Of all the issues in the evolution vs creation debate, the length of time required for the respective processes is probably the most hotly contested. Seventh-day Adventists hold to the creationist view, but for many this is merely a statement of faith. When asked to defend their position they find themselves intellectually intimidated and hopelessly outgunned by the lockstep, media dominating, 'Deep Time' aficionados.
Deep Time is a theoretical model where the development of life on earth is measured in millions, even billions, of years. However, for the vast majority of scientists and members of the wider public, it is not a theory; it is fact.
John Walton is Research Professor of Chemistry at the University of Dundee. He is also a Seventh-day Adventist church member who currently serves on the BUC Executive Committee. With expertise in both fields, he is well placed to provide some much-needed ammunition to battle weary creation defenders. Enter Compact Time.
At 160 pages or so the book is an easy read, at least for those with some scientific background. It has numerous pictures and charts which clearly explain his position, that Deep Time is deeply flawed, and that there is an alternative model which fits the experimental data remarkably well. That model is Compact Time, with the appearance and development of life on earth compressed into a timeframe of thousands, rather than millions, of years.
Notwithstanding its relative simplicity, there are weighty arguments in the book, carefully researched and referenced. These range from sociological and philosophical issues such as confirmation bias, to more tangible anomalies such as the presence of unexpected levels of carbon 14 in ancient rock samples, and wide variations in supposedly reliable dating methods like potassium-argon, rubidium-strontium, samarium-neodymium, and uranium-thorium-lead. The recent discovery of soft tissue within dinosaur fossils is also covered; astonishing, not so much for the discovery itself, as for the fact that it made so little impact in the world of evolution and palaeontology. Walton's explanation for this is at best disturbing: serious researchers in these fields require significant funding, and those who venture beyond the bounds of conventional chronology are unlikely to have their funding renewed.
Compact Time is published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. and is currently available from the Troubador Bookshop and Amazon. Further details of the book can be found here.
You can purchase your copy of the book here.
