The science of Geology has been a major supporter
of the story of evolution since Charles Darwin studied old earth
geology books on his voyage on the HMS Beagle in the early
1800's. If the fairy tale of organic evolution is to be true,
then the earth must be billions of years old. It is thus
necessary to interpret all physical evidence found on earth
today in terms of long periods of time. Time is the hero
of the evolutionary plot!
Using this viewpoint, geologists looked at the
island chain in the Pacific Ocean we call the Hawaiian Islands
and proclaimed that here is proof the earth has to be millions
upon millions of years old. This is how their story goes in their
own words. "At 19 degrees north latitude, a persistent hotspot
continues today to fire up the Big Island of Hawaii. Millions
of years ago, the stationary hotspot acted in much the same way.
As the Pacific Plate moved northward, it carried new volcanic
islands beyond the hotspot, away from the magma source. And so,
one by one, the Emperor Seamount chain formed. Then around 43
million years ago, the Pacific Plate dramatically shifted from
a northward direction to a more westerly direction. The ancient
seamounts took a bend as the plate dragged across the fixed Hawaiian
hotspot, forming the Hawaiian volcano ridge, which now extends
some 2,000 miles northwest across the Pacific Ocean. So the geologic
story of Hawaii's creation goes ... or maybe not." Says Lisa
Pinsker, in Geotimes, March 2003.
"... Or maybe not"? How can that
be? Millions upon millions of young people, including me, have
been taught in school for years that this was a scientific
fact! Not just the current best model for the islands formation.
It was, and still is, used to convince impressionable young minds
that God could not have created the earth just a few thousand
years ago but that it must have been billions of years ago, if
God was even involved at all. This exceedingly slow process could
not have occurred in any other fashion and, therefore, was proof
of an ancient earth; but, it seems that not all scientists who
are knowledgeable in this field are in agreement.
Now it appears research and new data has led geoscientists
to rethink the moving plate theory for the production of the Hawaiian
Island chain. This new evidence makes the evolutionary scientists
say that, no, the plate movement did not form the islands but
it was the movement of the volcanic hotspot. So, now, the hotspots
are moving, and as Bob Duncan of Oregon State University says,
"... that the Hawaiian hotspot was moving south at a fairly
high velocity in the period of the Emperor Seamount production
about 80 to 45 million years ago." Geotimes, March
2003.
It would seem that students around the world should
be told that these "facts" they read in their
textbooks, and see in fancy museum displays, and read about in
encyclopedias, to support an old age for the earth, are just current
best guesses, that no one really knows for sure what happened
to form the features on earth today.
Christians need to realize that God in the Bible
has never been wrong once, let alone over and over again - as
fallible humans have. God said he created the world. He gives
no reason for us to think that the creation was billions of years
ago, and, indeed, it gives every indication that it was created
relatively recently. God's creation was perfect and was then destroyed
by the flood sent to punish all mankind: "the world that
then was, being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Peter
3:6. This accounts for the way the world looks today. Any wild
guesses that teach otherwise should be viewed as just that, guesses
that have no proof! We need to arm ourselves and our young people
for the assault that they will face each day in our public schools,
colleges, and universities. Rt 1 Box 116A, Belington, WV 26250.