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  • Part I: Scientific Case for Creation
    • Life Sciences
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    • Earth Sciences
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  • Part II: Fountains of the Great Deep
    • The Hydroplate Theory: An Overview
    • The Origin of Ocean Trenches
    • Liquefaction: The Origin of Strata and Layered Fossils
    • The Origin of the Grand Canyon
    • The Origin of Limestone
    • Frozen Mammoths
    • The Origin of Comets
    • The Origin of Asteroids and Meteoroids
  • Part III: Frequently Asked Questions
  • Technical Notes
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This is the online edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood
(7th Edition) by Dr. Walt Brown. The online version of the book is designed to be read online.
A PDF version or hardbound print version may be ordered.
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[ The Fountains of the Great Deep > The Origin of Ocean Trenches and the Ring of Fire > Evaluation of Evidence vs. Theories ]

Evaluation of Evidence vs. Theories

The preceding discussions raise many issues and questions concerning trenches. Each issue or question, summarized below in italics and given a blue title, is examined from the perspective of the hydroplate theory (HP) and the plate tectonic theory (PT). My subjective judgments, coded in green, yellow, and red (reminiscent of a traffic light’s go, caution, and stop) simply provide a starting point for your own evaluations. Numbers in Table 3 refer to amplifying explanations that follow. Any satisfactory explanation for the origin of trenches should resolve the italicized issues.

Table 3 will help us compare the evidence with two completely different explanations for ocean trenches. Too often, alternative theories are never known or sought, or a theory is justified based on only some of the relevant evidence. Then all other evidence is ignored or interpreted to support that theory. When this happens, doctrine reigns and critical thinking ceases. Please alter Table 3 by adding or removing evidence or theories (rows or columns) as you see fit.

 

Table 3. Evidence vs. Theories: Origin of Trenches

 

Theories

Hydroplate Theory

Trenches and Ring of Fire Formed by Movements Inside the Earth and the Subsidence of Western Pacific Floor

Driven by Gravity

Plate Tectonic Theory

Trenches Formed by
Subduction of Plates

Driven by Heat

Evidence to be Explained

Ring of Fire

Image of Green Circle

  1

Image of Red Circle

  2

Gravity Anomalies

Image of Green Circle

  3

Image of Red Circle

  4

Core-Mantle Boundary

Image of Green Circle

  5

Image of Red Circle

  6

Flood Basalts

Image of Green Circle

  7

Image of Red Circle

  8

Water in the Upper Mantle

Image of Yellow Circle

  9

Image of Red Circle

10

Seamounts and Tablemounts

Image of Green Circle

11

Image of Red Circle

12

Stretched Oceanic Ridges

Image of Green Circle

13

Image of Red Circle

14

Scattered Volcanoes

Image of Green Circle

15

Image of Red Circle

16

Continental Material under Ocean Floor

Image of Yellow Circle

17

Image of Red Circle

18

Images of Earth’s Interior

Image of Green Circle

19

Image of Yellow Circle

20

Fast Seismic Waves

Image of Green Circle

21

Image of Red Circle

22

Fossils in Trenches

Image of Green Circle

23

Image of Red Circle

24

Earthquake Driving Force

Image of Green Circle

25

Image of Red Circle

26

Tension Failures

Image of Green Circle

27

Image of Red Circle

28

Wide Earthquakes

Image of Green Circle

29

Image of Red Circle

30

Reasonable Driving Mechanism

Image of Green Circle

31

Image of Red Circle

32

Displaced Material

Image of Green Circle

33

Image of Red Circle

34

Frictional Resistance

Image of Green Circle

35

Image of Red Circle

36

Arcs and Cusps

Image of Green Circle

37

Image of Red Circle

38

Concentrated Trenches

Image of Green Circle

39

Image of Red Circle

40

Undistorted Layers in Trenches

Image of Green Circle

41

Image of Red Circle

42

Initiation

Image of Green Circle

43

Image of Red Circle

44

“Fossil” Trenches

Image of Green Circle

45

Image of Red Circle

46

Other

Image of Green Circle

47–48

Image of Red Circle

49–52

Key:

Image of Green Circle

Theory explains this detail.

 

Image of Yellow Circle

Theory has moderate problem with this detail.

 

Image of Red Circle

Theory has serious problems with this detail.

   Numbers in this table refer to amplifying explanations on pages 149–158.

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