By Brad Harrub Ph.D
Billy believed that it was simply just another old rock. But right before he gave it a good hard kick he noticed something unusual. This “rock” had a peculiar shape with weird ridges on it. As he reached down to pick it up he stopped momentarily—as it looked like this “rock” might be alive. As it turned out, Billy had stumbled across a trilobite fossil. This creature, believed to be extinct, allegedly lived over 500 million years ago, long before dinosaurs or man walked the Earth. Or, so the story goes. Trilobites look similar to horseshoe crabs, and have been found all over the Earth. They are believed to be extinct today, and evolutionists contend these creatures lived 500-600 million years ago. In fact, evolutionists use the trilobite as an index fossil. They believe that anywhere a trilobite is found is indicative of the age of that strata layer. Thus, if a trilobite is found on the side of a mountain then that strata must be roughly 500 million years old. After carefully placing the fossil in his pocket, Billy ran home to reveal his prized discovery to his parents. He was excited about his new find, and was anxious to identify the bizarre creature. Unfortunately, his parents did not share his interest, and instead they remained focused on bills, bank accounts, and bonuses. But Billy was not disheartened. He decided he would ask his teacher at school about this unusual fossil.
Unlike his parents, Billy’s teacher showed a great interest in the fossil, showing Billy’s discovery to the entire class. She went on to inform her students that trilobites “lived on the Earth 500 million years ago, long before man ever existed.” Thus, a seed was planted into the minds of Billy and his fellow classmates—a seed that would germinate over the next few years—as Billy slowly began to accept and put his faith in the evolutionary theory. Sadly, Billy’s parents never even realized their son’s soul was in jeopardy—for they were still too busyworrying about bills, bank accounts, and bonuses.
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The fossil record has caused many Christians to question the Bible. In many cases, honest and sincere hearts absorb media propaganda and turn skeptical toward God’s Word. After all, these scientific findings couldn’t be wrong—could they? Many times the inspired Word of God is forfeited as men blindly cling to manmade theories.
Christians need not compromise when it comes to harmonizing God’s Word with science. God is the Author of science, and as such, valid science will always point directly toward a Creator. [Christians must realize that individuals who have stiffened their necks against the idea of a Supreme Being are going to report their data through biased lenses—lenses that reject a Creator and only support the evolutionary theory. But their “interpretation” does not change the Truth.] For instance, while many textbooks still use trilobites as index fossils, we know today that this creature does not fit neatly into the evolutionary timeline. On June 1, 1968, William J. Meister, an amateur fossilologist, was out looking for trilobite fossils near Antelope Springs, Utah, when he made a discovery that is rarely discussed in biology classrooms today. Meister (joined by several friends who served as witnesses), worked his way up the side of a mountain slope and broke open a slab of rock with his hammer to investigate it for fossils. Indeed, he discovered trilobite fossils—imbedded in the sandal print of a human being! According to evolutionists, man has only been on the Earth for the last 3-5 million years, so how could a creature that supposedly existed “before the dinosaurs” be discovered in the sandal print of a human? A close inspection of the fossil reveals the intricate stitching of the sandals. The physical evidence is there. The only question is how can 500 million old trilobites coexist with humans if we’ve only been around for the last 3-5 million years. The owner of the fossil has been offered millions of dollars by evolutionists in exchange for the fossil. They have told him very bluntly their only intention is to destroy it.
This discovery does not even begin to touch the hem of the garment. There are literally thousands of “geologic anomalies” that do not support the evolutionary theory. [Cremo and Thompson’s book Forbidden Archeology is an excellent resource book that documents many of these discoveries, and is available on our Web site at www.Focuspress.org]. Consider the following “anomalies” for which organic evolution cannot account. Coal was allegedly laid down during the “carboniferous period” roughly 250 million years ago—predating man by approximately 245 million years according to the evolutionary timeline. However, Ivan Sanderson reported a unique find in the Morrisonville, Illinois, newspaper, the Illinois Times, on June 11, 1891.
“A much greater enigma is presented by the items that have been found in coal. This substance has been deposited on the surface of this earth at various times but most notably in what is called the Carboniferous, which is calculated to be from 270 to 230 millions of years old … From it several items have appeared that confound just about everything we believe. For instance, it has been reported that in 1891 a Mrs. Culp of Morrisonville, Illinois dropped a shovelful of coal in transferring it to her cooking range, and a large lump broke in two, disclosing a lovely little gold chain of intricate workmanship neatly coiled and embedded.”
A close examination revealed that the chain was ten inches long and made out of 8-karat gold. Who—according to evolutionary time scales—was around 250 million years ago to be making “little gold chains of intricate workmanship”?
Or how do evolutionists explain a human handprint found in Cretaceous rock that is allegedly millions of years older than humans? The fossil handprint is so specific that it displays impressions of the thumbnail, impressions of the tissue webbing between the thumb and index finger, and the impression left by penetration of the middle finger into the mud. This is strong evidence that evolutionary dating methods are erroneous and not to be trusted. The conclusion that is easily drawn from this discovery is that humans have been on the Earth from the beginning of creation.
Another discovery was reported in Scientific American, in an article titled “A Relic of a Bygone Age.” This discovery discussed a metallic vase that was blasted out of rock that was allegedly millions of years older than man. The article stated: “A few days ago a powerful blast was made in the rock at Meeting House Hill, in Dorchester, a few rods south of Rev. Mr. Hall’s meeting house. The blast threw out an immense mass of rock, some of the pieces weighing several tons, and scattered fragments in all directions. Among them was picked up a metallic vessel in two parts, rent asunder by the explosion. On putting the two parts together it formed a bell-shaped vessel, 4-1/2 inches high, 6-1/2 inches at the base, 2-1/2 inches at the top, and about an eighth of an inch in thickness. The body of this vessel resembles zinc in color, or a composition of metal, in which there is a considerable portion of silver. On the side there are six figures or a flower, or bouquet, vine, or wreath, also inlaid with silver. The chasing, carving, and in laying are exquisitely done by the art of some cunning workman. This curious and unknown vessel was blown out of the solid pudding stone, fifteen feet below the surface…. There is not doubt but that this curiosity was blown out of the rock, as above stated; but will Professor Agassiz, or some other scientific man please tell us how it came there? The matter is worthy of investigation, as there is no deception in the case” (1852, p. 298).
The editors of Scientific American followed up by stating: “The above is from the Boston Transcript and the wonder to us is, how the Transcript can suppose Professsor Agassiz qualified to tell how it got there any more than John Doyle, the blacksmith. This is not a question of zoology, botany, or geology, but one relating to an antique metal vessel perhaps made by Tubal Cain, the first inhabitant of Dorchester.”
While these geologic “anomalies” do not substantiate the evolutionary timeline, they do fit neatly with the Creation account. The physical evidence indicates man has been here “from the beginning of Creation” (Mark 10:6)—just as Christ himself indicated.
