Early Geology and the Flood

Genesis 7:19-20
“And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered

There is a myth perpetrated by some that Flood Geology is an invention of the 20^th Century, not supported, except implicitly, by geologists of earlier eras. This is not the case. One man who can prove this myth to be false is John Woodward, a contemporary of Isaac Newton.

Woodward was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1665. Not much is known about his early life, but at the age of 16, he was sent to London to be an apprentice to a draper. Later, he studied medicine under Peter Barwick, who was a physician to King Charles II.

Woodward turned out to be a bit of a polymath. His other interests and areas of expertise included botany and natural history. It was on a visit to Gloucestershire that he developed an interest in fossils and began an extensive collection of these fascinating objects.

It was his contention, just as that of creation scientists today, that fossils were formed as a result of the Worldwide Flood reported in Genesis. Studying the fossil-bearing rocks also, he developed a model of how these rocks were formed during the Flood. In 1695, he published his An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies, especially Minerals, &c, updating the work in 1702 and 1723.

Today, many secular geologists suppose that there is not, and never has been, any evidence in the rocks of the Flood. Yet Woodward, again like modern creation scientists, saw that evidence everywhere in the rocks and fossils that he studied.

We know, Lord, that people often just see what they want to see – the truth of Your word, or excuses to reject it. Thank You, Lord, that true science confirms Your word. Amen

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Woodward, J. (1695), An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies, , accessed 10/30/2017. Image: Public Domain, due to age.

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