How the mystery of the Bible's greatest story shaped geology: a MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood.
In Tibet, geologist David R. Montgomery heard a local story about a great flood that bore a striking similarity to Noahs Flood. Intrigued, Montgomery began investigating the worlds flood stories anddrawing from historic works by theologians, natural philosophers, and scientistsdiscovered the counterintuitive role Noahs Flood played in the development of both geology and creationism. Steno, the grandfather of geology, even invoked the Flood in laying geologys founding principles based on his observations of northern Italian landscapes. Centuries later, the founders of modern creationism based their irrational view of a global flood on a perceptive critique of geology. With an explorers eye and a refreshing approach to both faith and science, Montgomery takes readers on a journey across landscapes and cultures. In the process we discover the illusive nature of truth, whether viewed through the lens of science or religion, and how it changed through history and continues changing, even today. 20 illustrations; maps
Review
Starred review. Brilliant and provocative, Montgomery's exploration of scientific and theological understandings of Noah's flood vibrantly opens our eyes to the marvels of ancient rocks that are far grander than ourselves. (Publishers Weekly )
Starred review. Though Montgomery obviously knows his science, he also knows how to write, so this isn't just history of science. It's literature. (Ray Olson - *Booklist* )
Examining a wide variety of flood and creation stories across centuries, Montgomery provides an enthusiastic and valuable recounting of the history of geology and how the advances in science have consistently faced opposition from the guardians of so-called religious authority, based on a literal reading of the Bible. (Kirkus Reviews )
Montgomery... offers a thorough critique of creationist worldviews... while treating his opponents with respect, reflecting on both ancient and modern debates and demonstrating that Christians have been arguing among themselves about these subjects for millennia. ...The combination of historical study and humility on behalf of geology makes for an extremely persuasive work. Highly recommended. (John M. Kistler - *Library Journal* )
A MacArthur Fellow presents a surprising perspective on Noah's Flood by interrogating the rock strata in a roadbed in Kentucky. (Publishers Weekly )
About the Author
David R. Montgomery is a professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he lives. The author of Dirt and King of Fish, he was a 2008 MacArthur Fellow.