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.
You may have several questions about this book: Why was it written? How is it organized and why? For whom is it intended? Where is the creation-evolution issue headed?
This study began unexpectedly in June 1970. I was a Christian, an evolutionist, and a new professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. I heard surprising claims that Noah’s Ark rested near the 14,000-foot level of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. If a gigantic boat had ever been at that elevation, a huge flood must have occurred. However, the biblical flood was always hard for me to imagine. After all, where could so much water come from? Where did it all go? Every attempt I had heard to answer the first question was shallow at best. Few, if any, ever tried to adequately answer the second.
For two years I pondered these issues, reading most of what was written about claimed Ark sightings and talking with many “Ark hunters.” Almost daily I gazed up at 14,000-foot Rocky Mountain peaks and tried to imagine, at one of their summits, an object large enough to fill a football stadium. The case for the Ark’s existence grew stronger as many of my questions were answered.
With this growing possibility came a problem. If that much water sloshed over Earth for a year, many dead animals and plants would have been buried in vast amounts of mud and other sediments. This could explain how almost all fossils formed, especially those on the highest mountains. But the fossil record was supposedly the best evidence for evolution, a theory I had passively accepted. If a global flood produced most fossils, where was the evidence for evolution? The more I struggled with this question, the more amazed I became at the lack of evidence supporting evolution and the abundant evidence supporting creation. By 1972, I had become a creationist.
As I began to talk with friends and colleagues about origins, invitations to speak arose. Speaking publicly on the subject forced me to organize my thoughts. In this way, the first edition of this book began to “evolve.”
In 1978, my wife and I decided the subject was so broad and important that I should pursue it full time, and, therefore, leave a demanding, interesting, and successful military career at the first opportunity. That occurred in 1980. Since then, I have kept busy with study, writing, debates, speaking engagements, and research (particularly development of the hydroplate theory, which deals with the flood). It has been exciting to see how greater awareness of creation and the flood profoundly affects so many people. You may experience this yourself.
Initially, those attending the full-day “In the Beginning” Seminar were given material summarizing the seminar content and answering many frequently asked questions. The first three editions of this book served that purpose. Later, outside requests for the book grew to the point that it had to be modified for those who had not attended. However, the book’s basic organization still follows the seminar format—an ideal format for learning this subject.
Part I of this book begins with a summary of the scientific evidence dealing with origins. That evidence falls into nine areas: three in the life sciences, three in the astronomical and physical sciences, and three in the Earth sciences. Figure 1 on page 1 shows this organization. Part II contains the most popular of those nine areas, as demonstrated in 200 full-day seminars and by letters, emails, and phone calls we receive daily. Scientists, in particular, are struck by the number and diversity of problems the hydroplate theory easily solves. Part III contains 46 questions most frequently asked during question-and-answer sessions at seminars and in media interviews—questions not already answered in Parts I and II.
This format and a comprehensive index, which begins on page 631, allow a reader to focus on areas of primary interest while keeping the “big picture” in mind. Parts I, II, and III, which are quite different, may be read independently and in any order. Difficult parts can be skipped. Readers are often amazed at the endnotes, which contain many revealing and surprising quotations—usually from evolutionists.
The intended reader is anyone interested in the subject of origins—from high school students with little scientific background to people with multiple Ph.D.’s in science. Parents have even paraphrased topics for their children at mealtime or bedtime.
Here is an offer for students, parents, and educators who read the entire book. Rather than place you in the awkward position of debating with science teachers or professors who are evolutionists, let me suggest an interesting alternative. As you read this book, identify questions to ask educators. If they object to any scientific information or conclusion in the book, I will be happy to discuss it with them by telephone, provided you are part of our three-way conversation. With their permission, you may record our conversation for the entire class. If nothing else, this will sharpen everyone’s critical thinking skills, put more information “on the table,” and move us a little closer to the truth.
Where is the creation-evolution controversy headed? I believe the battle will be won—not in courts, legislatures, boards of education, or church councils—but by grass-roots science education. Yes, today evolutionists generally control higher education, science journals, and the media, but the scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports creation and a global flood. (If you find someone who disagrees, please refer them to the preceding paragraph and the debate offers on pages 588–589. Challenge them—then watch what happens.) Throughout the history of science, controversies have raged. Perhaps none have had the profound social consequences—and, therefore, the interest and emotion—of this origins debate. In the end, the side with the scientific evidence has always prevailed. The Galileo episode is one example.
Our task, then, is to educate the public, especially students. People who are aware of this evidence will inevitably bring pressure and embarrassment on entrenched interests, starting in the classroom. This is already happening. How can more be done? Many pictures in this book could be fascinating subjects for a grade-school child’s classroom report. High school students could go further by reading and analyzing articles and reports related to such pictures. College students could extend this by interviewing and critiquing scientists specializing in the subject. Adults will enjoy explaining these and hundreds of other points of evidence to friends. (Many conduct courses using this book.) As more people learn, more will want to learn. Increasingly, the public will ask—or tell—educators, publishers, museums, and the media to educate themselves and stop perpetuating misinformation and bad science.
Although many people helped with this book and offered constructive suggestions, three should be mentioned. Brad Anderson’s creativity and unparalleled expertise with computers and book design are seen on each page. Jon Schoenfield and Peggy Brown skillfully and meticulously checked and frequently improved all parts of the text. My family’s support has been invaluable. To them and many others who helped, I am immensely grateful. The mistakes, of course, are mine alone.
My hope is that In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood will help you, the reader, as you explore the amazing events “in the beginning.”
Walt Brown
Any portion of this book may be reproduced for teaching or classroom use.
For all other uses, simply reference this book and Walt Brown as your source. To publish figures not belonging to CSC, contact the owners listed on page 628 and following for permission.
The web version of the book is periodically updated.
There is no charge for reading or printing any or all portions of it.
Those who have read the entire book and have questions about what Dr. Brown wrote may call 602-955-7663 on Fridays, between 3:00 and 5:00 P.M. (Phoenix, Arizona time). However, those who are teaching from this book and have related questions may call anytime.
Teachers may arrange—at no cost—for students who have read this book to question Dr. Brown by phone. Before the course begins, teachers should contact us, describe their class, and arrange for a mutually agreeable time to call near the end of the course. At the arranged hour, simply have a speakerphone in the classroom, so all students can participate.
Another way you may wish to be involved is described on page 582.