I tightened my grip on the raft as a sudden splash of icy brown water made me shiver in spite of the Arizona afternoon sunshine. The light gleamed off the shiny black rock columns towering up the deep canyon walls from below the surface of the river. River rafting in the Grand Canyon (I suppose it was “white water rafting”, though the rapids really looked more like chocolate milk) a couple of years ago was an unforgettable experience. One of the best parts of that experience was getting to see the inside of the bottom of the canyon up close. Many of the rocks I experienced down there were made from magma that hardened underground. Rocks like that are called “intrusive igneous” rocks because they are made from molten rock under the surface.
Igneous rocks (like volcanic rocks) can take on a wide variety of shapes, colors, textures, and forms. The differences depend on several factors like temperature, cooling rate & method, depth, and chemical composition. Magma that hardens further below the surface of the continents often has more iron-rich chemical mixes while magma that hardens closer to the surface tends to have more silicon in its chemistry. The chemistry of the magma can actually change as it makes its way closer to the surface because it melts and mixes with some of the pre-existing rock it goes through. Sometimes the pre-existing rock does not melt all the way, leaving chunks of foreign rock embedded in the hardened magma, called “xenoliths” (prounounced “zee-no-lith” , it comes from the Greek work “Xeno” for stranger and “lith” for rock, so it means foreign rock).
Personally, my favorite type of rock is the “intrusive igneous” rock, granite. Next time you see a granite countertop or monument, look closely and see if you notice the little black specks of the mineral biotite. What’s really interesting about biotite is that these little specks of this flakey mineral captures incredibly tiny markings of radioactive decay (called “radiohalos” and “fission tracks”; more about that here) that show evidence that traditional radioisotope dating methods are not as reliable as typically thought. The reason why this is important is because these radioisotope dating methods are often used to get people to doubt the reliability of the Bible and the creation account. However, there’s scientific evidence in the little biotite grains of granite that these dating methods aren’t so reliable, and it’s a better choice to trust in the infallible Word of God.
“The grass withereth and the flower fadeth; but the Word of our God shall stand forever” ~ Isaiah 40:8
This morning I watched as the sunrise elusively sparkled off innumerous tiny crystals in the thick, pure-white layer of snow that draped everything in sight. Idealistic winter scenery like that is not exactly an every-day view of God’s creation in my great state of Texas, so I usually enjoy seeing the way snow brings beauty to the dead landscape. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain (all of which officially classify as frozen precipitation) can be very mysterious and difficult to predict weather. One challenging thing about this frozen coating is trying to measure how much fell in a particular place. It’s easy to get a somewhat accurate rainfall measurement even with just a simple backyard rain gauge – all you have to do is read the measurement marks on the gauge to know you got about half an inch. Figuring out how much snow you got is a totally different story because it’s “fluffy” ice that melts down into a much smaller amount of water, and you can measure both how deep the fluff is (what you typically hear the weather man talk about) and how much water it will give (the “snow/water equivalent” that is rarely talked about).
Notice how the water overflows into the outer cylinderJust the outer cylinder catches snow and ice. Inner cylinder and funnel would clog
Getting an accurate measure of snowfall is important in many places to predict flooding (when it melts), road safety, drought, farming conditions, and other potential hazards. I have enjoyed sending daily rain, snow, or ice measurement reports to an independent national weather network, called the “Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network” (or “CoCoRaHS” for short). My rain gauge that I use for these reports works a little differently from a typical garden gauge and very similar to the professional gauges used by the National Weather Service (the only differences are that mine is half the size and made out of a durable plastic instead of metal). It has three parts: a big four-inch diameter outer cylinder (looks like a really big cup), a thinner inner cylinder with markings to a hundredth of an inch, and a funnel that directs the rain to the inner cylinder.
For normal rain, once the inner cylinder fills up with over one inch of rain, the rest overflows into the big outer cylinder. When I go out to measure it, I dump out the first full inch from the inner cylinder and then measure the overflow from the big outer cylinder in the smaller one.
When measuring snow and ice, I take the funnel and small inner cylinder inside (they just get clogged up with snow if you leave them out) and just catch the snow in the outer cylinder. Inside, I melt the snow in the gauge by adding a known amount of hot water (I just measure some in the inner cylinder), then measure the melted snow. Of course, then I have to subtract the measurement for the water I add to find the final number of how much “snow/water equivalent” was in the gauge.
Measuring hot water to melt the snowMelting snow with hot waterMeasuring melted snow & hot water together
Of course, most people would give me a very confused look it if I told them that I got “0.09 inches of snow/water equivalent” when they remember stepping in snow that was over an inch deep. To get the snow depth, I had to find a clear area in my yard that isn’t blocked by trees or in a corner where snowdrifts form to put my “snow board”. My “snow board” is really a white cutting-board that I put out on the ground before the snow falls so that I can have a solid surface to know where the snow ends (grass can mess up snow depth measurements and make them seem deeper than they really are). Since wind can throw off the snow measurement in the gauge, I also use my snow board to take a “core sample” of the snow. In an idealistic snowfall like today, I just push my outer cylinder through the snow until it hits the snowboard and flip the snowboard over so that a perfect circle falls into the gauge. Then I get to do the same melting and measuring routine on the core sample that I did previously on the snow I caught in the gauge.
That’s the basics of how to measure snow and ice! Although I don’t endorse all of the things CoCoRaHS supports, it’s a great way to learn about and contribute to the collection of scientific data – I would especially recommend it to home school families (more about CoCoRaHS and this type of rain gauge here) While we do what we can to try to measure snow and ice, God is the One in control of it all, giving us the moisture we need (though do not deserve!)
Getting core sample off snow board
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail . . . Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?” ~ Job 38:22,29
“God thundereth marvelously with His voice; great things doeth He, which we cannot comprehend. For He saith to snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise the small rain, and the
great rain of His strength” ~ Job 37:5-6
All photos and content copyright Sara J. Bruegel, 2015. Used with permission
Snow Board without snow. It’s flagged with duct-taped chop sticks
The sound of pouring rain echoed off the roof, getting more furious every minute. A sudden flash of light brightened up the dark sky, followed by a loud growling in the distance. And to think it had been warm and sunny just that afternoon! The changes in the weather around us can have a big influence on our daily lives – influencing what we wear, spoiling our picnics, or encouraging fun activities ranging from swimming to sledding.
Ingredients of Weather
Ever wonder what makes a thunderstorm after a sunny day or bright white snow for cool snowball fights? There are three main ingredients that make up the weather you live with every day: they are heat, pressure, and water. If you imagine weather as being like a moving car, heat is the gas that keeps it going, pressure is the steering wheel that directs it, and water is the person in the car. We really wouldn’t have much weather (or be around at all!) if it wasn’t for the energy that earth gets from the heat of the sun. The weight of the air pushing down on earth is slightly different in different places, encouraging storms in some places and cloudless skies in others. The water in the oceans, lakes, ice glaciers, clouds, etc. make our weather changes both important and beautiful.
Did you know that the air pushing down on just one square inch of your body weighs over 14 pounds (depending on where you are)? You don’t usually feel it because it’s also pressing up and all other directions with the same weight
Two snowflakes falling in love . . . Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley, 2015
Water!
It sure is nice to drink something cold, like lemonade, on a hot day. Have you ever picked up a glass of ice cold lemonade or water and realized you just got your hand all wet because there were lots of little water droplets on the outside of the glass? There is invisible water vapor in the air all around us, similar to the steam you see on the mirror after a shower. The water vapor in the air around the glass sticks to the glass and forms droplets because the glass is colder than the air around it. (More CCK about water here)
Convection
Have you ever watched someone boil water on the stove (with adult supervision)? For a while, the water is still, but soon little bubbles start forming at the bottom of the pot and are soon popping up to the top. The bubbles get bigger, and the water is soon at a rolling boil with steam swirling up into the air. One thing you probably didn’t realize is that the water in the pot is basically doing somersaults. Cold water and air tend to sink while warm air and water tend to rise, causing the water to turn over itself. This is called convection. The same kind of thing happens when the sun heats the earth during the day.
Make a Cloud!
Want to make your own cloud in a bottle? Get a clear plastic bottle with a lid (2 liter coke bottles work best) and put just enough warm tap water in the bottle to cover the bottom by about ¼ to ½ an inch. Ask a responsible adult to light a match, let it burn a few seconds, and quickly throw it into the bottle (do not do this without an adult!) Quickly put the cap on the bottle. You will see a little bit of smoke in the bottle. Gently squeeze the sides of the bottle. You may have to do this several times before you see the inside of the bottle getting foggy. You might see water droplets gathering on the inside walls of the bottle. There’s your cloud! You can shake the droplets off the edge, let the air out of the bottle, and try again.
Did you know fog is actually just a cloud sitting on the ground?
Storm Clouds
To make a cloud that might turn into a storm you have to have heat from the sun, convection, air pressure, and water vapor. But, water vapor will not gather together into clouds unless they have little dust particles floating in the air to cling to, called cloud condensation nuclei (pronounced “new-cleey- eye”). That’s why you had to have smoke from the match in your experiment.
Some clouds are made of ice particles, but it will not freeze unless it has ice condensation nuclei, where the dust pieces have to be hexagon-shaped, like a snowflake
Let it Rain!
Of course, clouds float in the sky, so the water droplets are too far apart for gravity to pull them down to the ground. To get rain or snow, the water droplets or snowflakes have to run into each other and stick together so that they are heavy enough to fall through the air. That’s how you get rain and snow! God designed this complex, beautiful system so that we can have water to grow food and live.
Thoughts From Readers
CCK is written by Sara J. Bruegel. If you have a question or comment, please write to Sara at: CreationCluesForKids@gmail.com and it may get published in the next issue. Also, you can visit www.CreationClues.com to read a new clue each week or read past issues of CCK. Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley.
“What is vapor?” ~ Anna B., age 8
Anna, thank you for your question! Water can take on three different looks – solid ice, liquid water that you drink, and vapor like steam. They are all water (the chemical name is ), but take different forms depending mostly on the temperature and some other things. Typically, really cold water turns to ice, really hot water turns to steam (water vapor), and it stays as liquid water in between those extreme temperatures.
Published January 2015, Copyright Sara J. Bruegel.
Ever heard someone say they know earth is billions of years old because of radiometric dating? On the surface, that may sound like a fairly reasonable, scientific thing to say. What many people do not realize is that this argument makes a masked, major logical fallacy called “circular reasoning”. Circular reasoning (also called “begging the question” or in Latin, “petito principii”) is when a person assumes the very point they are trying to prove. Simply put, the math behind radiometric dating methods must assume uniformitarianism; that is, the idea that nature has always behaved the same way it does today (i.e., without supernatural intervention), which goes against supernatural Biblical accounts of creation and the global flood. It is circular reasoning because they are using a method that assumes uniformitarianism to prove their point of uniformitarianism (lots more on radioisotope dating here).
Another good example of circular reasoning is when a person who denies Biblical truth uses the principle of induction to establish scientific claims. For instance, a toddler drops something from his high chair and hears a satisfactory noise when it hits the floor. He repeats this process several times, getting the same satisfactory results, and after many months of experimentation at different times and under varying conditions, he concludes that, “if I drop something, it will fall to the ground and make a satisfactory noise”. The toddler is using the principle of induction, now assuming that the world in the future will function in basically the same way it has in the past. We could not do science at all without induction. But, the atheist has no logical reason to believe that the universe will continue to function in the same way it has, besides saying that induction has worked in the past (which of course, is circular reasoning because he’s using induction in attempt to prove induction).
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” ~ Genesis 8:22
What about when a Christian says “the Bible must be true because it says it is the Word of God, and it is impossible for God to lie (see Heb. 6:18)” ? Is that circular reasoning? Yes, it is circular reasoning, but circular reasoning is a very unique fallacy because it can sometimes actually be valid (see Dr. Lisle’s The Ultimate Proof of Creation). It all depends on the assumptions that are being made. Because the Bible is our ultimate standard – what we measure everything else by – it is important that it reaffirms itself as the true and reliable Word of God. We should be cautious about saying “science proves the Bible” because by definition, our ultimate standard cannot really be proved or disproved by anything but itself.
According to Dr. Jason Lisle, “an ultimate standard must do more than simply prove itself. It must provide a basis for proving absolutely everything that is knowable.” (The Ultimate Proof of Creation, pg. 146) The atheistic/evolutionary worldview fails here, because it is self-refuting. This is because the induction and laws of logic that science is based off are completely arbitrary and illogical without the God Who created the mind (more on this topic here). Laws of logic are a reflection of the way God thinks, but without God, logic is no longer logical.
“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen”
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, 2015
References:
Discerning Truth, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Ultimate Proof of Creation, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Fallacy Detective, by Hans and Nathanial Bluedorn
Driving down the highway, I glance in the rear-view mirror and notice a Mustang approaching. Instantly, I start thinking, “Oh dear! Clear the way – it’s a Mustang!”, and I anxiously start looking for the soonest opportunity to get out of their way. Why? Because I am assuming that all Mustang drivers* are road-jerks who speed and tailgate. As individuals, we make a countless number of assumptions like this in our daily lives that we rarely even realize we’re making. Are they accurate? Sometimes they are and other times they’re not. When I actually think about it, I know that Mustang drivers are not inherently road-jerks. Similarly, we come to realize that some of the assumptions we make every day really are not very accurate, when we think about them.
There are many logical fallacies – reasoning flaws – that are made by ignoring or misusing assumptions. In the example with Mustangs, I was making a “hasty generalization” fallacy by assuming that all Mustang drivers were road-jerks based off a few inconsiderate drivers on a section of highway I used to frequent. Sadly, you will often find very bitter atheists who were in some way insulted or wronged by a Christian in the past and write off all Christians because of it (note: if you encounter someone like this, try taking the humble path by personally accepting the blame in the name of the Body of Christ and graciously apologize to them for the wrong).
An assumption-based fallacy that often comes up in creation vs. evolution debate is the “complex question” – when a person asks a question that really should have been broken up into multiple questions. You might hear a person ask something like, “Why are creationists against science?” The question should really be 1)”Are creationists against science?” (the answer is definitely no!), 2)”if so, why?” Complex questions usually have some kind of emotional-appeal with the aim of making the other person and/or his argument look bad (more about emotional fallacies here).
Have you ever heard someone say that they believe in “science” rather than “faith”? When discussing creation, people will often try to portray it as “science vs. faith”, like it’s somehow a choice of either sound science or feeling-based faith. That is the fallacy of bifurcation (also called the “either-or” fallacy) – it’s like asking if a stoplight is red or green when, in reality, yellow is also an option. They are wrongly assuming that there are only two options when it comes to science and faith. In reality, science and faith work together to lead our hearts to God and give us reasons to believe. Remember the Sadducees and Pharisees of Jesus’ day – they may have had some head answers about God, but their hearts were corrupt and stony. You don’t have to choose between having a brain and having a heart – both are essential to life.
*Note: no offence intended to Mustang drivers! The author understands it’s the heart of the person driving, not the type of vehicle, that matters.
References:
Discerning Truth, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Ultimate Proof of Creation, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Fallacy Detective, by Hans and Nathanial Bluedorn
I took a deep breath, smiling with anticipation as I looked out the window and saw the winding river on the ground far bellow me. The plane gradually started to descend, but it seemed like an exuberant amount of time before we finally landed. Over two years after I had originally planned on taking this trip, I could hardly believe I was really there. Several years ago, just before my high school graduation, I decided that going to volunteer at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky that summer would be an essential part of my “life plan”. Problem was I still would have been under age so I could not go.
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” ~Proverbs 27:1
I was crushed. My logical, efficient “life plan” was crumbling before it even began, so I decided to let God plan my summer instead. After moping a little, I finally decided to follow the annoying little nudge I’d had in the back of my mind for several months to see if the little creation museum in a nearby small town needed any help for a day or two. Two-and-a-half years later, I’m still regularly going to help out at Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum*, and it’s been an incredible adventure!
In that time I’ve gotten to work with fossils, make replicas, teach kid’s classes, work conferences, go on a dig, appear on TV, and meet very gifted people, among many other things. It hasn’t been all “glamorous” work, but it has certainly grown my relationship with God, and taught me to trust Him more fully. I’m extremely grateful to God for allowing that disappointment of not going to Kentucky years ago. And yes, I finally did get to go this past year – but even my brief time there was molded by my experiences at Mt. Blanco.
While it is very important to have sound, logical reasons for what we do and believe (more about that here), we must not rely on human reasoning and strength alone. Let us not live and serve the Lord by our own planning, might, power, or reasoning but through His strength and in His ways. We are human, full of weaknesses, biases, and faulty reasoning. Remember that His holy Word is the source of Truth and guidance – not our own flawed planning and reasoning. Our love for the Lord must never be lessened by our love of logic – on the contrary, the more we love Him, the more we will love the laws of logic He created. Keep this in mind as you make plans and encounter different ideas during the coming year.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
Do you like dinosaurs? Ever wonder if it might be fun to ride on the back of a long-necked Apatosaurus or visit a triceratops at a petting zoo? On the other hand, you might look at the giant, sharp teeth on a T-rex skull and be very glad that you don’t have to worry about one of those guys crashing your picnic in the park. Although there may be a few dinosaurs still hiding out deep in the jungles, most of what we know about dinosaurs has to come from fossils.
The word “dinosaur” was not invented until 1841. However, people all over the world have ancient legends
“Is the Flood over? I thought I’d never escape!” Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley, 2014
Fossil Mysteries
If you go to a children’s museum or look at dinosaur books, you will see colorful, scary looking models of T-rex with big muscles and eyes that seem to be watching you wherever you go. You will see different colors and patterns on dinosaur skin. But a lot of those things are just what artists imaginedinosaurs would look and act like from studying their bones. Since we have mostly just bones of dinosaurs, scientists have to act like detectives trying to solve mysteries of how dinosaurs lived. Most of what we know about dinosaurs is how they died and were buried in the world-wide flood the Bible talks about in Genesis. Remember this the next time you see a dinosaur picture – scientists have to make a lot of guesses about dinosaurs since there aren’t that many around anymore and sometimes those guesses aren’t right.
Investigate the Scene
During Noah’s flood, animals that weren’t on the ark died. Some of them got buried in giant underwater mudslides, called turbidity currents, in the flood and turned to fossils. The mud formed in layers – like a giant banana pudding – and later hardened into rock, or, as scientists say, became lithified. Today we find huge rock layers, filled with fossils, spreading over entire continents. Canyons, mountains, and road cuts help us see deep layers where we can find fossil.
When mud turns to rock, we say it has been lithified. For this to happen, something (like other heavy mud layers) has to push down on the layers to squeeze the water out of the mud.
Dig!
Paleontologists go on “digs” to find new fossils and learn more about them. Going on a real dig with scientists to look for fossils is really cool (I’ve done it and can tell you it’s pretty awesome)! You usually have to camp way out in the wild, far away from big cities and comfortable houses, to find really good, big fossils. You have to drink lots of water and be ready for all kinds of weather – super hot, freezing cold, crazy winds, and heavy rain. TV, computers, and even cell phones often don’t work. Could you make it through a week without those things to go on a dig? You also have to be okay with getting really, really dirty because that’s what happens when you dig!
A paleontologist(say it “pay-lee-un-tall-a-jist”) is a person who studies fossils
How We Get the Fossils
If you dig up a skeleton where all the bones are still in the right places, we call it an “articulated” fossil. A lot of people think that scientists dig the fossils all the way out of the ground while on a dig and take them home. But, since we want to be super careful with the fossils, it takes a long time to get them out of all the rock and dirt. What we do is dig around the fossils, make a “field jacket” on the fossil and the dirt around it, and bring the whole thing back to the lab. There, we can carefully dig up the delicate fossils and check for any small fossils in the dirt around it. (more about a Kansas dig field jacket here)
To make a safe field jacket, first you have to secure loose bone pieces with a special kind of glue, tissue paper, and aluminum foil (just like you have in your kitchen). Then you need to make a soupy mud of plaster. Dip pieces of burlap in the plaster and use it to cover the chunk of rock with a fossil you want to take out.
A field jacket around a fossil that the author helped make on a dig in Kansas Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, 2014
Take Pictures!
When you dig up fossils, it’s really important to take lots of pictures and write down information about what you’re finding and where you’re fining it. We want to know all about how the fossil was found to get clues about how they died and were buried – just like a detective investigating a crime scene. You draw special maps showing where each fossil was found and what other fossils are around it. This helps when it’s time to figure out how the bones fit together like puzzle pieces.
Solving the Mystery
Digging up fossils gives us a chance to discover all the amazing creatures that God created but you can’t see at a zoo, like dinosaurs. Putting together fossil bones is really amazing because it’s like trying to figure out the picture on a moving 10,000 piece (most are missing) 3-D puzzle without having the box to look at. It’s amazing because God made it that way!
Thoughts From the Readers*
CCK is written by Sara J. Bruegel. If you have a question or comment, please write to Sara at: CreationCluesForKids@gmail.com and it may get published in the next issue. Also, you can visit www.CreationClues.com to read a new clue each week or see past issues of CCK. Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley.
*We are not putting a question/comment in this issue to make room for an extra picture
Originally published October 2014. Digitally Reformatted December 2014. Copyright Sara J. Bruegel.
How often have you heard things like this: “Follow your heart”, “do what you want to do”, “follow your dreams”, “trust your feelings”, or “discover your true self”? As a young woman living in our modern world, I’ve heard several generous earfuls of emotionally-based clichés like these, especially in or about college. Many of these concepts are very dangerous because they are all about the emotions and have no sound reasoning to back them up (for example, “following your heart” could get you into a real mess because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked). Having and expressing emotions is not a bad thing – we are humans, created in the sacred and precious image of God, and emotions are very much a part of our humanity. But in our fallen and deceitful world, it is important that our decisions and beliefs should be directed by truth rather than emotionally driven.
When discussing creation vs. evolution or just about any other controversial issue, we often encounter people using emotionally charged language, personal insults (more about that here), or even threats. Sadly, people sometimes give up on using logic and instead threaten to sue, fire, or otherwise discredit creationists in attempt to silence them about their beliefs, using the “appeal to fear/force” logical fallacy. Another very common fallacy you might hear is the “question-begging epithet” fallacy which is when a person uses biased, emotionally charged language to support their position rather than logical reasons. The Biblical young-earth creation position is frequently referred to as “creationism” and evolution referred to as “science”. This gives the audience the feeling that creation is merely an unscientific religion and evolution is real, provable science.
Another thing you might hear is that the Bible and young earth creation are from the “dark ages” and that we are now far too advanced to accept such “primitive” ideas. This flawed reasoning uses the “appeal to high-tech” concept to make Biblical models seem inferior simply because they have been around for a while (all the excitement over getting the most recent version of the newest iThing is also a good example of this “appeal to high-tech”). On the flip side, we could also fall prey to the “appeal to tradition” by using our warm, comfortable feelings with family traditions or antiquity to support our positions instead of logical reasons.
We need to make sure we prove all things and hold fast to the truth, rather than being constantly swayed by the ups and downs of an emotional rollercoaster. One fallacy I will admit to having caught myself making more than once is the “slippery slope” fallacy of arguing that a particular action will set off an exaggerated chain of events with an undesirable ending, when in reality there are other things that would prevent such an ending. Sadly, I’ve seen many well-meaning Christians that try to bring people to God through emotional appeal rather than giving them the sound answers they need. Overall, we need to be cautious about “appeal to emotion” fallacies, those arguments that attempt to persuade us with emotions rather than sound reasoning (sarcasm frequently makes this fallacy), and make sure that our emotions are put under the Lordship and Truth of Jesus Christ.
Here’s a song that really illustrates this concept:
References:
Discerning Truth, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Ultimate Proof of Creation, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Fallacy Detective, by Hans and Nathanial Bluedorn
Do you like being outside and discovering different kinds of plants, bugs, and rocks? Maybe you even have your own collection of rocks or shells. If you have ever collected many rocks, you might have found some small fossils too. Today we are going to explore more about fossils
What is a fossil?
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “fossil”? Dinosaur bones? There are all different kinds of fossils, like sea creatures, plants, and footprints as well as bones. Officially in science a fossil is what’s left of an ancient animal or plant after it dies. So fossils are basically just dead things.
How are they made?
What happens if you leave leftover food in the refrigerator for too long? That’s right – it goes bad and starts to stink. In the same way, animals and plants that die in the wild don’t last just the way they are, but also tend to “go bad”. To get a fossil to last for thousands of years, it has to be buried or frozen right after the creature dies. Fossils last longest if they are permineralized (say it: “purr-min-err-ul-eyes-d”), when a bone is actually turned to stone. It doesn’t take millions of years for this to happen – you just need the right conditions.
Bones aren’t the only thing that can be turned to stone by being permineralized. A hat, boot, teddy bear, and other odd things have all been found permineralized. Those definitely didn’t take millions of years to turn to stone!
Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley, 2014
Flood Fossils
The Bible tells us about Noah’s flood in Genesis chapters 6-9. This flood was much worse than any flood we have ever seen. It covered the entire earth, even going above the tallest mountains. This created a giant, muddy soup of everything in the world at the time. Plants, animals, and people were all swept up into the mess. This was a recipe for lots of fossils. Most of the fossils we find today were buried in this flood about four thousand years ago.
The world-wide flood wasn’t just a long rain storm. The Bible says that the “fountains of the great deep” broke up. These were probably some kind of underwater volcanoes. We can’t even imagine how terrible that flood was.
Millions of Years?
You might have heard people say that fossils (especially dinosaurs) must be millions of years old because they are buried under many layers of rock. There are a lot of problems with this idea though. First, we know that this is against what the Bible says, and the Bible can’t be wrong. Second, there are a whole bunch of things in science that go against the idea of millions of years. For example, many of the fossils we find are super delicate and must have been buried alive. Fossils make much more sense when we remember what the Bible says about the world-wide flood.
Soft Fossils
You are most likely to find fossils of the hard parts of a creature like bones, horns, and shells. But fossils of soft body parts have also been found. Once a team of scientists, lead by a lady named Mary Schweitzer, found a t-rex fossil. Since the fossil was too heavy for the helicopter, they had to cut it in half and were surprised to find dinosaur blood vessels. We have found fossil skin, dinosaur blood cells, and even entire jellyfish fossils. Fossils like this had to have been buried very quickly in the world-wide flood just a few thousand years ago.
Icky Fossils?
Have you ever been to a beach and seen your footprints in the wet sand? The animals outside the ark died in Noah’s flood, but they tried to get away from it first (they couldn’t because it was world-wide), leaving their footprints in the mud. Some of those footprints were quickly covered in mud and turned to hard rock. Fossil footprints like this are called “Ichnofossils”.
Ichnofossils(say it like “Ick! No- fossil!”) are not part of an animal’s body, but “clue” fossils. They can be fossil footprints, nests, claw marks, poop, or any other fossil that proves an animal was up to something. (more about Ichnofossils here)
Fosils & You
You may be thinking by now that some of this stuff with fossils sounds a little bit nasty or wondering why it really matters. Fossils are important because they remind us of the world-wide flood that the Bible talks about. All the animals and people outside the ark died, and some of them turned into fossils. God sent the flood to destroy the whole world because the people were very, very bad. Do you know what? We are all bad in our hearts and deserve to be punished just like those people who died in the flood. Just like Noah was saved in the ark, we can be saved by Jesus. Jesus died to take that punishment for us so that we can live forever in Heaven with God.
Thoughts From Readers
CCK is written by Sara J. Bruegel. If you have a question or comment, please write to Sara at: CreationCluesForKids@gmail.com and it may get published in the next issue. Also, you can visit www.CreationClues.com to read a new clue each week or read past issues of CCK. Cartoon drawn by Eliza Haley.
“After the flood, why were some animals fossilized and others weren’t?” ~ Britta H., age 7
Britta, thank you for your question! Only animals that were buried right away in mud turned to fossils. Some floated around on the water, were burned by underwater volcanoes, or other things happened that kept them from getting buried fast enough.
Originally published July-September 2014. Digitally Reformatted December 2014. Copyright Sara J. Bruegel.
Have you ever heard someone say something like this, “Evolution must be true because Dr. Smith, my biology professor, teaches it as a fact” ? It’s obvious that “Dr. Smith” is an expert on biology and many people might wonder why we would dare question what an expert or authority says. But if we just accept whatever “Dr. Smith” says, we may end up using bad reasoning by accepting the “faulty appeal to authority” logical fallacy (more about logical fallacies here). This fallacious reasoning is used when someone accepts an argument just because of a person who endorses it. One very clear and common example of this is when people buy products merely because their favorite celebrity was shown in an advertisement for the product.
When you hear a questionable claim from an “expert” ask yourself these three questions so that you don’t fall into this reasoning trap. First, ask yourself what is this person really an expert on – in what areas does he or she have special knowledge or experience? “Dr. Smith” in our analogy has done many observations and experiments on living things today, so he is probably a reliable expert on how creatures live and function today. However, evolution is more of a question of history rather than observational biology in the present. Second, ask yourself if the expert’s worldview is going to give them a faulty bias. Finally, ask yourself if the expert is fallible and might have made a mistake. Since all people are fallible and have a limited scope of expertise, God is the only completely reliable authority.
A similar common fallacy you might hear a lot of in creation vs. evolution debate is the crowd appeal fallacy. I encountered this fallacy in a comment I received online once: “most scientists date dinosaurs to millions of years ago. And from what little I know of the evidence, I would tend to agree with them”. It’s important to remember that truth is not determined by vote! You might also hear the reverse of this fallacy, the snob appeal, when a person says that one position is better because few people take it. As creationists, it’s important to not use this fallacy by saying things like “because creationists are rare, we are cutting-edge scientists” as an argument to support our position on creation.
“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace . . . “ ~ Hebrews 13:9 [KJV]
References:
Discerning Truth, by Dr. Jason Lisle
The Fallacy Detective, by Hans and Nathanial Bluedorn
