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Trinity College Fossil Exhibit Introduced

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST

With replicas of a triceratops horn and allosaurus foot before them, Thomas Woodward, research professor and chairman of the Bible-Theology division at Trinity College, turns young visitors' attention to the genuine semifossilized jawbone of a camel-like prehistoric creature at the unveiling Tuesday of a new, permanent fossil collection at the Christian college.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: April 8, 2009

TRINITY - More than 100 guests gathered last week at the Raymond H. Center, M.D., Library on the campus of Trinity College for the unveiling of a new exhibit now on permanent display.

The C.S. Lewis Society Fossil Collection includes painstakingly accurate replicas of things like a triceratops horn and the foot bones of an allosaurus. More important are the many genuine fossil specimens of prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs and ancient sea creatures going all the way back to the Cambrian period, when life suddenly exploded on Earth 542 million years ago, depending on which dating methods you trust.

But wait, isn't Trinity College a Christian school? Aren't fossils and paleontology in general in direct opposition to the belief in biblical creationism or intelligent design?

Not so, says Dr. Thomas E. Woodard, research professor and chairman of the Bible-Theology division at Trinity College and founder of the C. S. Lewis Society.

"I'm seeing here a refreshing renaissance in the Christian community of wanting to learn more about science and seeing it as a friend and not a foe," Woodward said.

Seeking middle ground

Too often, the debate of how life developed on Earth is portrayed as a hard-line, all-or-nothing war, with Charles Darwin and natural selection on one side, biblical creationism on the other and no middle ground in between. But that's not the case at all, Woodward said.

In paleontology, the more that is learned, the greater the case that can be made for intelligent design, Woodward believes. "Science has a chance to surprise us."

To help clarify this viewpoint, Woodward invited Dr. John Whitmore to speak at the unveiling. Whitmore is an associate professor of geology at Cedarville University, in Cedarville, Ohio, serves on the board of the Creation Research Science Education Foundation and is a member of the Creation Research Society and the Geological Society of America.

"I think creationists have been doing scientific work for some time," Whitmore said. "Some of it hasn't been very good, but there is really a new crop of creation scientists out there who are willing to look at things honestly and forthrightly."

In his presentation, Whitmore explained where Darwin left the door open for creationists, and how 150 years after publication of "The Origin of the Species," that door might be open wider than ever.

"Darwin was actually a pretty good scientist," Whitmore said. Perhaps most admirably, Darwin was willing to admit where there were holes in his theories.

Cambrian explosion

For starters, Whitmore said, there is the problem of the "Cambrian explosion." If species evolve from other species, how did hundreds of species suddenly appear, and with such great diversity when there was apparently almost nothing before them? After the Cambrian period, roughly 530 million years ago, as new species supposedly evolve from old ones, where are the many transitional variations in between you would expect?

To Whitmore, who describes himself as a "young-Earth creationist," the lack of evidence to this day that would explain these questions tends to support – though by no means prove – biblical descriptions of how the Earth as we know it was created including things like the Great Flood.

"I think there was a sensitivity in the way he addressed the subject, which was refreshing," Woodward said. "To me, it's exciting to learn about the Cambrian phenomenon. The more we check it out, the more diversity we find. That's data, that's information. That's scientific discovery, and I think it's exciting because it tends to support the idea of a creator."

Along with trilobites, ammonites, brachiopods and amber-encased insects, the collection will soon get four more additions, including a 48-inch gamarasaurus femur, two allosaurus ribs and a sauropod pelvis.

"We're literally getting a chance to see a window on life as it was in the distant past," Woodward said.

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