Could Adam Eat from Any Tree?

Could Adam Eat from Any Tree?

Did God contradict Himself concerning what He said Adam could eat?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, February 3, 2026 (Donate) 

The “Problem” 

God said that Adam and Eve may eat from any tree in Genesis 1, but in Genesis 2 He said that they may not eat from one tree.

And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” (Genesis 1:29, NKJV)

 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17, NKJV) 

This seems to be a rather straightforward alleged contradiction. God said to eat and not to eat; but is this in the same relationship? 

The Solution

There are several possible solutions that easily reveal this is not a contradiction. But there are other potential solutions that could eliminate this alleged contradiction. 

Seedless?

One possibility is revealed by reading these verses more carefully. There are qualifying terms in Genesis 1:29 that show the herbs and fruit must produce seeds. So potentially, there were trees and herbs that did not produce seed and were off-limits.  

The fruit could have been seedless. Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Consider for a moment that some plants reproduce by other means—shoots, sprouts, and so on. Even some “fruited” vegetation use these other means of spreading in addition to seeds. Raspberries, for example, lean over and strike the ground, and roots develop for the next year’s plants. Strawberries send out shoots that also take root. But they still reproduce via fruit and seed, so they would have been allowed.  

The fruit of figs have seeds, so they too would be included as edible food per Genesis 1:29, and indeed, figs were found in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:7). So, consider for a moment how this alleged contradiction “bears no fruit” if the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had no seed in it. This would resolve the proposed contradiction. It might also explain why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil may not have thrived and reproduced but remained as a unique one-off plant. 

Speaking of Broad vs. Specific Places

The Lord could have been speaking of the fruit on the face of the whole earth beyond the special and unique Garden of Eden. This would make sense considering there were special instructions given to Adam regarding what was edible in the Garden and what was not. In other words, they may have been complementary commands given for two different places (i.e., different relationship). 

This information would prove rather useful had they traveled beyond the borders of the Garden for expedition of potential living space for their descendants. Remember, they were commanded to be fruitful and fill the earth in Genesis 1:28. So knowing that edible food was ready for them beyond the Garden would only make filling the earth that much easier. 

Exception Clause 

Probably the simplest explanation is that the command about not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was given first and served as an exception clause. Although it appears in the Bible in Genesis 2:17, this instruction was delivered prior to the creation of Eve. In Genesis 1, God’s instruction about food occurred after the creation of Eve, so Adam was already fully aware of the exception. 

These types of exceptions appear elsewhere in Scripture. For example, Jesus gave an exception in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9 regarding divorce. So, assuming that giving an exception clause is without warrant would be inaccurate. The exception clause simply shows that God revealed more information about a particular subject at the necessary time.  

Conclusion 

Any of these possibilities indicate that this alleged contradiction can be “pruned from the tree.” Once again, the Bible easily withstands the attack of the skeptic. 

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields. Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.

 

Presuppositions The Evidence Doesn’t Speak For Itself

Feedback on Presuppositions: The Evidence Doesn’t Speak For Itself

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, February 2, 2026 (Donate)

Letter, unedited:

Evolution does not PRESUPPOSE no God. It merely attempts to discern the mechanisms of God’s universe. What you are saying is that you find it believable that God created a universe filled with evidence to teach us about how the world works. But that evidence shouldn’t be believed. Instead, we should believe a book written by primitive people with one foot still in a cave dwelling, rather than everything our God-given human abilities can see in God’s universe around us every day.

First of all, evolution is simply a collection of observations. If you prefer, you can see the hand of God in action within evolution. I do. I don’t see your problem.

S., USA

Response (in point-by-point style):

It is nice to hear from you and I’m glad that you are willing to make conversation about presuppositions and evolutionary thoughts. My comments below are said with sincerity and kindness.

Evolution does not PRESUPPOSE no God.

First of all, evolution doesn’t “think”, “presuppose”, or otherwise have human qualities—that is called the fallacy of reification. It is a worldview based on human thought. It would be better to say “evolutionists do not…”

Darwin rejected the God of the Bible and placed his faith in errant ideas of man; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Strangely, Darwin, the father of the modern evolutionary models, disagrees with you in his book The Descent of Man. He makes it clear that man invented the concept of a God/spiritual realm. He even said:

“The same high mental faculties which first led man to believe in unseen spiritual agencies, then in fetishism, polytheism, and ultimately in monotheism, would infallibly lead him, as long as his reasoning powers remained poorly developed, to various strange superstitions and customs.”^[1]

Also saying:

“The idea of a universal and beneficent Creator does not seem to arise in the mind of man, until he has been elevated by long-continued culture.”^[2]

Claiming that man invented God makes this a godless philosophy from the start and clarifies what Darwin’s position was. It was essentially a rehash of Epicureanism [which was a Greek mythology that was evolutionary by nature with no God(s)] or the more recent version of Lamarckian evolution.

It merely attempts to discern the mechanisms of God’s universe.

Actually, that is what experimental science does (as opposed to historical science). Most fields of experimental science were developed by Bible-believing Christians, like us, to understand the laws of science God created.^[3]

What you are saying is that you find it believable that God created a universe filled with evidence to teach us about how the world works. But that evidence shouldn’t be believed.

Not so. We believe the evidence. We all have the same evidence but it doesn’t speak for itself.^[4] All evidence must be interpreted based on a belief system. As a Christian, I use the Bible to explain the evidence.

It would be illogical to think that God, who is perfect and who eye witnessed His creation, wouldn’t know how to explain it and that imperfect men who weren’t there would know more than God.

So when it comes to evidence, one’s faith needs to be in a perfect God or errantly in imperfect men to interpret it. I simply don’t have the “faith” in fallible men that some do.

Arguing against God and His Word never works out in the end; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Instead, we should believe a book written by primitive people

Primitive? I don’t accept your presupposition that man was originally primitive. The Bible is the proper presupposition, and it makes Adam out to be very intelligent. Adam had perfect DNA (“very good” in Genesis 1:31) and God programmed him with perfect knowledge (not infinite knowledge) so as to communicate with him right from the start. For more on Adam’s characteristics please see here.^[5]

Even looking into the past, there is evidence to confirm the biblical account that man has always been intelligent, not primitive, having ancient batteries, incredible ship building technology, and let’s not forget the pyramids!^[6]

with one foot still in a cave dwelling,

Again, I don’t accept your presupposition that man was primitive but as you probably know there are still people today living in caves and that doesn’t make them primitive—some have wifi and cable TV!

rather than everything our God-given human abilities can see in God’s universe around us every day.

I agree with the observations. In fact, Romans 1:20 makes it clear that God’s attributes can be seen in what is made so we are without excuse.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20, NASB).

In essence, it is enough to condemn, but not enough to save. We all still need Jesus Christ.

First of all, evolution is simply a collection of observations.

Then why haven’t we observed these:

1. No one has been able to make life from nonlife (matter giving rise to life which is foundational to pond scum-to-people evolution).
2. No one has been able to change a single-celled life-form like an ameba into a cow or goat, etc.
3. No one has been able to observe and repeat the big bang (which is foundational to pond scum-to-people evolution).
4. We haven’t observed the billions of information-gaining mutations required to build the DNA strand to give rise to new kinds of life-forms.
5. Matter has never been observed to give rise to new information.

Evolution is clearly a worldview and more specifically it is a subset of the religion of Secular Humanism, in the same way creation is a subset of Christianity.

If you prefer, you can see the hand of God in action within evolution. I do.

You are confusing natural selection with evolution. Natural selection is good, observable science. In fact, natural selection was developed by Ed Blyth, a creationist, about 25 years before Darwin and is an excellent confirmation of God’s created kinds in Genesis.

Natural selection clearly shows dogs making dogs, cats making cats, weasels making weasels, etc. This is biblical. However, we don’t observe dogs giving rise to horses or mice giving rise to cats. Natural selection is not goo-to-you evolution.

I don’t see your problem.

Steve
USA

The issue is simple—you can either trust God’s Word or trust man’s ideas about the past. In whom will your faith be placed. God says:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6, NASB).

It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. (Psalm 118:8 NASB).

Our goal here isn’t to win or lose an argument, but to get people thinking, point people in the direction of Christ and His salvation and then disciple them as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28. I’m sure you’ve heard the “good news” of Jesus Christ before, but I’m not sure if you understand what this means.

The “good news” of being saved goes back to the “bad news” in Genesis. God originally created a perfect world (Genesis 1:31); there was no death and suffering (Genesis 1:29–30). Then man sinned against a perfect and holy God (Genesis 3).

God cursed the animals and the ground because of man and sentenced them to die (Genesis 3). It is due to man’s actions that sin and death entered the world. Now we are all sinners as a result and in need of a Savior (Romans 5:12).

When man sinned, God sacrificed animals (Genesis 3:21—coats of skins) to cover their sin because God commanded that sin is punishable by death (Genesis 2:17). This covering could only cover, not forgive and take away sins (Hebrews 9:22).

But God loved us enough to take that punishment upon Himself. He stepped into His creation as a perfect man (remaining fully God), Jesus Christ, to live and suffer and die a painful death—to be the final sacrifice to cover our sins for good and offer forgiveness (John 3:16).

For those who receive Jesus Christ, there will be salvation and a new heaven and new earth (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1). They will one day see a perfect world again with no pain and sorrow (Revelation 21:4)—the curse will be removed (Revelation 22:3). When you remove the reason for the gospel and replace it with goo-to-you evolution, it undermines the reason for Christ.

I want to encourage you to consider this. Kind regards in Christ,

Bodie

A sinner saved by greace

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields. Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.

 

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[1] Darwin, C., The Descent of Man,  Chapter 3, www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-descent-of-man/chapter-03.html

[2] Darwin, C., The Descent of Man,  Chapter 21, www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-descent-of-man/chapter-21.html

[3] Which scientists of the past believed in a Creator? Answers in Genesis website,  http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/bios/default.asp#pastsci.

[4] Creation: Where’s the “proof?”, Ken Ham, December 1, 1999, Answers in Genesis website, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v22/n1/creation-proof.

[5] See also: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v13/n4/adam and is by Ken Ham.

[6] See: Ancient Civilizations and Modern Man, David Criswell, March 1, 1995, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v17/n2/ancient-civilizations, The large ships of antiquity, Larry Pierce, Answers in Genesis website, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v22/n3/ships, The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt, David Down, September 1, 2004, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v26/n4/pyramids-of-ancient-egypt. 

So You’re A Christian…Really?

So You’re A Christian…Really? 

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI 

Biblical Authority Ministries, January 30, 2026 (Donate) 

Introduction 

Many people today call themselves “Christians”. In fact, an atheistic evolutionist named Anders Breivik, hailed himself as a Christian on a website before he went on an island in Norway and murdered a bunch of kids. Upon research one finds that he viewed Europe as “culturally Christian”, as opposed to “culturally Islamic” and his Christianity had nothing to do with Christ or God.[1] 

Leading atheist Richard Dawkins also identifies himself as a cultural Christian, and even a cultural Anglican![2] Former President Obama and other leading officials also repeatedly calls themselves Christians and then supports the murder of the unborn, sodomy, and other sinful behavior forbidden by Christ in His Word. I’ve seen people call themselves Christians and then their actions are grossly unchristian.  

Actions speak louder than words; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Such ordeals stain the name Christian as people look on and say “that’s a Christian…well then, I don’t want to be a Christian.” Obviously such things reveal that people, who claim to be Christians, and yet promote such sin, are in denial of the Bible, as the authority in their lives.  

At what point should a Christian say “enough is enough” and start judging a tree by its fruit. Christians are to have a righteous judgment (John 7:24) and are commanded to judge those who are within the church (1 Corinthians 5:12). We are commanded to put away the evil person who tries to infiltrate the church (1 Corinthians 5:13).  

How To Recognize A Christian…According To The Bible 

In brief, a Christian is a repentant believer in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came in the flesh, died, and resurrected. The Bible speaks extensively about fruits of a Christian. Instantly, what comes to mind are the fruits of the spirit: 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24, NKJV) 

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. (Ephesians 5:1-12, NKJV) 

Walking in these “fruits” are often a telltale sign that people are living out their Christian lives as a tribute to the Lord who redeemed them from sin and death. But even so, identifying a Christian (godly believers) was still difficult, even for 1^st century believers! 

The book of 1 John speaks extensively about this and how to identify those unbelievers. Essentially, it is those who walk in darkness (evil) even though they claim to follow God (Christ). Some of the identifying marks of false believers are tabulated below: 

	Identifiers	Reference
1	Walks/practices darkness (sin)/practices lawlessness	1 John 1:6-7; 1 John 3:3-4
2	Doesn’t obey Christ’s commands (to love God and love other Christians)	1 John 2:4-6; 1 John 3:23-24; 1 John 5:1-3
3	Hates brothers (fellow Christians)	1 John 2:8-11; 1 John 3:14-17; 1 John 4:20-21
4	Loves the “world and the things of the world” (e.g., worldly pleasures and ideas as opposed to those of God)	1 John 2:15-16; 1 John 4:4-5; 1 John 5:4-5
5	Doesn’t do the will of God	1 John 2:17; 1 John 5:14
6	Walks away from the faith/doesn’t continue with Christ	1 John 2:18-19; 1 John 5:13
7	Doesn’t confess the Son (Jesus Christ)	1 John 2:21-24; 1 John 4:14-15
8	Doesn’t abide in the Son (Jesus Christ)	1 John 2:24-25; 1 John 4:13, 16
9	Doesn’t practice righteousness	1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:7-10
10	Doesn’t believe the testimony of God (i.e., His Word)	1 John 5:1; 1 John 5:10-12

Reasons People May Not Display The Fruits Of The Spirit 

So why is it that many people today, who claim to be Christians, often still have some identifiers of false belief? I can think of two common reasons.  

1.     They simply don’t know enough on the subject. For example, some new or immature Christians may still continue in a sin that they didn’t know was a sin. This is where teaching and getting in to the Word of God really helps.  Keep in mind that no one is perfect and Christians can still sin, but upon knowledge of that sin, they need to repent and strive to avoid such sin. In other words, avoid and do not practice sin and unrighteousness.

2.     The other reason is that they are simply false teachers calling themselves Christians for their own selfish desires (personal gain)—in some instances to subtly attack and undermine God’s people from within.  

Being Called A “Christian” Is A Good Thing! 

Many want to associate themselves with Christians due to the good name it has. It is good to be called a Christian. Sadly, people take advantage of that. They try to call themselves Christians for selfish financial gain by get business from them. In other cases, people call themselves Christians to get votes from the Christian crowd! In other cases they simply call themselves that to appease their parents or grandparents, all the while their hearts are far from God.   

The Bible warns of false teachers who infiltrate the church and teach false doctrines that contradict the Bible (2 Corinthians 11:13, 1 Peter 2:1). Should it be a surprise? Even Judas, among Jesus’s disciples, betrayed Christ. 

Final Remarks 

Though much more could be said on this subject, I’m merely scratching the surface. I do want to leave us with some final thoughts.  Only God is the final judge of someone’s heart; but in correcting or challenging anyone, it should be done with gentleness and respect (Ephesians 4:2, 1 Corinthians 4:21, 1 Peter 3:15).  Our heart should be one to call people to repentance in Christ if at all possible (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). 

Christians should be quick to point out that when those who claim to be Christians do things that are not Christian like and hence, oppose the Bible, then we need to point it out the error and correct the brother…or if we need to….point out that they are no brother at all after seeing their fruits and checking for identifying marks of unbelief.  

There is a time when false believers should be removed or avoided so they are no longer stumbling blocks to Christians (e.g., some biblical examples 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and14, Matthew 18:15-20, Romans 16:17, 2 John 1:9-10, Titus 3:9-10).  

The old phrases “actions speak louder than words” or “you can tell a tree by its fruit” is not without warrant. This biblical principle comes from Christ Himself: 

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. "For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. (Luke 6:43-44, NKJV) 

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields. Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission. 

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[1] http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v7/n1/terrorist

[2] http://www.christianpost.com/news/richard-dawkins-i-guess-im-a-cultural-christian-91312/

Three Methods of Making Rapid Coal (Semi-Technical)

Three Methods of Making Rapid Coal (Semi-Technical)

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, January 29, 2026 (Donate)

Introduction

Coal doesn’t require millions of years to form, yet we are often bombarded with that idea that it takes long ages to convert. I previously published on rapid coal formation here.[1] The great thing about science is that more research has been done, and the results are exciting.

Examples are becoming more readily available for methods of coal formation that takes short periods of time—often rapid, which mimics catastrophic conditions like those present during the global Flood of Noah’s day.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, by Underwood & Underwood, 1906, Public Domain

The Three Methods

I wanted to outline a few methods of rapid carbonization which is the underlying process of coal formation. The first is the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass. It takes hours to form—less than a day.  

In more technical terms, the method utilizes wet plant material which is then heated in subcritical water (often ~180–350 °C) in a sealed reactor, causing it to generate its own pressure. In hours, dehydration, decarboxylation, and polymerization/aromatization concentrate carbon and form a coal-like solid (“hydrochar”) that is commonly described as resembling low-rank coal (lignite/brown coal) regarding fuel behavior and elemental ratios.[2]

The second method uses high-temperature, high-pressure “artificial maturation/coalification” experiments. It can convert in minutes but can take days or weeks depending on the pressure and temperature.

In more technical terms, the method takes organic matter (e.g., lignite/vitrinite-rich material) is heated at elevated temperatures (hundreds of °C) under confining pressure in sealed systems (piston-cylinder, autoclaves). This accelerates the same maturation/coalification reactions used in basin models (aromatization and loss of O- and H-bearing functional groups). In the studies, it measured coal-rank proxies such as vitrinite reflectance after run times ranging from very short to days (and longer in some designs), demonstrating rapid rank advancement under controlled lab conditions.[3]

The third method takes lower grade coal and increases its rank to a better coal rapidly. So although it doesn't generate new coal, it is a process that makes it higher quality. 

Technically, the method uses rapid thermal upgrading of coal kind of like igneous intrusion/contact metamorphism (rapid heating during sill/dike emplacement). In other words, the method uses pre-existing coal seams that when heated intensely mimics when magma intrudes nearby (sills/dikes). The heating event can be geologically brief, yet it can drive fast devolatilization, coking textures, and rank jumps to better and higher quality coal concentrated near the intrusion. The “rapid” aspect here is the short-lived, high-temperature pulse associated with emplacement and cooling.[4]

Conclusion

Coal doesn’t require millions of years to form—in fact, it has never been observed to form over long ages—that is just speculation based on a secular worldview. Yet, we have a couple of examples where it doesn’t require long ages to form the basis of coal and another method to advance its rank.

These methods mimic conditions that would have been present during the Flood of Noah and are feasible for rapid formation on a larger scale.

□

Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

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[1] B. Hodge, “Coal—A Renewable Resource?”, Biblical Authority Ministries, April 11, (2024).

[2] C. Liu et al., “Efficient Low Temperature Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass…” Energies (2017); M. Aliyu et al., “Improvement of the fuel properties of dairy manure by hydrothermal carbonization…” PLOS ONE (2022).

[3] R. Le Bayon et al., maturation experiments with run lengths up to ~25 days using high-pressure apparatus (vitrinite reflectance focus), International Journal of Coal Geology (2012); W.-L. Huang, “Experimental study of vitrinite maturation…” artificial maturation of lignite over 250–450 °C (time-dependent rank changes), Organic Geochemistry (1996).

[4] S. M. Rimmer et al., “Contact metamorphism of coals…” (documents petrographic/geochemical changes from heating by sills, including coking evidence), International Journal of Coal Geology (2025); N. Wang et al., intrusion metamorphism converting coal to natural coke and higher-rank products, International Journal of Coal Geology (2024).