Carla Estell
[Originally published as Seeing God’s Ingenuity in Earth’s Design]
When thinking of earth’s design, much has been said of its location in the solar system, the size and temperature of the sun, and the size and distance of the moon. Earth’s size and gravitation, atmospheric makeup, and magnetic field have also been used as examples of God’s design. Along with these, the placement and size of the continents also show the forethought and ingenuity of God as He reformed earth to be man’s post-flood habitation. Continental placement is the result of design, not random natural movements of earth’s crust.
Notice on the map how the separation between South America and Antarctica and between Asia and North America allows for the global circulation of water. Cold water is not trapped in the Arctic Circle. Yet, because there is no separation between North and South America, the warm equatorial ocean current is forced to redirect towards the Polar Regions.
The majority of the equatorial current is redirected north by the Brazilian wedge-shaped coast. It continues to be warmed as it flows along Central America and through the Gulf of Mexico. The warm water is then carried all the way to England and circulated around the Arctic Ocean.
The earth’s rotation empowers the equatorial currents, which then circulate all the ocean waters enabling the regulation of earth’s temperatures, dispersing of nutrients, and the cleansing of the shorelines. It would appear that the shape and position of each land mass is perfectly placed in order to enhance the circulation of earth’s water.
The Heavens declare the glory of God, and so does the earth’s design.
After the Flood, God told Noah that seasons for planting and harvest and summer and winter would not cease. Earth’s seasons are caused by the 23-degree axial tilt. If earth’s axis were not tilted, the entire world would have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night every 24 hours, making for moderate temperatures year round. But with the tilt, each pole experiences 6 months of complete darkness, making a cold, harsh winter, followed by 6 months of endless sun.
Due to earth’s elliptical orbit, the Southern Hemisphere’s winter is even colder than the Northern Hemisphere because during that part of the year the earth is farther away from the sun. In addition to the distance itself, being farther from the sun affects earth’s orbital speed, meaning it travels at a slightly slower rate while farther away from the sun. So, the southern winter is not only colder, it is also five days longer. No wonder only penguins live on Antarctica.
But water acts as an insulator holding onto the summer’s heat, and 80% of the Southern Hemisphere is ocean leaving only 20% land, most of which is the frozen continent of Antarctica. So yes, it has frigid winters, but at least God gave it a watery blanket. Meanwhile, 68% of earth’s land mass, home to 90% of earth’s population, is in the Northern Hemisphere, where earth is closer to the sun during winter and farther from the sun during summer, so the seasonal extremes are not as drastic and summers are longer.
God truly designed the earth to be man’s habitation.
