Evidence for an old Earth

Hey all,

I did a field study a while ago in the west of Ireland, and I think my findings completely falsify the idea of a young Earth, i.e. the 6000 year figure that creationists are apparently so fond of. I'd like to present it here, and let you look over it - it's a bit hairy but I can explain the nastier bits if you want.

During the study, I had the fortune to examine a wonderfully complex geological area called Ballyferriter. In this area I saw at least five different environmental changes in a few square miles, as represented by the relevent geological formations. One formation caught my interest in particular - the central part of this formation consisted of about 30m of bright green mudstone, very soft and extensively layered, that contained hundreds of fossil beds, ripple marks and a type of cross-stratification that indicated a stormy environment.
It obviously represents a shallow marine shelf environment. The fossil layers alternated with the ripple marks and stratification, in a pattern that repeated itself throughout the formation. The fossils indicated a relatively still water setting, while the stratification indicated a storm setting. By conventional geology, this is nothing more than a changing environment pattern - but creationists interpret it as a result of the Flood.
So, during the Flood year (or whatever length of time it was), the environment changed several hundred times in this tiny, tiny section of Ballyferriter. Not only that, but the still water setting persisted long enough to allow vast networks of the trace fossil Chondrites to appear, which conventional geology considers to have happened slowly.
As well as this, the formations above and below this indicate a terrestrial volcanic environment, with desert conditions appearing briefly as well as rivers of various types. So, in the time of the Flood, the changes were absolutely radical in this area!
As if this wasn't enough, the area around Ballyferriter displays a completely different profile. Amazing, isn't it? Not to mention the incredibly complex faulting and deformational history of the area that shows a high level of displacement, overthrusting, and other features of an intense tectonic regime (It lies close to the Iapetus Suture; google for more info).
The field evidence is very powerfully against the Flood. I'm not talking about research done by someone else; I studied this area from scratch, and this is what I found. It indicates millions of years, with no mention of a Flood - unless creationists suggest that god fast-forwarded every geological process during the time of the Flood.

I've posted this before on EvCForum.net and ChristiansUnite.com - but surprise, surprise, I've never gotten anything close to a rebuttal. I'm hoping that there's a YEC geologist somewhere here that might be able to do it

The Rock Hound

Well, you have stated a problem yourself.

'YEC geologist' - oxymoron

Thats some good stuff. I wager 10 blessings that it reaches page 3 without a single creationist touching it, anyone want to take that bet?

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Greatest Hovind quote of all time, as voted for by members of CF:
"Teaching the pagan religion of evolutionism is a waste of valuable class time and textbook space. It is also one of the reasons American kids don't test as well in science as kids in other parts of the world."

I take that bet and raise you 10. we have some high quality creationists here. (incidentally, I think we should deduct posts pertaining to the bet, otherwise you could fix it for me to lose )

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MSci MSc ARCS DIC PhD..... yes, I am bragging.

OK, assuming no more bet posts they have until post 23.

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Greatest Hovind quote of all time, as voted for by members of CF:
"Teaching the pagan religion of evolutionism is a waste of valuable class time and textbook space. It is also one of the reasons American kids don't test as well in science as kids in other parts of the world."

You're three letters over.

No seriously, they DO exist - unlike geological evidence for the biblical flood. There must be a couple hanging around somewhere.

Oh and any time I've ever posted this before I never got to 3 pages - mostly because no creationist would respond, no matter how many times I bumped it. I only got this guy called John Paul (at ChristiansUnite) who repeatedly insisted that I should go to icr.org and ask them. I posted it to start with because he posted, and I quote, "Post something from talk.origins, I'm sure I can find a rebuttal". I started a new thread because I was tired of people just tossing out links instead of debating.

Anyway who could pass up a challenge like that?

The Rock Hound

Normally this kind of crushing evidence is ignored, but we make up the three pages with 'the silence is deafening' comments and side conversations.

Having said that - The silence is deafening!

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Greatest Hovind quote of all time, as voted for by members of CF:
"Teaching the pagan religion of evolutionism is a waste of valuable class time and textbook space. It is also one of the reasons American kids don't test as well in science as kids in other parts of the world."

It's a pretty good 'YEC Theory' Killer...but you've got to remember, YEC had no evidence to start with and mounds of evidence against-so what's one more, eh?

It's like the geocentrists and the flat-earthers-evidence doesn't matter to them. The only thing different about the YECs is they pretend to be scientific.

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If we are going to teach 'creation science' as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction. ~Judith Hayes, In God We Trust: But Which One?

"Be happy noble heart... And now the God of vengeance yields to me his power."

Just remember, you are unique, just like everybody else.

Well let's take this on shall we. It's been proven that scientists have proved that the Earth is much older then the Bible has told us it is since the days of Adam and Eve. I am going to direct attention now to Gensis and the first chapters of it. Expecially the days of creation. The day's of creation, well now here is where I would tackle the entire problem that may be seen by some. A day could of infact been either a reference to a day time frame to 'unknown' time, that might of been millions of years or even billions of years, in which either way god could progressively control time and super seed the factors of time without a problem. Since I do see god as one that is supreme above all and controls all. In which he controls time, and yet maintains the scientific references that we try to go by when analyzing the earth's soil topography.