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| Vol. 15 No. 8 August 2013 | Page 2 |
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| Vol. 15 No. 8 August 2013 | Page 2 |
Louis Rushmore, Editor
Nearly 3,500 years ago, God spoke to Moses atop Mt. Sinai (Leviticus 25:1). In a sense, Almighty God spoke to mankind again from Mount St. Helens in the State of Washington, USA beginning on Sunday, May 18, 1980 at 8:32 a.m. That was the occasion of a catastrophic, volcanic eruption that killed 57 people and destroyed 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railroad and 185 miles of highways.
On that eventful day, the lateral blast of the volcanic eruption released 24 megatons of 660 degree Fahrenheit thermal energy at a velocity of 300 miles per hour over 230 square miles. The eruption triggered a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, and the resulting avalanche covered 23 square miles. Mudflows from melted glacial ice and snow traveled down the mountain and beyond at 10 to 50 miles per hour, whereas 1,300 degree molten rock, three to 30 feet deep, with cumulative depths reaching 120 feet, spread over six square miles at 50 to 80 miles per hour.
The column of smoke and ash from the volcano climbed to 80,000 feet (15 miles). Within three days, the cloud of ash covered the United States, and within 15 days it had circled the earth. Detectable amounts of volcanic ash on the ground reached 22,000 square miles.
Eight billion board feet of timber was destroyed. Seven thousand big game animals (deer, elk, bear) died, as did all birds and any small animals not burrowed below ground or submerged in water. Mudflow significantly hampered river traffic on the Columbia River, stranding 31 ships upstream. Subsequent eruptions, some of which were nearly as dramatic, continued for a decade.
Upon closer examination of the aftermath effects of the eruptions of Mount St. Helens, distinctly different geologic columns appear in 600-foot-tall canyon walls within the blast zone. Rather than forming over long geological periods of millions of years, these layers began to appear in just a few days! Uniformitarianism, the foundation of evolutionary claims, as the explanation for the formation and shaping of the face of planet earth is contradicted by the eruptions of Mount St. Helens. Instead, catastrophism is validated by Mount St. Helens eruptions to be the satisfactory model to explain the features of the terrestrial ball on which we live.
The unlike layers or geological columns came about by air fall debris of May 18, 1980 being covered first by 25 feet of pyroclastic or volcanic flow on June 12, 1980, which then was covered by several feet of mudflow on March 19, 1982. This process over days, weeks, months and years – but not millions of years – correctly defines the establishment of geological columns seen throughout the world. The true explanation, then, lies with catastrophism rather than with uniformitarianism. However, without uniformitarianism, evolutionary claims are literally left without the supposed foundation on which they depend.
To put things into perspective, 600 feet of rock strata developed in the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens eruptions in six years from 1980 to 1986. At that rate, the Grand Canyon could have developed through comparable catastrophes in about 57 years (Jackson 13) – not millions of years.
Additional inspection of the effects of this terrible volcanic activity includes the observation of the formation of what will eventually become polystrate fossilized trees. Presently, 30,000 trees are floating in Spirit Lake near Mount St. Helens, and as they sink to the lake floor and sediment continues to filter around them, ultimately they will become polystrate fossils. Furthermore, the bark from tens of thousands of trees deposited in the lake by volcanic eruptions has already developed a several feet deep layer of peat. Again, these two developments are occurring right now in a matter of decades rather than over several million years.
The apostle Paul wrote by inspiration that mankind is “without excuse” (Romans 1:20) regarding awareness of the existence of God, simply because anyone can view the created universe and ascertain that God exists. Besides what we can observe in the world around us (Psalm 8:3), the eruptions of Mount St. Helens are almost as if God with booming voice from heaven proclaimed that uniformitarianism is untrue and evolution is the devil’s lie. Unfortunately, though, mankind has a sad history of ignoring the Word of God. “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them’” (Matthew 13:14-15 NKJV; see also Isaiah 6:9-10). “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 12:2).
Likewise, the evidence of the fashioning of our planet is ignored in favor of the unprovable, Godless theory of evolution. Remember, God through Mount St. Helens invalidated uniformitarianism, and without uniformitarianism the theory of evolution is gutted and merely an empty excuse for rebellion against God and casting aside His Holy Word.
Works Cited
Jackson, Wayne. “Evolution and the Grand Canyon.” Think. August 2010: 12-14.