http://www.calvaryag.org/apologetics/ap ... _flood.htm
A. Historical Evidence.
1. The testimony of Jesus.
Jesus warned us concerning the immorality and the general lack of concern of the earth’s population just before He returns to this earth. He declared: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all†(Luke 17:26-27). The fact that Jesus believed in Noah’s flood and the complete destruction of all who lived at that time is very powerful evidence that the flood occurred. A person must believe Christ’s testimony or reject it. If you believe that Jesus was God incarnate then you must believe that He knew what He was speaking about when He talked about the flood.
2. Written flood legends from all over the world.
The fact that there are written records of the great Flood found in hundreds of nations and tribes from all parts of the world is firm evidence that these people groups all originated from the one family preserved through the cataclysm. All of these accounts are similar in one way or another to the Genesis record. The widespread nature of flood accounts throughout the entire human race is excellent evidence for the fact of a worldwide flood from a legal/historical point of view. See the following web site for a detail listing:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html It is important to note that 95% say the flood was universal; 70% say survival depended upon a boat; 66% say the wickedness of man was the cause; 88% say there was a favored family; 66% say the remnant was warned; 67% say animals were also saved; 57% say the survivors ended up on a mountain; 35% say birds were sent out; 9% say eight people were saved; and 7% mention a rainbow.
B. Archeological and Scientific Evidence.
1. Most of the earth's crust consists of sedimentary rocks. Over 70% of the earth's surface rock is sedimentary rock (the rest of earth's surface rock is volcanic igneous and metamorphic rock). Sedimentary rock was originally formed in almost all cases under water, usually by deposition after transportation by water from various sources. Sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces of rock or other material which existed somewhere else, and were eroded or dissolved and redeposited in their present location. Sedimentary rock results from moving water which lays down layer upon layer by what’s called hydrologic sorting (sandstone, siltstone, shale, limestone, etc). This means that over 70% of the earth’s crust has been moved by a great movement of water giving strong evidence for the flood.
2. Sedimentary rock is clearly visible near the top of Mt. Everest.
How could sedimentary rock deposits come to rest near the top of Mt. Everest? This could only occur if at some time in the past this mountain was under water. See this web site for pictures.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10131/geology_visual.html
3. Mount Ararat was once submerged.
On Mount Ararat, a volcanic mountain complex, pillow lava is found at the 14,000 foot level. The United States Geological Society states: “Pillow lava is formed when basalts erupt underwater. Pillow lava’s are mounds of lava formed by repeated oozing and quenching of the hot basalt.â€Â
Pillow lava must be extruded under water and is recognized by its high glass content caused by very rapid cooling. All of the igneous rocks examined on Ararat by geologist Clifford Burdick were highly glassy. Ararat apparently was submerged in water to above the present 14,000-foot level. This evidence gives further weight to the Biblical account of the flood. These evidences from geology and many more point to a violent, catastrophic past history of the earth. They imply a global flood with associated volcanic and mountain building activity which changed the face of the earth.
4. The enormous numbers of fossils found around the world.
a. How are fossils formed? Fossilization requires rapid burial of a plant or animal. However, such burial is exceedingly rare today which makes fossilization almost non-existent in modern times. The existence of massive numbers of fossils worldwide is clear evidence of quick, mass burial. A global flood catastrophe would offer conditions most ideal to the location of these great numbers of fossils. The fossils give evidence that these animals were killed suddenly. Millions of fish fossils retained all the body parts indicating very rapid burial. Under normal conditions, fish do not fossilize. Dead fish are torn apart by scavengers and disintegrate on the ocean bottom. Fossils also exist with soft tissue like jellyfish and sponges. There are fossils that have preserved animal tracts in mud, fish odors, amino acids, proteins, epidermal bark in plants, cell details, chlorophyll, etc.
b. Fossils are found in the Himalayan Mountains. If you will go to the following web site
http://library.thinkquest.org/10131/geology_visual.html you can see pictures of a marine animal called Ammonite which are found in large numbers in the Kali Gandaki river in Nepal. Ammonites were sea animals having shells - either straight or coiled. Some of the fossils are large with a diameter up to 2 meters. These animals are proof that the ocean once covered this area.
c. There are abundant fossil remains of marine life found atop every mountain range in the world. This evidence makes it clear that all the mountains of the world have been under water at some time in the past, as indicated by sedimentary rocks and marine fossils near their summits. For example, clusters of hundreds of gigantic (300kg/650lbs) fossilized oysters found atop the Andes Mountains in South America. See web site:
http://library.thinkquest.org/10131/geology_visual.html
d. Fossils have been found in the coal deposits of Montceau-les-Mines near Autun in France. What could explain the sea, land, and lake creatures that have been found buried together in one massive fossil deposit. One of the richest fossil discoveries was found in the huge coal deposit of Montceau-les-Mines near Autun, France. Racing to beat the strip-mining machines, amateur fossil-hunters collected 7,000 slabs and more than 100,000 nodules before the mine was filled in.
Two paleontologists from the Museum of Natural History in Paris reported in Scientific American (September, 1988, p.70) that the evidence 'tells a contradictory story. They say this because some of the fossils are of marine (saltwater) creatures, some are definitely freshwater dwellers (e.g. amphibious), and some are definitely land creatures (e.g. spiders, scorpions, millipedes and certain insects and reptiles).
e. The massive worldwide coal deposits also lend further proof to sudden destruction of immense primordial forests. Coal is formed when trees, plants, roots, bark, or any vegetation (peat) are buried by water and sediment. The burial of this vegetation by sediment causes compaction, which squeezes out the water and over time through the chemical processes of decay coal is formed. Coal is actually fossilized decayed vegetation or peat.
f. The random order of the fossils. The fossils within the sediments do not exhibit strong evidence of a record of evolution with simple animals at the bottom, progressing type by type up to more and more complex animals. The order is often random or completely upside down or out of order for evolution. But this would be expected in a global flood catastrophe. Fossils from the supposed different 'ages' are often found mixed together. This indicates a huge mixing of animal bones that is not consistent with a local flood.
g. Example of random mixing of fossils. In excess of 3,000,000 fossils, representing more than 565 different species have been discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California.
h. Difficult evidence to explain. In addition, in many sedimentary rock layers geologists find some very odd features. For example, fossilized trees buried at all angles, upside-down and right-side-up, often passing through multiple rock layers, obviously the result of a marine cataclysm. These "polystrate" fossils (poly, meaning more than one; strate, meaning rock layer) are a worldwide phenomenon.
