The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood : a Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood

A MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood and how the mystery of the Bible's greatest story shaped geology.;1. Buddha's dam : discovering evidence for an immense Tibetan flood shows the author that folktales can have an element of truth -- 2. A grand canyon : a hike out of the deepest hole in North America reveals Earth's antiquity and fundamental problems with the creationist view of earth history -- 3. Bones in the mountains : early Christians see evidence for Noah's flood in fossils and rocks -- -- 4. World in ruins : seventeenth-century savants lay the foundation for modern geology through imaginative theories of how God triggered the flood -- 5. A mammoth problem : recognition of fossils as the bones of extinct animals invalidates grand flood theories -- 6. The test of time : an eighteenth-century Scottish farmer discovers geologic time and Christians reinterpret Genesis to accommodate an ancient world -- 7. Catastrophic revelations : nineteenth-century geologists refute the idea of a global flood as the most recent of a series of world-shattering catastrophes -- 8. Fragmented stories : an introverted Englishman zealously reassembles cuneiform puzzles, proving that the biblical flood story is a Babylonian hand-me-down -- 9. Recycled tales : scholars uncover the evolution of the Bible as anthropologists probe the roots of flood stories around the world -- 10. Dinosaurs in paradise : a trip to the Creation Museum sheds light on the twentieth-century resurrection of creationism -- 11. The heretic's flood : a geologist rediscovers grand catastrophes and creationist refuse to believe geologists have discovered Noah's flood -- 12. Phantom deluge : modern creationists recycle seventeenth-century ideas to explain geological problems and miss the plate tectonics revolution -- 13. The nature of faith : the way we read earth history shapes how we see the world. This book explains how the mystery of the Bible's greatest story shaped geology. A MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood. In Tibet, geologist David R. Montgomery heard a local story about a great flood that bore a striking similarity to Noah's Flood. Intrigued, Montgomery began investigating the world's flood stories and -- drawing from historic works by theologians, natural philosophers, and scientists -- discovered the counterintuitive role Noah's Flood played in the development of both geology and creationism. Steno, the grandfather of geology, even invoked the Flood in laying geology's founding principles based on his observations of northern Italian landscapes. Centuries later, the founders of modern creationism based their irrational view of a global flood on a perceptive critique of geology. With an explorer's eye and a refreshing approach to both faith and science, Montgomery takes readers on a journey across landscapes and cultures. In the process we discover the illusive nature of truth, whether viewed through the lens of science or religion, and how it changed through history and continues changing, even today. - Publisher. How the mystery of the Bible's greatest story shaped geology: a MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood. In Tibet, geologist David R. Montgomery heard a local story about a great flood that bore a striking similarity to Noah’s Flood. Intrigued, Montgomery began investigating the world’s flood stories and—drawing from historic works by theologians, natural philosophers, and scientists—discovered the counterintuitive role Noah’s Flood played in the development of both geology and creationism. Steno, the grandfather of geology, even invoked the Flood in laying geology’s founding principles based on his observations of northern Italian landscapes. Centuries later, the founders of modern creationism based their irrational view of a global flood on a perceptive critique of geology. With an explorer’s eye and a refreshing approach to both faith and science, Montgomery takes readers on a journey across landscapes and cultures. In the process we discover the illusive nature of truth, whether viewed through the lens of science or religion, and how it changed through history and continues changing, even today. 20 illustrations; maps A Macarthur Fellow Presents A Surprising Perspective On Noah's Flood And How The Mystery Of The Bible's Greatest Story Shaped Geology. Buddha's Dam -- A Grand Canyon -- Bones In The Mountains -- World In Ruins -- A Mammoth Problem -- The Test Of Time -- Catastrophic Revelations -- Fragmented Stories -- Recycled Tales -- Dinosaurs In Paradise -- The Heretic's Flood -- Phantom Deluge -- The Nature Of Faith. David R. Montgomery. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [265]-275) And Index.