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| Late Devonian catch of fish! Gogo formation, Kimberley, NW Australia (Frasnian) |
Dear Christian creationist reader of this blog
The (very) short introduction to the discovery of Devon has three aspects
1. There is a (very) short description of the County of Devon in SW British Isles
2. There are few words about how early 19th century British geologists noted special rock formations on the Canal side beaches of Devon and Conrwall. They noted similar rock sediments also elsewhere, especially in Scotland, but not everywhere as something very common.
3. Does the mentioning of these already old details cause nausea and bad feeling in your heart? Do you already see the cold winds of naturalistic atheism blowing in order to destroy your faith in Creator?
I ask this because there is a "black helicopter" mentality in some of the Creationist writings I have read which truly demonize natural sciences and make very serious accusations of dishonesty and twisted motivations against the scholars and the publishers of their work. The (very) short introduction to this blog is a kind of fewer meter and can easily so diagnostic symptoms already at this stage with words that are like red flags and may sound threatening and even anti-Christian in the ears of a true creationist.
Please, read on and feel free to comment, and we may see that the source of false data about God's creation may actually not originate from scientific study of God's creation but rather from unscientific religious concepts unscrupulously twisting the Word of God.
Observation
Two gentlemen from the heydays of the British Empire, one of them a Baron, notice things in Nature.
It is remarkable, that when Galileo Galilei noticed with his primitive telescope and camera obscura black spots on the surface of Sun, the claim was considered heretical by the Inquisition and with the authority of the Pope himself. False observation, bad science maybe - but religious heresy??
I am afraid, that the same is repeating with observations of geological rock sediments on the cost of Devon. There are Christians who think such talk about God's Nature is heretical as it goes against their understanding of divine Revelation. Instead of learning the Book of Nature and hitting with geologist hammer Devonian sandstone, one has to read the Bible and the the true knowledge from there. (Not all Christians think so, but I am talking about those who do.)
Interpretation
Galilei noted the black spots and noted that they support the view that Sun is actually rotating. However, he had not the faintest idea how such spots can appear on the bright surface of the Sun. The phenomenon has since been confirmed and has been studied intensively. Modern science has not only demonstrated that Galileo was right in claiming that they exist but has also gained some understanding of their nature and meaning.
Similarly, the discoverers of Devonian in the quarry had very little knowledge of what they had found. They suggested that such rocks are often found on top of what they called Silurian rocks so apparently they are later in the sequence of geological deposits and time.
Geology has progressed from those days and modern science has confirmed that their observations were correct. But in addition, science has shown that the Devonian geological age is an extraordinarily interesting and significant phase in the history of planet Earth, its oceans and continents and crucially important for the study of evolutionary biology.
Personal view
For me Geology is Theology.
I know that there are honest Christians who reject the Age of Fish in order to defend the inerrant Holy Bible. They refuse to read the Book of Nature as it is and want to have the eyeglasses of faith instead.
This blog is an attempt to read the Book of Nature as it is and to show that the eyeglasses of faith do not necessarily twist reality into some kind of fantasy world invented in order to keep faith in God.
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