I have been reading this board for some time now, but amazingly, have never posted! I have a few comments about mountains, rivers, and rainbows.
First of all, mountains can be formed by a few different natural forces. One is by volcanic action. Volcanoes erupt, lava flows out, the landform is changed, and a mountain is formed over time. According to the theory of creation, didn't these things happen before the Garden of Eden? I recall seeing a picture in My Book of Bible Stories that shows volcanic action in the beginnings of the creation of Earth.
Also, mountains are formed when techtonic plates collide. When this happens, chains of mountains are formed such as the Appalachian Mountains. Since Adam and Eve were supposedly first placed on Earth 6,000 years ago, this would have happened long before they came along.
Therefore, there had to be flowing rivers and waterfalls during the time of the Garden of Eden.
As for rainbows ... first, I think the story of the first rainbow is a myth. Sounds an awful lot like Native American stories to me. I remember always being told as a child that whenever I see a rainbow, it is a reminder that Jehovah will never cause a deluge again. Was anybody else given this line of crap?
In order to see rainbows, the viewer must have certain conditions present. To bottom line it, there has to be a special degree angle between the viewer on the ground and the raindrops where the rainbow is seen ... 42 degrees, I think ... so, that puts a pretty narrow set of conditions to see one, which is why they are so rarely seen. Also, the sun has to be behind you when you look at the rainbow.
Didn't it rain on Earth on before the time of Noah's flood? Seems to me that rainbows would've occured too.
Karen