As Dr. Brown thought about the feasibility of the flood, he realized that the Genesis flood was literally an earthshaking event, far more catastrophic than almost anyone had imagined. He was startled by the violence of the event.
When he first thought about the flood, he had been stumped by the mechanism of it all. Yet he saw that the geological evidence corresponded to a devastating, worldwide flood. So where did so much water come from? And where did it go?
As he pondered these questions and studied the Biblical and scientific details, a theory for the mechanism of the flood began to gel in his mind. It became clear to Dr. Brown how the gigantic flood of Noah’s day would explain many mysterious features on earth—features that few people realize are not explained by current science. Many of these major features fit into place beautifully if the flood waters came from under the earth’s crust—from worldwide, interconnected chambers that erupted violently as “the fountains of the great deep.”
Dr. Brown calls his theory of the flood the hydroplate theory. It is a mature and detailed theory, complete with many predictions of what science should uncover in the future if his theory is correct. Some of Dr. Brown’s published predictions have already come true. He believes that successful predictions are the best test of a theory’s strength and fruitfulness; scientists who are unwilling to make and publish predictions show a lack of scientific rigor and confidence. “A weak theory will produce few predictions,” he says. “If theories could not be published unless they included numerous details and specific predictions, we would be mercifully spared many distractions and false ideas.”
In 1993 Dr. Brown was asked to narrate a five-minute animation of his hydroplate theory for CBS television. CBS television executives had noticed the interest that the public has in Noah’s Ark, and they aired a two-hour special on Noah’s Ark. That program was seen by 43 million Americans and Canadians. Feedback from Dr. Brown’s portion of that program was overwhelmingly positive.