Mike: At the risk of going somewhat off track, I would like to tell you about a series of lectures given by a Dr. Kendall at my church in support of creationism. I would like to bounce a couple of things he mentioned off of you. Of course, in their view of creation, God created the heavens and the earth in just 6 solar days. (I prefer to believe that He was not in that big a rush and accomplished it over a considerable period of time, say 5 billion years.) So, they must disprove the geologic time series. Also, the great flood is seen as being responsible for a sudden world-wide deposition. This view claims that the Kaibab formations (1 mile thick) were laid down in a brief period and not during the various Mesozoic intrusions of the sea into the southwest. What basis to they have for such a view? First, concerning the 6 day scenario, they claim that there is a record of rapid geomagnetic reverse in polarity in a volcanic flow in Oregon. also that magnetic orientations beneath the ocean floor are chaotic, not in neat lines that we see from the Scripps Oceanographic data. As you know, the common belief is that the earth magnetic polarity dies out and resumes in reverse polarity only about every 200,000 years. What could explain reverse polarity within a matter of days, as seen in the Oregon example?
Now for Number 2, rapid deposition. He states that there are petrified logs that cross through the geologic strata. This is found in coal mines, as well as, for example, in the Yellowstone deposits. He claims that these vertical fossil logs that cross strata indicate that the materials were laid down during a brief period, i.e. the great flood. Further proof of this is the lack of fracture zones in the sediments directly over upfaulted and downfaulted blocks, indicating that the materials were still clastic or wet during the faulting. Also, the existence of sandstone dikes where the crystal structure of the sandstone remains circular and is not deformed, indicating that the sandstone was pressed upward while still wet and pliable. Now I am aware that the geologic record, based upon the level of the sea, confirms a great flood about 9500 years ago. Have you or anyone on this thread ever encountered cross-strata anomalies and dikes such as what he describes and how do you explain them? Another evidence given for rapid deposition was the existence of incised meanders, such as we find in the Palouse District. According to Dr. Kendall, this could only occur if the materials were poorly consolidated. Since pressure rapidly consolidates sediments, he sees this as a further proof of rapid deposition. I hope you will excuse this brief excursion into stratigraphy and creationism. I would like to pick your brains out there.
Thanks,
Lee |
