Think On These Things - Creation Science

Compromise => Contradiction

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:42:00 -0700

It might come as a shock that after the path I've been on, I am not a big fan of adding to, or taking away from, God's word. It was this kind of compromise, particularly in the understanding of origins and the reinterpretation of Scripture to fit with today's science (so called), that I used as an excuse to keep me from knowing Him for the first 30 years of my life. I interpreted compromise to be on par with contradiction, and from that, I determined the Bible couldn't be completely trusted, and from there, I found no reason to put my trust in God. After reconciling God's Word with God's world through prayer and careful study, I have come to know the truth, and nothing much on the horizon of new scientific or spiritual revelation surprises me anymore. But the following dismissal of Genesis as just a myth, and the warning that Catholics should not adhere to a belief in the plain teaching of scripture in Genesis, has me shaking my head. I'm not surprised by its inaccuracies, nor have only now become aware of the potential damage to one's faith that an adherence to this advice can bring. What surprises me is the outright dismissal of the Word of God as being true. Edward Doshbock, a Catholic Priest, wrote that

..."the [Catholic] church then does not accept the literal interpretation of the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis that would lead us to think that God, for example, actually made two grown adults suddenly from clay and rib. Catholics should be against creation science for at least three serious reasons."

Before we get into the reasons, I'd like to mention that the Bible should be studied by the individual believer, and not left for any organization to do the interpretation for them. Like the Bereans, we should "search the Scriptures daily" to find out if these things are true.

"First, it effectively teaches a distrust of science and ultimately hurts religion as well. By defending a literal understanding of the opening chapters of Genesis, creation science sets itself squarely against the world of true scientific discovery. The myths used by the Genesis authors are simply tools with which they communicate their religious belief."

OK, let's stop for a moment. Those who believe in a young earth embrace science, because real science confirms a young earth belief, and because real science supports God's masterful handiwork in all of the things we see.

"Second, Creation science is contrary to the method of interpreting scripture favored universally by scholars and strongly approved by our church."

The idea that all theologians compromise on Genesis by mixing it with using man's fallible ideas is just plain wrong. However, if he is referring to Catholic church dogma, he would be correct, as the Pope has issued a statement that evolution is true.

"Third, Creation science leads to deep prejudice and bigotry against the Catholic Church. The case in point is the Book of Revelation, when creation science advocates ply their fundamentalist tools to this final scriptural book the church often becomes a target for vehement attack."

One doesn't need the "tools" of creation science advocates to see that there is much evidence that the Catholic church is represented by the woman who rides the beast in Revelation 17. Rather, it is the proper interpretation of Scripture in both Genesis (a plain reading) and Revelation (a spiritual rendering) that gives the Christian a proper understanding of the revealed Word of God.

Creation Museum Visit

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:08:00 -0700

Well, we finally managed to get the family packed up for a trip to the Creation Museum. If you can go on a Monday in November, you will have a great opportunity to experience the exhibits without having to peer over someone's sholder. With a few exceptions, such as the Stargazer Planetarium and the Special Effects Theater, we had our pick of seats, and the lines were non-existent, giving us the opportunity to take as much or as little time as we needed. After a handful of guests stopped and talked to Dr. Georgia Purdom after her talk, my wife and I had her all to ourselves in the Dragon Hall bookstore, as we peppered her with questions on how to evangelize, how to get a church fired up over this issue, etc. Dr. David Menton's "Microscarium" presentation where we used a flat screen tv to view what kinds of God's creatures could be seen by peering into a drop of water from the pond outside, was an impressive look at just how complex a "simple" single celled protozoa can be as we watched them twirl like tops to gather their food. Despite having the whole museum pretty much to ourselves, we had to scramble to see everything in one day, and in fact missed quite a bit. The kids didn't get to partake in the two Dino Mite Readers programs, I missed a talk, as well as a second Planetarium exhibit on the planets. You could easily spend over a day there. It was almost too cold to visit the petting zoo, but that, feeding the fish off of the deck, and the maze, all outdoor activities, were some of the favorites on their list. The kids also enjoyed the entryway, with the exhibits and live animals, tremendously, along with the Dinosaur Den, and the treasure hunt. The more things that can keep the kids captivated, the better the family experience will be. It was great to see the Museum completed, since the last time I was there it was under construction. While in town, we talked up the Museum as much as we could. We were amazed to find out how few locals have been there, despite the Museum breaking all projected attendance estimations. While some have never heard of it despite living 20 minutes away, others complained that it was too expensive. We urged them to go regardless. The Museum is top notch, and of the highest quality, and I have no doubt the operating budget is immense. I'm sure any financial barrier that could be removed, has been, so that more people have a greater opportunity to experience the Truth at this unique institution. It was a great trip. I hope to do this once a year, and would like to organize a church trip, though coordinating a weekend trip to a destination five hours away and getting back back for Sunday Morning Service would be quite a challenge.

Dr. Humphreys Posts First CMI Article; Science Supports Young Earth

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:31:00 -0700

Dr Humphreys moved this month from ICR to CMI, and my aggregator has picked up his first article with them, and it is awesome. In it, he tells how he accurately predicted a strong reduction in Mercury's electromagnetic field based on the comparison of 1984 field readings with the readings obtained by NASA's Messenger as it passed the planet. The results further confirm a young universe, not one that is billions of years old. Here's a quote: "When NASA's space program began many decades ago, nobody expected it to vindicate Scripture so strongly." Here's the full article. Everything is winding down, not up, as evolutionists would have you believe. At the rate we're accumulating genetic mistakes, it's a wonder we're not extinct. Thankfully, the Creator has assisted with our longevity through the use of DNA repair Enzymes.

Christianity and Progress?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:46:00 -0700

Contrary to today's atheist and humanist arguments stating that Christianity is an obstacle to religion, the reality is that historically, a strong belief in Jehovah is what brought about scientific progress where all other presuppositions failed. Rodney Stark in his book The Victory of Reason writes:

In contrast to these societies [Islamic, Ancient Greece, and Ancient and Medieval China], Christianity developed true science--a rational development; and Stark contends that it is because Christianity is a rational religion. For example, the very concept of theology is a rational systematizing of doctrine, something foreign to other religions.

More here.

Survey SAYS:

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:22:00 -0700

CMI has published a young earth questionnaire to ascertain whether the person is a YEC or not, and I plan on seeing if my pastor will take it, because in filling out the questionnaire and reading the "whys" of each question, much will be revealed to both parties. I was also considering contacting CMI to see if they will allow me to collect tallies of such surveys over at my Literal6 website, so that people can find out what various pastors, etc. believe. It would be cool to integrate it with Google Maps so people can see where the YECs are in any geographic location.

The "We Now Know" Syndrome

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:54:00 -0700

Often times new "scientific" discoveries, when contradicted by old "scientific" discoveries, are predicated by the "We now know" statement, or something to that effect, meaning, "We now think we were wrong before, but we're absolutely certain we're right now, until something better comes along." First of all, if something is truly confirmed by operational science through repeatable testing, then the testing will reveal consistent results, as in the case of simple mathematics. It's like saying "We used to think that 1 plus 1 always equaled 2. We now know, however, that 1 + 1 now equals 3." It doesn't make sense. One or the other is incorrect. But science, as in Discovery Channel or historical science, is not always hard and fast. Rather, it is based on presuppositions. And if your presuppositions are wrong, your conclusion is also wrong. This happens all the time in the minds of todays great evolutionary thinkers. This great ICR article article gives some great examples of the "We now know" syndrome.

Evolutionists have often foisted conclusive pronouncements of new "knowledge" upon the public, only to retract them later with a "We now know..." kind of comment. For example, for decades the age of the earth was said to be 2 billion years, but "we now know" it is 4.5 billion.1 And as geologist Andrew Snelling has documented,2 different radioactive decay procedures have been used to estimate the ages of Grand Canyon rocks, but have yielded only a jumbled confusion of perpetually-changing dates. The coelacanth was once "known" to be a unique fish that existed 400 million years ago before it evolved into a terrestrial creature with proto-legs. But the discovery in 1938 of a living coelacanth, and the observation that these fish are deep marine dwellers with no interactions near land, forced a revision to the story--instantly erasing 400 million years of evolutionary change and removing the coelacanth from its former status as a "transitional form." Another example of an evolutionary "oops" is Java Man. For decades, a small fossil skullcap was touted as an evolutionary ancestor to humans, but now "the current consensus of anthropologists is that the direct ancestors of modern humans were African populations...rather than the Asian populations exemplified by Java Man."3 In 1993, Time magazine's cover splashed the title "The Truth about Dinosaurs--Surprise: just about everything you believe is wrong."4 The feature article suggested that contrary to the general perceptions about dinosaurs, they were not necessarily dim-witted, not necessarily cold-blooded, cared for their young, traveled in packs, were possibly brightly colored, and were not entirely extinct because they evolved into modern-day birds.

Read full article

Expelled from Texas

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:39:00 -0700

Well, they did it. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) has "Expelled" the Institute of Creation Research from offering their Graduate Degrees - not because their curriculum isn't rigorous enough - not because they don't teach operational science - but rather because they question evolution. This has occurred despite the approval of a THECB site team and committee, both recommending that ICR be accredited. However, the commissioner convened another advisory team - one that apparently agreed with his views, and denied the ICR accreditation of their Master of Science degrees. It's outrageous, but it's true. In partial response, the ICR has put out an ad in Texas newspapers last Sunday, and this link from their site asks users to "follow the evidence" to discover ICR's response, their purpose, and ultimately, the Truth.

Expelled - A Case In Point

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:32:00 -0700

The movie Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed, opens today, and I can't wait to go see it. Expelled will touch on the oppression scientists and educators face if they even mention the possibility of Intelligent Design, oppression in the form of dismissal, denial of tenure, papers not getting published, and other methods of ostracizing - even in so-called Christian campuses. A dramatic case in point is unfolding in Texas around the Institute of Creation Research's application to run their Master's Level college - the same masters school that has operated out of California since 1981. Their application passed the review boards and was recommended for approval to Commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Everything seemed fine. Fine, that is, until, a public outcry occurred (well, a public outcry of a whopping 37 people, but I guess that is enough to halt common sense), with the educational elite insisting that only evolution be taught in educational systems. So a public hearing is scheduled on the matter. Please pray for ICR. The letter from ICR regarding the issue is below. [More]...

Creation Resources: A Compendium

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:38:00 -0700

For the Creation Class I lead, I provided them a veritable treasure trove of resources for anyone interested in learning more about Creation. Here is that list: On the Web

Literal6.net - This is a web site that I put together. It takes the daily articles from the three biggest Creationist ministries and places them all in one handy location. Updated all the time!
AnswersInGenesis.org - AiG has the largest evangelism web site in the world. Answers in Genesis is a catalyst to bring reformation by reclaiming the foundations of our faith which are found in the Bible, from the very first verse.
CreationOnTheWeb.org - Creation Ministries International is very much like AiG. They are working on an exciting new film entitled Challenging Darwin.
ICR.org - The Institute of Creation Research is a Scientific Academy that seeks to defend Creation scientifically. They have a graduate school and have done some amazing work with endeavors such as the RATE project.
Search A Young Earth - If you ever wish to get the Creationist's perspective on any issue, my Literal6 site has a search engine that only searches creationist ministries.

In Print

These quarterly magazines are GREAT! I am a current subscriber to Answers Magazine and a Former Subscriber of Creation Magazine.

The Creation Museum is a fantastic trip through the "7 C's of History" and is in Cincinatti, OH, just 5 hours away.

There are so many more resources, but everything you would want to know about Creation can be found by following these links. Have fun!

Demolishing Evolution-ism... again

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:49:00 -0700

The powerful and influential US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is determined to attack creation. Their last book, distributed free to over 100,000 teachers, was thoroughly refuted by CMI's Dr Jonathan Sarfati. That refutation became the biggest-selling creation book of all time, Refuting Evolution. Now NAS has put out another effort, shown here, supposedly with the 'latest and greatest' evolutionary arguments. However, scientist and logician Jonathan Sarfati has now, in a major (booklet-length) web publication, demolished the NAS's latest claims with ease. Download that publication here, share it with your pastors and friends, and encourage your colleagues and friends to do the same. Of all the scientists who demolish evolutionism, Dr. Sarfati is one of my favorites.

The 199th Birthday of two icons

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:17:00 -0700

Yesterday marked the 199th birthday of two people who have made an indelible mark in history. One was Abraham Lincoln, and the other Charles Darwin. If only Charles Darwin knew then what we know now... ... actually, if he knew what we know now, it probably wouldn't change his mind, for as we have learned, evolution and millions of years is always an appealing alternative choice for someone who does not want to be held accountable to the Lord of all creation.

What's your Presupposition?

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:39:00 -0700

We had a very good discussion about Genesis last night running the gamut if issues related to salvation, science, and Scripture. Here are my notes in case anyone is interested in where the Dinosaurs came from from a Biblical perspective.

Question :

In your own words, can someone explain the history of dinosaurs according to evolutionary thinking.

According to evolutionists: Dinosaurs first evolved around 235 million years ago, long before man evolved.¹ No human being ever lived with dinosaurs. Their history is recorded in the fossil layers on earth, which were deposited over millions of years. They were so successful as a group of animals that they eventually ruled the earth. However, around 65 million years ago, something happened to change all of this--the dinosaurs disappeared. Most evolutionists believe some sort of cataclysmic event, such as an asteroid impact, killed them. But many evolutionists claim that some dinosaurs evolved into birds, and thus they are not extinct but are flying around us even today.²

So there's a lot of mystery, with new ideas arising with every new excavation

Changing theories as a result - Platypus example

In your own words, explain the history of dinosaurs according to the Bible.

According to the Bible: Dinosaurs first existed around 6,000 years ago.³ God made the dinosaurs, along with the other land animals, on Day 6 of the Creation Week (Genesis 1:2025, 31). Adam and Eve were also made on Day 6--so dinosaurs lived at the same time as people, not separated by eons of time.

So we're fighting for the dinos - but what side are the dinosaurs on?

Here's the problem : The general population believes that "science" has proven that dinos are millions of years old, and anyone who disagrees is sadly misinformed, when in actuality, the opposite is true.

Story courtesy of my mother - in - law : "I don't believe in dinosaurs." - just a bunch of misinformation out there.

Let's look first at the Bible to get an idea of dinosaur history before looking at the problems of millions of years.

So, according to the Bible, did dinosaurs exist before Day 6? No

And there is something else in God's Good creation that did not exist until Adam sinned: Can you tell me what that was?

[More]...

What's all the fuss about again?

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:05:00 -0700

Well, since I've begun teaching another Creation class, I thought I'd send out an email to everyone in it, just to clear things up on what we'd be studying and why. The following is a portion of that summary. It's always good to review: I look forward to looking further into the "origins" issue one question at a time, because I believe it is a vital subject for any Christian to examine, in order to further and defend our faith, and to lead others to Christ. For Christians, there are a lot of different views on how we got here: theistic evolution, progressive creation, day/age theory, and on and on, but only one correct one, according to God's Word. You may have never thought much about why is it important, but it is. What we believe about how we got here forms our understanding of the whole world around us! For example, [More]...

Creation Class Resumes

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:01:00 -0700

Another 6 week block of classes begins this evening with a special treat. After a short intro, we'll be watching the Flood Geology DVD from the Creation Museum's DVD collection. We'll then review Chapters 8 and 9 of the New Answers book, and if there's time, (there is never time) we'll go into Noah's Ark: A Feasability Study. Hope to see you there!

A small church takes on a big issue

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:30:00 -0700

Last week I blogged about the excitement emanating from my father in law's pastor regarding the Creation Museum. I loaned the pastor my Charter Member Guest Passes so he could take his family during his upcoming visit to the Cincinnati area. The incredible impact that visit had on this pastor is mentioned in that previous blog post. But that is just the beginning of the story. Today, I visited that church again because both my father and step mother in law were to be baptized, but as it turns out, that was just one of the reasons this service was such a blessing to me. The sermon itself was about creation versus evolution. I was so excited I nearly jumped out of my pew. I have been waiting years for Biblical Creation to be preached from the pulpit, and here this man was doing just that, on fire for the Truth because his eyes were opened up to the damage a belief in evolution can cause to both the Christian and Non Christian, whether they recognize it or not. But that is not all. Pastor Bill was in no rush to get to his "7 Reasons Why Christians Believe in Evolution" sermon because, well, not only was he going to cover it in his evening service, but he was tackling evolution from the pulpit for the rest of the year in a series of sermons devoted to the topic. In an era where most pastors won't touch the issue, much less preach it from a young earth perspective, here's a man willing to stand on the first 11 chapters of the Word of God, and defend it for a year. So what has started with his side remark about a visit to the Cincinnati area has led to dozens of sermons on this incredibly important issue, and I thank God that I was able to be used by Him in such a mighty way. Please pray for this pastor and his church.