Summary Part 6

Summary – Oceanic Evidence Of Evolution

The following truths summarize this study: l. A great discrepancy exists between the three or four billion year age date derived from radioactive decay data and the evidence obtainable from the oceans. Either the ocean data is completely untrustworthy, or there is a question regarding the dependability of the radioactive dating.

2. If the accumulation of sodium by the weathering of continental rocks as a part of NaCl in the oceans is used as a guide for the age of the oceans, a number of unanswerable problems remain:

1. Some chemicals, (Cl, Br, etc.), must have been a part of the oceans since the very beginning or must have been introduced apart from rock weathering.
2. The sediments in the ocean should be much thicker than actually found.
3. Almost all the other elements which supposedly weathered while the sodium was weathering are in far too short supply to allow for a weathering period of 260 million years, which is required to bring this amount of sodium into oceans. Therefore, using NaCl as a standard results in an untenable solution.
4. If accumulation of the other major constituent of the ocean salts, chlorine, is used as a guide for age dating, then the following points would obtain:
5. An accumulation period of about 2 to 3 billions of years would result. This is much closer to the radioactive age determination. The ocean can then be considered to have been devoid of chemicals in solution at one time in its history.
6. This would compound the sediment problem. In this long period of time the oceans would have filled with sediment.
7. This also provides no answer for the short supply of many of the ocean chemicals. This, too, gives an untenable solution.
8. If the accumulation of the very smallest amounts of chemicals is used for age dating, the following would obtain:
9. The apparent age of the ocean would be under 1,000 years.
10. The ocean would have begun with essentially the present compliment of salt and several of the other chemicals. This solution is untenable on the basis of other histories.
11. Another conclusion remains as the only plausible one, both in the light of Biblical statements, as well as in the light of the evidence obtained from studies of the oceans. That conclusion is that the ocean and the earth are 13,000 years old. This conclusion may be supported by the following secular evidences:
12. Elements in the ocean water are not found in a saturated condition. From this, one could deduce the flow of chemicals into the ocean was a short-time phenomenon.
13. Proportions of elements found in the water or on the ocean floor are in no relationship whatsoever to the proportions found in the continents. Such variables as resistance to erosion, water transportability, solubility, and others, over a very short period of weathering accord with these extreme differences in chemical proportions. Again, the conclusion seems most logical that the oceans are very young.
14. The fact that many of the chemicals in ocean solution are present in amounts that could have accumulated within the last 1,000 years or less, if all rocks were equally susceptible to erosion, can be used dramatically to support a 13,000 year age of the earth. For this is precisely what would be expected in view of the differences in erosion resistance, solubility, etc. of the continental rocks. Elements in excess of those expected within 13,000 years could have accumulated from easily eroded rocks, whereas far less than that expected in 13,000 years of history would have accumulated from very hard rocks.
15. The concept of a very young earth is supported also by existence of a thin layer of sediments on the ocean floor. This is especailly true when consideration is given to the cataclysmic worldwide flood of Noah’s day. That phenomenon alone could have caused erosion of enormous quantities of sediments for ocean solution and deposition. In fact, impact of a worldwide flood upon the oceans would have been so severe that no accurate estimate of time can ever be derived from ocean chemicals.
16. The fact that certain salts such as NaCl are in such abundance in ocean solution could be interpreted to mean that they have been present in essentally their present quantities from the very beginning. The all-important conclusion remains, however, that even without considering the effect of the flood on the oceans, under no circumstance may the ocean evidence be used to deduce an age of millions of years. Then, when any recognition is given to the Noachian flood sediments which must be subtracted from the elements in the oceans, the contention for a very young ocean may be stated even more emphatically. The 13,000 year date of the Bible appears to be the only true alternative to popular concepts of a very old earth.