What Does the Evidence Show?

Creationists and evolutionists study the same evidence. We examine the same rocks, the same fossils, and the same world.

So why do we reach different conclusions about the same evidence? Our worldviews strongly influence our conclusions.

The evolutionary worldview looks at the rock layers around the world and interprets them as the result of slow and gradual processes over the course of millions and millions of years.

The biblical worldview looks at the same rock layers and sees overwhelming evidence that they were rapidly laid down during the yearlong global flood described in Genesis.

Which worldview makes better sense of the evidence?

Uniformitarianism: Buried During Millions of Years

According to the predominant scientific model, the layers of the geologic column represent hundreds of millions of years of slow and gradual processes. The fossils allegedly show that “simple” organisms progressively developed into more “complex” life forms over long periods of time.

Three problems exist:

• Where are all the transitional fossils?
• Why are there time gaps with no erosion between some layers of the column?
• Due to the repeated churning of soil by tiny organisms, a process known as bioturbation, gradual processes of depositing sediments would not permit distinct rock layers to form.

Catastrophism: Burial During the Year of the Flood

A creation-flood model explains that most of the fossil-bearing rock layers were deposited during the Genesis flood.

Organisms on the sea floor were buried first, followed by other marine animals and then land-dwelling creatures.

The order in which fossils appear in the record can generally be understood as a progression of burial according to the ecosystems in which the creatures lived in the pre-flood world. However, marine fossils are found throughout the record.

Start planning your visit to the Ark Encounter today, and be sure to check out our Flood Geology exhibit on the third deck to learn more about how our worldview shapes our perspective and find out what fossils can teach us about the global flood of Noah’s day.