Creation Science Rebuttal
Mount Saint Helens
By Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published August 2005
Mount Saint Helens has been one of the creationists main focus over the last 15 years. There are rebuttals for all of these issues, and you can check out some of them with the links at the bottom of this page. However, old earth creationists don't need these rebuttals to show that Mount Saint Helens does not support young earth creation science. Here's why. There are two sides to Geology. They are:
Catastrophism – The belief that the past history of the earth and of living things has been interrupted or greatly influenced by natural catastrophes occurring on a worldwide or very extensive scale.
Uniformitarianism – The belief or principle that the past history of the earth and its inhabitants is best interpreted in terms of what is known about the present. Uniformitarianism explains the past by appealing to known laws and principles acting in a gradual, uniform way through past ages.
Naturally, young earth creationists believe totally in catastrophism, and the main cause of catastrophism is the Flood of Noah. When they look at Mount Saint Helens, they see catastrophic forces at work...and I agree. They view them as evidence of a young earth, because they can produce rock layers quickly through catastrophism.
What they fail to realize is that Uniformitarianism includes Catastrophism. Since we see catastrophic events in the present, we see evidence of catastrophic events in the geologic record. Yes, there is some evidence in the geologic record of catastrophic events, but most of the geologic record is not "catastrophic" in nature.
As an old earth believer, I believe in catastrophes...but they are the exception, not the norm. As such, Mount St. Helens provides no credible evidence for a young earth. Yes, you can claim Mt. Saint Helens as young earth creation science evidence, but you are grasping for straws, and taking evidence out of context. Your handful of straw indicates "possible" evidences, but you ignore the millions of straws left in the haystack.
For specific Mount Saint Helens claims, see the articles below.
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.