Lessons from Fossils

Joshua 4:21-22

“And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”

Fossils do not give us the lessons that many people suppose they will. It is commonly supposed that fossils provide frozen evidence of evolution. To the uninitiated, it is strongly implied that evolutionary bitwise changes can be seen captured in the fossil record, like a series of snapshots. Closer inspection, however, shows that this idea is a myth.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of fossils found are marine invertebrates. Yet even these, in practice, show no signs of change. I was recently given a large collection of seashells and fossils, out of which I am making a display. Many of the fossils correspond exactly with modern seashells. In other words, the fossil record does not provide evidence of change. It provides evidence of stasis – the concept that many things remain the same.

In his book, The Fossils Book, Gary Parker shows pictures of fossil clams. Anyone who has prepared seafood to eat knows that bivalve molluscs, like clams, open up when they die. That is why we usually pick out open clams and cockles to throw away before we cook them, as they are likely already dead and might be decaying. If a clam has been fossilized closed, it indicates that the fossilization process must have happened very quickly indeed. The clam was buried alive, with no chance of opening up in death.

It is our assertion that the majority of the world’s fossils were formed during the global flood of Genesis. This would have killed and buried many creatures very rapidly indeed. Rapid burial by the flood is a better explanation of fossil formation than slow, evolutionary burial.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Prayer: The signs of Your greatness are all around us, Lord. We stand in awe at how marvelous is Your work. Amen.

Ref: Parker, G. (2006), The Fossil Book, p. 36. Image: Adobe Stock Image, licensed to author.