GOD AND SCIENCE A STUDY OF THE COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE 1

OUTLINE What is science? Is science fallible? Where do science and Christianity appear to conflict? The Geological and Fossil Record What’s the real problem? How do we deal with non-believers who quote science as fact? 2

FOSSILS – EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION? “Why then is not every geological formation and every strata full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely-graduated organic chain; and this perhaps, is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against my theory.”Geology - Charles Darwin - Darwin believed that future geological exploration would eventually find transitional fossils to provide credence to his theory. Case for a Creator Video 3

CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION Prior to 540 mya, only very simple organisms exist Over the next million years, 50-80% of animal phyla appear Too sudden to account for this much change 4

CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION 146 of 182 possible skeletal designs appear suddenly Evidence for modern brains, eyes, digestive tracts And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” Genesis 1:20 5

FOSSIL RECORD – TRANSITIONAL FORMS? Two definitions used by scientists 1.Intermediate between forms 2. Intermediate between two time periods 6

TRANSITIONS OVER TIME - OUT OF SEQUENCE Expected A – B – C – D – E – F Discovered A – B – D – F – C 7

WHALE EVOLUTION Co-Occurrence of species Rapid transition less than 10 million years And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move on the ground, and wild animal, each according to its kind.” Genesis 1:24 8

FLOOD GEOLOGY Classic text “The Genesis Flood” by Dr. John Whitcomb states: “Apart from the specific miracles mentioned in Scripture, which necessary to begin and to terminate this period of global judgement, the Flood accomplished its work of destruction by purely natural processes …” From Creation and Evolution by Alan Hayward 9 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Genesis 7:4

THE DIFFICULTIES WITH FLOOD GEOLOGY Large deposits of boulder-laden conglomerate lie on top of fine-grained sedimentary rock Volume of sedimentary rock Strata in the sedimentary rock 10 From Creation and Evolution by Alan Hayward

THE DIFFICULTIES WITH FLOOD GEOLOGY CONT… Too many fossils Coal seams Yellowstone fossil forests 11 From Creation and Evolution by Alan Hayward

EXAMPLE: TOO MANY FOSSILS Remains of 800 billion vertebrates in the Karro Beds in Africa This would mean 2100 animals per acre with the average size of a fox 12 From Creation and Evolution by Alan Hayward

EXAMPLE: TOO MANY FOSSILS If all these animals died due to the flood that means each one would have had to eat produce from the size of a small rug If they had existed over millions of years, then these numbers make sense 13 From Creation and Evolution by Alan Hayward

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: YELLOWSTONE FOSSIL FORESTS Petrified forest with as many as 44 successive layers Volcanoes covered and partially buried trees New forest grew in the resulting soil over time Repeat The flood geology theory requires a much more complicated process of at least five steps requiring all 44 layers to occur within a year 14

NEXT WEEK Evolution – Part 2 15