Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra Volume: BSAC 117:466 (Apr 1960) Article: The Genesis Flood—Its Nature and Significance, Part I Author: Henry M. Morris

BSac 117:466 (Apr 60) p. 155 The Genesis Flood—Its Nature and Significance, Part I Henry M. Morris John C. Whitcomb Jr. [Henry M. Morris is Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia.] [John C. Whitcomb is Professor of Old Testament, Grace Theological Seminary. Winona Lake, Indiana.] [Editor’s Note: This article is the first of two on this subject.] The great Flood of Genesis plays a uniquely important role in the continuing conflict between the Bible and naturalistic science, a fact far too seldom realized even by evangelical Christians. For, if a worldwide Flood actually destroyed all men and land animals except those preserved in a special ark constructed by Noah, and increased to such an extent that for a number of months “all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered” (Gen 7:19), as the Bible plainly declares, then the very foundation of the materialistic, evolutionary framework of modern philosophic scientism is immediately undermined. To (1797–1875), “the high priest of ,” the very thought of in nature was abhorrent. He insisted that the strata of the earth were laid down over inconceivably vast periods of time by extremely gradual processes of erosion and sedimentation, and that “the present is the key to the past.” Charles Darwin found Lyellian uniformatarianism to be the perfect environment for his theory of evolution by natural selection and the survival of the fittest, for he recognized that a tremendous span of time was of supreme importance in theorizing on the naturalistic evolution of all living things. Furthermore, it is now generally recognized that the only real “proof” that organic evolution is a historical fact is found in the story of the fossils in the sedimentary rock strata of the earth, which have been interpreted in strict conformity to the uniformitarian principle. The purpose of this article is to discover what the Scriptures have to say concerning these opposing concepts of uniformitarianism and catastrophism, as brought to focus in the question of the Flood. In a subsequent article, the presuppositions of uniformitarian and organic evolution will be examined in the light of the Biblical evidence.

BSac 117:466 (Apr 60) p. 156 The Testimony of the Apostle Peter

The Apostle Peter clearly foresaw the future dominance and danger of naturalistic uniformitarianism, and uttered an emphatic warning against it. In 2 Peter 3:3–7 we read: “…Knowing this first, that in the last days mo... You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article. Click here to subscribe visitor : : uid: ()