The earthquake and tsunami which recently struck Japan have provided very useful data for creationist scientists. We recently wrote Answers in Genesis: Sin Caused Japan’s Earthquake.
Now we have a different reaction, this time from the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) — the fountainhead of young-earth creationist wisdom. Their creation scientists have studied the catastrophe and their efforts have yielded some profound conclusions. A hint of their brilliant insights can be seen in the title to their article: Japan Tsunami Demonstrates Destructive Power of Water. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us:
British lawyer Charles Lyell popularized the phrase “the present is the key to the past” in his 1830 work Principles of Geology. In it, he argued that everyday natural processes, such as daily erosion, can account for the formation of earth’s land features.
That “lawyer” ICR dismissively mentions is Charles Lyell, the most famous geologist of his generation, and a close friend of Charles Darwin. Let’s read on:
Since then, many geologists have come to recognize that his Enlightenment-era maxim is flawed and that earth features like rock formations and steep-sided mountains instead resulted from catastrophes. Thus, perhaps natural disasters are the key to the past.
Yes, the Enlightenment was just one blunder after another. ICR’s solution is to return to the wisdom of the Dark Ages. We continue:
If catastrophes are key, then it is instructive to consider the destruction wrought on Japan from so relatively small an earthquake. Much larger quakes certainly occurred in the past, causing devastation on much larger scales. This is known from both geology and the biblical record.
You know where they’re going with their “catastrophes are key” maxim, don’t you? We won’t keep you waiting. After briefly referring to unnamed geologists who say that in the past there were “megaquakes” that left behind “superfaults” — which strikes us as a slight reversal of cause and effect — ICR says:
Biblically, superfaults follow from the statement that “all the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up” at the start of the global Flood of Noah’s day. [Footnote to scripture passage.]
Wow! They consulted the bible and figured out what caused the superfaults. But ICR’s creation scientists don’t stop there. They ask:
If one relatively small earthquake-generated tsunami could cause this much damage in Japan, how much more damage would be caused by the barrage of tsunamis generated by continuous, worldwide earthquakes during the year-long Flood of Noah that left earth-scars now called “superfaults”?
Gasp! What a brilliant question! Here’s their conclusion:
It would certainly be enough to corroborate the Bible’s account of a monumental cataclysm through which “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” [Footnote to scripture passage.]
There you are, dear reader. If you were ever foolish enough to doubt the historical reality of Noah’s Flood, now you are without excuse.
Copyright © 2011. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
So an earthquake that gets into the top 5 quakes, in strength, for the last one hundred years, is small. I hate to consider what they think a big one is, or they confused by the fact Japan uses their own scale to report earthquakes?
how much more damage would be caused by the barrage of tsunamis generated by continuous, worldwide earthquakes during the year-long Flood of Noah
Hmmm…well, given that Noah was able to build his boat without his labor, materials, or construction suffering any damage during this year, I’d have to take “The bible implies no damage at all” for $1000, Alex.
If they are Biblical literalists, then they must also accept that the sky is covered by a bronze dome that holds back the waters of the heavens. Somehow, they leave out that bit, since astronauts have missed all that water above the planet.
I think that we have seen what tsunamis do to boats.
As a geologist, I take exception to almost everything said in this article. Brushing off Lyell like he was no one important, saying a 9.0 earthquake is “relatively small” (Haha!) and that “much bigger” events are evident in the geologic record (NO) that caused worse damage (NO) and that the principle of uniformitarianism has been largely cast aside for the laughable “catastrophism”, the proponents of which were the moronic religious nutjobs of their day, just like now ( Scientists left behind the biblical nonsense when they started looking at the earth and its processes using the scientific method). And of course claiming that earthquakes cause faults and not the other way around further demostrates their abysmal grasp of earthquake mechanics and geology as a science. I can’t help but wonder that the article author MUST be trying to purposely mislead people with this crap. It makes no sense for someone with so little knowledge and grasp of basic geology to try to “educate” others about anything related to geology whatsoever. Pisses me off!
SciTech, this ‘neener, neener’ is not trying to mislead, he/she/it really believes the Bible is the source for all geologic knowledge and it just has to be right, so all that is necessary to prove its correctness is to show a possibility. Please note this possibility does not have to take into account reality.
It’s also quite helpful to his/her/its quest to frame everything, absolutely everything as a dichotomy. Either the Earth’s surface has been formed by the application of gradual, incremental events, or one big, awe inspiring, kick-butt event. Ain’t no possibility both can happen, no sirree.
I’m guessing the tsunami resulting from the Chicxulub impact was of “biblical” proportions.
The ICR is really showing it’s character by judging the tragedy in Japan to be a small earthquake – like it’s no big deal. They should apologize and then shut up and go help. It would do them good to get out of the basement and do something useful for a change.
They must have skipped the part where it rained for 40 days and nights.
Wait, the Bible had the Japanese word “tsunami” in it?
by the barrage of tsunamis generated by continuous, worldwide earthquakes during the year-long Flood of Noah…
which didnt ever seem to cause the Ark to sink…
of hang on…yeah Im getting into the Creonut thoughtwave now….yeah…God protected the Ark from those tsunamis and earthquakes by cradleing it in his hands…
theres just no winning is there? Trying to defeat this Creonut idiocy with reason is like sticking your dick in a blender.
Both painful and pointless.
“continuous, worldwide earthquakes during the year-long Flood of Noah”
That has to have been the inspiration for this………
Over seventy percent of the surface of the earth is covered with water, and yet no one here sees evidence for a worldwide flood?
Daniel, you should probably take a geology class and find our where the oceans came from. Are you saying that our current volume of ocean water fell from the sky in 40 days??? Ludicrous, and anyway, saline water doesn’t fall from the sky. Try again.
I believe in everything the Bible says, however, it is not a Science book. I hardly doubt all of those people that suffered, died, and are missing in Japan would call a mag. 9 earthquake ‘small’. Unfortunate happenings in the weather are called “acts of God”, not something that God did because He enjoys punishing people. It’s articles like this that make unbelievers deny God.