[   0 →    7]  Welcome to Episode 9 of Foundations Restored, a Catholic Perspective on Origins.
[   7 →   10]  I'm your host, Keith Jones.
[  10 →   16]  In this episode we will explain that just as the rationalistic assumption of uniformitarianism
[  16 →   24]  has driven false claims in biology and cosmology, so too has it produced false geological claims.
[  24 →   30]  You will see clear evidence that the fossil record is completely inconsistent with Darwinism.
[  30 →   35]  While strong evidence suggests that the geologic column was laid down very quickly and as the
[  35 →   38]  result of a global flood.
[  60 →   67]  In this episode we will explain that the geological column was laid down very quickly and as the
[  67 →   70]  result of a global flood.
[  70 →   77]  While strong evidence suggests that the geological column was laid down very quickly and as the
[  77 →   80]  result of a global flood.
[  80 →   87]  While strong evidence suggests that the geological column was laid down very quickly and as the
[  87 →  105]  result of a global flood.
[ 105 →  109]  There are two basic views of the geologic record.
[ 109 →  115]  The first view is that the sedimentary rocks found around the world were, by and large, formed
[ 115 →  122]  rapidly and as a direct result of a worldwide flood in relatively recent times.
[ 122 →  128]  The geologic column and fossils are viewed as a testimony to this unique event.
[ 128 →  134]  The second view is that the geologic record was formed gradually, over hundreds of millions of
[ 134 →  141]  years through natural processes now observed and in presently observed intensities.
[ 141 →  147]  This involves the assumption of uniformitarianism that originated with Descartes and was set forth
[ 147 →  151]  in the field of geology by Charles Lyell and James Hutton.
[ 151 →  157]  When combining this view with Darwinism, it is predicted that the fossil record will generally
[ 157 →  165]  reveal gradual evolution from the first simple organisms to the more complex and that diversity
[ 165 →  171]  will greatly increase over time, a so-called Darwinian tree of life.
[ 171 →  175]  So which view does the geologic record best support?
[ 175 →  182]  We will answer this question in three segments, the first of which involves a discussion of the fossil record.
[ 196 →  205]  The very name, fossil record, suggests that the fossils buried in Earth's strata record snapshots of geologic history.
[ 205 →  211]  At the time that Charles Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species, he admitted that the fossil record
[ 211 →  216]  displayed a troubling lack of transitional species required by his theory.
[ 216 →  222]  Darwin attributed the lack of transitional fossils to an incomplete fossil record.
[ 222 →  228]  He expected future discoveries to reveal innumerable transitional forms and the gradual branching
[ 228 →  234]  of a single species into varieties and eventually into new species over time.
[ 234 →  240]  In other words, he expected the fossil record would reveal a mini-branched tree of life,
[ 240 →  245]  the base of which represented some simple life form that, over great periods of time,
[ 245 →  249]  eventually led to the diversity of life seen today.
[ 249 →  255]  But as the fossil record has been filled in, it has become very clear that it does not match
[ 255 →  260]  the mythical Darwinian tree of life presented in biology textbooks.
[ 260 →  266]  Instead, the fossil record reveals a nearly simultaneous emergence of an entire forest
[ 266 →  273]  in which diverse and well-developed phyla, a classification of organisms above the class level,
[ 273 →  277]  appear abruptly in what is called the Cambrian Explosion,
[ 277 →  283]  which is commonly dated to approximately 550 million years ago by evolutionists.
[ 283 →  289]  Before this so-called explosion, little fossil evidence of any type is to be found
[ 289 →  294]  and consists mostly of single-celled organisms, worms, simple jellyfish,
[ 294 →  298]  and traced fossils near the Cambrian-Precambrian boundary.
[ 298 →  304]  The phyla in the Cambrian Explosion are more numerous than the phyla that exist today
[ 304 →  307]  and they have no apparent ancestors.
[ 307 →  312]  This pattern is completely inconsistent with Darwinian predictions.
[ 312 →  316]  Moreover, the Cambrian phyla are also in a highly advanced state.
[ 316 →  322]  They are not intermediate fossils, and the fossils show remarkable stability over time.
[ 322 →  328]  The sudden emergence of phyla in advanced forms is acknowledged in the scientific literature
[ 328 →  332]  even though it creates severe problems for the Darwinian view,
[ 332 →  336]  as Geoffrey Leventon writes in Scientific American.
[ 336 →  339]  The body plans that evolved in the Cambrian, by and large,
[ 339 →  341]  served as the blueprints for those seen today.
[ 341 →  345]  Few new major body plans have appeared since that time.
[ 345 →  348]  All the evolutionary changes since the Cambrian period
[ 348 →  351]  have been mere variations on those basic themes.
[ 351 →  356]  Evolutionary biology's deepest paradox concerns this strange discontinuity.
[ 356 →  361]  Why haven't new animal body plans continued to crawl out of the evolutionary cauldron
[ 361 →  364]  during the past hundreds of millions of years?
[ 364 →  367]  Why are the ancient body plans so stable?
[ 367 →  369]  He is not alone.
[ 369 →  375]  Writing in the periodical Science, leading evolutionist Roger Lewin concluded,
[ 375 →  379]  The Cambrian explosion established virtually all the major animal body forms,
[ 379 →  382]  boplan or phyla, that would exist thereafter,
[ 382 →  387]  including many that were quickly weeded out and became extinct.
[ 387 →  390]  Compared with the 30 or so existing phyla,
[ 390 →  396]  some people estimate that the Cambrian explosion may have generated as many as 100.
[ 396 →  402]  Richard Dawkins, the leading neo-Darwinist of the 20th century, has observed,
[ 402 →  405]  The Cambrian strata of rocks are the oldest ones
[ 405 →  408]  in which we find most of the major invertebrate groups,
[ 408 →  412]  and we find many of them already in an advanced state of evolution
[ 412 →  414]  the very first time they appear.
[ 414 →  419]  It is as though they were just planted there without any evolutionary history.
[ 419 →  425]  In his book Wonderful Life, leading evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould wrote,
[ 425 →  429]  The sweep of anatomical variety reached a maximum
[ 429 →  433]  after the initial diversification of multicellular animals.
[ 433 →  437]  The later history of life proceeded by elimination, not expansion.
[ 437 →  441]  The current Earth may hold more species than ever before,
[ 441 →  445]  but most are iterations upon a few basic anatomical designs.
[ 445 →  448]  Later history is a tale of restriction,
[ 448 →  450]  as most of these early experiments succumb,
[ 450 →  456]  and life settles down to generating endless variants upon a few surviving models.
[ 456 →  461]  Gould also described the fossil record as indicating decimation,
[ 461 →  467]  and suggested it is best represented by the inversion of the traditional Darwinian tree.
[ 467 →  471]  It is very important to note that the failure of the fossil record
[ 471 →  475]  to support Darwinian expectations can no longer be blamed
[ 475 →  479]  on an incomplete fossil record as Darwin once did.
[ 479 →  484]  A detailed assessment of the Precambrian-Cambrian fossil record
[ 484 →  492]  by leading paleontologist J.W.Valentine and others in the periodical Evolutionary Biology explained,
[ 492 →  498]  Over 50 separate localities are now known to record the Precambrian-Cambrian transition,
[ 498 →  502]  and because of this, it is possible that the global rock record
[ 502 →  505]  is complete at 1 million year resolution.
[ 505 →  509]  In other words, the abrupt appearance of diverse life
[ 509 →  512]  from the Precambrian-Cambrian period is genuine.
[ 512 →  516]  No substantial portions of the fossil record remain hidden.
[ 543 →  547]  Evolutionists have long attempted to explain
[ 547 →  551]  how the fossil record might be reconciled with their hypothesis.
[ 551 →  556]  In the early 1970s, a concept called punctuated equilibrium
[ 556 →  561]  was set forth by evolutionists Niles Eldridge and Stephen Jay Gould,
[ 561 →  566]  one of the most influential evolutionary biologists of the 20th century.
[ 566 →  571]  They observed that large populations do not alter in fundamental ways
[ 571 →  574]  during the millions of years they endure.
[ 574 →  580]  Yet, they also speculated there must also be concentrated events of speciation,
[ 580 →  585]  during which evolution occurs quickly in geographically isolated areas
[ 585 →  590]  such that no transitional forms are found in the fossil record.
[ 591 →  594]  In other words, this theory claims that evolution occurred,
[ 594 →  599]  but it occurred very quickly in small isolated areas just off stage,
[ 599 →  604]  just out of sight, such that no evidence for evolution appears in the fossil record.
[ 604 →  607]  Does this sound like a testable hypothesis to you?
[ 610 →  615]  Punctuated equilibrium generated immediate controversy in the scientific community,
[ 615 →  619]  primarily because it seemed to be in direct contradiction
[ 619 →  623]  to Darwin's suggestion that slight beneficial modifications
[ 623 →  628]  accumulating over time are the foundation of the evolutionary process.
[ 628 →  634]  Yet, Gould and Eldridge insisted that the constancy of species found in the fossil record
[ 634 →  637]  is data needing an explanation,
[ 637 →  642]  while the gradualism predicted in Darwinian evolution is not seen.
[ 642 →  645]  They wrote in Paleobiology,
[ 645 →  649]  Gradualism was an a priori assertion from the start.
[ 649 →  651]  It was never seen in the rocks.
[ 651 →  655]  We think that it has now become an empirical fallacy.
[ 656 →  660]  Contrary to Darwinian claims, Gould further argued,
[ 660 →  664]  macroevolution is not simply microevolution extrapolated.
[ 664 →  670]  Major structural transitions can occur rapidly without a smooth series of intermediate stages.
[ 672 →  675]  In setting forth punctuated equilibrium,
[ 675 →  681]  Gould and Eldridge were willing to dismiss the traditional Darwinian view of gradualism
[ 681 →  685]  in an effort to maintain a naturalistic interpretation of the fossil record.
[ 685 →  690]  In the eyes of many evolutionists, however, this approach was heretical,
[ 690 →  696]  for not only were Gould and Eldridge exposing one of the great secrets of paleontology,
[ 696 →  699]  that the fossil record does not support gradualism,
[ 699 →  704]  but they were also calling into question the Darwinian view that microevolution,
[ 704 →  708]  given enough time, would lead to macroevolution.
[ 708 →  713]  Worse yet, to many evolutionists, punctuated equilibrium is not even scientific
[ 713 →  718]  because it is an apology for the absence of transitional forms.
[ 718 →  724]  From an observational standpoint, the fossil record predicted by punctuated equilibrium
[ 724 →  728]  would be hardly distinguishable from creationist expectations,
[ 728 →  732]  as leading paleontologist Stephen M. Stanley pointed out.
[ 733 →  737]  Any claim that natural selection operated with greatest effect
[ 737 →  740]  exactly where it was least likely to be documented,
[ 740 →  743]  in small, localized, transitory populations,
[ 743 →  748]  would have seemed to render Darwin's new theory untestable against special creation,
[ 748 →  752]  and perhaps almost preposterous as a scientific proposition.
[ 753 →  759]  Due to the criticism of punctuated equilibrium made by traditional Darwinists,
[ 759 →  765]  Gould eventually argued that gradualism and punctuated equilibrium were somehow compatible,
[ 765 →  769]  an argument that is still held by many evolutionists.
[ 769 →  775]  Even though this is an obvious attempt to create a no-lose situation for Darwinism,
[ 775 →  780]  Don Patton points out that it fails from a scientific and logical perspective.
[ 781 →  783]  If the fossils show systematic gaps,
[ 783 →  787]  then the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution is proven.
[ 787 →  789]  But if the fossils show gradualism,
[ 789 →  793]  then the standard neo-Darwinian model of evolution is proven.
[ 793 →  797]  In other words, evolution itself is no longer falsifiable.
[ 797 →  805]  Punctuated equilibrium and neo-Darwinism are both now part of the evolutionists' grab bag of conflicting theories,
[ 805 →  811]  as Gould and Eldridge now view punctuated equilibrium as an addition to evolutionary theory,
[ 811 →  813]  rather than an alternative.
[ 814 →  818]  To conclude, the fossil record does not support Darwinism,
[ 818 →  823]  and the lack of support cannot be blamed on an incomplete fossil record.
[ 823 →  829]  Punctuated equilibrium, the supposed savior of naturalism set forth by Eldridge and Gould,
[ 829 →  831]  is built upon the view that
[ 831 →  837]  1. The fossil record, while substantially complete, does not support gradualism.
[ 837 →  843]  2. The fossil record will not reveal the transitional forms and the tree of life needed
[ 843 →  847]  to provide empirical support for evolution.
[ 847 →  853]  And 3. Microevolution, or limited variation within a species,
[ 853 →  858]  does not lead to macroevolution, no matter how much time is granted.
[ 858 →  865]  Interestingly, these same three views are also consistent with the creationist view of the fossil record.
[ 865 →  872]  The only difference is that creationists are not philosophically committed to naturalism and rationalism.
[ 872 →  879]  They are free to admit the obvious, that the fossil record is strong evidence against evolution.
[ 896 →  899]  Given the real testimony of the fossil record,
[ 899 →  903]  seekers of truth who are not chained to uniformitarian assumptions
[ 903 →  910]  will now see that most of the geologic column is best interpreted as being laid down quickly
[ 910 →  913]  and as a result of a global flood.
[ 913 →  920]  While not widely known, the evidence refuting uniformitarian geology is so strong
[ 921 →  927]  that since the 1960s a growing segment of mainstream geologists
[ 927 →  934]  has abandoned Lyell's uniformitarianism in favor of what some call a neocatastrophist view.
[ 934 →  937]  An article in Geology explains
[ 937 →  943]  Much of Lyell's uniformitarianism, specifically his ideas on identity of ancient and modern causes,
[ 943 →  946]  gradualism, and constancy of rate,
[ 946 →  950]  has been explicitly refuted by the definitive modern sources,
[ 950 →  953]  as well as by an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that,
[ 953 →  958]  as substantive theories, his ideas on these matters were simply wrong.
[ 958 →  963]  The idea that the rates or intensities of geologic processes have been constant
[ 963 →  969]  is so obviously contrary to the evidence that one can only wonder at its persistence.
[ 970 →  977]  And so, if the rejection of Lyell's views is no longer anathema in the scientific literature,
[ 977 →  983]  why would any Catholic or truth seeker be unwilling to reconsider the evidence?
[ 983 →  987]  In this second segment, we will look at eight areas of evidence
[ 987 →  991]  suggesting that the fossil record and so-called geologic column
[ 991 →  996]  formed very rapidly and are not the result of gradual processes.
[1000 → 1005]  Fossilization
[1011 → 1016]  It is important to understand that fossilization is an extraordinary occurrence
[1016 → 1020]  and that the existence of billions of fossils all over the world
[1020 → 1027]  testifies to some extraordinary event or series of events not readily observed today.
[1028 → 1031]  Fossils are formed through water-deposited sediments,
[1031 → 1036]  and only deep, rapid burial can ensure the kind of preservation observed
[1036 → 1039]  in the fossil record all over the Earth.
[1039 → 1044]  Therefore, the fossil evidence suggests that death occurred suddenly,
[1044 → 1048]  as massive sediments were laid down through intense forces.
[1048 → 1053]  Such forces are not observed today, even in local flooding events,
[1053 → 1059]  as the deer, rodents, and birds that die every day are almost never fossilized.
[1059 → 1064]  They die, decompose, and are broken down into their constituent chemicals
[1064 → 1070]  by a host of creatures, from vultures and ants to microscopic organisms.
[1070 → 1074]  Thus, it is hard to picture how natural forces now observed
[1074 → 1079]  could have acted with the same intensity in the past to produce the fossil record.
[1079 → 1083]  The idea that different layers of the geologic column
[1083 → 1086]  must have been laid down over hundreds of millions of years,
[1086 → 1092]  such that the fossils on one layer live long before fossils found in the layers above,
[1092 → 1096]  has never actually been observed, but was simply assumed by Lyell,
[1096 → 1100]  who, it will be recalled, wrote in 1830,
[1100 → 1105]  The value of all geological evidence must depend entirely on the degree of confidence
[1105 → 1109]  which we feel in regard to the permanency of the laws of nature.
[1109 → 1114]  Their immutable constancy alone can enable us to reason from analogy,
[1114 → 1119]  respecting the events of former ages, the uniformity of the plan being once assumed.
[1119 → 1124]  The deficiency of our information respecting some of the most obscure parts
[1124 → 1127]  of the present creation will be removed.
[1127 → 1131]  While Lyell's assumption of naturalism and gradualism
[1131 → 1135]  soon came to dominate the interpretation of the geologic column,
[1135 → 1142]  there is now sound empirical evidence that this interpretation of the geologic column is not valid.
[1142 → 1150]  The evidence is based on experiments conducted by Guy Berthoud at Colorado State University
[1150 → 1156]  and by Alexander Lalamoff and his colleagues at Arctur Geological Laboratory in Moscow
[1156 → 1159]  and at St. Petersburg State University.
[1160 → 1165]  These experiments strongly suggest that fossils found far apart
[1165 → 1168]  in terms of strata layers can be the same age,
[1168 → 1172]  and the geologic column could have been formed very rapidly.
[1174 → 1178]  The experiments providing this insight were performed in laboratories
[1178 → 1182]  designed by sedimentologists who have conducted empirical research
[1182 → 1186]  into the process of strata formation and fossilization.
[1187 → 1191]  This research has revealed that Lyell and his disciples
[1191 → 1196]  failed to take adequate account of the role played by turbulent currents of water
[1196 → 1198]  in the deposition of sediments.
[1199 → 1205]  Indeed, in sedimentological laboratories like the one shown here at Colorado State University,
[1205 → 1211]  scientists have found that instead of slow and gradual vertical deposition of sediment,
[1211 → 1217]  moving currents of water deposit water-borne sediments horizontally and vertically
[1217 → 1221]  at the same time, according to their physical properties.
[1221 → 1227]  This means that multiple layers of sediment can be laid down simultaneously
[1227 → 1234]  and, consequently, that the fossils at different levels in the same geologic column may be the same age.
[1235 → 1241]  Further, based on the sedimentation durations and drift parameters observed in his experiments,
[1241 → 1247]  Guy Berthoud also concludes that the geologic column could have been formed
[1247 → 1255]  in as little as 0.05% of the time commonly attributed to its formation by mainstream geologists.
[1256 → 1261]  Even after the advancement of empirical research in sedimentology,
[1261 → 1268]  most geologists believe that mudstones, like shale, which make up two-thirds of the geological column,
[1268 → 1274]  could not form in turbulent environments and thus required long periods of time to form.
[1274 → 1280]  In recent years, however, the research of Jorgen Scheiber at Indiana State University and others
[1280 → 1287]  have demonstrated that mudstones can and do form rapidly in turbulent environments,
[1287 → 1293]  thus confirming the possibility that sedimentary deposits may have formed rapidly in the past.
[1295 → 1301]  These recent experimental observations have caused many geologists to reinterpret
[1301 → 1307]  several massive sedimentary rock formations, such as the Tonto Group, a part of the Grand Canyon.
[1307 → 1313]  According to a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of the French Geological Society,
[1314 → 1321]  careful analysis of the sediments that make up this formation indicate that the whole deposit was laid down rapidly,
[1321 → 1327]  in a matter of days or weeks, not millions of years, by an enormous body of water
[1327 → 1333]  moving from east to west, across what is now the southwestern United States.
[1334 → 1340]  Another common observation consistent with the historical reality of the global flood
[1340 → 1348]  and the sudden deposition of massive sediments is the sharp and elastic folding pattern of multiple sedimentary layers
[1348 → 1352]  seen in uplifted mountain ranges all over the Earth.
[1352 → 1356]  If these layers had been laid down over millions of years,
[1356 → 1362]  there should be evidence of cracking and fracturing of the older layers as uplifting occurs.
[1362 → 1370]  Instead, all of these layers of sedimentary rock are folded in beautiful patterns and with minimal fracturing,
[1370 → 1375]  a clear indication that all of the sediments involved were laid down rapidly,
[1375 → 1383]  that forces strong enough to elevate mountains were at work soon after the deposits were made, while they were still soft.
[1392 → 1398]  The Rapid Deposit of Sedimentary Rock
[1414 → 1420]  Another interesting piece of evidence suggesting the rapid deposit of sedimentary rock
[1420 → 1424]  is that polystrate fossils are found all over the world.
[1424 → 1430]  This term refers to fossils that traverse multiple layers of sedimentary rock,
[1430 → 1435]  layers that, according to the conventional evolutionary timescale,
[1435 → 1441]  were deposited over hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.
[1441 → 1446]  The existence of polystrate fossils, like the tree trunk shown here,
[1446 → 1451]  testifies to the rapid and catastrophic deposition of sediments,
[1451 → 1459]  since the tree would obviously rot and turn into compost before the sediment could build up around it over thousands of years.
[1459 → 1466]  Polystrate fossils strongly contradict the uniformitarian view of sedimentary deposition.
[1466 → 1473]  On the other hand, rapid submersion in floodwaters and rapid burial in water-saturated sediment
[1473 → 1478]  would explain why the trees have been preserved in their upright positions.
[1478 → 1483]  Remarkable confirmation of the rapid burial of trees in a vertical position
[1483 → 1490]  and the eventual formation of polystrate fossils occurred when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.
[1490 → 1498]  As this volcano erupted, thousands of nearby trees were impacted by the eruption blast and severed from the ground.
[1498 → 1503]  These trees were then washed into Spirit Lake by a large wall of water
[1503 → 1508]  coming from the lake that was caused by mudflows flowing down Mount St. Helens.
[1508 → 1512]  As the trees were deposited in Spirit Lake,
[1512 → 1517]  they floated upright before becoming waterlogged and sinking to the bottom of the lake,
[1517 → 1520]  where they were soon covered by sediments.
[1520 → 1523]  In the living laboratory of Spirit Lake,
[1523 → 1531]  scientists could observe the sort of catastrophic flood process that may have produced polystrate fossilized trees.
[1531 → 1534]  Millions of years are not required.
[1554 → 1559]  Mount St. Helens was informative for other reasons as well.
[1559 → 1567]  As the result of the eruption, enormous amounts of ash and rock rapidly accumulated in the surrounding area
[1567 → 1571]  and airborne particles were carried across the United States.
[1571 → 1578]  Near the volcano, some 25 feet of layered sediment was deposited in three hours.
[1578 → 1583]  As the heat of volcanic material melted large quantities of snow inside the crater,
[1583 → 1586]  water poured out over the surrounding area.
[1586 → 1591]  When the rock and ash deposits were exposed to this rapid water movement,
[1591 → 1598]  a gorge measuring 140 feet deep and 150 feet wide was formed in a single day.
[1598 → 1606]  This provided the empirical evidence that it does not take millions of years to form a feature such as a Grand Canyon
[1606 → 1609]  if the force of the water in mudflow is strong enough
[1609 → 1614]  and if the landscape has recently accumulated large amounts of waterborne sediment.
[1614 → 1622]  In fact, the catastrophic formation of canyons and river valleys provides a much more plausible view of their formation
[1622 → 1624]  than does the gradualist model.
[1624 → 1632]  A feature of river valleys all over the world is their enormous size relative to the size of the rivers that flow through them.
[1632 → 1641]  As geologist Steve Austin explains, studies conducted by G.H. Durie on modern-day stream channels and river valleys
[1641 → 1649]  indicates that many of these channels and river valleys are too large for the correlating streams and drainage areas.
[1649 → 1655]  In the past, many streams frequently had 20 to 60 times their present discharge
[1655 → 1660]  and this suggests that something very non-uniform was occurring.
[1663 → 1683]  Many fossils suggest that death occurred as animals were rapidly covered by massive amounts of sediment.
[1683 → 1690]  Here, for example, we see the beautifully preserved remains of a female fish in the act of giving birth.
[1690 → 1699]  Had the fish died under normal conditions, they would have been scavenged and decomposed by microorganisms until nothing remained of them.
[1699 → 1707]  The fact that there are millions of beautifully preserved remains of marine creatures mixed with the remains of land creatures
[1707 → 1714]  tells us that some unique event was responsible for the preservation of fossils on this scale.
[1715 → 1722]  There is also good evidence that the cause of death for fossilized land creatures was drowning.
[1722 → 1731]  For example, the massive dinosaur fossil remains in northeastern Wyoming reveal a massive mixture of diverse dinosaur species
[1731 → 1736]  and the fossilized remains of these dinosaurs are extremely contorted.
[1736 → 1744]  The most likely explanation is that these dinosaurs drowned and that their dead carcasses were pooled through water movement
[1744 → 1749]  and they were then quickly buried under massive amounts of sediment.
[1749 → 1757]  Note too that the size of the fossil graveyards suggests a massive flood took place all over the earth.
[1757 → 1765]  For example, enormous numbers of straight-shelled, chambered nautiloids are found fossilized with other marine creatures
[1765 → 1770]  in a 7-foot thick layer within the redwall limestone of the Grand Canyon.
[1770 → 1782]  This fossil graveyard stretches for 180 miles across northern Arizona and into southern Nevada, covering an area of at least 10,500 square miles.
[1782 → 1791]  No geological event in recorded history could even begin to explain how these kinds of animal graveyards were made,
[1791 → 1796]  which calls the standard uniformitarian assumption into doubt.
[1796 → 1801]  Other fossils suggest that the floodwaters were not a local flood occurrence.
[1801 → 1808]  This is an ammonite fossil, the fossil of a marine creature, discovered high in the Himalayan mountains.
[1808 → 1813]  Such fossils are found on all of the earth's highest mountains,
[1813 → 1819]  indicating that the mountains, or the landmasses that would become the mountains, were once underwater.
[1819 → 1829]  This is best explained as occurring through a great flood and likely before the mountains were uplifted during or just after the end of this flood.
[1850 → 1858]  The massive flooding event suggested by the fossils is affirmed by the rocks that contain them.
[1858 → 1863]  First, it is important to realize that a great many fossils are found in limestone,
[1863 → 1871]  and massive limestone deposits are found in many U.S. states, including many states located far from oceans.
[1871 → 1879]  In Missouri, for example, limestone is found at the surface or in the subsurface of 99% of the state.
[1879 → 1887]  And yet, it is common for Missouri limestone to contain an abundance of shells and evidence of marine life.
[1887 → 1890]  Further, according to geology.com,
[1890 → 1897]  limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate in the form of the mineral calcite.
[1897 → 1902]  It most commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters.
[1902 → 1910]  It is usually an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal, and fecal debris.
[1911 → 1921]  This suggests that in the past, a very non-uniformitarian event involving massive flooding may have covered much of the United States
[1921 → 1926]  and resulted in the formation of massive limestone rock deposits across the nation
[1926 → 1933]  and, indeed, across the world as every continent contains sedimentary carbonate rocks.
[1934 → 1937]  A particularly revealing type of limestone is chalk.
[1937 → 1941]  According to geology.com, chalk is
[1941 → 1947]  a soft limestone with a very fine texture that is usually white or light gray in color.
[1947 → 1952]  It is formed mainly from the calcareous shell remains of microscopic marine organisms,
[1952 → 1958]  such as foraminifers, or the calcareous remains from numerous types of marine algae.
[1959 → 1965]  This is revealing because the famous chalk beds of southern England can be traced across France,
[1965 → 1969]  Germany, Poland, and all the way to the Middle East.
[1969 → 1978]  What kind of uniformitarian phenomenon presently observed could lay down such waterborne sediments over thousands of square miles?
[1979 → 1986]  Likewise, sedimentary rock layers extend over entire continents and from one continent to another,
[1986 → 1990]  suggesting a massive event formed these layers.
[1990 → 1994]  The sedimentary rock layers exposed in the walls of the Grand Canyon
[1994 → 1999]  belong to six megasequences that can be traced across North America.
[1999 → 2003]  At the base of these layers are huge boulders and sand beds,
[2003 → 2009]  evidence of sediments being laid down rapidly across the entire USA.
[2009 → 2014]  When taken together, the extent of the chalk beds and the sedimentary rock layers
[2014 → 2022]  strongly suggest a flood on a global scale that deposited an enormous amount of sediment simultaneously.
[2025 → 2030]  The Chalk Beds
[2044 → 2051]  Coal beds offer another example of massive deposition of sediments over multiple continents.
[2051 → 2056]  Coal is formed from the rapid burial of vegetative matter plants.
[2056 → 2063]  Interestingly, although many geologists claim that this process took millions of years,
[2063 → 2066]  there is much evidence against this view.
[2066 → 2071]  First, experiments have shown that coal can be formed very rapidly
[2071 → 2077]  and in as little as one to four months and does not require millions of years.
[2077 → 2083]  Second, if one observes coal deposits and observes their depositional environment,
[2083 → 2090]  it is quite apparent that there is a lack of erosion between the layers of coal deposits found around the world.
[2090 → 2095]  Now, if it really took millions of years for coal deposits to occur,
[2095 → 2099]  it would be expected, as rain and flooding occurred,
[2099 → 2103]  there would be signs of erosion between the coal seams.
[2103 → 2106]  But these features are seldom seen.
[2106 → 2111]  Instead, the uniform layering of coal seams without erosion
[2111 → 2119]  suggests the deposition of a tremendous amount of uprooted plants underwater and over a short period of time.
[2120 → 2126]  We do not observe such massive forces at work in small isolated floods today.
[2126 → 2132]  Thus, the world's coal deposits are another argument against uniformitarian assumptions
[2132 → 2136]  and for the reality of a global flooding event.
[2136 → 2162]  2 questions often emerge when it is suggested that the fossils were laid down in recent times by a massive flood.
[2162 → 2169]  First, don't dating methods indicate that the fossils such as dinosaurs are millions of years old?
[2169 → 2172]  This issue will be taken up in episode 10.
[2172 → 2179]  Second, isn't there an order of progression revealed in the fossil record that supports Darwinian claims?
[2179 → 2184]  While it is apparent that there is a general order of fossils in the geologic column,
[2184 → 2188]  the order is best explained not by uniformitarianism
[2188 → 2192]  but by several factors likely associated with the global flood.
[2192 → 2195]  We will discuss two of these factors.
[2195 → 2197]  Ecological Zonation
[2197 → 2204]  This concept refers to the presence of different types of animal and plant life at different elevations
[2204 → 2207]  or vertical zones on land and in water.
[2207 → 2211]  The presence of ecological zones means that during a global flood,
[2211 → 2215]  the plant and animal life would have tended to have been buried in a manner
[2215 → 2219]  that more or less reflects the elevation and ecological zone
[2219 → 2223]  in which plant and animal life was most commonly found,
[2223 → 2226]  especially if the species was not very mobile.
[2226 → 2231]  Based on this concept, one would expect that the first types of fossils to be found
[2231 → 2236]  in the record established by the flood would be bottom-dwelling marine life.
[2236 → 2238]  And this is what is found.
[2238 → 2242]  PhD geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling explains.
[2242 → 2249]  In the lowermost Fossilifera strata, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian,
[2249 → 2254]  the contained fossils are almost exclusively shallow-water marine invertebrates,
[2254 → 2260]  with fish and amphibian fossils only appearing in progressively greater numbers in the higher strata.
[2260 → 2264]  The first fish fossils are found in Ordovician strata,
[2264 → 2267]  and in Devonian strata are found amphibians,
[2267 → 2270]  and the first evidence of continental-type flora.
[2270 → 2274]  It is not until the Carboniferous, Mississippian and Pennsylvanian,
[2274 → 2277]  and Permian strata higher in the geologic record,
[2277 → 2281]  that the first traces of land animals are encountered.
[2285 → 2290]  Working with ecological zonation would be a factor called differential escape.
[2290 → 2296]  This refers to the reaction and mobility of animals to rising waters during the flood.
[2296 → 2300]  Animals who sensed the need to escape and who were relatively mobile
[2300 → 2304]  would move to higher ground as the floodwaters rose.
[2304 → 2308]  This concept is confirmed in areas such as the Grand Canyon
[2308 → 2314]  where footprints of amphibians and reptiles are seen at lower levels of the geologic column,
[2314 → 2317]  yet their fossils appear at higher strata.
[2317 → 2321]  Even higher are the dinosaurs and mammals.
[2321 → 2326]  The final point to make is that there likely were additional factors occurring
[2326 → 2330]  during the catastrophic event that laid down the geologic column
[2330 → 2333]  and influenced the burial of plants and animals,
[2333 → 2337]  and we must keep in mind that these factors were not gradual
[2337 → 2340]  and were not uniform around the Earth.
[2340 → 2345]  For example, based on the features of the sedimentary rock comprising the geologic column,
[2345 → 2351]  it is highly likely that extensive volcanic activity coincided with the flood.
[2351 → 2355]  This activity was likely so intense and extensive
[2355 → 2359]  that it could have resulted in a significant source of additional water
[2359 → 2361]  for the great flood around the world.
[2361 → 2365]  Moreover, the volcanic activity could have heavily contributed
[2365 → 2370]  to the subsequent global cooling and an ice age that followed the flood.
[2371 → 2375]  The Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines in 1991
[2375 → 2379]  blasted enough dust into the atmosphere to circle the globe
[2379 → 2383]  and cool the following summer by 1-2 degrees Celsius
[2383 → 2387]  as well as releasing gases that caused acid rain.
[2387 → 2392]  Yet the Mount Pinatubo and Mount St. Helens eruptions were very small
[2392 → 2395]  compared to the evidence of the massive volcanic activity
[2395 → 2400]  that likely occurred at the time when the long dormant volcanoes of today were active
[2400 → 2405]  and produced the record we observe today in the geologic column.
[2405 → 2412]  In addition, the flood events likely coincided with the movement or rifting of the Earth's plates
[2412 → 2414]  and the rising of land masses.
[2414 → 2416]  As we will see later in this episode,
[2416 → 2420]  computer simulations by Dr. John Baumgardner,
[2420 → 2426]  a Ph.D. in geophysics and a leading expert in computer modeling of tectonic events,
[2426 → 2430]  indicate that the rapid rifting of the Earth's plates in the oceans
[2430 → 2434]  may have been the initial event leading to the great flood.
[2434 → 2437]  This is very relevant given the Genesis description
[2437 → 2441]  of the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep.
[2443 → 2448]  While the factors discussed above would have produced general patterns
[2448 → 2450]  impacting the fossil record,
[2450 → 2455]  there are other factors that likely influenced the process of sedimentation.
[2455 → 2460]  Even so, the observed pattern of fossils in the geologic column
[2460 → 2464]  fits the flood model better than it does the evolutionary model,
[2464 → 2470]  which predicts the gradual emergence of major animal groups in a very specific order,
[2470 → 2473]  consistent with the Darwinian tree of life.
[2473 → 2478]  The flood model predicts that all major phyla should be present simultaneously,
[2478 → 2483]  which occurs in the Cambrian layer and all subsequent layers all over the world.
[2483 → 2489]  The flood model predicts that there should be few to no transitional forms,
[2489 → 2494]  which is so apparent that it required Gould to posit punctuated equilibrium.
[2494 → 2499]  The flood model predicts that organisms from one habitat
[2499 → 2504]  should sometimes be found fossilized with organisms from widely different habitats.
[2504 → 2509]  And this is what the paleontologists do sometimes find.
[2509 → 2514]  As Dr. Emil Silvestri notes in his discussion of the fossil record,
[2514 → 2517]  Hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs,
[2517 → 2521]  have been found in marine sediments in Montana's Bear Paw Shale.
[2521 → 2524]  Nautosaurus, armored dinosaur's fossils,
[2524 → 2527]  have been found lying upside down in marine sediments,
[2527 → 2529]  including chalk, in western Kansas.
[2529 → 2535]  And the skeleton of an Ankylosaurus was discovered in the tar sands near Fort McMurray, Alberta.
[2535 → 2539]  Another big surprise, since the sands are marine sediments
[2539 → 2543]  which have already yielded fossils of marine reptiles.
[2543 → 2551]  Dr. Silvestri also notes that vascular plants have been found in East Siberia, Sweden, and Estonia,
[2551 → 2554]  in sediments as deep as the Cambrian layer,
[2554 → 2559]  a placement of which seriously contradicts evolutionary sequences.
[2559 → 2564]  In fact, so poorly does the fossil record fit the evolutionary model
[2564 → 2568]  that Dr. Kurt Weiss concludes from his research,
[2568 → 2573]  If you compare the order that these creatures first appear in the actual fossil record,
[2573 → 2577]  as opposed to their theoretical first appearance in the evolutionary predictions,
[2577 → 2583]  then over 95% of the fossil record's order can be described as random.
[2583 → 2607]  Hundreds of people groups all over the world have preserved a historical memory of a global flood.
[2607 → 2611]  This chart compares flood accounts from all over the world
[2611 → 2615]  and shows the remarkable similarities that exist among them.
[2615 → 2622]  Not only do these accounts recall the flood as a global event and a judgment upon mankind,
[2622 → 2627]  from which only one family and some animals were spared on an ark.
[2627 → 2632]  Many of them include details contained in the mosaic account of the flood,
[2632 → 2638]  such as the release of a bird to determine if the floodwaters had receded at the end of the flood.
[2638 → 2644]  The best explanation is that as the post-flood population dispersed throughout the world,
[2644 → 2649]  the reality of the flood was passed down and over time,
[2649 → 2656]  most cultures lost some of the detail but retained the essential truth that a flood did occur.
[2659 → 2663]  The fact that the Great Flood was retained in the memories of many cultures
[2663 → 2667]  is dramatically seen in China where the ancient character for boat
[2667 → 2673]  is a combination of the characters for person, the number 8, and a vessel.
[2673 → 2677]  It would be quite incredible, indeed, if 8 people and a vessel
[2677 → 2681]  just happened to be the ancient Chinese character for boat
[2681 → 2684]  when, as St. Peter writes in his first epistle,
[2684 → 2689]  that through the ark and the flood, 8 souls were saved by water.
[2701 → 2707]  In this segment, we piece together some of the evidence discussed in the previous segments
[2707 → 2712]  and develop a comprehensive view of what may have occurred in the Great Flood.
[2712 → 2718]  While the biblical account of the flood is not as detailed as what we will now set forth,
[2718 → 2725]  the following account reflects a harmony between the geological evidence and God's revealed word.
[2725 → 2730]  Those who seek the truth will readily see that the scientific evidence
[2730 → 2734]  is consistent with the scriptural account of the flood,
[2734 → 2738]  just as the actual evidence in biology and cosmology
[2738 → 2743]  support the biblical account of special creation in the recent past.
[2753 → 2759]  The Catastrophic Plate Tectonics, or CPT model, provides an alternative
[2759 → 2765]  and scientifically sound theory of events that can explain most of the geological evidence
[2765 → 2771]  observed today in terms of a global flood that occurred in relatively recent times.
[2771 → 2777]  The CPT theory was developed by Ph.D. geophysicist Dr. John Baumgartner,
[2777 → 2782]  described in U.S. News & World Report as the world's preeminent expert
[2782 → 2787]  in the design of computer models for geophysical convection.
[2787 → 2794]  The following provides some brief background information and a high-level summary of the CPT model.
[2795 → 2813]  The Earth is comprised of a solid inner core, a liquid outer core, a mantle, and a thin outer crust.
[2813 → 2820]  The outermost part of the mantle plus the crust are about 60 miles thick and are called the lithosphere.
[2820 → 2828]  Today, the lithosphere is divided into several large pieces, or plates, plus many smaller plates.
[2828 → 2836]  In the early 1900s, it was proposed that the continents were fit closely together at one time in the Earth's past.
[2836 → 2844]  This theory was at first rejected, but then began to be accepted as data accumulated in the 1960s.
[2844 → 2848]  The result was the modern concept of plate tectonics.
[2848 → 2853]  Today, the notion of plate movement in the past is widely accepted,
[2853 → 2859]  but as with most sciences, geology is dominated by uniformitarian assumptions,
[2859 → 2867]  meaning that most geologists believe that the continental drift resulting from the breakup and movement of the Earth's plates
[2867 → 2872]  occurred very gradually in over tens or hundreds of millions of years.
[2878 → 2888]  In contrast, the CPT model suggests that the plate movement occurred rapidly.
[2888 → 2896]  In fact, it is suggested that the flood event could have initiated as the result of a process called subduction,
[2896 → 2900]  which describes the collision of oceanic and continental plates.
[2900 → 2908]  When subduction occurs, the denser rocks of the ocean floor tend to slide under the less dense continental rocks,
[2908 → 2916]  and as a subducting plate moves down through the mantle, the resulting friction heats the surrounding material.
[2916 → 2925]  As heating occurs, the subducting plate moves more rapidly, and if the heat continues to build, the slab will descend even faster,
[2925 → 2930]  an effect Dr. Baumgartner calls runaway thermal subduction.
[2930 → 2940]  When runaway thermal subduction occurs, the subducting slab moves at speeds of meters per second rather than centimeters per year.
[2940 → 2947]  The recent occurrence of runaway subduction in the recent past is suggested by observable data
[2947 → 2952]  such as massive regions of dense material located in the lower mantle
[2952 → 2958]  and that, most notably, roughly coincide with the outer boundaries of the Pacific Ocean.
[2958 → 2964]  There is a similar pattern of dense material that appears roughly on each side of Africa.
[2964 → 2972]  This appears to be sound evidence of a subducted ocean crust and the movement of the plates containing the continents.
[2972 → 2979]  Moreover, there are significant temperature differences between the subducted rock at the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean
[2979 → 2986]  and off of Africa with the less dense material inside the Pacific Ring and under continental Africa.
[2986 → 2995]  These significant temperature differences are not consistent with predictions of slow plate subduction and movement in the distant past
[2995 → 3003]  because heat would have flowed from the outer material to the cooler material to nearly equalize the temperature by now.
[3003 → 3008]  This suggests relatively recent and rapid plate movement.
[3008 → 3014]  If runaway subduction occurred, it likely would have initiated a number of catastrophic events.
[3014 → 3021]  First, it would have resulted in a new seafloor with the mid-ocean ridge that is found on the ocean floor
[3021 → 3029]  and has the appearance of seams on a baseball, marking the point at which plate movement occurred in each direction.
[3029 → 3034]  In the new seafloor, hot magma beneath the surface would rise upward
[3034 → 3041]  and the lithosphere above the ridge would stretch and thin, allowing the magma to break through the crust.
[3041 → 3048]  As the intensely hot magma was emitted through volcanic activity, it would have contacted the cold ocean water
[3048 → 3053]  and huge amounts of superheated water would have been spewed into the atmosphere.
[3053 → 3059]  It is likely that this was a significant source of the rain that fell in the Great Flood.
[3059 → 3066]  The so-called Ring of Fire and ongoing earthquake activity currently observed along the plate boundaries
[3066 → 3071]  remain as an ongoing testimony to even more violent activities
[3071 → 3075]  that would have coincided with the first occurrence of runaway subduction.
[3075 → 3082]  As the subduction and volcanic activity occurred, the mid-ocean ridges would temporarily rise
[3082 → 3087]  and would have displaced massive amounts of ocean water that would flood the continents,
[3087 → 3092]  carrying both tremendous amounts of sediments and water-dwelling creatures
[3092 → 3101]  that would soon be fossilized on all landmasses as, according to the CPT, massive global tsunami waves would have occurred.
[3101 → 3107]  Then, as the newly formed ocean floor cooled, its density increased and sank,
[3107 → 3110]  allowing the floodwaters to drain off the continents.
[3110 → 3116]  The rapidly receding waters would have eroded away an enormous amount of sediment
[3116 → 3123]  and huge amounts of sediment would have rapidly been dumped into the ocean basin, which is what is found.
[3123 → 3128]  Finally, as a result of the emissions from volcanic activity,
[3128 → 3132]  as well as the increased evaporation occurring in the flood environment,
[3132 → 3135]  there would have been dramatic cooling of the Earth
[3135 → 3140]  and a short ice age lasting perhaps 100 years or more would have occurred.
[3140 → 3147]  This would be a single ice age that would have ended as the oceans cooled and volcanic eruptions subsided.
[3152 → 3158]  When many people first hear that the geological evidence better supports the biblical account of the flood
[3158 → 3162]  instead of uniformitarianism, doubts are often expressed.
[3162 → 3166]  These doubts often surface as questions, such as these.
[3166 → 3171]  Firstly, could the Ark really have survived the flood and have held all the animal kinds?
[3171 → 3176]  Secondly, could the world's population have grown to its present size and genetic diversity
[3176 → 3180]  if mankind was reduced to only 8 people during the flood?
[3181 → 3185]  The Ark
[3193 → 3198]  Engineering studies of the Ark as described by Moses in the Sacred History of Genesis
[3198 → 3205]  indicate that the Ark's structure was perfectly designed to ride out the storm of storms without capsizing.
[3205 → 3212]  For example, a group of South Korean engineers at the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Engineering
[3212 → 3217]  carefully studied the design of the Ark as recorded in sacred scripture.
[3217 → 3219]  They concluded,
[3219 → 3226]  The Ark as a drifting ship is thus believed to have had a reasonable beam-draft ratio for the safety of the hull,
[3226 → 3232]  crew, and cargo in the high winds and waves imposed on it by the Genesis flood.
[3233 → 3238]  The team also concluded that based on modern passenger ship design criteria,
[3238 → 3244]  the Ark could have navigated sea conditions with waves higher than 30 meters.
[3244 → 3248]  Regarding the size and storage capacity of the Ark,
[3248 → 3252]  various studies have estimated that based on the biblical information provided,
[3252 → 3257]  the Ark measured between 450 and 510 feet long
[3257 → 3261]  and was approximately 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall.
[3261 → 3271]  A feasibility study conducted by John Woodmorap that assumed dimensions of 450 by 75 by 45 explained,
[3271 → 3278]  To put this in perspective, this is the equivalent volume of 522 standard railroad stock cars,
[3278 → 3281]  each of which can hold 240 sheep.
[3281 → 3287]  If the animals were kept in cages with an average size, some would be much bigger, others smaller,
[3287 → 3293]  of 50 by 50 by 30 centimeters, 20 by 20 by 12 inches,
[3293 → 3303]  the estimated 16,000 animals required to include two members of the animal kinds would only need 14.4 stock cars.
[3303 → 3308]  It is important to note that the Woodmorap study was based on the assumptions
[3308 → 3315]  that the animal kinds mentioned in Genesis were roughly equivalent to the modern-day classification of genera.
[3315 → 3319]  Woodmorap understood that this was a conservative assumption
[3319 → 3324]  in the sense that it resulted in a much higher estimated number of animals on the Ark
[3324 → 3331]  than if the animal kinds were assumed to be most closely related to the modern-day classification of family.
[3331 → 3340]  Ongoing research suggests that in fact the animal kinds are probably best equated with the modern classification of family,
[3340 → 3349]  suggesting that only approximately 2,000 animals would have been required on the Ark instead of the 16,000 estimate of Woodmorap.
[3362 → 3368]  A number of studies have demonstrated that it is possible to arrive at the present global population
[3368 → 3376]  and genetic diversity in a matter of several thousand years, starting from the eight persons in the Ark.
[3376 → 3380]  One area of evidence comes from studies of mitochondrial DNA.
[3380 → 3383]  Mitochondrial DNA exists only within the mitochondria,
[3383 → 3387]  subcellular organelles that are responsible for producing ATP within the cell.
[3387 → 3393]  Because of the structure of human gametes, mitochondria are generally inherited from one's mother.
[3393 → 3395]  Since the human genome was mapped,
[3395 → 3400]  scientists have been comparing the genetic differences between every major people group around the globe
[3400 → 3405]  to determine how the differences arose and when the genetic ancestor of all humanity lived.
[3405 → 3411]  Science writer Brian Thomas explains of one study published in the Answers Research Journal.
[3411 → 3418]  Molecular biologist Dr. Nathaniel Jensen downloaded publicly available human mitochondrial genome sequence data
[3418 → 3422]  and his results show that the number of today's mtDNA differences
[3422 → 3428]  exactly matches the number predicted by the Bible's 6,000 years of human history.
[3428 → 3438]  Mitochondrial DNA from around the world shows no trace of the 200,000 or so years worth of mutations that the evolution model predicts.
[3441 → 3446]  Interestingly, these results are not at odds with some secular studies.
[3446 → 3452]  An article in Science explained evolutionists have assumed that the clock is constant,
[3452 → 3458]  ticking off mutations every 6,000 to 12,000 years or so, but reported
[3458 → 3463]  Mitochondrial DNA appears to mutate much faster than expected,
[3463 → 3467]  prompting new DNA forensics procedures and raising troubling questions.
[3467 → 3472]  Evolutionists are most concerned about the effect of a faster mutation rate.
[3472 → 3477]  For example, researchers have calculated that mitochondrial Eve,
[3477 → 3482]  the woman whose mtDNA was ancestral to that in all living people,
[3482 → 3486]  lived 100,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa.
[3486 → 3491]  Using the new clock, she would be a mere 6,000 years old.
[3491 → 3508]  We have now seen that much of what we were taught in science class related to origins is not supported by the evidence,
[3508 → 3518]  but instead is the result of unsubstantiated uniformitarian assumptions that have their basis in Cartesian rationalism.
[3518 → 3524]  This holds true in evolutionary biology, in cosmology, and in geology.
[3524 → 3529]  While it can be very difficult for any of us to overcome years of misinformation,
[3529 → 3535]  and while it is easy to convince oneself that the truth about origins does not matter,
[3535 → 3545]  the final three episodes of this series will chronicle the link between evolutionary thought and global events since 1900.
[3546 → 3551]  I want to emphasize that the impact of evolutionary thought and rationalism
[3551 → 3556]  have not just impacted people and events outside the Catholic Church,
[3556 → 3559]  but have penetrated the very heart of the Catholic Church,
[3559 → 3562]  and as seen in the final episode,
[3562 → 3569]  are largely responsible for the great falling away of tens of millions of Catholics in recent decades.
[3569 → 3576]  Given these impacts, it should be obvious that truth about origins does matter,
[3576 → 3581]  and that efforts to restore truth must recognize that rationalism,
[3581 → 3585]  manifesting itself in multiple ways and in multiple disciplines,
[3585 → 3593]  is the foundational error behind the unprecedented collapse of faith, even within the Church.
[3594 → 3599]  Since this episode has focused on the fossil evidence and evidence for the Flood,
[3599 → 3607]  let us end by reminding viewers of St. Peter's prophecy that scoffers would come in the latter days,
[3607 → 3613]  asserting that things have always been the same since the beginning of creation.
[3613 → 3620]  He specifically predicted that the scoffers' claims would include a denial of the evidence for Noah's Flood.
[3620 → 3627]  This denial is in stark contradiction to the following testimony about a global flood in Noah's day.
[3628 → 3632]  First, in Matthew chapter 24 verse 37,
[3632 → 3638]  our Lord Jesus Christ testified to the historical reality of the global flood
[3638 → 3640]  and compared it to his second coming.
[3640 → 3646]  Just as a second coming will affect every creature on earth when it occurs,
[3646 → 3649]  so did the flood in the days of Noah.
[3649 → 3655]  Second, all of the Church Fathers testified to a global flood that covered the whole earth.
[3655 → 3661]  This is key because the Council of Trent, Vatican Council I, and Pope Leo XIII
[3661 → 3667]  also instructed that when all of the Church Fathers agree on any interpretation of Scripture
[3667 → 3672]  that pertains to a doctrine of faith or morals, it is definitive.
[3672 → 3677]  Third, the New Testament and the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament
[3678 → 3682]  use the unique word kataklismos to describe the flood.
[3682 → 3689]  Kataklismos signifies a violent upheaval on a much bigger scale than any local flood.
[3689 → 3694]  Fourth, while many Catholic apologists who accept the Cartesian-Darwinian narrative
[3694 → 3698]  have assumed that Noah's Flood was only a local event,
[3698 → 3703]  this raises an obvious contradiction with the straightforward and obvious meaning of the text.
[3703 → 3707]  It also raises practical questions such as,
[3707 → 3712]  why spend many decades building an ark to escape a local flood?
[3712 → 3716]  Why take animals on the ark to escape a local flood?
[3716 → 3721]  And fifth, if the flood of Noah were really only a local flood,
[3721 → 3725]  it would seem to raise questions about the truthfulness of God,
[3725 → 3730]  as He promised in Genesis chapter 9 verse 11 never to repeat the great flood.
[3730 → 3734]  As victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma can testify,
[3734 → 3738]  local floods often occur and inflict enormous damage.
[3738 → 3744]  Since God is not a liar, the extent of the Noahic Flood must have been unique,
[3744 → 3747]  and we have seen that there is no reason or necessity
[3747 → 3751]  to depart from the straightforward meaning of sacred Scripture
[3751 → 3756]  that describes the Noahic Flood as covering the entire earth.
[3760 → 3765]  The Noahic Flood
[3790 → 3795]  The Noahic Flood
[3820 → 3825]  The Noahic Flood
[3850 → 3855]  The Noahic Flood
[3880 → 3885]  The Noahic Flood
[3885 → 3890]  The Noahic Flood
[3890 → 3895]  The Noahic Flood
[3895 → 3900]  The Noahic Flood
[3910 → 3915]  The Noahic Flood
[3915 → 3920]  The Noahic Flood
[3920 → 3925]  The Noahic Flood
[3925 → 3930]  The Noahic Flood
[3930 → 3935]  The Noahic Flood