Creation Station
Geology
Nicolaus Steno, Father of Modern Geology (1638-1686)
by Sean Meek, Director of Project CREATION
Nicolaus Steno was the first man to put the study of geology on a scientific basis by developing the fundamental principles of geology still used to interpret rock layers today. What most people don't realize is that it was Steno's belief in Genesis that led him to an understanding of what the evidence of the earth really means.
For centuries, fossils had been found in rocks, but their meaning was not clearly understood. When Steno found these fossils he recognized that they were remnants of real creatures from the past, but the question that puzzled him at first, as it had puzzled others before him was, how did fish and other creatures end up in the rocks? Many Greeks, and later others, believed that fossils were placed in the rocks to trick or test people. Because Steno believed the Bible he realized that the explanation was in Genesis, that it was the Flood that had put the fossils in the rocks. By understanding that the Flood had buried huge numbers of animals all at once, he understood what the fossils really told us about this catastrophe of the past. It was out of his Biblical worldview that Nicolaus Steno was able to understand earth's natural history and put the study of geology and fossils on a solid scientific foundation.
Nicolaus Steno was one of
the Creationists Who Created Science.
