Most scientists agree that an ice age was the last major geologic event to happen on this planet. But differences of opinion exist on the number of ice ages, when they happened, and how long they lasted.
“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” - Genesis 9:1
Most of us have been taught there were many ice ages that profoundly influenced the earth’s climate, caused mass extinctions, and even altered the way civilization developed. But when it happened and why it happened remain points of conflict among scientists. Evidence of at least one ice age is abundant. But, were there more? Did they last hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years? What caused them, and how does this relate to Noah’s Flood?
Unpacking the Layers: Important Terms
Aerosols: tiny, solid particles in liquid droplets that are ejected into the sky by volcanic eruptions and reflect the sun’s rays back into space
Debris: disconnected pieces of rock
Glacial moraine: debris field with boulders, rocks, and dirt that indicates the path the glacier left behind as it moved
Glacier: massive body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight
Ice Age: a time after the Flood when some areas in which people live today were covered by giant sheets of ice
Ice cores: samples scientists get by drilling deep into polar and glacier ice so they can analyze its chemicals and layers
Ice crystal: a regular arrangement of frozen water molecules
Ice sheet: flat-topped ice body with very broad coverage, also known as a “continental glacier”
Iceberg: floating glacier
Mt. Pinatubo: erupted in 1991 and released a huge amount of aerosols, supporting the theory that the volcanic activity during Noah’s Flood could have caused the Ice Age
Think Tank
What evidence do we have for an ice age? The biggest evidence we have for at least one ice age is the presence of glacial moraines.
Compare the uniformitarian and creationist views:
How many ice ages were there? U’s say there were at least 5 major and as many as 50 smaller ice ages. C’s say there was only one.
How long did the Ice Age(s) last? U’s say that each ice age may have lasted tens of millions of years. C’s say the Ice Age lasted only hundreds of years.
How many years ago did the Ice Age(s) happen? U’s say that the last ice age began about 2.6 million years ago. C’s say the one and only Ice Age began about 4,300 years ago.
What do scientists study to arrive at their theories about the Ice Age? Glaciers, ice cores, glacial moraines, and fossils, among other things.
What are some of the problems with how uniformitarians measure the age of ice—specifically involving ice cores? They measure the ice cores based on the assumption that each layer of ice represents one year. However, the layers become more indistinct farther down. The flow models that are supposed to account for this are created with the assumption that the ice cores are millions of years old, so their results are not reliable.
Do colder winters create an ice age? Why or why not? No, because cold temperatures generally result in less, not more, snowfall.
What does it really take to cause an ice age? The first thing needed is (1) Hot oceans which cause (2) Evaporation. More moisture in the air means more precipitation, including more snowfall at mid and high latitudes. (3) Aerosols are also needed, which are released into the air by volcanic activity. The aerosols block the sun, and the result is cooler summers when the winter snow doesn’t melt followed by winters when when more snow falls. (4) Time. Lastly, an ice age needs a short time to concentrate heat and aerosols.
What evidence indicates Noah’s Flood might have caused the Ice Age? What modern-day catastrophes support this idea? The Flood would have caused massive storms, volcanism, earthquakes, and tectonic activity, heating up the oceans and causing the HEAT model to take effect. Modern-day examples are the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on Luzon island in 1991 and the creation of Crater Glacier on Mount St. Helens just since 1980. Crater Glacier is already over 300 feet thick, even though it’s only been forming since the 1980 eruption.
What does the creation model say about how humans survived the Ice Age? The Ice Age would not have been equally severe everywhere. In fact, there were probably many temperate areas in which humans could have lived. At lower latitudes, you have had some areas that would have been very lush.
Back to the Bible
Read Genesis 8:21; 9:1; 9:13,8-17.
What did God promise after the Flood? He promised that He would never again “curse the ground for man’s sake” or destroy every living thing as He had done (Genesis 8:21) and that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:11).
What sign did He give, and what does it represent? He gave the sign of a rainbow, and it represents His covenant that He would never send a flood again to destroy all flesh.
How does the theory of land bridges forming after the Flood fit in with the command God gave Noah and his sons after the Flood? Land bridges would have aided humans in fulfilling God’s command to “fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).
Based on these post-Flood events, what can we know about God? How should this affect our view of who He is? We can know that God keeps His promises, and this should increase our faith in His word and covenants. He makes provisions for man to fulfill His commands and is trustworthy and good all the time.
Takeaways
Strong evidence indicates that Noah’s Flood created conditions that caused the Ice Age.
The concept that the Ice Age may not have been as unbearable as we’ve been told supports the fact that God chose Noah and his family to repopulate the earth.
By letting Noah and his family live to repopulate the earth and promising to never again destroy the earth with a flood, God showed grace to mankind and gave humanity a second chance.
Next Week: Rise of Civilization