The Canopy Theory and Creation
by Owen Borville
April 9, 2019
Geology
The canopy described in the Book of Genesis (1:6-8) was a major part of the global Flood in addition to the fountains of the deep:
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.”
Those in the young Earth creation movement of the 1960's used the canopy model as a source of the flood waters, as described in the books The Genesis Flood (1961) and The Genesis Record (1976). The canopy was described as a large layer of water vapor covering the Earth and producing a greenhouse effect. At the initiation of the Flood, this canopy was somehow broken and the forty days of rain fell. However, many creation scientists today have moved away from the canopy theory, citing the belief that this canopy would produce a thick atmosphere full of greenhouse gases that would "cook the earth" and the creation science community today remains divided on the issue. According to Genesis 7:11 (NKJV):
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Therefore, the subterranean waters were a major source of the floodwaters in addition to the proposed canopy. Supporters of the canopy theory cite the 40 days of rain described in Genesis 7:12, however, this rain could also have been spurred by the fountains of the deep and subterranean vapor and gases rising into the atmosphere. Supporters of the canopy theory also mention that rainbows and clouds were not mentioned in Genesis before the Flood. In addition, fossil plants and animals have been found in polar regions, giving evidence for globally warm temperatures at one time in the past, which the canopy would produce. Canopy theory supporters also cite the large decline in lifespans of humans and animals after the Flood, as mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 6:3), but this could have also been caused by increases in radiation levels after the Flood as the Earth's magnetic field strength declined. A thicker atmosphere produced by the canopy would greater protect against radiation levels and therefore benefit the growth of life. Fossils of giant insects have been found and creationists describe higher oxygen levels in the pre-Flood world, possibly as a result of the canopy. Laboratory research by Carl Baugh has shown that insects can grow larger with higher oxygen levels. Baugh re-created the pre-Flood conditions inside a container and tested the simulated environment on living things.
The recent discovery of ancient fossilized raindrops by secular scientists has led them to conclude the existence of an ancient wetter Earth with a thicker atmosphere and less sunlight. In addition, atmospheric pressures could have been higher before the Flood (hyperbaric pressures), therefore allowing the canopy to exist without cooking the Earth and allowing healthier life conditions according to modern research. The canopy would have helped protect life from harmful radiation while providing enough moisture to produce a "green" Earth without rain. Much subterranean water also would have allowed for a green Earth with no deserts and no polar regions. In addition to divine intervention, a meteor impact could have destroyed the canopy or some have suggested a magnetic field reversal. Some supporters of the canopy theory propose a "crystalline canopy" that surrounded the Earth and was composed of hydrogen ice crystals. This crystalline canopy would have provided stronger protection for the Earth against radiation and was believed to have been polarized by the Earth's magnetic field.
Hamashige, H. (2007, July 30). "Giant Bugs a Thing of the Past, Study Suggests." National Geographic.
Welsh, J. (2012, March 28). "Ancient Raindrops Reveal Early Earth's Hazy Skies." LiveScience.
by Owen Borville
April 9, 2019
Geology
The canopy described in the Book of Genesis (1:6-8) was a major part of the global Flood in addition to the fountains of the deep:
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.”
Those in the young Earth creation movement of the 1960's used the canopy model as a source of the flood waters, as described in the books The Genesis Flood (1961) and The Genesis Record (1976). The canopy was described as a large layer of water vapor covering the Earth and producing a greenhouse effect. At the initiation of the Flood, this canopy was somehow broken and the forty days of rain fell. However, many creation scientists today have moved away from the canopy theory, citing the belief that this canopy would produce a thick atmosphere full of greenhouse gases that would "cook the earth" and the creation science community today remains divided on the issue. According to Genesis 7:11 (NKJV):
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Therefore, the subterranean waters were a major source of the floodwaters in addition to the proposed canopy. Supporters of the canopy theory cite the 40 days of rain described in Genesis 7:12, however, this rain could also have been spurred by the fountains of the deep and subterranean vapor and gases rising into the atmosphere. Supporters of the canopy theory also mention that rainbows and clouds were not mentioned in Genesis before the Flood. In addition, fossil plants and animals have been found in polar regions, giving evidence for globally warm temperatures at one time in the past, which the canopy would produce. Canopy theory supporters also cite the large decline in lifespans of humans and animals after the Flood, as mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 6:3), but this could have also been caused by increases in radiation levels after the Flood as the Earth's magnetic field strength declined. A thicker atmosphere produced by the canopy would greater protect against radiation levels and therefore benefit the growth of life. Fossils of giant insects have been found and creationists describe higher oxygen levels in the pre-Flood world, possibly as a result of the canopy. Laboratory research by Carl Baugh has shown that insects can grow larger with higher oxygen levels. Baugh re-created the pre-Flood conditions inside a container and tested the simulated environment on living things.
The recent discovery of ancient fossilized raindrops by secular scientists has led them to conclude the existence of an ancient wetter Earth with a thicker atmosphere and less sunlight. In addition, atmospheric pressures could have been higher before the Flood (hyperbaric pressures), therefore allowing the canopy to exist without cooking the Earth and allowing healthier life conditions according to modern research. The canopy would have helped protect life from harmful radiation while providing enough moisture to produce a "green" Earth without rain. Much subterranean water also would have allowed for a green Earth with no deserts and no polar regions. In addition to divine intervention, a meteor impact could have destroyed the canopy or some have suggested a magnetic field reversal. Some supporters of the canopy theory propose a "crystalline canopy" that surrounded the Earth and was composed of hydrogen ice crystals. This crystalline canopy would have provided stronger protection for the Earth against radiation and was believed to have been polarized by the Earth's magnetic field.
Hamashige, H. (2007, July 30). "Giant Bugs a Thing of the Past, Study Suggests." National Geographic.
Welsh, J. (2012, March 28). "Ancient Raindrops Reveal Early Earth's Hazy Skies." LiveScience.
