Page 10

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

century British Scriptural Geologists

Terry Mortenson, PhD

tmortenson@AnswersInGenesis.org

P. 10

for example, exploring the top of an active volcano. Additionally, he was a prolific writer,
publishing 28 books and at least 60 articles in scientific journals, plus frequent correspondence
over many years to the Mechanics' Magazine and the Mining Journal. He had nearly 20
inventions, which came into practical use. His journal articles addressed subjects in chemistry,
physics, medicine, geology, natural history, and manufacturing. His books, some of which went
through two or more editions, covered such diverse topics as the cultivation of the silkworm,
modern paper, atmospheric electricity, ventilation, disinfection and other sanitation measures,
poisons, diamonds, a method for forming an instantaneous contact with shore during a shipwreck,
and plant physiology. He also wrote a passionate pamphlet calling for the end of slavery in the
colonies, a book of minor poems, and a scientific/historical travel memoir of his three-month
journey through Switzerland in 1825.

Murray wrote two books which directly related to geology and the Bible. The Truth of

Revelation was published in 1831, with an expanded second edition appearing in 1840. In this
book he endeavored to demonstrate the truth and inspiration of the Bible by an appeal to the
existing monuments, sculptures, gems, coins and medals from ancient peoples of the Near East and
elsewhere. His 1838 Portrait of Geology was written primarily to give proofs from geology of
divine design in creation, and secondarily to add verification of the truth of Scripture by presenting
his geological and Biblical reasons for rejecting old-earth theories.

William Rhind

Finally, William Rhind (1797-1874) was yet another Scotsman who was a geologically

competent Scriptural geologist. His university studies at Marischal College, Aberdeen, were
devoted to medicine and he became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in
1818. Shortly thereafter he began his medical practice in London but soon reestablished it back in
Scotland. Although he became quite successful as a doctor, his real love was literature and
scientific research and so in the mid-1820s he moved to Edinburgh, where he spent nearly forty
years of his life writing and lecturing on various subjects of natural science, primarily botany,
zoology and geology. In 1854, he became a lecturer in botany for a few years in the medical
faculty at Marischal College and then spent the last decade of his life in poor health living with his
older brother near Newport, Fife.

Rhind was likely a member of the Church of Scotland and his writings reflect a strong

commitment to the Scriptures. According to one biographer, "he was universally loved for his
character and bearing, and a most amiable man. He was unassuming and retiring in his manner, but
a most agreeable and interesting member of society."

In addition to his early membership in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, by 1830

he also had become a member of the Royal Medical Society and Royal Physical Society of
Edinburgh, and some time before 1858 he became an honorary member of the Natural History
Society of Manchester.

Rhind also was a voluminous writer on many subjects. His non-scientific books included a

historical work on his home county and three tourist guides of Scotland. Of his scientific writings,

Robert Douglas, Sons of Moray (1930), 6.