In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood

Below is the online edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, by Dr. Walt Brown. Copyright © Center for Scientific Creation. All rights reserved.

Click here to order the hardbound 8th edition (2008) and other materials.

[ The Fountains of the Great Deep > The Origin of Ocean Trenches, Earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire > Evaluation of Evidence vs. Theories ]

Evaluation of Evidence vs. Theories

The preceding discussions raise many issues concerning trenches, earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire. Each issue, summarized below in italics and given a blue title, is examined from the perspective of the hydroplate theory (HP) and the plate tectonic theory (PT). My subjective judgments, coded in green, yellow, and red circles (reminiscent of a traffic light’s go, caution, and stop) provide a starting point for your own evaluations. Numbers in Table 3 refer to explanations that follow. Any satisfactory explanation for the origin of trenches, earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire should resolve or credibly address the italicized issues below.

Table 3 will help us compare the evidence with two completely different explanations for ocean trenches. Too often, alternative theories are never known or sought, or a theory is justified based on only some of the relevant evidence, while all other evidence is ignored. When this happens, doctrine reigns and critical thinking ceases. Please alter Table 3 by adding or removing evidence or theories (rows or columns) as you weigh the choices.

Table 3. Evidence vs. Theories: Origin of Ocean Trenches, Earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire
		Theories
		Hydroplate Theory Trenches, earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire are a result of shifts inside the earth during the flood, including the rising of the Atlantic floor and the subsidence of the Pacific floor. Driven by Gravity		Plate Tectonic Theory Trenches, earthquakes, and the Ring of Fire are produced by subducting plates that have been diving into the mantle for hundreds of millions of years. Driven by Heat
Evidence to be Explained	The Ring of Fire		1		2
	Gravity Anomalies		3		4
	Core-Mantle Boundary		5		6
	Flood Basalts		7		8
	How Are Plates Made?		9		10
	Water in the Upper Mantle		11		12
	Seamounts and Tablemounts		13		14
	Stretched Oceanic Ridges		15		16
	Scattered Volcanoes		17		18
	Continental Material under Ocean Floor		19		20
	Images of Earth’s Interior		21		22
	Fast Seismic Waves		23		24
	Fossils in Trenches		25		26
	Deep Earthquakes		27		28
	Earthquakes Far from Plate Boundaries		29		30
	Earthquakes Correlate with Low Tides		31		32
	Earthquake Driving Force		33		34
	Plate Reversals		35		36
	Earthquakes Drop Local Gravity		37		38
	Tension Failures		39		40
	Wide Earthquakes		41		42
	Reasonable Driving Mechanism		43		44
	Displaced Material		45		46
	Frictional Resistance		47		48
	Arcs and Cusps		49		50
	Concentrated Trenches		51		52
	Undistorted Layers in Trenches		53		54
	Initiation		55		56
	“Fossil” (Ancient) Trenches		57		58
	Other		59–61		62–65


Key:		Explained by theory.
		Theory has moderate problems with this item.
		Theory has serious problems with this item.
Numbers in this table refer to amplifying explanations on pages 166–178.