information on the scripture verses listed above use this link http://www.biblegateway.com