The universal deluge described in Gen. 6 to 9 , in which, except for the occupants of the ark, all air-breathing animals of the “dry land” are said to have been destroyed. According to the biblical account, “the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep” ( Gen. 7:19 , 20 , RSV ). Seventh-day Adventists view the Bible account of the Flood literally (G. W. Amadon, in Review and Herald 16:122, Sept. 4, 1860; J. N. Andrews, in Review and Herald 60:472, July 24, 1883; G. M. Price, The New Geology [1923]; H. W. Clark, The New Diluvialism [1946]; etc.). The Scriptures declare that the purpose of the Flood was to destroy obdurate sinners and to permit a new beginning from the faithful remnant that survived. Bible writers confirm the record of Genesis ( Isa. 54:9 ; 2 Peter 2:5 ; 3:6 ; Heb. 11:7 ), as does our Lord ( Matt. 24:37 ; Luke 17:26 ).
From medieval times those who accept the Genesis account literally have commonly attributed fossils—the traces or remnants of animals and plants preserved in the rocks—to the Noachian deluge. At times a misguided faith led to hasty and premature conclusions by some not qualified to judge the nature of the fossil remains. For instance, notable theologians and preachers, such as Augustine and Cotton Mather, mistakenly identified teeth from fossil mammoths as those of a giant antediluvian race of human beings.
Of the many features from the fossil record that have been taken as suggestive of a flood that destroyed the earth, the following are typical: abundant fossil remains of marine animals in the rocks of many mountain chains and all continents have been taken as evidence for the widespread extent of the Flood; evidences in many instances of rapid, and at times catastrophic, circumstances of burial of plant and animal remains are taken as suggestive of flood burial; existence of tropical and warm temperate forms in rocks of high latitudes is felt by many to suggest a major climatic change in postdiluvian times.
The mute testimony of the rocks is often obscure and open to various views, and, as would be expected, there has not always been unanimity as to the interpretation of certain geologic features that may be related to the Flood. The degree to which a definite order or sequence exists in the fossil-bearing strata, the question whether certain topographic features are a result of the Flood or of other geologic events such as volcanism or glaciation, and the extent of pre- and post-Flood geologic activity are a few of the debated questions. (See A. T. Jones, Review and Herald 60:513, 514, Aug. 14, 1883; G. M. Price, The New Geology [1923]; H. W. Clark, The New Diluvialism [1946]; F. L. Marsh, Studies in Creationism [1950].)
From 1860 onward, articles defending the Genesis account of the Flood appeared in the Review and Herald at rather frequent intervals. A dozen or more times over the next 30 years the Babylonian cuneiform account of the Flood, then recently discovered, and the universal tradition of a great deluge were mentioned as confirming the Bible record of that event (18:173, Oct. 29, 1861; 18:180, Nov. 5, 1861; 41:61, Feb. 4, 1873; 44:139, Oct. 27, 1874; 68:602, Sept. 29, 1891; etc.). Other articles point to fossils, especially marine fossils high in the mountains, as evidence of a flood of great depth and extent ( ibid. 16:122, Sept. 4, 1860; 18:173, Oct. 29, 1861; etc.). Foremost among SDA geologists in the twentieth century was George McCready Price, from whose pen came no less than 16 books on various aspects of creationism, evolution, and the Flood. (See especially Common Sense Geology and The New Geology.) From the biological viewpoint, biologists Harold W. Clark and Frank L. Marsh have considered fossil remains in relation to the Flood. The SDA -sponsored Geoscience Research Institute, in association with Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, is evidence of major denominational interest and effort in this area. This institute is devoted to a scientific study of the various branches of paleontology and to the correlation of scientific studies with the Bible. A recent readily available source for the SDA point of view with respect to the Flood from the viewpoint of geology is the article “Evidences of a Worldwide Flood,” in volume 1 of The SDA Bible Commentary ( pp. 64–97). See Evolution ; Science and Religion .