A geologist who bases his work around Christian beliefs concerning the age of the Earth has been given a permit to study rocks at the bottom of Grand Canyon National Park, according to his attorney.
The National Park Service initially had declined his permit request, and that ignited a three-year long campaign by Dr. Andrew Snelling, who earlier this year sued the Park Service over the matter.
Dr. Snelling back in November 2013 had sought a permit to collect roughly 30 pounds of rocks from the Inner Gorge of the park for use in explaining "geological phenomena and other endeavors from a Biblical perspective." He wanted to collect the samples from the floor of the Grand Canyon "to study the folding of Paleozoic sedimentary structure."
That request, his lawsuit alleged, led to an odyssey during which park staff asked two other outside geologists to weigh in on the merits of Dr. Snelling's proposal. One of those geologists, Dr. Karl Karlstrom of the University of New Mexico, in reviewing the proposal demonstrated, in the lawsuit's words, "antipathy for Dr. Snelling’s religious faith."
Dr. Snelling's attorneys withdrew the lawsuit last week after the Park Service relented and agreed to issue the necessary permit.
“When the government refuses to allow a Christian geologist simply to collect information because it dislikes his views, it undercuts science and violates the law,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb, co-counsel for Snelling. “We commend Park Service officials, Interior Secretary (Ryan) Zinke, and the Trump administration for understanding that specifically targeting Dr. Snelling’s faith as the reason to stop his research was both inappropriate and unconstitutional. As the Park Service finally admitted, ‘Dr. Snelling’s proposal is well stated with methods that are similar or equal to standard scientific practice to test the hypothesis provided,’ so it is the right choice to let the research go forward.”
Comments
How exactly is a "method" from a "Biblical perspective" "equal to standard scientific practice"?
EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE: something the "Biblical Perspective" Quietly Ignores and Avoids to Discuss
Peer reviewed professional journals no doubt are awaiting submissions.
Dr. Snelling should be banned from even looking over the edge of the Grand Canyon.
The Univesity of Sydney should loose their accreditation.
Would you feel the same, if Snelling were Muslim, or Jewish, or Native American, or Buddhist and wanted to study the samples from that faith perspective? Let's coexist, practice tolerance and remember the parks are supposed to be for everyone... Yes?
This is silly. Let him take a few rocks to help him "Prove" his fairy tales. He's entitled to his opinions, no matter how far out they may be. Just don't try to impose them on the rest of us.
If they presented it under the guise of "scientific study" - yes. It's abuse of a system designed to allow peer-reviewed science to take place while limiting the haul of rocks out of the giant hole. This incident just means that the rules aren't restrictive enough as written. Too bad for future grad student geologists but them's the breaks.
"Native American" isn't a religion, bee tee dubs.
It would appear Dr Snelling has far more respect in the scientific community than he does here.
Giblin, A.M.; Snelling, A.A. (1983). "Application of hydrogeochemistry to uranium exploration in the Pine Creek Geosyncline, Northern Territory, Australia". In Parslow, G.R. Geochemical exploration 1982. 19. Journal of Geochemical Exploration. pp. 33-55.
Snelling, A.A. (1984). "A soil geochemistry orientation survey for uranium at Koongarra, Northern Territory". In Davy, R.; Mazzucchelli, R.H. Geochemical exploration in arid and deeply weathered terrains. 22. Journal of Geochemical Exploration. pp. 83-99.
Dickson, B.L.; Gulson, B.L.; Snelling, A.A. (1985). "Evaluation of lead isotopic methods for uranium exploration, Koongarra area, Northern Territory, Australia". Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 24 (1): 81-102.
Gole, M.J.; Butt, C.R.M.; Snelling, A.A. (1986). "A groundwater helium survey of the Koongarra uranium deposits, Pine Creek Geosyncline, Northern Territory;". Uranium. 2 (4): 343-360.
Dickson, B.L.; Giblin, A.M.; Snelling, A.A. (1987). "The source of radium in anomalous accumulations near sandstone escarpments, Australia". Applied Geochemistry. 2 (4): 385-398.
Dickson, B.L.; Gulson, B.L.; Snelling, A.A. (1987). "Further assessment of stable lead isotope measurements for uranium exploration, Pine Creek Geosyncline, Northern Territory, Australia". Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 27 (1-2): 63-75.
Snelling, A.A. (1990). Hughes, F.E., ed. "Koongarra uranium deposits". Geology of the mineral deposits of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 14: 807-812.
Who are the bigots?