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ETS 2001: Boundaries on creation and Noah's Flood: Early 19

century British Scriptural Geologists

Terry Mortenson, PhD

tmortenson@AnswersInGenesis.org

P. 1

Abstract

The geological theories of an earth billions of years old were developed in the late 18

and

early 19

centuries. This paper describes that development and focuses on a group of writers,

known as the "Scriptural geologists," who opposed these geological theories. These scientists
and non-scientists wrote short pamphlets and massive books raising Biblical, geological and
philosophical arguments against the idea of an old earth. They also refuted the reinterpretations of
Genesis that arose in an attempt to harmonize the Bible with old-earth geological theory (such as
the gap, day-age and local Noachian flood theories). Four of the geologically most competent
Scriptural geologists are introduced to the reader before giving a summary of their main Biblical
and geological objections to the idea of an old earth. The paper concludes with an analysis of the
real nature of the 19

century Genesis-geology debate and how it relates to the creation-evolution

and age-of-the-earth debates in the church today.

Introduction

In this paper I would like to discuss a little known controversy in the early 19

century,

which centered on the age of the earth. The participants were, on the one hand, the leading
geologists of the day and on the other hand, a group of scientists and non-scientists, primarily in
Britain, who collectively became known as the "Scriptural geologists."

Like contemporary

young-earth creationists, the Scriptural geologists held to the dominant Christian view within
church history

and at the beginning of their own time, namely, that Genesis 1-11 is inspired,

inerrant Scripture which should be interpreted literally as a reliable, fully historical account. This
conviction led them to believe that Noah's flood was a unique global catastrophe, which produced
most of the geological record, and that the earth was roughly 6000 years old, having been created
and furnished with all kinds of life in six literal days. From this young-earth creationist position
they opposed with equal vigor both the "uniformitarian" and "catastrophist" old-earth geological
theories. They also opposed all the old-earth reinterpretations of Genesis, such as the gap and
day-age theories, the tranquil and local flood theories, and the "Genesis is myth" theory, all of
which were developed and popularized in the church at this time.

This early 19

century debate is an interesting and important one for students of the history

of science, especially the history of the relationship of science to Christianity. The Scriptural
geologists have been greatly misrepresented, both by their contemporary old-earth opponents and
by nearly all later historians, whether secular or Evangelical. But the battle the Scriptural
geologists fought in the 19

century is also very relevant for understanding the current growing

debate about evolution and creation and especially the debate among Christians about the age of

This was the title given to them by their opponents. To my knowledge, it was never used by these men

to describe themselves, though two of their books bore the title Scriptural Geology. In fact, none of them claimed to
be geologists. But then, at the time most of them wrote, there were hardly any geologists in the modern sense of the
word. Most "geologists" in the early 19

century, till about 1840, were geologists by avocation, nor vocation. It

was a hobby (largely self-learned) of wealthy men. Nevertheless, they, like a few of the "Scriptural geologists"
developed an impressive knowledge of the rocks and fossils.

See David Hall's thorough historical research on this matter in chapters 3-5 of his book on the Web,

Holding Fast to Creation: at http://capo.org/holdfast0.html.