Creation Answer:
The fossil record is made up of layer after layer of rock that has been laid down by the different water currents before, during and after the flood. The fossils found within the layers are the animals that have been caught up and buried rapidly in those sediments. As the sediments build up during the flood, a sorting happens, which is natural.
Lower layers, like the Precambrian, will have smaller organisms that are less able to move and escape the landslides and sediment deposits amidst the swirling flood waters. The organisms that are faster, yet still slow, will be buried next. Then larger and more mobile organisms will be able to swim or run uphill or climb higher, until they are eventually submerged and buried.
It also depends on where and when the muddy sediments sweep through and engulf a specific environment. We see evidence of large schools of fish all swimming together and buried instantly. Chances are you may have seen evidence of rock layers where the sediments have been swirled and smashed together leaving a concrete of smashed up fossils, often shelled organisms, which is evidence of a destructive flood, not slow burial over long ages.
So what are the fossils? “Precambrian fossils included bizarre organisms too different from Cambrian animals to be their ancestors.” The organisms found in the Cambrian turned out to be “fossils of all the animal ‘crown groups’—those groups most different from each other and thus from the most distant parts (or “crown”) of the animal ‘family tree.’” So this diverse amount of organisms would need to have evolved but “the ancestors of all 30–40 major animal groups (phyla)” are simply missing![i]
The basic premise of evolution is that things change slowly over long periods of time. “Without the time, the formula cannot work, and yet Cambrian fossils are a parade of well-designed creatures that lived at the same time, not in separate evolutionary ages.” Evolutionists are forced to come up with ideas as to how they could have evolved, and some suggest “that animals were actually alive and evolving 800 million years ago. But without the fossils to support their story, why should other scientists believe it?” [ii]
Evolutionary studies of the Cambrian explosion are on the verge of being more story-telling rather than scientific since there are so many unknowns and there is no known mechanism for change, just guesses.
Any theory should be supported by the evidence that we do see (flood burials, lack of transitional fossils, totally new family groups than what existed before), not the evidence that hasn’t been found yet.
What the Bible Says: Creation – Gen 1, Flood – Gen 6-9, Is 54:9-10, Matt 24:38-39, Luke 17:26-28, 2 Pet 2:5, 2 Pet 3:3-7
by Brian Mariani and others
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One thing to keep in mind, each blog is one piece of evidence. Evidence has to then be interpreted, which is not a fact…but evidence strengthening or weakening a specific hypothesis or theory. So there can be multiple ways of interpreting the same evidence. I am not being unscientific, but asking more questions and being skeptical is being more scientific. I am still working on these, so please help with your comments.
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[i] Wise, Kurt, Five Fossil Mysteries: One: Life’s Unexpected Explosion: What Explains the Cambrian Explosion?, November 23, 2009, Answers in Genesis, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n1/life-explosion, accessed September 20, 2013.
Wieland, Carl, Exploding Evolution: Creatures found as fossils in ‘Cambrian’ rocks have no evolutionary ancestors. And no new basic body plans have appeared since. Creation Ministries International, http://creation.com/exploding-evolution, accessed September 20, 2013.
[ii] Thomas, Brian M.S., Is the Cambrian Explosion Problem Solved?, Institute for Creation Research, http://www.icr.org/article/6507/, accessed September 20, 2013.
3 Comments
Apparently, according to scripture, EVERYTHING was created within a literal 6-day period approximately 6,000 years ago. However, I keep hearing from supposed Christian experts in the field, that the Cambrian Explosion occurred millions of years ago. They are confusing and misleading many truth seekers and Christians. It can’t be both ways. Creation either happened 6,000 years ago or it didn’t. Can someone please publish a clear and simple explanation for the average person to understand? Thank you!
Hello Shirley! If you are interested, I would be happy to explain to you the creation account in Genesis!
It is a common misconception that when the Bible speaks of the creative days, it’s a literal 24 hour period. However this is a common misconception! As humans, we tend to think very linearly, every human on earth has known a day to be 24 hours! But a “day” is different depending on where you are! For instance a “day” on Mercury is approximately 58(earth) days 15hours and 30 minutes! So it stands to reason that God who is far outside of time and space would not be limited to counting time as we do here.
I would be happy to continue this conversation if you’re at all interested!
Thanks for your input Khalil, but based on the grammar and context of Genesis 1, it is probably speaking of what we refer to as normal 24 days.
Here are a number of articles that our staff has written regarding the “days” of Genesis:
https://www.discovercreation.org/kids/what-is-a-day/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2020/01/24/what-does-the-word-day-yom-mean-in-genesis/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2017/12/28/sure-day-just-24-hours/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2013/01/30/does-yom-convey-a-24-hour-day-in-the-creation-account/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2012/06/15/genesis-11-in-the-beginning-god/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2011/10/13/is-evolution-compatible-with-the-bible/
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2013/12/20/gems-from-genesis-are-the-days-in-genesis-1-really-days/
Enjoy!