Andrew Snelling

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'''Andrew A. Snelling''' is an [[Australia|Australian]] geologist and [[young-Earth creationist]].  He is the "Director of Research" at [[Answers in Genesis]] and also the first, only, and hopefully last, editor of the ''[[Answers Research Journal]]''.<ref name=AiG>[https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/ Andrew Snelling - Answers in Genesis]</ref><ref group=note>He styles himself Editor-in-Chief, but seeing as there are no other editors to be chief of this is like calling yourself the CEO of a single person company, or the lead singer of a one-man band.</ref> He is the founder of the ''Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal'', now known as the ''Journal of Creation'',  and author of the two-volume ''Earth's Catastrophic Past'' — 1100 pages of [[creationist]] twaddle.

==Biography==
According to his many online biographies at creationist websites, Snelling received a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Applied Geology from the University of New South Wales and a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, for his thesis ''A geochemical study of the Koongarra uranium deposit, Northern Territory, Australia''.<ref name=cmibio>[http://creation.com/andrew-a-snelling Creation Ministries International bio]</ref> He worked for various mining companies for several years before leaving to pursue his creation "research" in 1983,<ref name=snelling>[http://www.trueorigin.org/ca_as_01.asp Snelling answers his critics].</ref> however he was retained as a consultant by Koongarra uranium project until 1992.<ref name=cmibio />

There appear to be ''two'' Snellings with the same address. One has authored academic papers stating unequivocally that certain geological formations contain rocks that are 1.8 billion years old, and the other who attempts to prove that Noah's flood was a historical event by criticizing "evolutionist" geologists and challenging creationist geologists to rebuild "our understanding of geological history within the Biblical framework."<ref>Alex Ritchie, [https://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/realsnelling.htm Will the Real Dr Snelling Please Stand Up?] ''The Skeptic,'' Volume 11, No. 4, p. 12-15, as cited in [[No Answers In Genesis]].</ref>

His creation research has centered around dating methods, with his pet hobbyhorse being [[polonium halos]], which according to [[Answers in Genesis]], he has used to demonstrate that most rock layers and fossils were deposited by a [[global flood]] 4,300 years ago.<ref name=AiG/> He has been repeatedly overlooked for a [[Nobel Prize]] despite the importance of this discovery.

In May 2017, he sued the US National Park Service on grounds of "religious discrimination" because they wouldn't let him collect rocks at the Grand Canyon National Park.<ref name=grand_canyon>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170519220145/http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/creationist-geologist-sues-us-park-service-after-it-rejects-request-collect-samples Update: Creationist geologist wins permit to collect rocks in Grand Canyon after lawsuit]. sciencemag.org, 30 June 2017.</ref> The lawsuit was dropped in June, with Snelling being permitted to collect rock samples.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/australian-creationist-uses-trump-order-to-get-permission-to-take-rocks-from-grand-canyon Creationist uses Trump order to get permission to take rocks from Grand Canyon] The Guardian, July 7, 2017</ref> In a statement that neatly sums up creationist "science," he said: "even if I don’t find the evidence I think I will find, it wouldn’t assault my core beliefs”.

For his excellent publication record Snelling has been appointed an Associate Professor of Geology at the [[Institute for Creation Research]],<ref name=cwbio>[http://creationwiki.org/Andrew_Snelling CreationWiki biography]</ref> a title as meaningful as being a [[Discordian]] Pope.

==''Earth's Catastrophic Past''==
{{cquote|These volumes construct a biblical-geologic model for earth history and conclude that the central claims of Genesis1-11 are [[true]]!|||Puff piece on Amazon accompanying Snelling's tedious screed ''Earth's Catastrophic Past''<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Earths-Catastrophic-Past-Geology-Creation/dp/0890518742 Earth's Catastrophic Past], amazon.com.</ref>}}
''Earth's Catastrophic Past'' is a two-volume [[creationist]] screed by Snelling published by the [[Institute for Creation Research]] in 2009.<ref>Andrew Snelling, ''Earth's Catastrophic Past''. Master Books, 3 October 2014. ISBN 0890518742</ref> Subtitled "Geology, Creation & The Flood," the books follow on from Whitcomb and Morris's ''The Genesis Flood'' <ref>John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris, ''The Genesis Flood''. Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 1961. ISBN 0-87552-338-2</ref> and attempt to incorporate decades of creationist research and insights against "evolutionary" geology, whatever that is (considering that evolution is a field in ''[[biology]]'', not [[geology]]). The screed is an extended biblical [[exegesis]] aimed at those Christians who have succumbed to the old Earth and [[evolution]]ary paradigms, although [[young-Earth creationist]]s will also revel in its reinforcing message.<ref>Alex Ritchie, [https://web.archive.org/web/20201123093057/https://chem.tufts.edu/science/Stear-NoAiG/no-AiG/snelling_flood_geology.htm Flood geology: a house built on sand]</ref> The books contain 126 chapters in a little over 1100 tedious pages.

==Cataclysm Chronology Research Group==
Snelling's next major project, during the 2010s, was the Cataclysm Chronology Research Group, a collaboration with Hebrew scholar Steven Boyd. The goal of this project was to prove through linguistic analysis that the early chapters of Genesis were intended as literal history.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/why-study-the-chronology-of-the-flood/ Why Study the Chronology of the Flood?] Answers in Genesis.</ref> This project resulted in the publication of the 2014 book ''Grappling with the Chronology of the Genesis Flood'', of which Snelling and Boyd both are editors. This book seeks to modify basic, widely-accepted principles of Hebrew grammar in order to resolve internal contradictions in the account of Noah's flood.<ref>Boyd, S. W. & Snelling, A. (eds.) ''Grappling with the Chronology of the Genesis Flood.'' Master books, 2014. </ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Answers in Genesis]]
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[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Answers in Genesis, Christian apologists, Geologists, Institute for Creation Research, Living people, Australians, Pseudoscience promoters