Papers by Stephen Mitchell
Jesus in History and Science Website, 2021
The geology of Palo Duro Canyon and the Llano Estacado region provides a great test for the predi... more The geology of Palo Duro Canyon and the Llano Estacado region provides a great test for the predictions of "Young Earth Creation" and "Flood Geology". Were the rocks deposited by a great flood or were they by slower geological processes over millions of years? We find spearpoints made by Paleoindians from flints formed in the area. If Abraham used flint for
weapons, could it have hardened in the time available in the Young Earth model?
Website: Jesus in History and Science, 2022
Tides, both today and in ancient times left distinguishing characteristics that are recognizable.... more Tides, both today and in ancient times left distinguishing characteristics that are recognizable. Some of these also help us to measure how long it took for them to be deposited. The time periods demonstrated just don't fit the flood geology interpretation that rocks were deposited very quickly during Noah's flood.
Website: Jesus in History and Science, 2021
Young earth creationist (YEC) and PhD geologist, Timothy Clarey has published the book, Carved in... more Young earth creationist (YEC) and PhD geologist, Timothy Clarey has published the book, Carved in Stone, presenting his proposal for correlating the geology of Earth with his interpretation of Genesis. While Clarey has a much better understanding of geology than some YEC, data just does not support his interpretation. This response examines many of the interpretations proposed by Dr. Clarey that conflict with the geologic history recognized by most geologists and shows data that conflict with his YEC interpretation cannot be supported.
Books by Stephen Mitchell
A Texas-Sized Challenge to Young Earth Creation and Flood Geology, 2018
In the first part of this book, it compares the Young Earth Creationists (YEC) interpretation of ... more In the first part of this book, it compares the Young Earth Creationists (YEC) interpretation of geology to the rocks of a study area that includes Texas, New Mexico, northern Mexico and offshore Texas. Several YEC claims inherently make predictions about how the geologic record should look. Here are three key predictions:
1. All of the rocks formed since creation were laid down in a few thousand years.
2. Large amounts of the rock record were deposited by a global flood that laid down its deposits over a one-year period.
3. All of the rocks deposited since the flood were deposited in a very limited time, (most over a 350-to-450-year period, if the flood occurred approximately 4350 years ago).
Texas and the nearby area provide great opportunities to test these predictions. The book presents many examples where the predictions clearly fail. If the rocks demonstrate that they were formed over periods of time greater than one year, those rocks cannot have been formed during Noah’s flood (2 above). Many examples of this are documented. In fact, it is clear in many cases, that the rocks were formed over a period of time longer than the 5,000 to 10,000 years that YEC interpret that the Earth has existed (1 above). In some cases, rocks were deposited in environments such as desert settings that just were not compatible with deposition in a global flood.
It is possible to recognize approximately what sediment has been deposited since the time of Abraham, approximately 4000 years ago and we recognize that relatively little has been deposited. YEC interpret the top level of flood deposits in very different places, but all have great difficulty in explaining all of the rocks that were supposed to have formed in just a few hundred years.
The second part of the book investigates what other possibilities exist for correlating Genesis with the data from science and nature. It examines these four questions:
• Can the Genesis 1 account of creation over seven days be reconciled with the scientific understanding of time?
• Can the story of Adam and Eve be reconciled with scientific data?
• Is the biblical account of Noah’s flood a record of a real historical event?
• If so, when was it and what might it have looked like?
Scientific discoveries to date can indeed be interpreted in ways that are consistent with the Biblical accounts. Several options are presented that show ways that this might be done.
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Papers by Stephen Mitchell
weapons, could it have hardened in the time available in the Young Earth model?
Books by Stephen Mitchell
1. All of the rocks formed since creation were laid down in a few thousand years.
2. Large amounts of the rock record were deposited by a global flood that laid down its deposits over a one-year period.
3. All of the rocks deposited since the flood were deposited in a very limited time, (most over a 350-to-450-year period, if the flood occurred approximately 4350 years ago).
Texas and the nearby area provide great opportunities to test these predictions. The book presents many examples where the predictions clearly fail. If the rocks demonstrate that they were formed over periods of time greater than one year, those rocks cannot have been formed during Noah’s flood (2 above). Many examples of this are documented. In fact, it is clear in many cases, that the rocks were formed over a period of time longer than the 5,000 to 10,000 years that YEC interpret that the Earth has existed (1 above). In some cases, rocks were deposited in environments such as desert settings that just were not compatible with deposition in a global flood.
It is possible to recognize approximately what sediment has been deposited since the time of Abraham, approximately 4000 years ago and we recognize that relatively little has been deposited. YEC interpret the top level of flood deposits in very different places, but all have great difficulty in explaining all of the rocks that were supposed to have formed in just a few hundred years.
The second part of the book investigates what other possibilities exist for correlating Genesis with the data from science and nature. It examines these four questions:
• Can the Genesis 1 account of creation over seven days be reconciled with the scientific understanding of time?
• Can the story of Adam and Eve be reconciled with scientific data?
• Is the biblical account of Noah’s flood a record of a real historical event?
• If so, when was it and what might it have looked like?
Scientific discoveries to date can indeed be interpreted in ways that are consistent with the Biblical accounts. Several options are presented that show ways that this might be done.