Faulty Assumptions Lead to the Rise of Uniformitarianism, Even By Church Theologians
Before the 18th century, most scientists and academians accepted the Biblical account for the origin of the universe and life on earth, including the creation week, the Genesis Flood 4,500 years ago, and the 6,000 year old earth. However, by the late 18th century British naturalists and even Christian theologians began to question the Biblical account and timescale. In 1785, British naturalist James Hutton proposed a doctrine for the origin of the earth and universe that countered the Biblical account. Hutton proposed a system of gradual repeating cycles of sediment deposition, uplift, tilting, and erosion that have operated throughout earth's history and concluded that the earth must be much older than the Biblical time scale. Hutton's work led to the modern doctrine of uniformitarianism. After Hutton published his work, John Playfair, a Scottish minister and scientist and Sir James Hall, a Scottish scientist, published books promoting Hutton's ideas of uniformitarianism. Playfair's book is credited with dramatically increasing the popularity of Hutton's ideas and the theory of uniformitarianism. After French naturalist George Cuvier's work in the 1790's, scientists proposed multiple mass extinction events on earth in contrast to the single deluge extinction of the Bible.
In the 1830's Scottish naturalist Charles Lyell published a multi-volume work, Principles of Geology, that built on the ideas of James Hutton and his theory of uniformitarianism. In a review of Lyell's book, English priest and scientist William Whewell coined the terms "uniformitarianism" and "catastrophism" as opposing theories. Hutton (1726-1797) was one of the first scientists to propose that the Earth is older than the traditional biblical age of 6,000 years. He proposed an older earth on the basis that the gradual uniform processes observed on earth needed more time than the biblical time frame. Hutton promoted the belief that there were repeated cycles of sediment deposition, tectonic uplift, tilting, and erosion. Scottish minister and scientist John Playfair helped promote Hutton’s ideas in a book he published in 1802 named Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, which basically summarized the works of Hutton. Charles Lyell continued the work of Hutton and his belief in long-age geology with his well-known book, the Principles of Geology. Lyell’s work focused on the idea that the gradual geologic processes that occur on earth today are the same processes that have been working since the formation of the earth. Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) was a creationist and French naturalist who did much work in anatomy and paleontology. He is known as the “father of paleontology” and believed in catastrophic floods in addition to major extinction events in the world. Cuvier was an opponent of the theory of evolution but his ideas of multiple extinction events inspired the evolutionists to incorporate this into their timescale.
In the 1830's Scottish naturalist Charles Lyell published a multi-volume work, Principles of Geology, that built on the ideas of James Hutton and his theory of uniformitarianism. In a review of Lyell's book, English priest and scientist William Whewell coined the terms "uniformitarianism" and "catastrophism" as opposing theories. Hutton (1726-1797) was one of the first scientists to propose that the Earth is older than the traditional biblical age of 6,000 years. He proposed an older earth on the basis that the gradual uniform processes observed on earth needed more time than the biblical time frame. Hutton promoted the belief that there were repeated cycles of sediment deposition, tectonic uplift, tilting, and erosion. Scottish minister and scientist John Playfair helped promote Hutton’s ideas in a book he published in 1802 named Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, which basically summarized the works of Hutton. Charles Lyell continued the work of Hutton and his belief in long-age geology with his well-known book, the Principles of Geology. Lyell’s work focused on the idea that the gradual geologic processes that occur on earth today are the same processes that have been working since the formation of the earth. Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) was a creationist and French naturalist who did much work in anatomy and paleontology. He is known as the “father of paleontology” and believed in catastrophic floods in addition to major extinction events in the world. Cuvier was an opponent of the theory of evolution but his ideas of multiple extinction events inspired the evolutionists to incorporate this into their timescale.
