ABSTRACTS
Origin of Appalachian Geomorphology Part II: Formation of Surficial Erosion Surfaces
Michael J. Oard
Erosion surfaces on the Piedmont and the Appalachian Plateaus are described. Ridges and valleys in the Valley and Ridge Province are probably not erosion surfaces, forming instead due to lithology differences in the underlying rocks. The “cycle of erosion” invented by William Morris Davis was once popular but has many problems. The currently popular weathering hypothesis is also analyzed and found wanting. The formation of the erosion surfaces with monadnocks and veneers of gravels transported over long distances is best explained by mechanisms associated with the retreating stage of the Flood.
Hurricane Katrina Splay Deposits: Hydrodynamic Constraints on Hyperconcentrated Sedimentation and Implications for the Rock Record
W.R. Barnhart
A breach of the London Avenue Canal levee in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina created a unique opportunity to compare flow conditions with the resulting bedforms. Those deposits are examined and correlated to probable hydrodynamic conditions during deposition, including the fluctuating causes for repetitive bedforms and changing conditions within the continuous unidirectional current through the breach. Flow depth was determined mathematically from clast size and is examined as a limit on bedform thickness. Characteristics of the splay deposits point to deposition under hyperconcentrated conditions in a high-velocity current, leading to a remarkably high depositional rate. This study suggests a mechanism for the simultaneous deposition of multiple laminae as a single set under hyperconcentrated conditions. Clay and clay drapes in the deposit indicate fluctuations in flow, not a cycle of active/passive sedimentation.
Battlegrounds of Natural History: Naturalism
John K. Reed, Emmett L. Williams
Scientific creation battles the worldview of naturalism at the level of scientific fact and theory, but crucial battlegrounds are also found in the foundational concepts that shape the method and direction of science. One of these is summarized by the term “naturalism.” This debate is hindered by equivocal terminology, presuppositional inconsistency, and the use of secular premises by some Christians—typically from a desire to “triangulate” between biblical creation and atheism. Science is the child of Christianity, but enduring secular distortions have succeeded in convincing most people that naturalism is one and the same with science, and that it is legitimate to extrapolate from the scientific method to atheism. Those core distortions are protected by ancillary arguments; chief among them, a strategy of diverting Christians with arguments regarding the reality or possibility of miracles and with accusations of “god-of-the-gaps” reasoning. In response: (1) metaphysical naturalism is invalid because it fails logical truth tests, (2) methodological naturalism is an unnecessary accretion to basic attributes of science historically derived from Christian theology, and (3) the ancillary issues are defused by sound reasoning. The key to addressing the concept of naturalism in its totality is the recovery and application of the traditional Christian doctrine describing God’s providential relationship with creation.
The Case for the Mature Creation Hypothesis
Jerry Bergman
Ex-nihilo creation from nothing always results in all created objects having the appearance of maturity. This is true for every creation from functional life to a functional universe. The assumption that natural processes operated during Creation just as they do now leads to an “appearance of age.” The appearance-of-age concept is explored, showing that this conclusion applies to all miracles, including everything from the creation of wine from water to the creation of Adam and Eve from dust. This view fits both the scriptural record and the scientific data. It also has a long history and in modern times has been advocated by many creationists and Biblical scholars from Philip Gosse to Henry Morris.