‘Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood’ digs deeper into the scientific process

By Sophia Monastra

Back in 2017, my mom and I drove to a theater to watch the movie “Is Genesis History.” I remember being awed by the amount of evidence from different academic fields for the Young Earth Creation worldview. 

Six years later, Compass Cinema has released the premiere of the sequel “Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood.” Familiar faces Dr. Del Tackett, Dr. Steve Austin and Dr. Andrew Snelling are joined by Cedarville University’s Dr. John Whitmore.

While the first film served as an overview of Creation science and the Young Earth worldview, “Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood” specifically delves into the field of Geology, with the specific case of the Grand Canyon, where Snelling and Whitmore took a rafting trip to collect samples.

The documentary focuses on folds in the rock layers of the Grand Canyon. These folds had to have been created while the rock layers were still pliable, otherwise, the rock would have shattered instead of bending. 

The first half of the documentary alternates between the Cedarville University Geology Department and a previous film (what director Thomas Purifoy deems “found footage”) from a Grand Canyon rafting trip several years earlier. Despite a large time gap between the filming of both settings, the footage is integrated well. 

Thanks to vocab terms being defined via pull-out animations, animations and diagrams, and physical examples given by both professors, there were only a few spots where I as a viewer got lost. Tackett’s ability to summarize the points being made and ask clarifying questions helped to translate large concepts into understandable ideas. 

Since the showing was a premiere, some of the animations were not quite fully rendered yet, a problem that will be fixed by the time the movie airs in theaters.

One of the goals of this movie is to demonstrate how Creationist geologists use the same processes as conventional geologists yet come to different conclusions. The Grand Canyon footage aids in this goal by documenting the meticulous scouting, collecting and labeling of samples. Whitmore and Snelling explain what they’re collecting and how they do it so that the information about the site is recorded.

The samples are then sent to Ray Strom, President of the Calgary Rock and Materials Services Inc. The documentary shows the process Strom uses to create thin sections, or slides of rock that can be observed under a microscope, as well as how he uses a scanning electron microscope. 

Other locations, such as the Unita Mountains in Utah and the Green River Basin are explored to answer the question of what happened geologically after the flood.

The film is technical and if the viewer doesn’t have a background in geology, it could be confusing. While it may be less accessible for most viewers, “Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood” is still an impressive work of scientific documentary. 

“Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood” will be released in March 2023

Sophia Monastra is a freshman Environmental Science major and writer for Cedars’ Arts and Entertainment section. She lives in mortal fear of longboards and enjoys reading comics, writing fiction and experiencing deep emotions about teenage mutant turtles.

Images courtesy of “Is Genesis History: Mountains After the Flood” promotional material