Microscopic Evidence of our Big God

“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…”

– Romans 1:20

We often look for the evidence of God’s existence in big things. We seek God’s presence by looking at the stars and the sky or by appreciating the vastness of the ocean. However, we tend to ignore the evidence of God’s presence in the small things around and within us. Did God, who is infinitely bigger than the entire universe, really leave His mark in the small things?

Seeing God’s Handiwork Under the Microscope

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who is also known as the ‘Father of Microbiology’, has always been amazed at how God’s perfection is manifested even in microscopic creatures. He believed that God is responsible for creating everything, including the microscopic creatures that he is so fond of. He wrote the following in one of his letters:

“From all these observations, we discern most plainly the incomprehensible perfection, the exact order, and the inscrutable providential care with which the Most Wise Creator and Lord of the Universe had formed the bodies of these animalcules, which are so minute as to escape our sight, to the end that different species of them may be preserved in existence. And this most wonderful disposition of nature with regard to these animalcules for the preservation of their species; which at the same time strikes us with astonishment, must surely convince all of the absurdity of those old opinions, that living creatures can be produced from corruption of putrefaction.“

– Measuring the Invisible World: The Life and Works of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek by A. Schierbeek

DNA and Single-Celled Organisms

If we are smaller than a speck of dust compared to the vast planets and multiple solar systems in the entire universe, just imagine how small a single-celled bacterium would be in the overall scheme of things. Yet God, in all His perfection and meticulous attention to detail, still took the time to embed a complex DNA structure even in these single-celled organisms. They may be invisible to the naked eye but they are a crucial part of God’s masterpiece and such complex structures cannot be a product of chance or random splicing of amino acids.

God Left Clues for Us to Discover

Genesis states that in all the six days of creation, God saw that everything He made was ‘good’. God is so satisfied with His creation that He left clues in order for us to see His workmanship.

Before the microscope was invented, we had no idea that God made each cell in our body in a very complex manner, or that its processes can be compared to that of a highly advanced city. As science and technology advances, God’s hand in the creation process is slowly unfolding right before our eyes.

Psalm states that

“…the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (126:3)

However, let us not limit ourselves to glorifying God in the great things alone. We should be joyful for everything that God has created, even the smallest creations. By celebrating Creation Day, and signing the petition to establish Creation Day as an official holiday, we can glorify God by showing our appreciation and concern for all the things that He has done.

Creation vs Evolution: The Basics

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be aware of the ever growing divide between the world of science, and faith – particularly in relation to the creation versus evolution debate.

Mainstream science believes that the earth is billions of years old and has come into existence through the process of evolution, popularised by Charles Darwin. Evolution also maintains that humans have evolved from single-cell organisms to their present state: homo sapiens.

Christianity adheres to the Biblical account of creation, described in Genesis. This view maintains that the universe was created in a seven day time period and a literal reading indicates that the earth may only be 6,000 to 10,000 years old. Genesis also describes humans as having been divinely created in the image of God himself.

It is at the cross section of these two views that we, as 21^st century people, find ourselves. The media has done a fantastic job of branding these two views as polar opposites, placing Christianity and science as two teams fighting within a cultural war. Recent studies indicate that most people now believe that their position on our origins is an ‘all-or-nothing’ issue. They must choose a side: Christian and creation, or non-Christian and evolution.

If this is the case, then how do we know which side we should be on? With children now being taught evolution in schools and being raised in a culture where we are encouraged to choose a side, we need to have a good understanding of this faith issue.

History of Evolution

The creation versus evolution debate is relatively recent, having began during the late 18^th century in Europe and North America. When new interpretations of geological evidence began to emerge, questions were raised about the age of the earth. This drove some early ideas about evolution, including Lamarckism, which describes the idea that a cell can pass on characteristics to its offspring. By the mid-19^th century, books were being written such as Robert Chambers’ “Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation” which began popularising the idea of the transmutation of species. This idea paved the way for Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

While on a voyage studying the wildlife, Charles Darwin observed the variation in the appearance of individual animals. This, he concluded, meant that with enough time, these variations in their physical appearance would look significantly different. The publication of his work “On the Origin of Species” in 1859 further popularised the theory of evolution and allowed the theory to become an entire field of study.

History of Creationism

By the early 19^th century, debate had begun to develop regarding the Bible and how this should be read and interpreted. Some theologians were arguing that a less literal approach should be taken, with the focus shifting to the theological concerns presented within the Biblical accounts. With the advent of new thinking on the age of the earth, religious thinkers sought to reconcile the two ways of thinking by developing ideas such as ‘gap-creationism’.

While most 19^th century scientists came to accept the theory of evolution, theologians were accepting it also, understanding it as a vehicle God had used to bring about the earth. In the 20^th century, several factors including the rise of Biblical literalism, Christian fundamentalism and the scepticism of the post-modern era led to a backlash against evolutionary ideas – parents soon began to voice concern over evolutionary teaching in schools and clergy became concerned that belief in evolution would invalidate the creation story described in the Bible.

Then 1960s saw the first major modern creationist book go to print. “The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications” argued for a literal reading of creation week and suggested that humanity must have co-existed with dinosaurs. These views rose in popularity, particularly in Britain and were soon the foundation for the establishment of the Institute for Creation Research which aimed to promote creationism throughout the world.

The belief held within the scientific community that evolution explains the origins of life continues to be challenged by creationists today.

The Debate

Alongside the rise of the theory of evolution on the world stage in the 19^th century, was support, particularly from Christianity. The reverend Charles Kingsley of the Church of England, openly supported the theory of evolution and saw God as having worked through evolution in order to bring about the earth. Prominent botanist Asa Gray also produced an influential book explaining that religion and science were not mutually exclusive, and set forward his support for Darwin’s work. As the theory found more global support, the Catholic Church became accepting of Darwin’s ideas and more recently Pope Francis has even stated that both evolution and creation may be two halves of the same equation.

Though on some occasions faith and science have been able to see eye-to-eye, there are many points on which they have not. Creationists often feel that scientific theories are inadequate due to the processes and biases involved in developing them, while science claims that creationism is a pseudo-science, based on faith and lacking in solid evidence.

Biology often comes under significant scrutiny within the controversy between creationism and science. Within biology, human evolution is by far the most hotly debated topic as it is perceived to threaten the accounts of human creation found in the Biblical texts. Scientists argue that fossil records and DNA comparisons demonstrate the evolutionary process that the human race has undergone, having evolved from primates to humans. Creationists reject this idea, and argue that the theory of human evolution is largely based on assumptions. While science argues that all organisms (including humans) have common descent, Christianity proposes that God created different kinds (humans and different kinds of animals) at the same time, so not every organism can have a common ancestor.

Two other areas of frequent dispute are macroevolution and transitional fossils. Creationists readily accept microevolution (the idea that small evolutionary processes take place within kinds – dog breeds for instance) but reject the scientific idea of macroevolution which argues that evolution also happens on a grand scale. Creationists also reject the existence of transitional fossils, which scientists use as evidence in the case for evolution.

Geology is another prominent area of debate within the creation versus evolution debate. Creationism maintains the position that based on the Biblical chronologies, the world cannot be older than around 6,000 years, when God created it. Science claims that the age of the earth is closer to around 4.5 billion years – a point which is rejected by creationists on the grounds that the methodology used to come to these conclusions is flawed. Creationists argue that scientific processes such as radiometric dating are unreliable, and thus cannot be used to make conclusions about the age of the earth.

How Should We Handle This?

While Christianity and creationism have often been diametrically opposed to scientific claims about the origins of the earth and humanity, we must also recognize that the world of faith and science approach these ideas with very different ways of thinking, asking fundamentally different questions about our reality. We must allow space for both science and faith to take place within us, and not continue to reinforce the dichotomy that exists between the two.

Although some Christian leaders have come forward and posited views which either accept or reject claims from the scientific community, as Christians we must have an awareness that everything depends on our creative God – and our finite, human understandings may never be able to fully grasp how he went about his creative activity.

We must also acknowledge that while the accounts of Genesis describe the origins of our earth and of human life, it also contains writing that is beautiful, poetical and ultimately theological. While these texts may contain clues about the science behind God’s creative action, they are not designed to be a scientific manual. They are designed to provide us with a theological guide to understanding our creative God.

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Is The Bible True? 8 Compelling Pieces of Evidence

The Bible

In order to understand the Bible and whether or not we can regard it as reliable, we must first understand something about the nature of the Bible. The Bible is not a book, so much as a collection of many books. The collection was authored by a number of different writers and editors over a period of over 1000 years before it was compiled into the single book that we now know as ‘the Bible’.

Though God did not physically write the Bible, Christians believe that the Bible is God’s word – inspired by God, written through everyday people to record the events of the Old and New Testament and to reveal himself to humanity.

The Bible is controversial today for several reasons. Firstly, it is filled with miraculous events which modern people find hard to accept as true events. Events such as the parting of the Red Sea, the splitting of the rock and Jesus walking on water are difficult for people to swallow, particularly in an age where anything that appears to supersede the natural world is dismissed or rejected. Secondly, the Bible makes very bold, existential claims about the world. It claims that God exists, that he reveals himself through his creation and through his son Jesus who is the saviour of the world and all of humanity. These things have often led people to doubt the authenticity, and relevance of the Bible in the 21^st century.

One of the issues that sceptics have is that Christians often quote the Bible, in trying to build their case for the Bible’s validity. This can be problematic because those who question the Bible do not view it as reliable, and thus, an appropriate source. A better approach is to present sceptics with mixed evidence, both from within, and outside of the Bible. This will exhibit the Bible for what it is – a reliable, accurate record which has been transmitted down through history and shaped into a canon that reveals God to the world.

The following is a list of eight compelling cases for the accuracy and reliability of the Bible.

Manuscript Evidence

“There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”

– F. F. Bruce

Compared to other manuscripts and pieces of ancient literature, the amount of Biblical manuscripts in existence is phenomenal. The number of ancient Biblical manuscripts in existence far exceeds that of classics such as Plato, Socrates or Aristotle, and the accuracy of the transmission between manuscripts serves to prove just how extraordinary this piece of literature is.

The most famous Old Testament example of manuscript evidence is that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in the caves of Qumran, Palestine in the 1940s. At the time of their discovery, there had been 2,000 years since the last penned pieces of the Old Testament and the finding of the manuscripts, yet, the match between the Hebrew Bible that we use today and the ones found in the caves is uncanny.

When it comes to the New Testament, more than 20,000 manuscripts are in existence, making the New Testament the most reliable document in antiquity. The second most available text from antiquity is Homer’s Illiad, of which just over 600 copies exist.

Sceptics will often claim that the Bible has been changed throughout history, and lacks the original, intended message of the authors but the physical evidence against this notion, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, is quite compelling. While the manuscripts do contain minor variants, they do not impact on the substance or the significance of key Old or New Testament beliefs and claims. It is also clear from the sheer number of manuscript copies that closely match the Bible in its current form, that the Bible has been preserved without any additions or major alterations.

The manuscript evidence reinforces the fact that the Bible has indeed, stood the test of time.

Archaeological Evidence

Time after time, modern archaeological discoveries have confirmed the historical and cultural accuracy of the Bible and its records.

Over 25,000 Biblically relevant archaeological sites have now been excavated, all of which have served as an amazing testimony to the legitimacy of the Biblical record. The historical reality of civilisation such as the Hittites, the Edomites and the Horites have all been confirmed through archaeological findings, as have many kings and kingdoms mentioned within the Old Testament. The Hittites, referenced throughout the Old Testament as a group of people living within the Canaanites, were thought to be nothing more than a Biblical legend, until their royal archives were unearthed in Turkey in 1906. Sceptics also believed that Solomon’s tremendous wealth, as described in 1 Kings was thought to be exaggerated, and embellished for literary reasons, but recovered records show that wealth in antiquity peaked around the time of Solomon.

No other piece of ancient literature has been as confirmed by archaeological studies as much as the Bible, and discoveries of this nature continue to demonstrate the credibility of the Bible.

Eyewitness Accounts

What makes the Bible unique from other ancient texts is also the nature of its authors – many of whom were eyewitnesses to the events described. We know from the New Testament and other historical writings that Christians were strongly victimised and oppressed for their beliefs, particularly by the Roman government. Some of the Biblical eyewitnesses went on to be persecuted and even executed for their commitment to the Christian message, begging the question….would a person die to protect texts that were not true? John Calvin wrote that:

“It is no moderate approbation of Scripture that it has been sealed by the blood of so many witnesses, especially when we reflect that they died to render testimony to the faith …with a firm and constant, yet sober, zeal toward God.”

All of the New Testament writers lived in the same generation of Jesus, and three of the writers were likely His apostles – Matthew, John and Peter. A strong case can also be made that these writers wrote the books that make up the New Testament prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. One portion of The Gospel of Matthew is dated to around 50 AD – 17 years after Christ’s crucifixion. This small interval between the actual events and the written accounts of them make the content within them more likely to be reliable than if there was a large interval between the two. The first account of the Buddha’s life did not get penned till 700 years after his death! The fact that these manuscripts, read by those living only 17 years after Jesus ministry do not differ from the Biblical material that we have today – 2,000 years later, reinforces the reliability of the Biblical texts.

It is also, certainly worth noting that the New Testament circulated during the lifetime of thousands of people who were alive at the time of Jesus’ ministry. If a book began circulating today that claimed that a man was the Son of God, and went onto describe a serious of miraculous events that took place – when in fact they didn’t – people would soon refute the book and correct the story. Interestingly, nobody in the generation in which the New Testament was circulating ever claimed the texts to be anything other than truth, indicating that they probably were.

Extra-Biblical Evidence

Sources outside of the Bible also confirm the events which are described in the Bible. Prominent Jewish historian Josephus confirmed the life of Jesus as well as the events surrounding his crucifixion under the Roman government and Roman historian P. Cornelius Tacitus, also referred to Jesus in his writings. The fact that the Bible finds support among secular historians such as Cornelius lends further backing to the idea that the Bible is an authentic, valid piece of literature and thus, should be treated as such.

Consistency

Though the Bible is made up of 66 books written over a long span of time, it consists of just one Metanarrative: one overarching story of God’s plan for redemption and salvation. While some modern books are compiled by multiple authors and editors, they do not achieve one single, unifying theme like the Bible does – this can only be accomplished when the book is underwritten by a single divine author.

The internal consistency and coherence that exists with the Bible is unique in that it represents a single theology, revealed and described through the framework of human history.

Jesus

One of the most compelling arguments for the truth and validity of the Bible, is that of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is evidence for the Bible’s validity, for two distinct reasons:

Firstly, the four Gospels in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – all present an accurate, coherent record of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and in all four of the gospels, Jesus can be seen as regarding the Old Testament as holy and authoritative. For this reason, Jesus himself forms the sixth piece of compelling evidence that the Bible is true. Jesus said that “Scripture cannot be broken” and used it as a source of authority in his teachings. Jesus also confirmed historical characters from the Old Testament, including Jonah, Noah and Adam and Eve.

All of this amounts to one point: If we take the New Testament to be proof of Jesus and accept that He was God’s son, that he lived, was crucified and rose again on the third day, then we must accept the Old Testament – because Jesus did.

Secondly, Jesus very existence proclaims the reliability of the Bible. Of all the prophecies which are contained in the Old Testament, over 300 point to the ‘anointed one’. In light of what we know about Jesus birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, we can include the reality of Jesus as evidence for the Old Testament. These 300 + prophecies were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, yet, in being born, he fulfilled them all.

Scientific Consistence

Much of the Biblical material is consistent with modern scientific discoveries, despite being written long before our modern understanding of the world.

Here are some examples:

The Bible refers to the immeasurable number of stars in the heavens (Genesis 22:17, Jeremiah 33:22). We know that scientists today do not know the amount of stars in the sky, as only around 3,000 are visible to the naked eye.
Job described the earth’s suspension in space (26:7)
Psalms describes the hydrologic cycle of the earth and evaporation (135:7), as does Jeremiah (10:13) and Job (36:27-29)
Hebrews 11:3 describes invisible atoms, stating that “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Modern medicine now knows that blood clotting in newborn babies reaches a climax on the eight day after they are born, before tapering off again. The Bible consistently instructs parents to circumcise their babies on the eight day after birth.

Endurance and Influence

Lastly, the most compelling piece of evidence that the Bible is true is the longevity of the book, and the impact that it has had on the world since its inception. For thousands of years, scholars, clergy and laymen have come to the Bible of their own accord – freely and without coercion. The Bible has influenced the legal system, ethics, art, music, literature, the calendar, money and marriage.

No other book in has ever had the impact on world history that the Bible has prompted.

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Scientific Evidence for the Parting of the Red Sea

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

The story of the parting of the red sea, as described in the Hebrew Bible’s book of Exodus, has long been understood by Christian believers as a miracle – an act of God intended to deliver Israel out of Egypt. It is an archetypal event in the wider story of the Exodus, which saw the Israelites delivered from Egyptian slavery, and their entrance into the Promised Land by God, through the leadership of Moses.

However, more recent theories have begun to emerge that suggest that not only was this an act of divine providence; it also may have been due to a weather event, and artefacts may still remain which reinforce the biblical account. Some of these theories have even been put forward by scientists who believe they can place this historical event within the Biblical chronology, using scientific methods and theories.

The Red Sea

The Red Sea is a large body of water that has a surface area of approximately 169,000 miles and is over 7000 feet deep. Because of its notable mention in Exodus, the sea has come to be associated with the Bible, and with the iconic Israelites’ crossing. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), the sea is referred to as ‘Red Sea’, but in the original Hebrew, the sea is referred to as ‘Yam Suph’, which can also been translated as ‘Sea of Reeds’. ‘Yam Suph’ occurs over twenty times in the Old Testament and has been traditionally understood to refer to the Red Sea. More recently, scholars have proposed that ‘Yam Suph’, may actually refer to ‘Sea of Reeds’ which is normally associated with the Nile and the story of Moses as an infant.

A physicist at Cambridge University in England travelled to the Red Sea in order to settle the matter, and found reeds growing there due to the supply of freshwater from the mountains flowing into the sea. He concluded, that for this reason, it would not be unwise to assume that “Sea of Reeds” refers to the Red Sea, and that the two names are in fact referring to the one, same body of water.

The appropriate translation for this body of water which is crossed in The Exodus is a matter of much dispute, but what is clear, is that it was a significant body of water, and one that could not be crossed without a significant event which would expose the sea floor, and allow the Israelites to walk through it.

Scientific Explanations

Wind

In 2010, American science student Carl Drew conducted research for his master’s thesis at the University of Colorado, which established the plausibility of the red sea parting, from a scientific perspective. Drew’s paper served to demonstrate that a weather event, if strong enough, could move water the volume of the red sea, causing a tunnelling effect that would allow for the human crossing described in The Exodus.

In his book Between Migdol and the Sea: Crossing the Red Sea with Faith and Science, Drews puts science behind the events of The Exodus and backs his research up with computer modelling and weather and wind simulations, showing how an atmospheric event big enough, could actually cause the parting of such a significant body of water. Drews even points out other times that this has occurred, such as in the Nile Delta just over 100 years ago. Drews concludes that according to his own model, Moses and the Israelites would have had four hours to cross the 4 kilometre stretch – ample time for them to get across. More recently, two researchers at the St. Petersburg’s Institute of Oceanography found similar results; the pair analysed the Red Sea crossing and calculated that a wind blowing at 67 miles per hour could have exposed the seabed, if it maintained the speed overnight.

Egyptian Remains

A startling piece of evidence that has rose to prominence, particularly on the internet, has been the discovery of what is believed to be the remains of chariot wheels on the floor of the Red Sea. According to proponents of the discovery, these findings confirm the Biblical account of Pharaoh’s army being drowned after they pursued the Israelites into the sea.

Archaeologist Ron Wyatt first discovered the site when he found a large column in the Gulf of Aqaba that appeared to be an ancient artefact, and drew his attention to the area. Wyatt quickly organised a dive, and went onto find what appeared to be the remains of chariot wheels, covered in coral, at the bottom of the sea. Some of the wheels were single wheels which had come to rest in the sea, while others were part of a set of two, still attached to their axes. One of these wheels was later confirmed as having been of the 18^th dynasty of Ancient Egypt by Egyptian authorities in Cairo. The 18^th dynasty was the first time chariots were used, and at this time they were reserved solely for the army. This places the artefacts at the same time as the Biblical account, since we know from Exodus 14 that the Egyptian army was washed away in the Red Sea;

“The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived”

As well as the chariot remains, human bones were found which were authenticated at Stockholm University, as well as bones identified as originating from horses.

The Significance of the Scientific Evidence

Although there are scientific explanations to back up the parting of the Red Sea, the Hebrew’s crossing of it, as well as evidence to suggest that the Egyptians were obliterated, as Exodus describes, the accounts in Exodus are primarily theological texts, and should be treated as such. Traditionally, the accounts of the Exodus have been considered to reflect a historical reality, but recently it has come to be understood differently, and scholars have come to believe that the story may have been artificially constructed in order to cater for the specific theological concerns of the authors.

This does not beg the conclusion that the accounts do not, in fact, reflect a historical reality, but rather, that they are not primarily to offer historical facts – the description of the Exodus exists to reveal something about the nature of God, and his relationship with Israel, first and foremost.

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Scientific Evidence for the Great Flood

“The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep…

…He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth.

Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.”

A Great Flood

The account of Genesis tell of a monumental flood that describes the earth being plundered by the ‘fountains of the great deep’ when God let loose on his creation. We can only imagine the catastrophic destruction that took place. Modern floods – though devastating to both life and land – pale in comparison to the cosmic demolition that this flood brought about.

Flood Geology is a branch of ‘pseudoscience’ that deals with analysing features of the Earth which have been shaped by the Genesis flood. The scientific community considers flood geology to be ‘myth’ and ‘falsifiable’ because it is seen to contradict mainstream science.

However, mainstream science has provided evidence which reinforces the idea of a global flood, such as is described in the Old Testament.

Evidence For The Flood

-Flood Stories-

The story of Noah’s Ark and the great flood is so famous that even young school aged children are familiar with Noah and his ‘Arky Arky’.

What children and some adults aren’t aware of, is that ancient flood legends exist in every corner of the earth. Many of these stories contain elements that are common to all of them:

the construction of a boat in advance
one family that is spared
some amount of animals that are kept out of danger
a rainbow
the release of birdlife to determine if the water has subsided and the destruction of humanity

These are all examples of common themes that appear. When a famous Babylonian text – The Epic of Gilgamesh – is compared to the story in Genesis 6-9, the similarities in the two flood stories are remarkable.

The overwhelming consistency amongst these traditions indicates that they have derived from the same origin. In other words, after one global flood, an oral tradition developed which was passed down through a kind of ‘Chinese whispers’. These stories were eventually written down in different parts of the world, by people living within different cultures. What is left is a mosaic of stories which have different features and nuances, but which ultimately reflect the one event.

Since we know that shortly after the flood was the scattering of languages at Babel, it seems likely that this played a part in the way the story was orally developed and altered as it was passed down through generations.

-The Black Sea-

The Black Sea, located in South-eastern Europe is famous for its concentrated salt level, but scientists are now claiming that it was once a freshwater lake before an enormous flood deluged it.

The most recent proponent of this theory is Robert Ballard – an underwater archaeologist who rose to fame after discovering the underwater wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. Ballard acted from a hunch that The Black Sea must have preserved items from antiquity because of its concentrated salt intensities and lower oxygen levels. When Ballard and his team unearthed an ancient shore line, this was an indication that a catastrophic event took place in the Black Sea.

The volume of water that caused the flood into The Black Sea is said to have been 200 times more than that of Niagara Falls. This caused the original shoreline to plunge underneath hundreds of feet of salt water. This theory is reinforced by the fact that there are layers of freshwater molluscs below the surface of the Black Sea. By carbon dating these shells, Ballard believes the timeline for the flood to have taken place around 5,000 BCE. Further to his findings, is the discovery of a vessel, and one of its crew members in The Black Sea. The ancient shipwreck is said to be perfectly preserved, along with the bones and teeth of the seaman.

-Fossils-

Rock layers all over the world are filled with fossilised marine animals, insects, spiders, amphibians and plants that are buried in places miles above sea level – including the walls of the Grand Canyon and high in the world’s tallest mountain range – the Himalayas.

The presence of these fossils are silent testimonies to the waters that flooded over every continent before being buried in massive flows of sediment as a result of powerful flooding.

Rock layers across every continent also show features that indicate they were deposited very quickly. Some strata within the Grand Canyon show clear signs that sand was deposited by huge water currents in a matter of days. In order for these layers to be deposited so extensively implies a global flooding of the continents.

Of these layers, there are large amounts which show evidence indicating that the rock layers were still wet when deposited. Rocks do not bend; they shatter and break because they are hard. Yet, in whole sequences of rock strata, we find bends without any fractures indicating that the rocks folded and rippled as if they were wet and pliable before setting as hard rock. This is best demonstrated by the Tapeats Sandstone in Grand Canyon which is folded at a right angle without any evidence of breaking.

The only explanation for this is that the layers were laid in rapid succession and buckled while still soft.

What Does This All Mean?

The Bible speaks of the events of Genesis 6-9 as real, authentic events that took place under the divine providence of God, describing a global flood that destroyed all human and animal life, except for that aboard the ark.

If the Bible is the infallible word of God, then it’s not surprising that geological evidence all over the world confirms exactly what we are told happened in the days of Noah. The physical features of the earth and its geological structure clearly indicate an event that was catastrophic, and global in nature. The evidence is undeniable.

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Last week we looked at how dinosaurs fit in with the biblical account, and offered one possible reason for their extinction: the global flood described in Genesis 6-9.

To check out the last article go here.