James Hutton, ＂father of modern geology＂

James Hutton, geologist who rocked the scientific and religious world with his discovery of deep time, proving that the earth was considerably older than had previously been thought. James Hutton, you are a controversial figure, condemned by the church and the scientific community. Congratulations, you have succeeded in bringing together two establishments who Thank you. As a geologist, I have made it my life's work to study the changing forms of the land and seas of our planet. By observing coastal erosion and rock formation, I have come to dispute many of the church's claims as to the age and formation of our earth, which also brings into many of the long-held scientific claims on the subject. Your theories on the age of our earth are quite earth-shattering. At odds with the Bible, you claim our planet is millions of years old, and you say you can prove this by looking at a rock. The layers of a rock are a timeline of the geological history of our planet. Each layer shows the changes that rock has gone through in its formation, and what substances have combined to form the rock. This doesn't happen overnight, nor in the 6,000 years the church claims is the age of our earth. Some experts claim that rocks were formed as a result of a biblical flood. Nonsense. My research finds that the centre of the earth is hot, and is in fact the engine which drives the creation of new rock. We see that land is eroded by air and water, and this is deposited as layers on the seabed. The sediment is then turned to stone by the heat of the earth's core, and in time it is raised from the seabed to the surface to form new lands by the power of the volcano. This concept is one which the church must embrace. The volcano was not created to scare superstitious minds and plunge them into pits of piety. It's simply the vent from the earth's furnace from which new rock emerges. It is no surprise the church calls you a heretic. You scorn the word of God and the evidence in the bible as to the age of our planet. Aye, I do. The church claims to have been able to use the bible to trace back through every generation to the very day God created the earth in 4004 BC, the 22nd of September, a Saturday at 6 pm. I respectfully suggest that this is complete and utter nonsense. The answers to the earth's formation cannot be found in the bible. The history of our globe must be explained by what can be seen to be happening now. Let us therefore open the book of nature and read in her records for the study of geology and not theology provides the answers we seek. Our planet has a history extending indefinitely into the distant past. The tremendous changes I see do not happen in a short period of time by means of a biblical catastrophe but by a gradual process which continues today. I see no sign of a beginning and no prospect of an end to these changes. You speak of this land forming over many millions of years and of having been part of a world beneath the sea. Rather than being serious academic theory I would suggest that this is nothing more than ill-informed fantasy. History and God will be my judge. From the top of the mountains to the shore of the sea everything is in a state of change. Rocks dissolving, breaking up and decomposing for the purpose of becoming soil. The soil moving across the surface of the earth towards the shore. The shore wasting and wearing by the agitation of the sea. I shall try to explain this in fact very simply. Before this land was formed there was a previous world composed of sea and land. Eroded by air and water the materials of the shoreline formed deposits on the seabed. These deposits were fused together by the heat of the earth's core and at times disturbed by the earth's movements and resettled on the seabed with the next layers forming on top of them. This process was constantly repeated. The proof being found in the different layers of the rock formation around us. Your theories dare to dispute much of what the church and its faithful hold sacred and are little more than blasphemy. I put it to you that yours is the work of an atheist troublemaker. Ah you betray the same ignorance as the church condemning anything that questions its teachings. But should they choose to lend a rational ear to my theories I will say that I celebrate the glory of God's work on earth and do not as they assume deny God's existence. Geology and religion are utterly compatible. I believe in God as the architect of a rational ordered world as opposed to the author of strict religious rules which lead to intolerance of which I am a victim. Furthermore my beliefs are grounded in my faith in human reason. The very reason which prevents me from ignoring the geological facts. These facts are supported by my belief in a God who has created a world designed for the growth of plants and the nourishment of men and animals. Should you bother yourself to read my work you'll find I make frequent references to the work of God in the evidence of rocks and I believe that these rocks are God's books wrote upon by God's own finger. Both scientific and religious communities condemn your work. What though do you feel you have contributed to mankind and how will history judge you? I have made the study of a constantly evolving planet my life's work and that study is also my personal passion. But this is not a selfish passion for everything I do is to assist my fellow man in his understanding of the geological world in which we live, where we have come from and where we are going. I've dispelled many myths about the age and formation of our planet and any claims which may contradict religious and scientific beliefs are made in good faith. My work promotes a new understanding of our earth above and below the sea and how this land was originally formed. I encourage man to watch his planet and continue to learn as it changes slowly and constantly. But as we speak new land is forming on the seabed which man will walk upon one day. With respect to human observation sir this world has neither a beginning nor an end.