Running head: EARTH SCIENCE 1 My original post: As far as atheists are concerned, the bible is not dependable regarding scientific detail on the earth's origin. Atheists suppose that the bible's intention was not to teach humans about science. On the contrary, the text is a reliable source of knowledge regarding spiritual things and God. However, several theological scholars and preachers appreciate the significance of terrestrial antiquity. Several of them have developed strategies indicating the bible's data consistency with geological findings (Young et al., 2016). Many individuals who have embraced evolution teachings have endeavored to place a gap of undetermined time between the initial two verses of Genesis. Genesis states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and was void…." (Genesis 1:1-2). What supposedly happened during this gap period is unknown. Several versions place the gap period to be millions of geological years. Reconstruction theorists have incorporated these theories into the scriptures, accepting them for fossil records (Ham, 2020). Additionally, proponents of Young earth creationism affirm that supernatural works of a divine being roughly 10,000 years ago formed the earth alongside its life forms. Such teachings EARTH SCIENCE relate to a particular interpretation of the book of Genesis. Lastly, a group of individuals subscribes to the theory of old-earth, and new age lost continents. They affirm that sixty thousand years ago, two continents existed. One was in the Atlantic Ocean called Atlantis, and another in the Pacific Ocean called Mu or Lemuria. Atlantis supposedly sank into the ocean because of volcanic eruptions resulting in augmented sea levels and continental shifts (Tarbuck et al., 2018). Poseidia, Arya, and other smaller uninhabited islands, including Bermuda and the Bahamas, remained. References Ham, K. (2020). What About the Gap & Ruin-Reconstruction Theories?. Retrieved 9 June 2020, from https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/gap-theory/what-about-the-gap-and-ruinreconstruction-theories/ Tarbuck, E., Lutgens, F., & Tasa, D. (2018). Earth science (15th ed.). Pearson. Young, D., Davis, T., & Stearly, R. (2016). The Bible, Rocks, and Time: Christians and an Old Earth - Articles. Retrieved 9 June 2020, from https://biologos.org/articles/the-bible-rocks-andtime-christians-and-an-old-earth 2 EARTH SCIENCE Posts to respond too: Post #1 – Kim In Genesis chapter one, it starts off by saying, “In the beginning, God created heaven and Earth.” When we read this statement, can we tell when the beginning started? Many people believe that the Earth isn’t very old. The only reason why some feel this way is because they are using the Bible as an all-around science book instead of a guide to a better way of living. I believe that the Earth is way over 4 billion years old. Given the technology that we as humans have created, we have made several new discoveries over centuries on how old the Earth is. When it comes to theories, like The Big Bang theory, we can also use the Bible to explain how everything came to be. The theory behind the Big Bang was the universe began as a very hot, small, and dense super force, and then one day exploded with unimaginable force, creating matter and propelling it outward to make the billions of galaxies of our vast universe. When you look at the Big Bang in a Biblical sense, we can refer to the second verse of the first chapter in Genesis, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”. When I think of how old the Earth is, I can see how we can use Scripture to help get another perspective on how the earth looked before it became what we know of it today. Post #2 – Elanor The old-earth gap theory of earth history provides an example of the methods Christians have used in an effort to reconcile the claims of the Bible with modern science. According to the old-earth gap theory, the information included in the biblical account of creation is correct, but a large span of time was omitted from the record, allowing adherents of this view to hold to both the creation account and the modern scientific evidence for an old earth. 3 EARTH SCIENCE 4 This view also carries more informative titles, including “reconstruction” and “restitution” (Ryrie, 1999, p. 208; Scott, 1997, p. 270). These titles highlight the position that this view holds regarding what happened during and following the alleged “gap” from which the theory gets its most common name. According to this theory, there was more than one creation. During the alleged gap between the first two verses of Genesis, the old creation was destroyed. From the scientific side of things, prehistoric fossils belong to the first creation, not the second (Ryrie, 1999, p. 209). References Ryrie, C. C. (1999). Basic theology: A popular systematic guide to understanding biblical truth. Moody Press. Scott, E. C. (1997). Antievolution and creationism in the united states. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26, 263-289. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.263 Earth’s Evolution Through Geologic Time Chapter 12 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens Genesis 2:4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. The Anthropic Principle • The physical and astronomical features of nature, providing for the uniqueness of Earth for supporting life, led theoretical physicist Brandon Carter in 1973 to state what he called "the anthropic principle“; in one formulation he said this – the Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage. To paraphrase Descartes, cogito ergo mundus talis est ("I think, therefore the world is such [as it is]" Put another way – Since we exist and observe the universe, it must be constructed in a way that permits our existence. • Many people conclude that various features of the cosmos, the Earth, and the terrestrial habitat, seem intelligently designed to promote and sustain life. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Evidence of Design The significance of the Anthropic Principle is that it returns our attention to the fact that the universe appears designed to permit human life. There are particular features of Earth and the cosmos that make life and human beings possible. Earth’s Size Earth’s Distance from the Sun Earth’s Structure Sun’s Size © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Earth History • The Earth began with accumulations of space debris, drawn together by gravitational attraction - Accretion. • When the primitive Earth was sufficiently large (radius of hundreds of kilometers), crushing pressure and compression from weight above caused deep levels to melt, and some vaporization occurred, allowing materials to sort vertically by density, forming the heavy, liquid core and lighter, solid mantle, and primitive atmosphere. • The outer surface eventually cooled to form the crust. • When the Sun got large and hot enough to ignite its nuclear fusion reactions, it blew away the early Earth atmosphere. As Earth continued to cool, a more stable atmosphere developed. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere • Early content of the atmosphere – Outgassing = H2O, CO2, N2, and trace gases. • Modifications – Cooling eventually allowed water vapor in the atmosphere to condense and produce rain, further cooling the crust and eventually forming the oceans. – No free oxygen, until photosynthesis began with the first plants. • Present content – 79% N2, 20% O2, and 1% other gases. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Formation of Crust and Supercontinents • Crust initially formed into fragments called terranes that accreted to form crustal blocks called cratons. • The portion of a craton now exposed at the surface is a shield. • Continental crust – thick and low density. • Oceanic crust – thin and high density. • Several supercontinents in Earth history are recognized – Rodinia (1.1 Bya), Gondwana (600 Mya), and Pangaea (250 Mya), in a succession termed the supercontinent cycle. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Earth History • Divisions into time units and their subunits – Eons (2)/Eras (6)/Periods/Epochs © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Methods of Determining the Features of Earth’s Geologic History • Geographic extent of particular stratum – For example, limestone indicates the region was a marine environment, such as a shallow sea • Fossil ensembles in each stratum, indicating biologic communities. Notice fossil succession in stratigraphic sequences. • Climate of each stratum • Fossils indicate habitat including climate • Relative and absolute dating of each stratum © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Precambrian Eon • Eras (within the eon) – Proterozoic (preliminary life; most recent) – 2.5 Bya to 540 Mya – Archean (or Archeozoic) – 3.8 to 2.5 Bya (Greek "Αρχή" (Arkhē), meaning “ancient, beginning, origin“; “ἄρχων” translated 37 times in the KJV as lord or a similar English word) – Hadean (oldest) – before 3.8 Bya (from Hades, Greek for “underworld” or “beneath”) • Fossils – Prokaryotes (no nuclear membrane in the cell) = bacteria, archaea; 3.1 Bya – Stromatolites (most common) – deposits by algae. Common in middle Precambrian (in the Archean, 2 Bya) – Eukaryotes (nuclei; organelles) – very simple unicellular animals in late Precambrian © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Phanerozoic Eon • Paleozoic Era – Great diversification of life forms in the early Cambrian – “the Cambrian Explosion” – no explanation of how the forms appeared. – First life forms with hard parts, enhancing fossilization – “Ages” in order • Age of Amphibians (late) -- higher • Age of Fishes (middle) • Age of Invertebrates (early) – lower – In Late Paleozoic, the Great Permian extinction closes the era. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Phanerozoic Eon (cont.) • Mesozoic Era – Age of Dinosaurs, or Age of Reptiles • Mass extinction at 65 Mya closes the era. –Probably caused by a large meteorite (10 km dia.) striking the Yucatan Peninsula, forming the Chicxulub Crater, and leaving an iridium layer worldwide. • Cenozoic Era – Age of Mammals © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
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