Genesis International Research Association is devoted to finding the common ground between science and religion and to communicating these findings to both scientific and non-scientific communities.
Genesis International Research Association (GIRA) became a reality through a group of interested professional men who supported Don Daae and joined him in creating this organization. We became a registered association through the Federal Government of Canada on March 22, 1989. Don's first book book, “Bridging the Gap: The First 6 Days” was published in August of 1989, and our first Newsletter, Bridging The Gap was published in January of 1990. Read about how Don became a creationist.
Between 525 to 530 million years ago our planet liteally exploded into new life with the sudden Cambrian Explosion of Animal Life.
Many leading scientists are saying that anywhere from 40+ disparate (completely different) architectural body plans (phyla) came into existence within a geological instant. The late paleontologist and expert on Cambrian animal life Stephen J. Gould says, “Some fifteen to twenty Burgess species cannot be allied with any known group, and should probably be classified as separate phyla.” Gould and other leading scientists are implying that it is reasonable to say that any where from 40+ to 47+ phyla were present during the Cambrian. Each phyla was represented by one or more distinct animal species.
There is much disagreement among some scientists as to what constitutes a phyla or a sub-phyla and as to the number of phylum that came into being at the time of the Cambrian Explosion. This will take time to sort out.
At the end of the Cambrian Period there was a major worldwide extinction of animal phyla. From that time forward only 35 or so animal phyla have continued to the present. See Figure 1.
One of God’s most exciting and significant works in the geological history of the Earth is known as the, Cambrian Explosion of Animal Life. It is sometimes referred to as Biology’s Big Bang. This event is special, because it was at this point in time that God established a plan for all future animal life on this earth. Geologically, this event took place during what geologists call the Lower Cambrian Period. See Figure 1.
Figure 1: The record of geology showing the entire geologic column from the time the earth was created to the present is shown on the left side.
The record of the Bible is shown on the right side. The remarkable relationship that exists between the two records is astounding.
Geology confirms that this was an opportune time for animals to appear. A highly sophisticated food chain consisting of many thousands of species of algae (sea weeds and plankton) together with bacteria had now been fully established within the ocean waters of the earth. Abundant food was now available for these many animal species.
There are two places in the world where these fossils are remarkably preserved. One site is at Field, B.C. in Western Canada. The other site is at the Chengjiang Site in southern China. The fossils at both sites are remarkably well preserved. Even some of the internal soft body parts such as the digestive tract, muscle fiber and gut have been preserved. It is indeed a miracle of God that this particular geological window has been preserved throughout these many millions of years.
The December, 1995 issue of Time magazine entitled this event, “When Life Exploded.” It described the sudden explosion of animal life as an amazing frenzy that changed the planet overnight. The Burgess Shale discovery is indeed one of the most significant discoveries in the world. It has also caused scientists to re-examine their previously held traditionally held interpretations of life on earth.
Very little was known about this spectacular event when Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of the Species, however he was aware that trilobites and other fossilized animals appeared abruptly. His comments on this were if his theory was correct, the long periods before the trilobites should have been full of their ancestors. But not one of these creatures, predicted by Darwin, has ever been found in older sediments.
We believe: that the Bible is the Word of God, that God created the earth millions of years ago, that the origin of sin and death occurred during the first day, that God created Man in adult form about 6000+ years ago and that the worldwide Flood of Noah took place about 4500 years ago. These beliefs are the product of significant Biblical and scientific research, much of which is presented on this web-site.
