Module 8 Story #4

Spencer was gone during the day on the week days this week at a debate tournament, and he and Dad brought me home a T-shirt.

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#IFeelLoved #I’mATShirtPerson #ILoveMyGuys #ICouldGoOnForeverAndEver #AndEver

Anyway–

I think it’s about time to post another part of my story.  We’re on Part 4.  There are going to be six parts in all.

This is the first half of the Creationist side of the story that was introduced in this part.  My side of the story.  I’m excited about this part.

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Uncle Zade stayed home alone while we went to church. I was actually glad, because I didn’t really want to ask Mr. Pirrip about science in front of him. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and I didn’t want it to turn into a debate—even though I might have learned more that way.

Even at 9:30 in the morning it was hot. I leaned my forehead against the warm glass of the car window and watched the office-buildings race by. I was kind-of nervous. Not to mention that I felt torn in two. I squirmed all through the service without listening—though I didn’t usually pay very close attention.

When the service got over the three of us went in search of Mr. Robert Pirrip. After chatting with him for a while, my Dad said, “Caroline has a question for you.”

“Really? What would that be?”

My parents moved off to talk to someone else. I thought that they were giving us space on purpose, knowing that I would be more comfortable talking to just one person, even though I didn’t know Mr. Pirrip very well.

“So…” I hesitated. How much should I tell him? “My uncle is staying with us.” He wasn’t technically my uncle. Oh well. Who cared? “And he is a scientist. He was telling me about the Geological Column and stuff last night, and my parents were wondering if I wanted to get another point of view…” I sincerely hoped this was making sense.

“You want mine?”

I nodded.

“I’d love to! What all did you talk about?”

“Well, he told me about the Geological Column, and all those eras. The Mississippian one and the Pennsylvanian one, like the states; and the Jurassic era, like Jurassic Park. I don’t remember the others. And we talked about index fossils.”

“Right. The idea of index fossils is based on the Principle of Superposition. That is when artifacts are found in rock or earth that is layered, the deeper layers hold the older artifacts.” That sounded suspiciously like a definition, but it made sense. “The problem is, we don’t know if this is true. Did he tell you that each era has dates associated with it?”

“Yes. He had them all memorized, but I can’t remember any.”

“That’s fine. I don’t have them memorized either. Your uncle is very talented! But these dates are not actually reliable. The process of determining them relies heavily on assumptions like the Principle of Superposition, and also on radiometric dating. Do you know what that is?”

“No, not really.”

“Well, it’s a radioactive process that is very complicated. All you need to know is that it is not necessarily reliable. So, these dates that are millions of years ago were determined in a way whose reliability is controversial.”

“So…” what question was I supposed to ask first? I had so many! “What about index fossils? I mean, most rocks are really in layers—I’ve seen pictures—but are there really different fossils in each layer?”

“Yes, actually, there are. Creationists—or most Creationists— believe in a world-wide flood. Instead of grouping fossils in thirteen eras, they divide it into three.”

“They believe the world is that young?” I asked, doubtfully.

“Yes, they don’t believe it is millions or billions of years old. They believe that there are three general eras: pre-Flood fossils, the fossils that were laid down during the Flood, and the post-Flood fossils.”

“The Creationist names are easier to remember,” I commented.

He laughed. “Yes, much easier! Now, they believe that the layers in the rocks laid down by the Flood do not represent an era, but a different of stage the Flood. These stages would change as the currents and water-level changed.”

“Then those fossils formed very quickly. Uncle Zade said it takes millions of years for fossils to form.”

Just then Mom and Dad approached us again. “I hate to interrupt, but are you guys almost done? It’s about time to head back home.” I looked around the sanctuary and realized we were practically the only ones left.

“Not really done,” Mr. Pirrip answered. “What do you say to going out to lunch? I’ll buy!”

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