From the Creationist perspective how was the Giant's Causeway the result of Noah's flood?

Question

The Giant's Causeway in N. Ireland is the country's only World Heritage site. It is currently without a visitor centre. The members of the political party DUP want the Creationist side of the story put in with the Causeway formation literature in the new centre. They say it is the result of Noah's flood, I do not understand how a definately volcanic formation of columnar basalt (widely seen in Iceland) could be the result of the flood, can someone from a Creationist background please explain scientifically, and not just say God did it, I want to know how God is supposed to have done it. Thank you.

There are plenty of Creationist scientists, they even right a magazine 'Answers in Genesis' so I don't find how wanting an physical explanation is offensive.

The other expansion I want to add is when flowing lava hits water, or erupts into water, if forms pillow lave, not columnar.

I am also aware that there is not enough water to completely cover the worlds landmasses even when they were Pangea. There are also sedimentary records of large scale flood events caused by the breaking of ice damns during the deglaciation phases, caused the American Badlands.

However Creationist scientists work on the assumption that Noah's flood did happen because it's in the Bible, therefore how does that science relate to the formation of the Causeway.

Okay I wasn't intending this to be a debate about what Creationist 'Scientists' or whatever should be called an how accurate their science methods are. I'm looking for their explaination as to what mechanisms God is supposed to have used around the time of Noah's flood in order to great the columnar basalt formation known as the Giant's Causeway.

I worked there as a tour guide for a season and hopefully will again, so I know the science and the myth behind it now I'm looking for this other side of the story.

(PS. Of course Finn Mac Cool the Giant built it to get to Scotland, we only humour the scientists hehe.)

Answer 1

magic

Answer 2

The Giant's Causeway has nothing to do with flooding. It was formed as you said by vulcanism and erosion caused by the ocean on the basalt columns. Plus, there isn't enough water on Earth to completely flood the planet's land mass.

People here in the United States believe the Grand Canyon was caused by the receding water from the flood. Which is actually a plausible statement if there were enough water on Earth to submerge Arizona at that altitude. If the whole planet actually did flood as the Bible claims, then the Grand Canyon and similar features would have been carved out in several days by the massive amount of receding water. However, this can't be stressed enough, there isn't enough water on Earth to completely submerge the planet's landmass.

Current archeological evidence would suggest that Noah's flood is a reference to the flooding of the Black Sea. The Black Sea was separated from the Aegean Sea and normal sea level until a few millennia ago.

After the end of the last ice age the water level rose several meters, and crossed the barrier that allowed the area we now call the Black Sea to flood to its present state in a matter of days.

Robert Ballard and other deep water explorers have found evidence (remains of primitive houses and pottery) of human settlement at the bottom the Sea from before the flooding of the area. The speed at which the flood would have occurred would have also prevented early people from escaping. Only people with boats could have survived.

Answer 3

These arguments go on and on - and each side operates on lack of information. I will only add two things ... not enough water ?
Nobody is telling you about the body of water under China that exceeds the Atlantic in volume. Anything that aids the Creationist or Bible standpoint is kept under cover.
Someone will no doubt say - its not true... just because they have not been told yet !
Secondly - when pollen was found in pre-carboniferous rocks at the Grand Canyon, at a level where Geology says there were no flowers... Colorado State University refused to witness the process, for science.
There is this story about an Ostrich with its head in the sand...
... the trouble was.. it was both blind and deaf... so it could not hear the instruction... take your head out of the sand... then you will see !

Great site this. Yall have fun.

Answer 4

I believe pillow lava forms when the molten material actually extrudes underwater and a smooth crust accumulates. What we are talking about here is a nascent hot lava bed being rapidly cooled possibly by subsequent flooding.
This would indeed cause cracking in the horizontal plane, but it is hard to see how this could result in the spontaneous. formation of mainly hexagonal fissure columns. For that the basalt would need to have the layered structure of a metamorphic rock like slate.
This to me suggests a complete refutation of the creationist argument and the uniformitarian one too.
The compelling evidence is that Finn McCool built it when waging war against a Scottish giant.
Could any one remind me how that gr8 theologian and scholar ian paisley was ordained and achieved his DD?

Answer 5

Causeway Creation Committee founding member Stephen Moore: “We don’t believe God created it the way it is, it was definitely a result of volcanic activity. Where we differ from the official theory is that we believe the cause of that activity was the flood we read about in The Bible. It says the fountains of the great deep opened up and because of that there was volcanic activity."

Answer 6

Creation "Scientists" spend much of their time trying to get public schools to teach their notions as science. Yet when you ask them to explain something specific like this, they never provide anything that can lead to a further understanding of the process. Unless they just copy and paste the first two chapters of Genesis with a generous dose of Psalms or Proverbs into a textbook, I wonder how they would ever come up with enough material to fill even a semester.

So far the runner up to the standard scientific explanation seems to be the Finn McCool explanation. Maybe including that will appease the DUP, since Creationists haven't come up with anything that fits the observable features of the formation.

Okay, Rev. Albert, let's hear your explanation instead of you just saying us evolutionists are intolerant. If you don't even try to provide one, how are we to have an open mind to your ideas?

Answer 7

There are three schools of creationist thought. Intelligent design (I T) basically those who believe God created the world but used evolution to form the life we see around us.This gives IT enthusiasts a foot in the scientific door but at the cost of believing in a literal Bible. Then there are those who believe in a young 6000 year earth because that s what they read in their Bible. (This belief is one of the main reasons why the Bible is held up for ridicule.If the earth is millions of years old then it aint the word of God say it s critics Then there are Gap theorists who believe there is an unspecified time gap beteen Genesis 1:1 and Genesis1:2 which would account for the geological and biological timeline we see in the strata and fossil record. Genesis 1:2 and subsequent verses speak of a recreation from a destroyed void state. Simple really. (see Ten years after by Christopher Hook Kindle)

Answer 8

Creationist Scientist is an oxymoron. Plain and simple. Real scientists use the scientific method. Creation cannot not be subjected to the scientific method.

I believe God created the world (not the Genesis explanation). But I also believe science is a very reliable tool. God allowed us to develop intellect. We should use it. But you need to know the facts about what makes science science.

Answer 9

The pattern that we see in the causeway stones formed as a result of rock crystallization under conditions of accelerated cooling. This usually occurs when moltne lava comes into immediate contact with water.

So, from the creationist perseptive, the pressures of flooding either caused the volcano to erupt, or it has erupted on it's own. The water from the flood came into contact with the lava, causing in the accelerated cooling and cracking.

Answer 10

Didn't the giant Finn build it? Or did he just use it?

Good question anyway!

Answer 11

While i am a person of faith (i'd thank you to not use the term "creationist" ... you may as well call me a racial slur) ... i do not think it wrong to mention it. Such as: "In the Christian religion, it is believed that ..." Now, how does that hurt you?

What you are asking is divisive and non-productive. Faith is FAITH ... asking for scientific explanations of the paranormal is just intolerance wearing a thin veil.