"The Ark and The Darkness" Review (Cut Segment)

This is the cut section of bullet points disproving creationist claims from my review for <i>The Ark and The Darkness</i>.
See full review ⇛ <a href="https://boxd.it/6HhQBR" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>

• They claim there is an exponential degeneration of lifespan longevity when, in reality, it's the opposite. If it were true, the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy" rel="nofollow">data</a> we have would be reversed.

• They ask, if the Bible is fiction, why does it show graphable data? If intentional, this could represent the spiritual decline of humanity. Whether conscious or unconscious, it might also reflect how stories gradually approaching the present link characters more closely to the past or present as needed for the narrative timeline. <a href="https://www.bible.com/bible/111/PSA.90.10.NIV" rel="nofollow">Psalm 90:10</a> appears to be taken too literally as well, given it's meant to convey that life is metaphorically short, even if it's literally long, so we must make the most of it while we're here. The proof? Look at <a href="https://www.bible.com/bible/111/PSA.90.12.NIV" rel="nofollow">Psalm 90:12</A>.

• Their explanation of sediment layers is that tsunamis would be moving the layers. Additionally, their "gotcha" moment, <i>"fossilization is not what we observe at all when something dies today,"</i> is more of a "no shit, Sherlock" moment as we have radiometric, luminescence, fossil, paleomagnetic, and even more dating capabilities that can be compared to isolate a time period of sediment or fossils. We can also study the rate at which sediment accumulates in a particular area to estimate the age of sedimentary layers based on their thickness and the known rate of sedimentation. Their explanation doesn't give data; it's conjecture. For a more in-depth look on archaeological dating methods, read <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/dating-rocks-and-fossils-using-geologic-methods-107924044/" rel="nofollow">this article</a> on Nature.com, or watch Edu Sphere's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGM1ynOEwE-KoZ1GjkHNNymrLH4Ans5Kc" rel="nofollow">video playlist</a>.

• They state that, along with other animals, insects were fossilized via rapid sediment burial preservation from tsunamis. There might be some misunderstanding of insect fossils; I'm not sure. While it is true that insect exoskeletons can preserved through compression or carbonization, it's <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/uwyo/rmg/article-abstract/37/1/31/87939/Paleobiology-of-middle-Eocene-plant-insect?redirectedFrom=fulltext" rel="nofollow">highly unlikely</a> that a water-drenched exoskeleton would fossilize as waterlogged conditions could promote decay by providing a medium for microbial activity. With respect to water, damp environments may undergo a type of preservation known as bog mummification or permineralization.

• They fundamentally misunderstood the meteor impact, calling it small and localized. There's really no further thought by them on what repercussions a 10-kilometer asteroid might have on the Earth as a whole. The funny thing is, this is where tsunamis come in. More is explained in <a href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/video/asteroid-impact-theory-dinosaur-extinction.html" rel="nofollow">Study.com's great video</a> on the widely accepted theory.

• They also fundamentally misunderstand dinosaur soft tissue. For example, in 2005, scientists discovered mineralized soft tissue structures, not actual muscles in their original state. An enlightening look at this discovery as well as Mary Schweitzer, a Christian herself, was published in an <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-shocker-115306469/" rel="nofollow">article</a> by Smithsonian Magazine. If that is too much reading, I Know Dino: The Big Dinosaur Podcast has a couple easy to understand explanations and discussions on dinosaur <a href="https://youtu.be/d9Gdcbeou3g?si=xV3PgyBFP5pSrVXz&t=182" rel="nofollow">soft tissues</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/h0k-MPebwKQ?si=rAtH8q6S-gZVLpAS&t=1176" rel="nofollow">tendons</a>. The only <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2017.0544" rel="nofollow">academically sound arguments</a> against these discoveries are that of modern cross-contamination potential.

• No matter what they say, there is an element of observable evolution in the current day. Vox has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFxu7NEoKC8" rel="nofollow">quick video</a> on it in humans and Trey the Explainer has a <a href="https://youtu.be/NArlXzSFt2Y?si=d7ztd-q9e_o_cUpu&t=39" rel="nofollow">longer video</a> on rapid evolution in everyday nature.

• They never go into this, but I gotta ask. If the flood during Noah's time was the extinction event for the dinosaurs, why aren't water-based creatures such as Megalodon or Mosasaurus still swimming the seas? Or flight-based animals such as pteranodons or Archaeopteryx still soaring the skies?

• It's almost hysterical that they claim all languages stem from the Tower of Bable and that the Bible's flood myth and other stories were a game of telephone across the world, leading to the story being changed over time in different areas. The prominent theory on language is not a protolanguage, as that one jerk suggests, it mostly developed over time from several main cultures. And while Sumerian and Mesopotamian flood myths predate Judaism, it's easy to wave that off with oral tradition as the <a href="https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20220136/html.php" rel="nofollow">explanation</a>. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that many biblical narratives have <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/bible-stories-ancient-literature/" rel="nofollow">roots</a> in other cultures and religions.

There is one thing they accidentally got kind of tangentially right. When they talk about the "very good time," they note there were larger animals, as seen in the fossil record, and that giantism is proof of a healthy world before man ruined it. The truth is, during certain periods in Earth's history, such as the Mesozoic Era, the environment was more conducive to supporting larger life forms. Higher oxygen levels, warmer global temperatures, and abundant food sources allowed some species to grow to enormous sizes. While the decline can, in part, be attributed to extinction events (such as the proposed flood or meteor impact), man's hand in dirtying the Earth is due to urbanization, industrialization, biodiversity loss, and ozone depletion, rather than eating a literal forbidden fruit. However, you can (and should) interpret Eden's fruit as a metaphor for human nature.

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