Pre-flood
World Conditions and Giantism
Most creationists believe
that the world before Noah's flood was very different. It was a lush garden, tropical from pole
to pole. The "canopy" model of a
watery layer above the Earth's atmosphere is the best way to understand how this
is possible. The Scripture tells us
that God separated the "waters from the waters on creation day 2 and placed
waters above and on the Earth. The increased atmospheric pressure would have
allowed a large amount of condensation at the end of each night cycle. This very
heavy dew along with the "mist" would have been adequate to water the ground, so
there was no need for rain on the Earth.
This water above would have compressed the atmosphere and created both
much larger creatures and greatly increased longevity. In laboratory conditions bacteria life
spans are increased 10 times by this increased pressure. Our 70 to 90 years would be increased to
700 to 900 years. There would have
been fewer animals since all the variety of species that exist today would not
have been necessary. God created
"Kinds" of animals not all the various species. There would have been a dog kind that
included all the genetic variation to produce all the modern dogs plus wolves,
dingoes, coyotes... When Noah's flood was over, the earth had changed radically.
It would rain for the first time.
The lush vegetation was gone. The climate was much more severe. And
predatory behavior, animals killing other animals for food, became dominant. So
the dinosaurs became extinct because of these new conditions.
We have fossils of other very large
creatures from the pre-flood world (dragonflies with a 3-foot wingspread, 6-foot
tall rabbits, giant sloth's, etc.). When God told Noah about the coming flood he
told Noah to take two of each "kind" of land living, air breathing animal on the
ark. This would have included each "kind" of dinosaur. But weren't they too big?
Dinosaurs hatch out of eggs and the larger dinosaur eggs are about the size of a
football. So even the giant T-Rex was once the size of a small dog soon after he
hatched. So space for young ones on the
Fossil Giantism by Bob Gentet
When
I first took Historical Geology in the spring of 1960, we used the
book
Historical Geology (Second Edition) by Carol O. Dunbar; John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
Period,
the following is said:
"The insects of this time were
truly remarkable for their great size. Out of four hundred forms known
from Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian strata, more than a score exceeded 4 inches
in length, six attained nearly 8 inches, and three exceeded a foot, the average
length being about 2 inches. The largest of all was a dragonfly like type
found in the Coal Measures of Belgium, which had a wing spread of 29 inches
(Fig. 192). No period since has produced insects so large. Most of
these insects were of strange primitive stocks not exactly like any of the
modern orders. Cockroaches, however, were very like the living ones, only
larger, and so common that the period has sometimes been called the Age of
Cockroaches (fig. 195). Several of the Pennsylvanian species achieved a
length of 3 or 4 inches.
"The presence of several
hundred species of insects in the Pennsylvanian makes their sudden appearance at
this time the more remarkable. The [begin page 238] diversity of the forms
represented implies a long antecedent evolution whose record may yet be found in
Mississippian if not in "Devonian rocks.
"Scorpions,
remarkably like modern ones in size and structure, occur with the insect
fossils. Spiders (Fig. 196) likewise occur, though none of the fossils
shows clear evidence of spinnerets, and it may be that these early forms did not
make webs. Centipedes (or myriapods) of several kinds are known, the largest of which, found at
"Land snails were first
discovered in the famous Joggins section of
Citations
by Carl Froede; Basically, the two quotes that I will provide are cited in all
of my historical geology text books up to recent editions.
1.
Levin, H.L. 1992. The Earth Through Time. Fourth edition.
Publishing.
"Carboniferous strata
contain a slightly better record of insects, including giant dragonflies with
wingspans of over 70 cm (2 feet). Cockroaches that reached lengths of 10
cm crept about among the rotting vegetation."
2. Dunbar, C.O., and K.M. Waage. 1969. Historical Geology. Third
edition. John
Wiley and Sons. p. 283.
"The
insects were many and varied but nearly all belonged to primitive, extinct orders. Among the most
common and the most familiar kinds were primitive cockroaches, most of which
were larger than their living descendants.
One species attained a length of about 4 inches. Close relatives of
the modern dragonflies were also common and exceptionally large. One
species found in the Coal Measures of Belgium had a wingspan of about 29
inches. The insects generally were large. Out of some 400 known
species more than a score exceeded 6 inches and three exceeded a foot in
length. No other period has produced
insects so
large."
Most
creationists believe that a great ice age followed Noah's flood because the
oceans were warm and the landmasses were getting cold because of the water vapor
canopy that collapsed during the early days of the flood and the water from the
fountains of the great deep that would have been heated by the inside of the
Earth. This would take water out of the oceans and put it on the
continents making it possible for people and animals to walk across the
Indonesian bridge to
Recommended Resources:
Evidences: the Record and the Flood
(Video)
World That Perished (Video)
Books:
In the Days of Noah
Studies in Flood Geology
Puzzle of Ancient Man