A recent college basketball broadcast on ESPN TV turned into a quick creation vs. evolution discussion, which included a reference to the Grand Canyon of Arizona as an apparent argument for “evolution.” Bill Walton, a retired NBA basketball player who is now a sportscaster, gave his apparently Christian cohost, Dave Pasch, a copy of Darwin’s The Origin of Species and said, “I want to make sure you believe in evolution.” Pasch replied, “I don’t,” and later offered to bring Walton a book that refutes Darwin’s ideas. Walton later commented, "I believe in science. And evolution. I've been to the Grand Canyon.” Though the conversation may have been cut short by a producer, this statement seems to show that Walton thinks the Grand Canyon supports the idea of geologic evolution. But the Grand Canyon actually stands as a testament to catastrophe—the global Flood of Noah’s day!
Geologic evolution holds to the idea of uniformitarianism. This is the belief that most geologic features (like those at the Grand Canyon) were formed slowly over millions of years of slow and gradual processes. This version of Earth’s history stands in sharp contrast to the Bible’s account of history. According to the Bible, there was a catastrophic global Flood about 4,350 years ago. Such a Flood would have radically changed the Earth’s surface and would have shaped many of the geologic features we see today. When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, we got a small-scale glimpse of how a catastrophe can radically change the Earth’s surface. Mud flows produced from a subsequent eruption in 1982 carved a canyon 1/40 to the scale of the Grand Canyon in only a matter of hours!
But the geologic features of the Grand Canyon are perfectly consistent with a global Flood as described in Genesis. Here are a few examples: The Grand Canyon is home to a fossil graveyard of billions of fossilized squid-like creatures called nautiloids. This seven-foot-thick layer filled with nautiloids of different sizes covers at least 11,600 square miles. How did billions of these sea creatures all get buried at once above sea level?
Some of the sand in one layer of the Grand Canyon likely came from 1,800 miles away in the Appalachian mountains of New York and Pennsylvania. How would these sediments get transported such a vast distance? Also, several of the rock layers that make up Grand Canyon stretch right across North America! What would lay down sedimentary layers containing marine fossils across an entire continent?
All of this flies in the face of the idea that the Grand Canyon was formed slowly and gradually over millions of years—but secularists need extremely long periods of time in order for the possibility of biological evolution to even be considered. Instead of showing evidence of a little water over a lot of time, it powerfully demonstrates the effects of a lot of water over a little bit of time. The Grand Canyon is not a testament to millions of years—it is powerful evidence of the global Flood of Noah’s day and its aftermath.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.