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Excerpted from The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe, edited by John Clover Monsma. New York: G.P. Putman’s Sons, 1958
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GEOLOGICAL DIRECTIVES (C. 1958)
By Donald Robert Carr, Geochemist
B.Sc, University of Rochester, M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University. Formerly Research Assistant and Research Associate in Geochemistry, Columbia University; Associate Professor of Geology, Shelton College; Consultant Stanford Research Institute. Director and Vice President, since 1955, of Isotopes, Inc., New Jersey. Joint author with J. L. Kulp of “Dating with Natural Radioactive Carbon,” “Use of A-57 to Determine Argon Rehavior in Vacuum Systems,” “The Potassium-Argon Method of Geochronometry,” and other publications. Specialist in geological age determination, using methods based on natural radioactivity; nuclear processes in atmospheric and geologic setting.
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It is impossible for me to enter a discussion of the existence of God with an open mind. This may sound rather unscientific. But let me explain—and thereafter make a few remarks of a purely scientific nature.
When we are called upon to give a reason for our beliefs we can from scientific studies marshal evidence which allows us to establish the high probability of the existence of God —though not necessarily the God of the Bible. We can go beyond this to build up a case for belief in the God of the Bible. But that is largely a matter of spiritual faith. It then becomes a case of “the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit.” (Romans 8: 16)
By Divine grace I have this spiritual faith, and it inevitably controls my thinking with reference to the existence of God. My defense of my beliefs may for that reason be considered to be on a subjective basis, and I may be charged with mysticism. Those who apply this term, however, as though it were the coup de grace, should offer an explanation of how the creature-Creator relationship could be otherwise.
Scientific apologetics had little to do with the placing of my faith and trust in the Christ of God, and the filling of my need by Christ. It was a powerful sense of need which was the motivating factor. Subsequent study in the field of geochemistry has contributed to my appreciation of the fact that God made this universe, and it has provided additional fines of evidence. And so it is but natural that I see in Nature the hand of God.
The two most significant areas in which the study of geochemistry has direct contact with a Christian philosophy of Nature are (1) the determination of a time of beginning for the universe, and (2) the principle of uniformitarianism (see explanation of this term in a following paragraph) as applied in geology.
The determination of the “age” or time of formation of various geological specimens such as meteoritic material, utilizing known radioactivity relationships, has made it possible to attempt a reconstruction of earth history on a semiquantitative basis. A number of independent methods of age determination are now being applied with varying degrees of accuracy, but generally with satisfactory agreement. The fact that various interpretations of astronomical evidence lead to similar conclusions with regard to the age of the universe lends a great deal of weight to the view that the universe had its origin about five billion years ago. An eternal universe can be eliminated from consideration by an extension of this argument. In a universe which had no beginning, but had always existed, no radioactive elements would remain. This may be considered as just one corollary of the second law of thermodynamics (heat energy). The concept of a cyclical universe, alternately expanding and contracting, is extra-scientific and therefore must be evaluated as an unproved hypothesis, or sheer guesswork. The conclusion that the universe had a beginning is in accord with the simple Scriptural statement, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” as well as being strongly supported by thermodynamic, astronomic and geologic data.
The principle of uniformitarianism is axiomatic to all of geology. The meaning of this principle is that it is assumed that geological and geochemical processes which are operative now were active in the past, and therefore an understanding of these processes provides a basis for the interpretation of geological history. Orderly behavior in Nature and the existence of “natural laws” are cornerstones of modern science.
The orderly universe which is so necessary to the scientist is one which we accept as consistent with the Scriptural view of God as not only the Creator but also the Sustainer of the universe. A chaotic universe would make meaningless such a statement as that of the inspired and scholarly Apostle Paul: “Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1: 20)
Without order, miracles cannot be recognized. The works that Christ did, which were to bear witness that He had been sent from God, and in fact even the resurrection, can only be evaluated properly in an ordered universe where such events are not random phenomena. As the great geologist J. W. Dawson pointed out years ago, “In truth, belief in law is essential to the philosophical conception of prayer. If the universe were a mere chaos of chances, or if it were a result of absolute necessity, there would be no place for intelligent prayer; but if it is under the control of a Lawgiver, wise and merciful, not a mere manager of material machinery, but a true Father of all, then we can come to such a Being with our requests, not in the belief that we change His great plans, nor that any advantage could result from this if it were possible, but that these plans may be made in His boundless wisdom and love to meet our necessities.” (The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science.)
Finally, speaking of my own particular branch of science, the study of geochemistry teaches one to look at things on a vast scale; to think of time in units of billions of years of earth history, of space in terms that encompass the universe, of processes that involve world-wide cycles. The vastness of it all leads one inevitably to a new appreciation of the majesty of God. The non-Christian will at least be filled with awe and wonder, and finally may be led to acknowledge that “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”
The sense of this point, and in fact a summary of apologetics based on science, is expressed in the hymn “How Great Thou Art” that has thrilled millions of listeners during a recent religious crusade in New York City. Perhaps the tremendous discoveries in God’s Nature, in these late years, one following upon another in fast and seemingly endless succession, had disposed that vast audience to avid listening, and perhaps explains the worldwide appeal of that hymn:
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, And see the stars, and hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed— Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee: How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
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