We read it in the textbooks. We see it on TV. The myth that strata actually proves Evolution is a serious misunderstanding. When examined closely, strata layers actually point to Creation!
The Evolutionists claim that strata (layered sedimentary rocks) are created over long periods of time. As millions of years pass, sand and other minerals are laid down, creating the layers that allegedly represent the certain periods of time they were deposited. For an example, one layer may have been laid down over a period of 50 millions years, the next over a period of 80 million years, and so on. According to their theory, these layers are like pages in a geological history book; we can find out about our earth 300 million years ago by examining the layer laid down at that time.
So, how do they prove their point? It all has to do with the fossils buried in strata. Many fossils can be found in the layers of strata rock; fossils of animals, plants, shells, footprints and more. Evolutionists believe that creatures were buried and fossilized over time, and depending on which strata layer they are found in, so their age is. Excitedly they refer to this as proof of Evolution; every few million years, they see a newer, more complex organism in the strata record. A fish may be in one layer. Then a reptile in the next! This must be proof that fish evolved into reptiles! Well, I'll return to that thought soon.
But first, what do Creationists believe about strata? A Creationist view says that instead of millions of years, most of the strata were laid down in a matter of months. That's right. Months. Instead of sediments being slowly deposited, Creationists believe they were suddenly and violently packed together in a catastrophic, world-wide flood (Genesis 6-8). On it's own, that may sound hard to believe, but evidence for this idea is much stronger than evidence toward the Evolutionists' idea.
Firstly, in spite of how Evolutionists may argue, the fossils are rarely in perfect order, according to their theory. Many “more advanced” species have been found next to, or even beneath their “ancestors”. Secondly, Charles Darwin predicted in his book, The Origin of Species, that if his Theory of Evolution was correct, “the number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed on the earth, [must] be truly enormous”. Yet never – I repeat, never – out of the 100 million fossils discovered in 150 years – has one single transitional fossil been found. There are no half-fish, half-reptiles, or half-monkeys, half-men. Certainly many fossils have been found that were thought to be transitional, but each time they were later rejected, and instead accepted as one species. Heribert-Nilsson, a scientist of Lund University in Sweden, said after forty years of studying paleontology and botany that “the deficiencies [the missing links] are real; they will never be filled.”
I can imagine that if Darwin himself were here today, he'd hold up his hands and say, “Never mind! My theory is wrong after all.” Yet scientists still devote their lives to finding those missing links – and as Heribert-Nilsson said, they will never be found.
Another puzzler for Evolutionists is the existence of polystrate fossils; fossilized trees that shoot upwards through layers of strata! If the Theory of Evolution is true, then these trees stood upright for millions of years while rock and sediments slowly covered them! Of course that is impossible, and such “mysteries” are mostly kept hush-hush from the public, lest faith in the Evolutionary Theory begins to waver.
Unknown to most people, strata actually can be created in a short period of time. An example would be the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, a volcano in Washington, state, where the hot ejecta flattened forests and gorged deep canyons, like mini-versions of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and created layers of strata that represented days and weeks – not millions of years.
Another thing most people don't know is that fossils don't just happen. In other words, if an animal dies, it doesn't stay intact as sediments slowly cover it and preserve it for millions of years. If scavengers don't devour it as soon as dies, it will rot instead, and it certainly won't become a fossil. Very special conditions are required for fossilization, including rapid burial and high pressure; both of which would be present in a world-wide flood.
Although fossils are not in perfect order according to the Evolutionary theory, they do tend to appear in the strata with smaller and slower animals generally beneath the larger and faster ones. Why is this so? Well, this makes perfect sense in a flood. As Vance Ferrell says in his pro-Creation book, The Evolution Handbook: “When the Flood overwhelmed the world, the first to be covered were slow-moving animals, the next to be covered were somewhat larger, somewhat faster-moving animals, and so it went.” The quickly rising flood waters would result in quick deaths, quick burials, high pressure, and ultimately, lots of fossils.
In conclusion, the strata record clearly does not point to Evolution, but to sudden catastrophe, and to the Biblical world-wide flood. And if the Bible was right about the flood, there's a fair chance it was also right about creation – and the Creator – and our submission due to Him.
Sources Consulted
Ferrell, Vance, The Evolution Handbook, Altamont, TN: Evolution Facts, Inc., 2005
Steele, DeWitt, and Gregory Parker, Science of the Physical Creation, Pensacola, Florida: A Beka Book, 1996
Richards, Lawrence O., It Couldn't Just Happen, Nashville, TN: Tommy Nelson, Inc., 1989
Mount St. Helens: Explosive Evidence for Catastrophe, (Steve Austin, Ph.D.), Institute for Creation Research
