Creation Science Rebuttals

The Claim

      The author, Jonathan O'Brien, tells the story of how this 171 foot long ship was buried, and he makes the claim that this is an example that proves that sedimentary layers can accumulate quickly, which is evidence in favor of Noah's Flood.

"Secular geologists often say that it takes eons of time for sedimentary layers to form. But the steamboat Arabia was completely buried in sediment, and then some, in about 50 years. This gives a tiny insight into how the vast waters of Noah’s Flood, global in magnitude and laden with sand and mud, would be capable of depositing much greater quantities of sediment than the Missouri River, over a much larger area, and in a much shorter space of time."

The Truth

     While this is a fascinating story, it doesn't prove anything about Noah's Flood.  First, secular geologists (and old-earth creationist geologists) do know that it can take many eons of time to lay down certain types of sedimentary layers.  However, secular geologists also know that in some cases, such as this one, where a river is carrying and depositing large amounts of sediment, that it is no problem to understand how this boat was buried, even with a secular understanding of geology.  In fact, the sedimentary record contains many examples of buried riverbeds that existed millions of years ago. 

      The key is that the YEC author wants his YEC readers to make the assumption that secular geologists believe 'all' sedimentary layers take eons of time to form, when this simply isn't the case.  The YEC author is deliberately misleading his readers with this false assumption. 

      He knows that he won't convince old earth believers of his claims, but then again, his motive is not to convince old-earthers, but to keep YEC believers filled with a distrust of secular geologists, so they will doubt any evidence put forth for an old earth.  This is a common trick of cults, to discourage their followers from believing anything contrary to the teachings of the cult. (NOTE: While many are undecided on whether YEC qualifies as a cult, please note that you don't have to be a 'cult' to use 'cult' tactics). 

     The goal of YEC ministry claims is not to convince the world that they are right, but to keep their believers steadfast in their young earth beliefs.  To do this, you teach them to distrust secular scientists, and anyone else who rejects a young earth...no matter what the scientific evidence supports.

¹  Creation Magazine, Volume 34, Issue 1.  Published on the web at http://creation.com/steamboat-buried-in-cornfield