Sean McHugh wrote:

> The following data is taken from “Science and Earth History, The

> Evolution/Creation Controversy”, by Arthur N. Strahler:

Correction: The data was taken from “Creation and Evolution”, by Alan Hayward.

> A conservative estimate of the amount of coal on the planet, would

> be 5 x 10^12 tons, which is about 65 pound of coal for every square

> yard (~ 31kg/sq metre). Dennis and other young earth creationists

> need to explain how there could have been that much vegetation on

> the surface at one time. It gets worse. For instance, Strahler

> [should be: Hayward, quoting Heribert Nilsson] submits that a forest

> of full-grown beeches would produce only enough material for 2cm of

> coal. Worse still is that coal appears to be formed by large

> fernlike plants. Dennis must ask himself how, in during Noah’s time,

> the whole globe could be covered by this kind of vegetation in such

> totally absurd quantities. He might then also figure out why coal

> doesn’t contain fossils of any flowering flora and why most coal is

> formed from ferns that are now extinct.

My apologies to both authors and to anyone who may have been inconvenienced. For penance, I will give a brief description of the two books:

“Creation and Evolution”, by Alan Hayward, is a book that I obtained from a Christian bookstore. It is a paperback of 232 pages and is about 13.5 x 23 cm in size. It is indexed by name and subject and has relatively large section of notes. Alan Hayward is an ancient-earth creationist. Part One (53 pages) is devoted to refuting Darwinwism and providing arguments for intelligent design. This section mainly comprises of hand waving and regurgitating the problems of probability. Part Two (89 pages) is devoted to refuting the young earth theories. I believe he does this very well. Part Three (47 pages) deals with the Biblical account of creation. He tries, very unsuccessfully (IMHO), to reconcile the Biblical account with an ancient earth. This section also continues to refute the young-earth position. Overall, the book is mainly devoted to refuting the young-earth position. As well as covering and demolishing a lot of the arguments that are submitted by young-earth creationists, it is, much of the time, a good read. The book cost about $19 when I bought it some years ago. Its ISBN is 1-55661-679-1 and it is published by Bethany House Publishers.

“Science and Earth History”, by Arthur Strahler, is a more technical book. It is large hardcover book – 552 pages and about 22 x 28 cm. It contains a section, at the back, for references and has a name index and subject index. A. Strahler has a Ph.D. in geology. Because of its large size and small print, this book covers a lot more and does so in greater detail. Much of it tends to be heavy going. While espousing the position for evolution, it provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in the creation/evolution debate. There are a couple of criticisms. Despite being a hardcover, the pages are glued rather than sown together. Another matter is the cost. I paid $90 (Aus) for it about eight years ago, so if still available, it will be expensive. It is printed by Prometheus Publications and its ISBN is 087-975-414-1. Despite its cost, for anyone that is very interested in the debate and who wants to have a reference book on hand, this one is a must. A good source for Prometheus books is Abbey’s Bookshop in Sydney.

Best Regards,

Sean McHugh