The Earth. Christianity. They go together. Welcome to The GeoChristian, a blog primarily about the relationship between the Earth sciences and Christianity. My name is Kevin Nelstead, and I have been writing at geochristian.com since 2006. The most important thing about me is that I am a Christian. The passage of Scripture that opened up my …
What does Mt St Helens teach us about Noah’s flood? Almost nothing.
All I got from Mt St Helens (MSH) in the days following its May 18, 1980 eruption was a few pretty sunsets. I was an undergraduate student in my first year at the University of Utah, and most of the ash cloud passed far north of Salt Lake City. MSH became more significant for me …
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Earth Stewardship in the Bible – An Excerpt from Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home
One thing that makes Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home (now from Classical Academic Press) stand out from its competitors in the middle-school textbook market is its treatment of Earth stewardship. Earth care is not something we do just for pragmatic or emotional reasons but because stewardship of the creation is part of God’s mandate …
Review – The Fool and the Heretic
The Fool and the Heretic by Todd Charles Wood & Darrel R. Falk, Zondervan, 2019. Are young-Earth creationists intellectual fools? Are theistic evolutionists heretics? More fundamentally, can two Christians, one who is an ardent young-Earth creationist, and the other a committed theistic evolutionist, learn to respectfully dialogue and even love one another deeply as brothers …
A catastrophic video
This five-minute "Noah's Flood and Catastrophic Plate Tectonics" video was recently released by Genesis Apologetics. It has as shown up in my Facebook feed several times this week, so I decided to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68p75xhrSk I have no doubt that the producer(s) of this video mean well. They believe the Bible, and want to provide …
Bold and Gentle – book review
GeoChristian.com exists due to the encouragement of my friend Glenn Brooke. Glenn, who has a PhD in biochemistry, is one of the smartest people I know. He is also one of the wisest. A wise person lives their life well, knows the right thing to do in various situations and actually does it; and helps …
Six Geological Reasons Why I am Not a Young-Earth Creationist Part 1 — Igneous Rocks
This is the first in a planned six-part series of Six Geological Reasons Why I am Not a Young-Earth Creationist. I am a Christian who holds to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible, and who also has a master’s degree in geology. I have previously given my biblical and theological reasons why I believe …
Review — The Genealogical Adam and Eve
Swamidass, S. Joshua, 2019, The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry, IVP Academic, 246 p. There have been many books written on origins, most of which don’t have anything new to say. The Genealogical Adam and Eve by S. Joshua Swamidass is a book that has some new things to say …
Book review — Friend of Science, Friend of Faith
Davidson, Gregg, 2019, Friend of Science, Friend of Faith: Listening to God in His Works and Word, Kregel Academic, 297 p. Gregg Davidson, a Christian, is Chair of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi. Friend of Science, Friend of Faith opens with the story of Riley, a Christian college student working toward …
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Five reasons young-Earth creationism is not biblically necessary
I was a young-Earth creationist (YEC) during my first few years as an undergraduate geology major, believing that the Bible required that the universe is no older than about 10,000 years, and that geology, properly understood, supported that position. I was a student member of the Creation Research Society, and looked forward to the day …
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Novare Science and Math — Upcoming Biology Textbook
Here's some good news for Christian science teachers, whether in a Christian school or home school setting. In the past, science educators in Christian environments had to chose between using secular textbooks and Christian textbooks. The Christian science textbooks were written mostly from a young-Earth, anti-evolution, anti-environmental perspective, and were therefore unsuitable in the minds …
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GeoScriptures – Matthew 13:1-23 – Pedogenesis and the parable of the sower
“And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth …
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Review – Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins
Bishop, R.C., Funck, L.L., Lewis, R.J., Moshier, S.O., and Walton, J.H, 2018, Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins: Cosmology, Geology, and Biology in Christian Perspective, Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 659 p. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Scientific-Theories-Origins-Christianity/dp/0830852913/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547601156&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+scientific+theories+of+origins Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins is authored by five professors from Wheaton College. Wheaton is an Evangelical institution with rigorous admissions standards, and therefore …
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Book Review – Two young-Earth creationist books about Yellowstone expose how YECs cannot explain Yellowstone geology
Your Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks: A Different Perspective, by John Hergenrather, Tom Vail, Mike Oard, and Dennis Bokovoy The Geology of Yellowstone: A Biblical Guide, by Patrick Nurre Young-Earth creationists (YECs) believe that the Bible requires that almost all features of Earth’s crust are the result of Noah’s Flood about 4300 …
Review – A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture
A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture is largely a summary of the insights of the late theologian R.C. Sproul on the topic of the relationship between science and Christian faith. The author is Keith Mathison, professor of systematic theology at Reformation Bible College in Florida, and the book is available as a free Kindle …
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Choosing and using a wide-margin Bible for spiritual growth
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." – Psalm 119:105 ESV Among my most-treasured possessions are a small stack of wide-margin Bibles that I have been writing notes in for almost two decades. These Bibles contain much of what I have learned from my personal time of reading …
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Yellowstone National Park — Another bad answer from Answers in Genesis
This brief article on Yellowstone National Park from Answers in Genesis is exceptionally bad. https://answersingenesis.org/creation-vacations/yellowstone-national-park/ Answers in Genesis -- "The volcano that left the enormous crater at Yellowstone was far greater than anything we observe today. While modern craters measure barely 20 square miles (52 km2), the crater at Yellowstone covers about 1,500 square miles …
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Six Books to Understand Genesis — Old-Earth Edition
The web site of the young-Earth creationist documentary Is Genesis History has listed "Six Books to Understand Genesis," all written from a young-Earth perspective. As a counterweight, here are six old-Earth books written by highly-qualified, Bible-believing, inerrancy-affirming, theologically-conservative scholars. As old-Earth Christians, these academics believe in the truthfulness of Scripture just as much as any …
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Earth Day 2018 — My guest editorial
There is a perception among conservative Reformation and Evangelical Christians that placing a high priority on Earth care is for theological and political liberals, new age pantheists, and "tree huggers," and has little to do with Christian discipleship. In response, environmentalists often view Evangelicals as being opposed to many environmental causes, and therefore as enemies. …
Three Young-Earth Students
The web site for the young-Earth documentary Is Genesis History? has posted a video following three young-Earth creationist (YEC) students from Wheaton College as they tour the Ark Encounter replica of Noah's Ark in Kentucky (see How did Theistic Evolution Bring 3 Wheaton College Students to the Ark?). These students had formed a YEC group …
Short Answer — Mt St Helens and young-Earth creationism
Here is my standard short answer to the young-Earth creationist claim that the deposits formed by the 1980s eruptions of Mt St Helens demonstrate that Noah's flood could be responsible for the sedimentary rock record. The deposits of Mt St Helens (MSH) demonstrate that volcanoes can do a lot of geologic work in a short …
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