Earth Sciences

The center object on the opposite page represents Noah’s Ark. This drawing is based on a detailed and convincing description by a man who claimed to have twice walked on the Ark in the early 1900s. His information has been checked in ways he never could have imagined. Every known detail has supported his story. We must emphasize, however, there is no proof the Ark exists, although there are many alleged sightings. We must patiently wait for a verifiable discovery of this huge object that may be buried under rock and ice near the 14,000-foot level of rugged Mount Ararat in a remote part of eastern Turkey.

The implications of a worldwide flood for the earth sciences, for the theory of evolution, and for mankind in general, deserve the serious reflection of every thoughtful person. Earth has many features which scientists with evolutionary presuppositions cannot explain. But these features can be explained by a gigantic flood—the most cataclysmic and literally earthshaking event the world has ever experienced—which also formed deep ocean trenches, most mountains, and many other amazing features.

A detailed and scientific reconstruction of these events now can be made independently of Scripture. This reconstruction, based only on what is seen on Earth today, is explained in Part II, “The Fountains of the Great Deep” on pages 100–303. If you study both this explanation and the biblical descriptions of the flood—two completely different perspectives—you may be startled by their agreement and the sheer power and violence of that event. Both biblical scholars and scientists have been surprised at the extent to which each perspective illuminates the other. After reading “The Fountains of the Great Deep,” you will more deeply appreciate what the psalmist wrote 3,000 years ago, “The waters were standing above the mountains. At Thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of Thy thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down ... [so the waters] may not return to cover the earth.” (Ps 104:6–9)