Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Geology - Advanced/9/en

e. What is the continental drift (plate tectonics) theory, and how can creationists fit such geological activity into time since creation?

It was a creationist, Antonio Snider, who proposed the movement of continents during the flood. Genesis 1:9-10 indicated the land was one mass and the waters were gathered together in one place. The puzzle piece scenario of the continents, displacement of fossils and seismic observations led them to further believe that there is no slow formation. It has been stated that rapid magnetic field reversals could have happened during the flood. With the way continents move today one would have to conclude an ocean basin or mountain range would have taken about 100 million years to form. The concept that this all happened rapidly is called catastrophic plate tectonics. If crustal spreading zones expanded, hot material would rise up to the surface, heat the water and potentially cause steam to shoot into the atmosphere. This steam would turn into water vapor and fall down later as intense rain. This is one possible explanation for the 40 days of rain. The flood also answers the question of large sediment deposits.