A
Anonymous
Guest
A Grand Canyon tour guide who used to wax lyrical to tourists, about how the Colorado river carved the magnificent spectacle of the Grand Canyon over tens of millions of years, now believes that the entire formation is only around 4,500 years old, and was created by the Biblical flood.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0112ruelas12.html
Shaving years off Grand Canyon
Jan. 12, 2004 12:00 AM
He entered the Grand Canyon believing it was formed over millions of years by the rushing Colorado River. He climbed out nine days later ready to accept that the natural wonder is 4,500 years old, carved by waters from a great flood that buoyed Noah's Ark.
Tom Vail has published a testimony of his conversion. Titled Grand Canyon: A Different View, it is 104 pages of photography and quotations that present the Canyon as living proof of God's creation. It was published in May, but sales really took off in August after the National Park Service agreed to carry it in the official bookstores at Arizona's most popular tourist attraction.
Vail said he's surprised that his book, which flies in the face of geologic science, was accepted for sale. "I don't view it as a stamp of approval," he said, sitting at the kitchen table of his central Phoenix home. "I do view it as (the Park Service) being open-minded."
The book is contradicted everywhere else on the park grounds. Interpretive talks by rangers and literature handed to visitors speak of the Canyon being cut by the Colorado River over millions upon millions of years.
That is what Vail believed until 15 years ago, when he met a Christian woman on a nine-day rafting trip. She is now his wife. At the time, Vail was a hedonistic river guide. "I was drinking and my language wasn't always godly," he said.
After accepting Christ, Vail accepted the Bible as the inerrant word of God. And, he said, there is no way to cram millions of years of evolution into the pages of Scripture. Adam was the first man, says Genesis, and he lived to be 930 years old. His third son, Seth, lived to be 912, according to Genesis 5:8. Seth's son Enosh died at the age of 905, according to Genesis 5:11.
Using the lineages in the Bible in that fashion dates the Earth's creation to about 6,000 years ago. The catastrophic flood of the Earth, using the same method of dating, would have occurred 4,500 years ago.
Vail does not take the entire Bible literally. The Book of Psalms, he said, is poetic literature. "But Genesis is not poetic literature. Genesis is historical literature."
Where geologists use such numbers as Planck's constant, Vail uses the figure 6,000 as a biblical constant. Any theory that supposes a universe older than that, he dismisses. And while he rejects scientific theories as unproven, he said that his own belief in the Bible is on faith and doesn't require proof.
I told him that unlike his own unshakable beliefs, science would probably welcome evidence that supported creation. "That's how it's supposed to be," he said. "But that's not what's happening with this book."
He was referring to a letter that seven geologic science organizations sent to the National Park Service last month. The letter said Vail's book "makes claims about the age of the rocks and the formation of the Canyon that are at odds with the well-documented scientific understanding of Earth history."
The letter expressed concern that the book's placement in the bookstore implied a government endorsement and asked that the book be stocked apart from scientific texts.
The director of the non-profit group that runs the bookstores said they saw Vail's offering as an alternative view, but not science. Brad Wallace, of the Grand Canyon Association, likened it to Native American folklore about the Canyon.
"I don't see a big difference between one creation myth and another," Wallace said.
However, Vail's book does not present the Genesis story as a myth, or even a possible explanation. It is given as hard fact. There is no room for interpretation. Although nothing on the cover suggests a creationist view, it is apparent on every page inside. In his introduction, Vail says the Canyon sprang from "a judgment by water of the world broken by the sin of man . . . "
Vail operates Christian and secular tours of the Canyon through his business, Canyon Ministries. On his secular trips, he presents both the scientific and creation theories, and he said he gets a lot of puzzled looks from people who claim to be Christian. "The vast majority of them have never thought it through," he said.
That was the main point of the publishing the book, he said. "It's not about selling books," Vail said.
Although the volume has sold nearly 300 copies since August, Vail will have a much easier time getting into heaven than a camel passing through the eye of a needle. "It's getting people to examine beliefs, to realize the question is really a question of the authenticity of the Scripture," he said.
If the Bible is true, then the truth starts with Genesis, Vail said. "If He really didn't mean He created everything in six days, if that's not true, where does truth begin?" he asked.
There is one definite truth about the book. Proceeds from each sale put more money into the hands of the Grand Canyon Association. That money goes to support scientific education and geologic research about the Canyon. Vail's volume about creation helps advance evolution.
The Lord works in mysterious ways. [ends]
Well, I guess the guy is entitled to his opinion. I politely disagree with it, however, and would like to nail my colours firmly to the mast of a multi-billion-year-old earth. However, I don't personally think the Bible gives the age of the earth at all. The Book of Genesis holds open the possibility of a geologically-ancient planet imho.
Big Bill Robinson
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0112ruelas12.html
Shaving years off Grand Canyon
Jan. 12, 2004 12:00 AM
He entered the Grand Canyon believing it was formed over millions of years by the rushing Colorado River. He climbed out nine days later ready to accept that the natural wonder is 4,500 years old, carved by waters from a great flood that buoyed Noah's Ark.
Tom Vail has published a testimony of his conversion. Titled Grand Canyon: A Different View, it is 104 pages of photography and quotations that present the Canyon as living proof of God's creation. It was published in May, but sales really took off in August after the National Park Service agreed to carry it in the official bookstores at Arizona's most popular tourist attraction.
Vail said he's surprised that his book, which flies in the face of geologic science, was accepted for sale. "I don't view it as a stamp of approval," he said, sitting at the kitchen table of his central Phoenix home. "I do view it as (the Park Service) being open-minded."
The book is contradicted everywhere else on the park grounds. Interpretive talks by rangers and literature handed to visitors speak of the Canyon being cut by the Colorado River over millions upon millions of years.
That is what Vail believed until 15 years ago, when he met a Christian woman on a nine-day rafting trip. She is now his wife. At the time, Vail was a hedonistic river guide. "I was drinking and my language wasn't always godly," he said.
After accepting Christ, Vail accepted the Bible as the inerrant word of God. And, he said, there is no way to cram millions of years of evolution into the pages of Scripture. Adam was the first man, says Genesis, and he lived to be 930 years old. His third son, Seth, lived to be 912, according to Genesis 5:8. Seth's son Enosh died at the age of 905, according to Genesis 5:11.
Using the lineages in the Bible in that fashion dates the Earth's creation to about 6,000 years ago. The catastrophic flood of the Earth, using the same method of dating, would have occurred 4,500 years ago.
Vail does not take the entire Bible literally. The Book of Psalms, he said, is poetic literature. "But Genesis is not poetic literature. Genesis is historical literature."
Where geologists use such numbers as Planck's constant, Vail uses the figure 6,000 as a biblical constant. Any theory that supposes a universe older than that, he dismisses. And while he rejects scientific theories as unproven, he said that his own belief in the Bible is on faith and doesn't require proof.
I told him that unlike his own unshakable beliefs, science would probably welcome evidence that supported creation. "That's how it's supposed to be," he said. "But that's not what's happening with this book."
He was referring to a letter that seven geologic science organizations sent to the National Park Service last month. The letter said Vail's book "makes claims about the age of the rocks and the formation of the Canyon that are at odds with the well-documented scientific understanding of Earth history."
The letter expressed concern that the book's placement in the bookstore implied a government endorsement and asked that the book be stocked apart from scientific texts.
The director of the non-profit group that runs the bookstores said they saw Vail's offering as an alternative view, but not science. Brad Wallace, of the Grand Canyon Association, likened it to Native American folklore about the Canyon.
"I don't see a big difference between one creation myth and another," Wallace said.
However, Vail's book does not present the Genesis story as a myth, or even a possible explanation. It is given as hard fact. There is no room for interpretation. Although nothing on the cover suggests a creationist view, it is apparent on every page inside. In his introduction, Vail says the Canyon sprang from "a judgment by water of the world broken by the sin of man . . . "
Vail operates Christian and secular tours of the Canyon through his business, Canyon Ministries. On his secular trips, he presents both the scientific and creation theories, and he said he gets a lot of puzzled looks from people who claim to be Christian. "The vast majority of them have never thought it through," he said.
That was the main point of the publishing the book, he said. "It's not about selling books," Vail said.
Although the volume has sold nearly 300 copies since August, Vail will have a much easier time getting into heaven than a camel passing through the eye of a needle. "It's getting people to examine beliefs, to realize the question is really a question of the authenticity of the Scripture," he said.
If the Bible is true, then the truth starts with Genesis, Vail said. "If He really didn't mean He created everything in six days, if that's not true, where does truth begin?" he asked.
There is one definite truth about the book. Proceeds from each sale put more money into the hands of the Grand Canyon Association. That money goes to support scientific education and geologic research about the Canyon. Vail's volume about creation helps advance evolution.
The Lord works in mysterious ways. [ends]
Well, I guess the guy is entitled to his opinion. I politely disagree with it, however, and would like to nail my colours firmly to the mast of a multi-billion-year-old earth. However, I don't personally think the Bible gives the age of the earth at all. The Book of Genesis holds open the possibility of a geologically-ancient planet imho.
Big Bill Robinson