What Part Does The Flood Of Noah's Day Play In Creation Thinking? | The Institute for Creation Research

What Part Does The Flood Of Noah's Day Play In Creation Thinking?

Many students of the creation movement have noted that the publication of The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris (1961), was used by God to catalyze the modern revival of creation thinking. Up until that time, most scientists and many theologians held to some form of theistic evolution. Most had been intimidated into accepting long ages and evolution.

While liberal theologians accepted theistic evolution, recognizing the fossil record as evidence for long aeons of evolutionary progression, conservative theologians like C.I. Scofield placed these long ages and evolution in a supposed gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. This world was destroyed as Satan fell from heaven. Then God recreated the same sorts of creatures in the six days of Creation Week. "Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains" (note on Genesis 1:11 in Scofield Reference Bible). Thus, the key which drove both camps was the enigma of the fossils.

The same is true today. Ask an Old-Earth advocate for evidence of long ages, and he will point to the geologic record. Ask an evolutionist for evidence of evolution and he will point to the fossils. So the question remains—what does the creationist do with the rocks and fossils? The answer—the Flood.

The Flood of Noah's day, as described in Scripture, was worldwide in scope and catastrophic in intensity, involving the breakup of great subterranean storehouses of water and other
material (i.e., "the fountains of the great deep," Genesis 7:11), and intense rainfall ("the windows of heaven"). It resulted in the death of "all that was in the dry land" (v.22) as "the mountains were covered" (v.20).

As we know from observation, floods do a great deal of geologic work. A worldwide, year-long, mountain-covering, cataclysmic flood would do unfathomable damage—eroding here, depositing here, uplifting here, and down-warping there. Many animals, primarily marine shellfish, would be buried in the sediments. The sediments themselves would evidence their cataclysmic origin and be found on a regional scale. Thus the Flood would necessarily lay down the rock and fossil record.

In the last few decades, even evolutionary geologists have grudgingly acknowledged the catastrophic nature of nearly all rock units. They have likewise acknowledged that the marine shellfish, which make up the vast majority of the fossils, are essentially identical to their modern counterparts, within the limits of variation and adaptation. The rocks themselves are now known to be continuous on a regional, sometimes continental scale, with almost all sedimentary rocks, full of marine sediments, found on the continents, not in the oceans.

*Dr. John Morris is President of ICR.

Cite this article: John D. Morris, Ph.D. 1998. What Part Does The Flood Of Noah's Day Play In Creation Thinking?. Acts & Facts. 27 (4).

The Latest
NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...

NEWS
''Blood Worm Moon'' Total Lunar Eclipse 2025
Barring cloud cover, about 75% of the country saw the total lunar eclipse, aka the “Blood Worm Moon.” Texas had good weather conditions...