The Results Are in, and WOW!

I’m sure we all struggle with patience at times. Now I admit I struggle with this when it comes to research! You see, when I know some of the exciting projects going on behind the scenes at Answers in Genesis, I want the results quickly so I can share them with the world. I know how much these results can challenge the wrong ideas so many have been taught by evolutionists. This, in turn, can help us greatly in sharing the truth of God’s Word, the true history of the world, and the saving gospel message. This can also help equip Christians and shore up their confidence in God’s infallible Word.

But qualified and trained researchers are very patient and must be. They know how important it is to gather all the data possible, analyze and test the results, repeat the analysis, and ensure all variables are taken into account. They need to dot every “i” and cross every “t” to provide the most accurate and reliable interpretations and conclusions possible.

Ok, now you are having to be patient with me as I get to the exciting part.

Grand Canyon Blocked?

Remember back to 2017? To me it seems like millions of years ago. An event occurred that year that received attention in both the secular and Christian media. But the story actually started in 2014 when AiG’s Director of Research, geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling, attempted to get a permit to obtain samples from the Grand Canyon for ongoing geological research. It has taken seven years of battles, including getting an attorney group involved, to get to where we are today! A reminder that the world is against the things of God, but God is sovereign regardless.

Now in several places in the Grand Canyon (a supposed icon for millions of years), the rock layers are folded; that is, they are smoothly bent. In two instances the Tapeats Sandstone is bent smoothly, close to a right angle, in enormous folds without being broken up. Normally, solid rock cannot bend without breaking, so this leaves only two options for such bending:

1. Either the rock layer was bent while still soft, shortly after being deposited by water (think: Noah’s flood); or
2. After the layer had fully hardened, it was bent by pressures (and temperatures) which made the rock plastic, like playdough, causing it to bend.

Geologists who believe the layers were laid down over millions of years insist on the second option and totally reject the first one.

However, for hardened rock to bend without breaking, it must undergo metamorphic changes (caused by heat, pressure, and chemically active fluids) in its mineral content and structure, including at the microscopic level. The objective of Andrew’s research was to find out if there is any evidence of the hardened Tapeats sandstone in these smoothly bent layers having been metamorphosed by the bending process.

To do that, samples of the Tapeats sandstone needed to be collected from the folds and compared with samples collected remote from the folds, so a research and sampling permit was applied for in 2014.

But, because of their dogmatic millions-of-years thinking, officials and academics associated with Grand Canyon National Park tried to prevent this study, expressing disdain in emails about Andrew’s religious and creationist beliefs.

The Dam Breaks

So in 2017, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit that presented the clear-cut, documented evidence of an anti-Christian bias in the permits’ denial. The lawyers from the Departments of Justice and the Interior agreed, so the Grand Canyon National Park had to change course and issue the research permits. The research field trip (funded by you, our supporters) was immediately undertaken and the samples were collected. Months of intensive microscope studies followed.

And now, to coincide with the launching of a specially designed website for our Answers Research Journal (AnswersResearchJournal.org), Andrew has published the first-ever detailed paper documenting various results. You can find it at this link: AnswersResearchJournal.org/sandstone.

By comparing Tapeats sandstone samples collected from the folds with other Tapeats sandstone samples collected far from the folds, no evidence of any metamorphism was found. This means the standard evolutionary explanation for these folds cannot be true.

The quandary for evolutionary geologists now is this: how could these hard layers have been bent supposedly 450 million years after they formed and not shatter or be metamorphosed during the bending process? Therefore, these rock layers had to have been bent while they were still soft, very soon after their rapid deposition and before they could dry out and harden.

This is tremendous evidence that is totally consistent with the biblical global flood cataclysm and its aftermath. That’s why evolutionists didn’t want Andrew doing this research.

The Tapeats sandstone was rapidly deposited during the first weeks of the flood, only about 4,350 years ago, then only months later, at the end of the flood year, it was bent while still wet and soft, before it subsequently dried out and hardened. This is what creationists have predicted. Careful observational science has now confirmed this. Wow! When you read the paper, you will see how detailed Dr. Snelling has been to ensure the data and interpretations are totally accurate.

Now research on the folds, including scanning electron microscope imaging, is still ongoing to deal with potential objections the evolutionary geologists will raise. The results will be published sometime in the future in a second paper that will be published in September. I can tell you that what Andrew has seen so far has really excited him.

After seven years of battles and thousands of hours of research, our speakers and writers can now sum up the results with a few photographs and in a few sentences of explanation. But this is powerful information. It just took a long time, thousands of dollars, and thousands of hours of research to get to this point.

Ever since Answers in Genesis began, we’ve had qualified researchers (in science, theology, etc.) working behind the scenes to make sure we had accurate information for our books, presentations, videos, signage at our attractions, and so on. We have always wanted to maintain the highest of integrity in regard to the information we present. This has given us an extremely high level of trust with our supporters and others, which we always uphold.

Most people don’t see the hard work in research that goes on behind the scenes, but it’s vitally important for all we do in this organization as we take on the giants of secularism in our culture.

Two Other Exciting Examples

Another one of our researchers is Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, who holds a PhD in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University. He serves as a research biologist, author, and speaker.

Human Ancestry

He has been working on a fascinating research project concerning human history and has amassed at least 5–6,000 hours of research time on the following project. He stated,

We have just uncovered the Rosetta stone of human history, the DNA-based family tree of humanity. The male-inherited DNA—the Y chromosome—marks off approximately 4,500 years of post-flood history, and it reveals the lineages of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It also shows specific genealogical structures that we would expect to find from the paternal relationships listed in Genesis 10. In addition, it identifies a strong candidate for the genetic lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, along with the family line of either the Edomites or the Lost Tribes of Israel. Finally, it manifests the major events of world history, and it rewrites the sequence of events for eras previously consigned to “pre-history,” such as the pre-Columbian Americas.

Preliminary results from this research were announced via a 25-part video series in the spring and summer of 2020. Subsequent updates have been communicated via occasional webinars on Answers.tv. A major book detailing these findings will be released this fall.

These findings open up massive new research directions for the future. In theory, this tree could uncover the origins and history for every people group on earth. We are actively exploring collaborations with diverse contacts, in hopes of making more successful discoveries in order to generate momentum that will pique the interest of nations around the globe and connect each of their histories back to Scripture.

I just can’t wait for this new book. This is groundbreaking research.

Dino Feathers

And more research is being conducted by our paleontologist, Dr. Gabriela Haynes. Dr. Haynes earned a PhD in geology/paleontology from the Federal University of Ceará State in Brazil, South America, in conjunction with the University of Kentucky.

Creationist paleontologists are not that easy to find, especially ones who stand on God’s Word in Genesis as we do. What a thrill it was to us to first hear from Dr. Haynes and then find out it was the information on the AiG website that the Lord used in her life to bring her to where she is today as a dedicated Christian and biblical creationist. Now that’s an impactful testimony I will get her to share one day.

Gabriela has been working for the last year on the topic of dinosaurs and feathers. This has become a major “jewel” of their evolutionary story. Even children’s books have been written depicting dinosaurs growing wings and becoming birds. Sadly, many Christians have been impacted by this idea. Dr. Haynes wanted to definitively research this topic. She has taken each fossil claimed to show dinosaurs with feathers and conducted meticulous research. She has been doing that for over a year, and her first paper will soon be published in Answers Research Journal. Here is what she wrote to me:

Are birds dinosaurs?! This question has challenged me and made me realize how much evolutionary ideas are influencing many Christians and creationists. My research aimed to study the genera of the so-called feathered dinosaurs and show the inconsistencies in its definition, approach, and their research methods. The first paper of the series is entitled “Deinonychus: An analysis of its original description and classification.”

My research analyzes the fossil material found, how evolutionists described this genus, and the assumptions behind the conclusion that brought back the debate of the relationship between dinosaurs and birds. My research is a literary analysis, studying the methods of that approach, the assumptions applied in their research, reading, and analyzing the descriptive articles published of those genera and about those genera.

The next papers will focus on genera like Velociraptor, Oviraptor, and many other genera of the Maniraptora (a group that, based on evolutionary worldview, accommodates all dinosaurs closely related to birds).). There is a lot to do, but from the research I have conducted, and as concluded in my first paper, I am more certain than ever that dinosaurs are not birds and they did not have feathers.

As God Word states, flying creatures (including birds) were created on day five of the creation week, and land-dwelling animal kinds (including the kinds we today call dinosaurs) were made on day six. Dr. Haynes’ research confirms the Bible’s account of creation.

Funding

Of course, we do have a number of other research projects that are ongoing, but the above give you a taste of what is being done behind-the-scenes so we can be equipped to challenge the world’s false evolutionary history and proclaim the truth of God’s Word.

Even though we have raised some funds for special research projects, the research department by and large is funded through our core ministry and the donations made to it. Without your ongoing financial support, we wouldn’t be able to conduct such research (which requires a number of researchers fully devoted to their tasks). The PhD researchers at AiG help to give us credibility in the scientific and theological arena and the ability to present up-to-date, powerful information to counteract the false claims of the secularists.

I encourage you to make a gift today to our core ministry. By doing so, you are supporting the above research projects, other research endeavors, and many other aspects of the AiG ministry that are impacting tens of millions of people a year.

Thanks for helping us uphold and defend the truth of God’s Word.