Younger Dryas Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

There is no question that we are experiencing a rapidly changing climate. The data is massive and comes from many places on Earth. There hasn’t been much of a change here in Michigan so far. We have had a very typical winter at the time of this writing. However, in places like Alaska, the changes have been very pronounced. Many areas around the globe have witnessed changes not seen before in modern times.

We must understand that there have been many periods of changing climate throughout Earth’s history. At one time, glaciers covered a significant part of North America, giving undeniable evidence of a frigid climate. Around 12,000 years ago, there was a cold period scientists call the “Younger Dryas.” Many large animals went extinct during that climate change. When dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the climate was very different from today. Not only was it warmer, but the oxygen level was higher.

The point is that changing climate is not new. Our planet is a dynamic place, and climate change is part of its history. The issue is how much humans contribute to climate change and whether it will have disastrous consequences for us. As the planet warms, the thawing of glaciers and polar ice releases water into the ocean. This means we have to prepare for weather changes and a rise in sea level.

Some people will use the changes to deny God’s existence. Others will blame God or claim that He is using climate change as a weapon to afflict us for rejecting HIm. Instead, we suggest that God has allowed us to understand how the creation works and expects us to use that knowledge to prepare for the future.

Perhaps as humans battle with the changing climate, it will prevent the nonsense of humans battling other humans. God won’t force solutions on us, but He has given us the tools we need to live successfully on this planet.

Evolution makes a very large number of assumptions. One of those assumptions called uniformitarianism is the belief that no process has ever operated in the past that is not going on today. Believing in uniformitarianism gives some answers, but it raises many questions.

Today we know how glaciers work and how volcanoes form and shape the land. We are aware of all of the various forms of erosion and the chemical processes that alter materials of the Earth. When we look at something like the Grand Canyon, we assume that those same processes deposited the rocks and shaped the canyon. There are places high in the canyon where there are beach deposits that look like the beaches we see along the shores of Lake Michigan. That leads us to believe that at one time there was a lake in what is now the canyon. When we look at the Coconino sandstone in the Grand Canyon, we see the remains of sand dunes that look like the ones I see out the window of my house. The angles of the dune faces, the frosting of the sand grains, and the footprints of lizards that sink deep into the dune faces all cause us to rule out a flood as the cause of the Coconino sandstone.

At the same time, processes going on today don’t explain catastrophic events that seem to have happened in the past. In the 1980s scientists found evidence suggesting that an asteroid struck the Earth and altered the history of our planet. Some scientists expressed strong resistance to the asteroid proposal and gave all kinds of alternative explanations. If an astronomical event of that magnitude took place wiping out a majority of land species, the evolutionary theories of that day would have to be modified or discarded. This gave support for proposals like punctuated equilibrium, but it also caused many people in the scientific community to reject the asteroid as a possible cause. Those believing in uniformitarianism and naturalism resisted any attempt to suggest that catastrophic events may have shaped the Earth’s history.

From a biblical standpoint, we see that there have been catastrophic events in the past that are not happening today. The flood of Noah, the crossing of the Red Sea, the deaths of the firstborn in Egypt, and all the miracles the Bible describes are not happening today and thus are not uniformitarian. These, however, are rare and are the exception to what happens on a daily basis.

New evidence shows that believing in uniformitarianism as the single cause of the Earth’s history is not valid. Evidence shows that about 12,800 years ago there was a very rapid cooling of the Earth called the Younger Dryas. One proposal is that a massive pulse of cold freshwater from glaciers flooded the ocean cooling the planet. Another suggestion is that a comet exploded in the atmosphere triggering wildfires which produced enough soot to block the Sun and cool the planet. In 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, an event like that occurred when a meteoroid exploded producing as much energy as 1000 Hiroshima bombs and gave support to the idea that astronomical catastrophes caused some structures on Earth.

Scientific literature is full of current research reports supporting catastrophic change in the Earth’s history. Scientists will continue this debate, and new finds will establish support for various theories. It remains clear that believing in uniformitarianism and naturalism to explain the total history of our planet is on shaky ground.
–John N. Clayton © 2018
Reference: Science News, July 7, 2018, P 18.

Tag: Younger Dryas

Changing Climate and the Human Response

Believing in Uniformitarianism Raises Questions