Biblical Geology 101

And why this is an essential new book from CMI

First appeared in the April 2022 Prayer News

By Gary Bates

Two major stumbling blocks for Christians in the churches we visit are the issues of ‘millions of years’ (MOYs) and the age of the earth. The reason is glaringly obvious (to us), but most pastors, leaders, and parents don’t necessarily understand why.

• It’s what practically everyone has been taught

It is not an overstatement to say that most of us have been educated in the public realm, where evolution and its corollary of MOYs years is taught to the exclusion of any other view. Even if homeschooled, we are still exposed to this view in documentaries, films, and media in general. So, it cannot be a side issue if everyone has been taught it!

• It’s presented as a scientific fact

There is an important difference between testable, repeatable, operational science and non-testable, non-repeatable, historical science. Yet, when it comes to the creation vs evolution debate, many people wrongly believe that concepts like the age of rocks and fossils can be scientifically proven.

When we are unable to find clear, straightforward answers, most (yes, most) tend to gravitate towards a hybrid or compromise view such as ‘day age theory’, ‘gap theory’ or progressive creation where MOYs are added to Scripture, albeit incorrectly. But inserting MOYs into Scripture compromises our ultimate source of authority (the Bible) and defers to secular science, resulting in the idea that Genesis does not mean what it clearly says. And all these views put death and disease before the Fall, which undermines the reason for Jesus’ death and resurrection.

It’s a major factor that leads to apostasy

In 2016 I took a film crew onto university campuses in the US to ask students, specifically those who said they’d been raised in Christian homes, whether creation or evolution was true. Out of the hundreds of students surveyed, only five said they still believed in biblical creation. These five explained they all had received some basic teaching in biblical creation. This means that the overwhelming majority had accepted evolution as true, and no surprise, all of them (except for one lone man) had abandoned the faith and no longer attended church. When I asked this apostatized group ‘Is there any scientific evidence that makes you believe that evolution is true?’, the overwhelming majority answered, “The rocks and fossils.” (See CREATION.com/Fallout for more)

Secular geology is the major culprit for millions of years!

The whole concept of ‘deep time’ is rooted in the belief that most of the world’s geological features have been laid down slowly and gradually over eons of time. But in most of these rock layers we find billions of fossils which secularists say are a record of the evolution of biological organisms (i.e. most living things). So, once students believe the rock layers are evidence of MOYs, it is inevitable that they will accept the long ages applied to the fossils in those same rock layers.

Accepting the world’s interpretation of geology is the slippery slope to unbelief

Sadly, this is our experience, without question, from over 40 years in ministry. Yet most of this geology can be easily explained as due to biblical history and Noah’s Flood. Most never get to hear this simple explanation and the evidence behind it.

If there are no millions of years, then there is no time for evolution to happen!

This is why geology is such a crucial issue in the creation/evolution debate. And, if we know we are going to be exposed to the MOYs, surely, we should prepare ourselves. To help, we have launched a brilliant new book authored by CMI’s Dr Robert Carter and creationist researcher Mike Oard. Biblical Geology 101 covers such topic as:

• Historical vs. Operational science
• The Christian roots of science
• The Enlightenment and the rise of uniformitarianism
• How the Flood explains mass geological features
• Definitions of various rock and mineral types
• Plate tectonics
• The BEDS model and dinosaur tracks
• Dinosaur soft tissue preservation
• Transitional fossils (whales, birds)
• Evidence for a young Earth
• Radiometric dating explanations
• How the Flood explains the Ice Age
• And much, much more

This is not just a simple rehashing of boilerplate creationist arguments from decades ago, but a fresh, new approach that brings in the latest creationist thinking.

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