Fossil Facts That Shatter Evolutionary Claims

 

 

"Your brother is a Christian, but he has come to believe in progressive creationism, in part because of the fossil record. Prepare a discussion sheet you can share with him that lists the facts regarding the geological formation of fossils, the faulty interpretations of the fossil record, and the missing transitional forms that call into question not only evolution, but the idea that a loving, omnipotent God would choose an eons-long cycle of death to form His world."

 

This was the assignment for an exam I had this week in my ICR Creationist Worldview course, and I thought I would share the essay I put together with y'all.

 

How Fossils Are Formed

Very few fossils are forming today. The ones we do see forming now are in due to rapid burial by water. An example: what happens to a fish when it dies? It either floats to the surface or sinks to the bottom where it decays and is eaten by scavengers. Yet many fish fossils are so exquisitely preserved that even the scales and organs are preserved. Obviously there was no time for decay and bacterial action. We can certainly say that something extraordinary happened to form the fossils. Fossils are usually found in rock formed from sedimentary layers deposited by water. Fossils require rapid burial in unusual circumstances.

 

Processes of fossilization include:

 

- Mineralization

- Carbonization

- Impressions

- Ephemeral markings

- Hard parts

- Soft parts

- Frozen parts

 

Where Fossils Are Found

 

• The majority of fossils are marine invertebrates.
• Lots of sedimentary rocks contain no recognizable fossils.
• The sedimentary rocks in which fossils are found give evidence of rapid catastrophic deposition.
• Marine fossils are found in rock layers that cover vast areas, almost always on continents.
• The fossils require extraordinary circumstances of a rapid and catastrophic nature, such as those in the Flood.

 

Fossil Facts that Disprove Evolution

·         The fossil record shows no transitional forms. Many fossilized creatures appear strikingly alike to modern life forms with few if any physical changes.

·         Phenomenon such as ‘Lazarus bacteria’. Lazarus bacteria is revived from salt inclusions supposedly 250 million years old. This suggests the salt is not millions of years old.

·         Molecules such as proteins, pigments, and DNA—as well as intact cells and, in some cases, cells still grouped together in tissues—have been found in fossils that are supposedly millions of years old. Whole organisms are sealed in amber deposits, and over a thousand still-living kinds of microbes have been extracted from them. Obviously if the fossil was millions of years old, it wouldn’t have such molecules still present. This is excellent evidence for a young earth.

·         A newly discovered ten-foot-long mosasaur fossil in South Dakota not only had soft tissues of its own, but also remnants of what it last ate. Other fossilized animals have been found in the process of eating, some with their prey not even completely swallowed. This demonstrates rapid burial, signifying a catastrophic event such as the biblical Flood.

• Polystrate fossils—tree trunks in coal (Araucaria spp. king billy pines, celery top pines, in southern hemisphere coal) indicate a rapid burial. There are also polystrate tree trunks in the Yellowstone fossilized forests, Joggins, Nova Scotia and in many other places.  

·         Evolutionary history holds that collagen-containing cartilage is supposedly 80 million years old and yet laboratory experiments demonstrate that collagen locked in bone should not be older than 30,000.

·         Experiments show that with conditions mimicking natural forces, coal forms quickly; in weeks for brown coal to months for black coal. It does not need millions of years. Furthermore, long time periods could be an impediment to coal formation because of the increased likelihood of the permineralization of the wood, which would hinder coalification.

·         Many people today, including scientists, have the idea that oil and natural gas must take a long time to form, even millions of years. Such is the strong mental bias that has been generated by the prevailing evolutionary mindset of the scientific community. However, laboratory research has shown that petroleum hydrocarbons (oil and gas) can be made from natural materials in short time-spans. Long time spans are once again no longer required!

·         Clastic dykes and pipes (intrusion of sediment through overlying sedimentary rock) show that the overlying rock strata were still soft when they formed. This drastically compresses the time scale for the deposition of the penetrated rock strata.

·         Many fossil bones ‘dated’ at many millions of years old are hardly mineralized, if at all. This contradicts the widely believed old age of the earth.

·         Many creatures exist that are known as ‘living fossils’ - jellyfish, graptolites, coelacanth, stromatolites, Wollemi pine and hundreds more. The fact that tis phenomenal amount of different species could remain so unchanged, for even up to ‘billions’ of years in the case of stromatolites, speaks against the millions and billions of years being real. Once again – where are the transitional forms that are declared to be present?

·         Discontinuous fossil sequences. E.g. Coelacanth, Wollemi pine and various ‘index’ fossils, which are present in supposedly ancient strata, are missing in strata representing many millions of years since - but still living today. Such discontinuities speak against the interpretation of the rock formations as vast geological ages—how could Coelacanths have avoided being fossilized for 65 million years, for example?

·         In 2009, UK paleontologists found ink sacs intact within squid fossils. What makes this an interesting hint to a young age of the earth is the presence of eumelanin, in the ink. Eumelanin—a biochemical with a complicated structure—is an abundant pigment that serves many purposes in animals and other organisms, including darkening a mammal's skin and hair. It is also notoriously difficult to work with in the lab since it refuses to dissolve in common solvents. However, because all systems tend to become disordered over time, no knowledgeable chemist or physicist would expect eumelanin's complicated structure to have persisted for 160 million years—the age assignment given to the rock formations containing the fossil ink sacs. The eumelanin found in the ink sacs was chemically intact. This should not be so, if the fossil were as old as it’s claimed to be.

·         Scientists recently found blood remnants in a mosquito fossil trapped in a supposed 46-million-year-old rock. Publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers reported that they detected iron three times inside the fossil mosquito's abdomen, which strongly suggests the presence of still-fresh hemoglobin. No scientific evidence supports the assertion that heme groups can last, even under circumstances that would maximize their preservation, for one million, let alone tens of millions of years. In fact, all longevity studies of biomolecules like hemoglobin, DNA, and collagen show decay rates in ranges that demonstrate total sample disintegration in a matter of months to a maximum of several hundred thousand years—assuming reasonable Earth surface temperatures.

·         Fossilized human and dinosaur footprints have been found alongside eachother in several locations across the globe, throwing into question the notion that man evolved millions years after the dinosaurs.

·         Fossils are found on all levels of rock strata. The earth is covered with layers of sedimentary rock, much of it containing microscopic fossils such as plankton, pollen, and spores. Marine invertebrates are some of the most commonly found in the fossil record; yet the majority of these fossils are not found in the deep ocean basins, as would be expected, but on the continents. There is no great variation between the rock layers of fossil complexity. Fossils on the bottom levels are no less complex than those on the top layers. This disproves the claim of macro evolution.

These are only a few examples. You can find more on sites like ICR.org, creation.com and the Answers in Genesis website.

In conclusion – geology clearly demonstrates signs of a young earth, and a global flood. Between the two theories – Biblical creationism, and naturalistic evolutionism, I believe the fossils align best with the former.

Occam's Razor is the principle that says, when several theories are present to solve a common problem, to always go with the simplest. Which is simpler - and more reasonable? An all-powerful Godhead calls to creation every structure in the universe, in merely six, literal 24-hour days. Or, all the matter in the universe created itself out of virtually nothing, and life stemmed from non-life?

 

God’s Word states that the He, the Maker is not a God of chaos.  (1 Cor. 14:33) Some Christians argue that since He is so powerful He could do whatever he pleased, even if that included using evolution and naturalistic processes that are pushed by humanists and evolutionists.

I, however, disagree adamantly with this line of thought.  Yes, God is all-powerful, but He cannot create imperfection. He is the author of every good and perfect thing and it’s impossible for Him to mess up!

Why, when He is capable of creating beauty, order and peace, would He opt to go with something so preposterous as the evolutionary framework?

From what I have read and studied in His very Word, such an action would not align with His character. He is a God of love, peace and brilliant order! Why would He purposely allow His creation to warp and suffer through millions of years of pain and death - exactly what evolution requires?

Search the Scriptures – and the fossil record – and surely you will be forced to agree.

YHWH, Jesus Christ, the Almighty Creator and Savior, is not an evolutionistic being.

Nor could He possibly initiate such a process.

Geology information taken from the Institute for Creation Research and Creation Ministries International.

Snow, the Little Glories of God

Let's face it, not everyone is as dilly-dattle as I am when it comes to snow. It's just this big wet white mess you have to get out of roads/walk-ways, which is WAY too much work, and then you have to drive in it, and that isn't safe, right? But have we ever stopped and actually thought about what we're talking about? Snow. Where did the word even come from? A small four letter word, which holds so much meaning...beauty...love. A word which God mentions multiple times in the Bible, as meaning pure.

Snow is God's treasure. Just as man love his own treasure, God loves His, but instead of keeping it all to Himself He shares it with us.

"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail," ~ Job 38:22

 

If God has such delight in snow, why shouldn't we? God our loving Creator created so wonderfully perfect little crystals of His love, each differing from each other. Each snowflake is special to God. Just as each person. God made everyone different; everyone special. How is this possible? Wouldn't God eventually run out of new ways to make somebody? Isn't anybody the same? The answer is simply, no. Yes, some people may act similar, look similar, but no one is exactly like someone else and the same thing goes for snowflakes. No two snowflakes are alike. Think about it, you can have a wardrobe of 15 clothes and put it in so many different orders. It's amazing what power God has!

A verse comes to mind when I think about snow,

"For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth;" ~ Job 37:6a

How extraordinary! What joy to know God told the snow to be on the earth! It makes me sad to think of all those that don't appreciate God's handiwork. The way snow is formed is by God, our loving Saviour, taking water vapor out of the air which comes from oceans, rivers, lakes, even people and plants (Every time you exhale you are placing water vapor in the air), and cools the air, causing the water vapor to condense out. The water vapor that is close to the ground forms dew drops, where as up high in the air the water vapor condenses onto dust particles, which to me is magnificent! (Did not God say that we were created from the dust of the earth?)  The water vapor condenses into numerous minute droplets, and each droplet contains a particle of dust. Actually, that's pretty much what clouds are made of, lots of water droplets. If a particular drop freezes, it becomes a small particle of ice surrounded by all the other droplets of unfrozen water. Snowflakes do not come from frozen rain. When rain freezes it produces beautiful sleet, but unlike snow, sleet doesn't have elaborate and symmetrical patterns. As the water vapor condenses on the frozen droplet's surface, the ice grows forming what we all know as a snowflake. The snowflake grows, creating a simple hexagonal shape. Most snowflakes take on this shape in the younger stages. Diffusion limits the snow growth, making the branches grow, and causing the snow to get it's uniqueness. The droplets of water vapor with dust particles (clouds) surrounding the frozen droplet (now snow) will not stay there. They will evaporate creating more water vapor in the air. The liquid state of these droplets is called cloud droplets and the solid state is called snowflakes. 

God has everything planned out in such a complex way that without Him there would be much chaos. Just imagine what would happen if there was no Intelligent Designer behind everything. The world would be ugly, out-of-order, and well there would be no world, because such a "Big Bang" as evolutionists like to give credit to, is impossible. I'm glad we have such a loving God that shares His beautiful world with even the worst of people, whether they appreciate it or not.

Snow is beautiful and all, but that is not the only reason God created it. God uses snow to protect even the smallest creatures during harsh winter times. God even told us in His Word, before scientists "discovered" this.

"He (God) giveth snow like wool" ~ Psalm 147:16a 

God says He gives the snow like wool. We all know what wool is, I hope. It's a textile fiber which comes from sheep and other animals, which people make into clothing and blankets to keep warm. What does God mean by, "He giveth snow like wool?" Surely David and others might have wondered. Or maybe not, having such faith as David, you wouldn't question God's creation, and would take what He says as literal...like we should, but probably don't. Man is taking what beauty God has created and turning it into another source to try and "prove" evolution, something impossible to prove. However, God meant what He said, snow was given as the earth's wool. Snow is an insulating blanket to earth. You might think snow would freeze creatures living under it's surface, but no. God loves and cares about each and every thing He created, and protects them even in the winter. Under about one foot of snow, the soil, and creatures roaming to and fro in that soil are safe from the harsh wintery air. Snow holds in heat, preventing moisture from evaporating into the air. Keeping all those little creatures cozy.

Snow, is one of the little glories of God, that He placed here on the earth. Let's appreciate it!

There is one particular verse I love to read,

 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." ~ Isaiah 1:18

                                                                     

 

Misconceptions About The Geologic Column

It’s obvious that evolution and creation propose two different views, and one of the ways we can see this is through the earth’s geologic features.

Evolution dictates that over millions of years the earth has experienced change – most modern evolutionists now accept the theory of punctuated equilibrium, or change/growth/mutations in quick spurts.

Interestingly enough, geology has only been seen as a science for a short time in human history. Many early geologists worked from a creationist view of the universe, contrary to today’s historical-scientific realm which is dominated by atheistic agendas and viewpoints.

It’s well-known that the study of rock strata is a common evolutionary tool. And the ten strata systems that geologists use are:

1. Cambrian
2. Ordovician
 
3. Silurian
 
4. Devonian
5. Carboniferous
6. Permian
7. Triassic
8. Jurassic
9. Cretaceous
10. Tertiary

This composes the "standard geologic column" and is claimed by many to contain substantial, if not the primary proof for evolutionary theory.

The systems are used today to indentify supposed general time periods in the earth’s history. The systems are named either for geographical locations where they were first identified, or for a specific physical characteristic.  

Originally, these systems didn’t refer to time periods, but were intended to merely classify different types of strata. It is actually a misconception that the column refers to different ages – instead, it is referencing varying geographical areas.

There are many other misconceptions about the geologic column. Let’s examine a few major ones.

Contrary to popular belief, the geologic column wasn’t devised by atheistic evolutionists. The system was created by researchers who believed that life was created, and that the earth had been formed through catastrophic processes. This took place before 1860.

Another misconception is that the rock strata compass the entire earth in uniform layers.  In actuality, the only place where this is found is on the geologists’ diagrams! Only a very few locations on earth have shown the complete succession of the ten ages in physical, real form. And even here, scientists agree that the evidence is obsolete – the individual systems are found incomplete.

Many claim that the earth’s crust is similar to an "onion skin", with successive layers containing all strata systems distributed on a global scale. However, this doesn’t align with the facts. Strata layers do not occur uniformly across the planet, and in many places are they found out of place or not in the alignment that the geologic column suggests.

“Data from continents and ocean basins show that:

• Approximately 77% of the earth's surface area on land and under the sea is missing seven or more (70+%) of the strata systems.
• 94% of the earth's surface has three or more missing systems, and an estimated 99.6% has at least one missing system.^2”

This alone is pretty substantial evidence that the modern implications of the geologic column are faulty and pseudo-scientific, is is not?

When it comes to dating the column’s time eras and the new strata which is uncovered, many resort to using fossils to assign strata to their appropriate layers. However, this is not a solid means of dating strata – it’s circular reasoning. We can’t know for certain where the fossil originally deviated from, or how much structural events such as erosion, faulting and overturning have pushed it from one “layer” to another. Although some fossils appear to be distinctive of certain systems, it doesn’t mean that we can instantly assume this to be true - it doesn’t mean that the fossils came from those systems, necessarily.

Up until recently, most geologists believed that sedimentary lamina (layers) pointed to being formed over millions of years. But now it has been discovered that lamina form quickly over river floodplains during floods, in shallow marine areas during storms, and in deep water by turbidity currents. The evidence of rapid sedimentation is now easily recognized, and more and more scientists are recognizing catastrophism to be true.

The Creationistic, Biblical viewpoint supports the geologic evidence far better than the evolutionistic framework. A worldwide flood would require massive catastrophic events. The geologic record of the earth’s crust as observed naturally points to a past that could easily fit such an event, and even points to one. The flood of Noah’s day was not a mere drizzle, but a torrential downpour which would employ massive amounts of erosion and crustal disturbances. As the “fountains of the great deep” burst forth, intense tectonic activity beneath the surface would move, overturn and rupture the earth, creating violent, out-of-order layers of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock. What do we see in modern rock strata? Disheveled, out-of-order layers of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock.

Radiometric dating is typically employed to determine strata age, but it often contradictory. It doesn’t automatically confirm long ages. And often, it cannot be trusted with rock and fossils as old as evolutionary diagrams dictates – radiometric dating has been seen to bring faulty/contradictory results with rocks/fossils over a certain age, and most rocks would fall under that category.

In essence, I believe the earth’s geologic structure to fit best with the Biblical account of a worldwide flood.