The six days and the deluge: some ideas on earth history in the Royal Society of London 1660-1775
Citation
Export citationStokes, E. (1969). The six days and the deluge: some ideas on earth history in the Royal Society of London 1660-1775. Earth Science Journal, 3(1), 13-39.
Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/9143
Abstract
The influence of the biblical story of Creation and the Deluge on ideas of earth history during the period 1660-1775 is examined with particular reference to papers on the subject published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Topics examined in more detail include the controversies over the origin of marine fossils and bones of prehistoric animals, ideas on natural causes of the Deluge and its role in shaping landforms, and the age of the earth. Despite the inhibiting effect of the Genesis account, there was considerable flexibility in interpretation of both the Creation and Deluge stories in terms of current scientific knowledge. The later papers display a good deal of uniformitarian thinking within the framework of a catastrophic deluge hypothesis.
Date
1969Type
Series
Publisher
Waikato Geological Society, The University of Waikato
Rights
© 1969 Waikato Geological Society, The University of Waikato. All items in Research Commons are provided only to permit fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study. They are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.