Unbelievable! Life, Almost 4 Billion Years Ago

Scientists have found what they claim are the oldest-known traces of life on earth, embedded in some Canadian rocks. The article states the fossils are really only 3.7 billion years old, not 4 billion—but what’s a few hundred million years!

Scientists are still investigating this, so I’m sure there is someone out there ready to refute it. That could be difficult because these fossils are microscopic tubes found in Quebec in some ancient rocks called the Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt. In case you don’t know what it means, Google it, and you’ll find even “worser” words to look up.

This article baffles my mind. How did someone first find these fossils? Who coined those very difficult words? How did people learn how to say them? Then there’s the first time someone said them out loud to a group. I suspect not many folks had a clue what they meant.

As I read the article, it brought to mind an experience Annie and I had about ten years ago. We had driven all day and arrived in the Grand Canyon about 2:30 p.m. The schedule in our cabin said that at 3:30 p.m. a ranger would give a lecture about fossils at the Grand Canyon. I imagined we would climb down to the canyon floor and see some remnants. The ranger began her lecture topside. When she was finished she told us to investigate the fossil field—right behind us. It was loaded with relics a couple of billion years old, when the waters of the Colorado River were at the top of the canyon. It was fascinating! Annie and I spent another hour touching rocks that were really old.

Fast forward to the next morning. We were walking along the upper rim from one observation point to the next. We noticed a young couple with their five-year-old walking behind us. The fossil field was easy to miss.  Trying to be helpful, I turned and said, “Your son might enjoy looking at all the fossils here. They are a few billion years old.” The man immediately corrected me, “Sorry, sir, they are only about five thousand years old, left over from the Great Flood.”

My heart sank. I had met an Intelligent Design (I don’t think that this theory is either “intelligent” or a “design”) advocate who knew that the universe is only about ten thousand years old, made by a theistic god, literally like Genesis states.

He then added that he had some books that would tell me all the facts about how old the universe really is. With that, I said, “No, thanks!” and moved on.

This encounter still puzzles me. How can someone, surrounded by the wonders of nature and all sorts of evidence about the earth’s real age, totally negate the evidence that it took a few billion years to arrive at this point in history?

Imagine the power of some preacher or teacher who froze this man’s brain so that he could no longer deal with reality, history, science, or truth. Now he is forced to live in la-la land. I wonder how many thousands or millions of people there are whose brains have been frozen, who refuse to live in the real world.

How could they ever process something that’s nearly 4 billion years old?

What do you think of the Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt?

 

Photo courtesy of Grand Canyon National ParkCC by 2.0

5 thoughts on “Unbelievable! Life, Almost 4 Billion Years Ago”

    • Hi Lucy. Do you need a book tour at your church? My PR guy would be happy to send a packet.
      The book will be here on 2 weeks. Hard to believe.

      Reply
  1. Hi Bil and Anne. What is your current address? I have had a bumper sticker made up that says Live Aloha, America with a red hibiscus on it. I would love to send you one. We need all we can get

    Reply
  2. Amazing how powerful is the need for some to believe in a 10,000-6,000 year old earth, even looking 14 billion light years into the past.

    Reply

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