OVERVIEW OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES #2
FLOOD FACTS AND TIMELINE
A
• PRE-FLOOD- Mankind was
condemned due to sin
B
(Genesis 6:5-7, 11-13); one
man, Noah, was allowed to
build an ark (in which a
remnant of men and animals
ultimately would be saved) in
preparation for the coming
flood (Genesis 6:8, 14-21;
C
7:2-4, 6-10); Noah obeyed
and was ultimately saved
because his faith had
motivated his obedience and
these had paved the way for
God to shed His grace
(Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 13-16;
Hebrews 11:7; Ephesians
2:8; James 2:17, 18)
A
• FLOOD- The flood began with
the “fountains of the great
deep” and the “windows of
heaven” opening up
(references to geologic
events likely including
geysers, volcanoes, etc.,
and to the condensing and
falling of the firmament
[Genesis 1:7] vapor which
surrounded the earth) and
rain falling for “forty days
and nights” (Genesis 7:11,
B
12, 17); the waters covered
even the tallest of earth’s
mountains (Genesis 7:18C
20); all animals and men
not in the ark perished
D
(Genesis 7:21-23); after
150 more days of the water
remaining at its height
(Genesis 7:24), the waters
began to subside (Genesis
8:1-3) and the ark came to
rest “upon the mountains of
Ararat” (Genesis 8:4) where
Noah and the others waited
until the earth was dried
(Genesis 8:5-14) before
disembarking at God’s
command (Genesis 8:15-19)
A
• POST-FLOOD- With feet on dry
land, Noah built an altar,
offered sacrifices to God,
and was blessed by God
(Genesis 8:20-Genesis 9:11)
with a covenant sealed by
the rainbow (Genesis 9:1217)
EVIDENCES FOR THE REALITY OF THE FLOOD AND ITS UNIVERSALITY
• The PURPOSE OF THE FLOOD was to destroy life from the face of the earth
(Genesis 6:13, 17; Genesis 7:4)—all life could not have been limited to one
geographic area
• The PERIOD OF WARNING, if that have been the purpose of the 120 years yet
for man’s days (Genesis 6:3), would not have been necessary in the event
of a local flood
• The NEED FOR AN ARK must have been due to the fact that Noah and the
others could not flee
• The SIZE OF THE ARK (Genesis 6:15 gives the size thus: “The length of the ark
shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of
it thirty cubits”) at 450’x75’x45’ is rivaled only by ships built after the
Industrial Revolution (far exceeding any used on lakes or seas earlier)
• The DURATION OF THE FLOOD (one year and ten days between Genesis 7:11
and 8:14) far exceeds the length of a localized flood
• The DEPTH OF THE WATERS (Genesis 7:19, 20) 22 ½’ above the highest
mountains is validating given the impossibility of stacking water
• The EFFECT OF THE FLOOD (Genesis 7:21-23) could only have been
accomplished by a universal one—God’s promise to never again destroy
the earth (Genesis 9:15) in that way shows that it had achieved that effect
(II Peter 3:6)
• OTHER BIBLICAL REFERENCES to Noah and the flood as reality (Psalm 104:5-9;
Ezekiel 14:14, 20; Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:27; Hebrews 11:7; I Peter
3:20, 21; II Peter 2:5; II Peter 3:6)
• The PREPONDERANCE OF FLOOD TRADITIONS (see below) throughout history
• The SPREAD OF CIVILIZATION from Mesopotamia
• GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF CATASTROPHE (e.g., misplaced & polystrate fossils)
• Reasonable limits of GENUINE DATING METHODS
CREATION AND FLOOD TRADITIONS
• Perhaps the best known extra-biblical creation and flood accounts are
Mesopotamia’s ENUMA ELISH and GILGAMESH EPIC, respectively. In the
former, gods Apsu and Tiamat created other gods—ultimately man was
created by Marduk, a later god; in the latter, the protagonist Gilgamesh
went to the immortal Utnapishtim to find out how he might gain immortality.
Utnapishtim related his account of the flood to Gilgamesh, relating the
anger of the gods at the noise men were making and the gods’ subsequent
desire to destroy mankind; Utnapishtim, an honorable man, was warned
and allowed to build an ark (which measured 120 cubits x 120 cubits x 120
cubits) in which he and his wife and representatives of the animal kingdom
would be saved. Other similarities to the Genesis account are ending up on
a mountain, sending out birds, and sacrificing
• Another significant flood account was actually a blizzard account—the
Zoroastrians (whose Persian founder Zarathustra was influenced by Jews
in Babylonian captivity) believed that their god Ahura Mazda warned Yima
(their Noah) that the world was over-populated and that man would be
destroyed by blizzard; Yima was able to build a Vara (an enclosure which
held 2000 people and 2 each of every animal, bird, and plant) in which
safety from the blizzard was found (not unlike the ark in purpose)
• Together, there have been nearly one hundred flood traditions discovered in
cultures throughout the world—testimony to a first flood which remained in
the common memory, tradition, and then mythology of the descendants of
Noah; undoubtedly, many more creation traditions likewise testify to the
actual creation through various corruptions of tradition and mythology
• It should be noted that the existence of a counterfeit (though inferior in quality
and less genuine in appearance) implies the existence of a valued original
Copyright 2010 by Daniel Frazier Cates, Cates Publications; all rights reserved
OVERVIEW OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES #2
1
WORD STUDY OF FLOOD TERMINOLOGY
GEOLOGY
• “Flood” (Genesis 6:17; 7:6-7, 10, 17; 9:11, 15) means exactly
what it says, "in the sense of flowing; a deluge"
• "Broken up" (Genesis 7:11) demonstrates a violent tearing of the
geologic features present in the antediluvian period, meaning
"to cleave; generally to rend, break, rip or open"
• “Were opened” (Genesis 7:11) demonstrates a violent breaking
or opening up of the vapor canopy which was the antediluvian
firmament, meaning "specifically to loosen, begin, plough,
carve"
• “Rain” (Genesis 7:12; 8:2) demonstrating the strength of the
raining: "a shower"
• “Increased" (Genesis 7:17) carries ideas of "abundance" and
multiplying
• "Prevailed exceedingly" (Genesis 7:19; cf. Genesis 7:18, 20, 24)
demonstrates the domination of the land by the flood waters; it
is a combination of words meaning "to be strong; by implication
to prevail, act insolently" and "properly vehemence, that is,
(with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication wholly,
speedily" respectively
• "Were covered" (Genesis 7:19-20; cf. Psalm 104:6) demonstrates
that the hills were completely under the water, for it means
"properly to plump, that is, fill up hollows ... [and to-DFC]
overwhelm"
• “Upward” (Genesis 7:20) demonstrates measurement "from the
top," showing that the waters of the flood were 15 cubits from
the top of the mountains
• "All ... every ... All ... every" (Genesis 7:21-23) confirms the threat
the flood posed, destroying "properly the whole; hence all, any
or every"
• "Was destroyed ... were destroyed" (Genesis 7:23; cf. Genesis
6:7; 7:4) demonstrates the violence of the flood; it carries the
sense of "abolish, blot out, destroy, ... [to-DFC] utterly, wipe
(away, out)"
• "Were stopped" and "was restrained" (Genesis 8:2) demonstrate
that the flood waters were so powerful that they could have
continued had God not actively stopped them; they were made
"to surrender" due to God's power "to restrict, by act (hold back
or in) or word (prohibit)"
• “Returned ... continually” (Genesis 8:3) and "decreased
continually" (Genesis 8:5) are emphatic combinations
indicating that the receding of the flood was an ongoing
process
• “Flood” (Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:27; II Peter 2:5) and "being
overflowed" (II Peter 3:6) refer to "an inundation" in the noun
form and mean "to dash (wash) down, that is, (by implication)
to deluge" in the verb form; it is the word from which cataclysm
comes
• Principles of geology include:
• Nicholas Steno’s PRINCIPLE OF
SUPERPOSITION (earlier rocks are laid
down before later rocks)
• Nicholas Steno’s PRINCIPLE OF
ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY (sediment is
deposited flat—as opposed to
stacked)
• Nicholas Steno’s PRINCIPLE OF
1
Definitions are quoted or paraphrased from James Strong’s Hebrew or Greek
dictionaries
ORIGINAL LATERAL CONTINUITY
(deposited material spreads out until
it is exhausted or meets an obstacle)
• James Hutton’s PRINCIPLE OF CROSSCUTTING RELATIONSHIPS (younger
features cut through older rocks)
• The PRINCIPLE OF INCLUSIONS (features
within other rocks are older)
• William Smith’s PRINCIPLE OF FOSSIL
SUCCESSION (fossils are older than
the rocks in which they are found)
• Under normal conditions these principles
are sound, but they fail to take into
consideration catastrophic events which
can lay down various forms of sediment
concurrently, thrust layers of rocks over
other layers, or even flip layers
• The evolutionists’ errors are based upon
the circular reasoning that fossils are in
rocks from certain periods of time, so
anywhere those fossils are found the
rocks must be that old and vice versa
(dynamic catastrophism is ignored)
CHILDREN AND EVOLUTION
• Children of younger and younger ages are
being infected by the dangerous
doctrine of evolution
• Here are some questions to ask children to
see to what extent they have been
indoctrinated:
• How old is the earth?
• Is the Bible fact or myth?
• Did dinosaurs and man live at the
same time?
• Do animals and man have a common
ancestor?
• Their answers can be quite startling!
WHY DOES THE EARTH LOOK SO OLD?
• APPARENT AGE-When God created all things, He did not create them in an infantile state; rather, He created all things
in a mature state, making them appear older than they really were
• CATASTROPHIC SHAPING AND SCARRING-The flood would have quickly weathered and aged the young earth, making it
appear much older than it actually were
Copyright 2010 by Daniel Frazier Cates, Cates Publications; all rights reserved
OVERVIEW OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES #2
ORIGIN OF FOSSILS
POLYSTRATE FOSSILS
NEW COAL, ROCKS, AND FOSSILS
• Many people would be surprised to
learn that FOSSILIZATION does not
take millions, thousands, or even
hundreds of years; many items
used by man have been found in a
fossilized condition
• It should be noted that many “LIVING
FOSSILS” (organisms once thought
extinct but later discovered alive;
e.g., the Coelacanth) help to
demonstrate that the evolutionists’
interpretation of the fossil record
should not be taken as definitive
• Fossilized trees have
been found cutting
through rock strata of
various ages; this
could only have been
accomplished by these
strata being laid down
at the same time that
the tree was alive (this
is now taking place in
the depths of Mount
St. Helens’ Spirit
Lake!)
• In Germany the wooden pilings of a
recently man-made bridge had
become COAL, necessitating the
construction of metal supports
• In Tasmania, over a number of years,
a miner’s submerged hat turned into
stone by MINERALIZATION
• In western Texas, a foot which had
been FOSSILIZED was found inside of
a rubber soled boot
MOUNT ST. HELENS
• On May 18, 1980, a volcano which had
“awakened” in March of that year
erupted with such power that 1,313
feet of elevation was lost
• As a result of the eruptions, a landslide
of nearly a cubic mile of rock and
melted glacier began to thunder, with
unimaginable force, through Spirit
Lake and the Toutle River Valley
below
• Enormous force dramatically altered the
landscape in but a matter of hours
• Over the next several years many
smaller events deposited new
sediment and carved new valleys in
what is effectively a small scale model
—though hundreds of feet deep—of
the Grand Canyon
• The volcano serves as a tribute to the
fact that catastrophic events can have
an immense geologic impact in a very
short period of time and that,
historically, they have—even in the
Grand Canyon!
DINOSAURS AND MAN
• All beasts and men were created on the same day—day six—of
Creation (Genesis 1:24-31); furthermore, since all beasts passed
before Adam (Genesis 2:19, 20), then man and dinosaurs must
have lived concurrently
• Herodotus (The Histories, II.75-76), Josephus (Antiquities of the
Jews, II.x.2), and Pliny (Natural History, X.28) each wrote about
encounters between the Egyptian Ibises and flying serpents which
were described by Herodotus as having the form “of the
watersnake” and “wings not feathered but most nearly resembling
the wings of the bat”; Josephus said Moses fought them
• For a Biblical description of a dinosaur, see back page
•
DATING METHODS
• RELATIVE DATING is a subjective means
of dating one thing relative to
another thing (examples include
dendrochronology [tree-ring dating]
and stratigraphy [rock strata dating])
• ABSOLUTE DATING is a means of dating
things based upon actual means of
measurement (examples include
radiometric dating [based upon
decay rates of various elements] and
coin dating)
• Reasons for the misunderstanding of
and mistakes of dating methods:
• Circular reasoning can skew the
results of both types of dating
• Numerous popular dating methods
require the conditions in which
that being dated existed to have
been the same as today, and the
conditions in which it has been
preserved likewise to have been
uniform—atmospheric changes
and/or catastrophic events would
necessarily skew the results
• All dating methods have limitations
which are often ignored
• Miscalculation is common
DRAGONS
• As cultures throughout the world have
creation and flood traditions, so are
dragons found in their traditions
• Today, a creature, the bombardier
beetle, exists which can mix
chemicals and produce steam—
could not a creature have mixed
chemicals to produce fire?
• It is certainly feasible to reason that
dragons did exist and that humans
encountered them (see back page)
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Copyright 2010 by Daniel Frazier Cates, Cates Publications; all rights reserved
OVERVIEW OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES #2
WHAT WAS BEHEMOTH OF JOB 40?
WHAT WAS LEVIATHAN OF JOB 41?
• “[H]e eateth grass as an ox” (15)
• This eliminates Behemoth’s being a hippopotamus as some have
felt
• “He moveth his tail like a cedar” (17)
• This eliminates Behemoth’s being an elephant as others have felt
• “His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of
iron” (18)
• “[H]e drinketh up a river, … can draw up Jordan into his mouth” (23)
• Basically the same expression was used by Herodotus to
describe the massive army of Xerxes: “[W]hat water was not
exhausted, being drunk by his host, except only the great
rivers?” (The Histories, VII.21)
• Behemoth must have been a dinosaur!
• Could not be hooked, snared (1-2),
tamed (3), harnessed (4),
domesticated (5), merchandised (6),
or hurt by weaponry (7, 26-29)
• One who had fought him would want to
do so no more (8); most would not
dare in the first place (9-10, 25)
• Every physical aspect was powerful,
fierce, and intimidating (12-14, 2224, 30, 33-34)
• Was well protected (15-17)
• Issued fire and smoke (18-21, 31-32)
• Leviathan must have been dragon-like!
A REVIEW OF THE SCOPES “MONKEY” TRIAL
• For over a week, beginning JULY 10, 1925, a trial was held in DAYTON, TENNESSEE, which on the surface was to
determine whether JOHN THOMAS SCOPES, a twenty-four year old gym teacher/football coach substituting in a
biology class, had taught evolution in the local public school; it was a trial effectively staged by the AMERICAN CIVIL
LIBERTIES UNION in order to bring to public attention evolution as a progressive alternative to religious
Fundamentalism—the ACLU had placed ads in Tennessee newspapers seeking anyone who would be willing to
challenge the newly enacted BUTLER ACT which forbade the teaching of evolution in Tennessee public schools
• The events in the Rhea County Courthouse, which had room for a few hundred but uncomfortably accommodated
one thousand as the trial opened, were just part of the excitement in Dayton during the trial; multitudes of
spectators, including two chimpanzees and a small person hailed as the “missing link,” and media stormed into
town as the trial was the first ever broadcast on the radio and as it became news even in Europe; “[I]t was better
than the circus” wrote H.L. MENCKEN who saw “evangelical Christianity as a growing concern” (“The Hills of Zion”)
• The trial, overseen by JUDGE JOHN RAULSTON, pitted a politician who had not practiced law in thirty years and who
was a skilled orator but neither a scientist nor a Bible scholar, WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, against a man known as
the “Great Agnostic,” CLARENCE DARROW who had a reputation for defending the seemingly indefensible
• On the seventh day, the trial, which was an open-and-shut case due to Scopes’ unquestioned violation of the law,
became an attack by the defense upon Bryan’s knowledge of science and understanding of Scripture—he was
questioned on Bible miracles (e.g., the whale’s swallowing Jonah—first worded by Darrow, “Jonah swallowed the
whale,” the sun’s standing still in Joshua’s day, and the flood) and chronology (including Bryan’s ignorance of the
populations of Egypt in the 1500’s B.C. and China in the 3000’s B.C.) and where Cain got his wife—sadly, not
understanding the error’s implication Bryan conceded that he thought the days of Genesis one could have been
periods of time; nonetheless, Bryan who otherwise argued for a literal reading of Genesis made it known that he
felt “The only purpose Mr. Darrow has is to slur at the Bible”
• In his book, Center of the Storm, Scopes, who never took the stand in the trial itself, later wrote, “To tell the truth, I
wasn’t sure I had taught evolution”
• The prosecution won the day in the Scopes Trial and as a result, after a deliberation of just nine minutes, John
Scopes was fined $100 which a gracious Bryan offered to pay on behalf of his manipulated opponent; in 1927 the
state supreme court upheld the finding of the 1925 trial; the Butler Act was not repealed until 1967
• Popular conception, largely influenced by the biased, antagonistic Baltimore Sun journalist H.L. Mencken, by
evolutionists who view it as a test case in the debate over human origins, and by Darrow’s grilling of Bryan on
irrelevant matters, is seen in the incongruous play and movie, Inherit the Wind
• Bryan died within five days of the trial; Scopes left teaching to study geology and ultimately work in the oil industry
CATES PUBLICATIONS
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•
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