Questioning ‘How to debate a creationist’ by Michael Shermer
A skeptic gives advice about how to debate creationists, but
he unwittingly shows the religious nature of his position.

[CMI Editor: Murk Post, from Canada, wrote to Dr Michael
Shermer, editor of The Skeptic, who wrote a booklet titled,
How to debate a creationist, asking him some questions and
making some observations. It is a very interesting, incisive
response, presented here with a couple of editorial
additions, but substantially as Murk wrote it.]

Shermer: “With so many mutually-exclusive creationist
doctrines all claiming infallibility and final Truth, a logical
default position to fall to is science because it never makes
absolutist truth claims. In science, all conclusions are
provisional, subject to new evidence and better arguments,
the vary antithesis of religious faith.” (p. 22 in the booklet).

You present 6 points:

Conflicting truth doctrines exist
Logical default position = science
Because it never makes absolutist truth claims
In science all conclusions are provisional (tentative)
Science is subject to new evidence and better arguments
Science is counter proposition—in direct contrast to
religious faith (antithesis)

Inspecting the six points…

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Sensational Seeds—compact packages attest to God’s handiwork
A farmer plants a seed. Night and day, whether he sleeps or
gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not
know how …

[This is an expanded version of an article originally
published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine.]

“A man scattered seed on the ground. Night and day,
whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows,
though he does not know how.”

Though he does not know how. Those words of Jesus (Mark
4:26b–27) are still true today. As a trained PhD plant
scientist myself, I can vouch that, despite the many
thousands of man-hours of ongoing research devoted to
studying seeds, seed germination and seedling growth, we
still don’t really know in detail how it is possible—certainly
no-one has been able to build anything that can do what a
seed does! The scientific journals are full of research
papers with detailed descriptions of some of the many
intricate processes going on in and around the seed as it
sprouts and grows, but just how it happens all by itself
remains a marvel. As Jesus went on to say: “All by itself the
soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the
full kernel in the head.” (Mark 4:28)…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monkey madness
It wasn’t exactly a Shakespearean response that
researchers got when they put a keyboard and computer
screen in the local zoo’s monkey enclosure!

When arguing that life could have arisen by chance,
evolutionists will often state that—given enough
time—anything could happen, regardless of how improbable
it might seem. For example, prominent evolutionist Julian
Huxley (1887–1975) said that, given enough time, monkeys
typing randomly could eventually type out the complete
works of Shakespeare.

Since then, others too, such as Stephen Hawking and
Richard Dawkins, have made similar pronouncements about
monkeys’ random typing being able to produce one of
Shakespeare’s sonnets, or at least a sentence from one of
his plays.

But when Plymouth University (UK) researchers installed a
keyboard and computer screen in the monkey enclosure at
Paignton Zoo, home to six Sulawesi crested macaques, it
didn’t result in a nicely typed set of the complete works of
Shakespeare. Neither did they get a sonnet. Nor even a
single word of Shakespeare…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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Appendix shrieks ‘Creation’ (at least 18 times!)
Remember when the appendix was held up as evidence
for evolution—a supposed ‘vestigial organ’? How times
have changed.

In the context of the creation/evolution controversy, what
does the word ‘appendix’ mean to you? Perhaps you
remember having been taught the idea, first mooted by
Charles Darwin, that the appendix is evidence of our
evolutionary past, a ‘vestigial organ’ that we no longer need?

How times have changed. Even using evolutionary
assumptions, the appendix cannot be a degenerate
evolutionary structure. Furthermore, various lines of
evidence have pointed increasingly to the appendix playing
an important role in the immunological control of organisms
in the gut. A functional organ, therefore—working in tandem
with the many other functional organs in the body, all of
which is consistent with having been creatively designed by
the biblical Master Designer (Psalm 139:14, Romans
1:20)…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fibre optics in eye demolish atheistic ‘bad design’ argument
Is our eye harmed by ‘backward wiring’? No! Not only is it
necessary, but eyes have a fibre optic plate to guide light
through the nerve net to receptors.

One of the tired old canards on which antitheists have dined
out for years is the claim that our eye is stupidly wired back
to front, something no decent designer would use…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Creation, Islam, evangelism, and academic integrity
Lita Cosner interviews Dr Emir Caner of Truett–McConnell
College.

Dr Emir Caner is the president of Truett–McConnell College
in Cleveland, Georgia. He has an M.Div. from Southeastern
Baptist, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Texas
at Arlington. He is a prolific author, notably of Unveiling
Islam and More than a Prophet. He and his wife Hana are
the parents of three children.

Emir Caner grew up in Columbus, Ohio, with his two older
brothers as Sunni Muslims. As teenagers, they came to
Christ when they were invited to a revival service: he recalls,
“That Thursday night I accepted Christ as my Lord and
Saviour.” When their father found out they had converted,
he disowned all three of his sons. At the end of their father’s
life, Emir was called to his deathbed. “I came hoping to
convert my father to Christ, but he was hoping to bring me
back to Islam and refused to discuss the Bible.” His father
refused to convert, and he died four days later. “But in the
wake of God’s providence, my mother, a convert to Islam,
came to Christ, and so did my grandmother. God has been
very good.”

Islam vs. Christianity on creation

As a former Muslim, Dr. Caner knows that Islam and
Christianity differ even in some doctrines that on the
surface seem very similar. For instance, both religions are
monotheistic. But he emphatically states, “It’s absolutely key
to realize that Allah and Yahweh are not the same God.
People make a massive mistake when they equate the God
of the Bible with the god of the Koran.1 Just because both
are monotheistic faiths doesn’t mean that they both worship
the same God.”…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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Life at the extremes
You can freeze them, boil them, dry them, starve
them and even put them in a vacuum—yet they still
bounce back

 Could anything live in a boiling mudhole? Actually,
in recent years, many new species have been
discovered in many places which were thought to
be far too inhospitable to support life.

Not just in boiling mud, but in steaming volcanic
craters, in the rocky chimneys that grow above
deep-ocean volcanic vents spewing forth hot salty
water (‘black smokers’), in areas of extreme cold
in the Antarctic, and even in the hyper-salty Dead
Sea in Israel, a treasure trove of living organisms
has been revealed. These ‘extremophiles’ (Greek
-philos = ‘loving’) can tolerate astonishing
extremes of temperature, acidity, pressure,
dryness and salinity….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A different way of thinking—Thomas Nagel
considers the mind
An evolutionary philosopher gets his peers thinking
about why science has failed to explain how the
mind works.

Picture the scene. A creationist or intelligent
design proponent publishes a book questioning
evolution. It gets dismissive reviews and vitriolic
responses from many in scientific circles.

Adjust the scenario slightly. A respected
philosopher who is an avowed atheist and Darwin
supporter publishes a book questioning aspects of
evolution. It gains wide media exposure, numerous
long and ponderous reviews and, while strongly
criticized by some, is cautiously well accepted.

Something not right here? The first-mentioned
scenario is all too familiar—even expected—but
the second one is curious if not a little refreshing.

So what’s going on? Philosopher Thomas Nagel’s
book, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist
Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost
Certainly False has caused Darwin defenders to
dig deep to contest the author’s claims….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lessons from locust wings
Wind tunnel videos have revealed some
unexpected aerodynamic characteristics of locust
wings, which design engineers of small robotic
aircraft want to copy.

  The challenges confronting designers of small
robotic aircraft are many. For example, fixed
wings, like those used on passenger aircraft,
become very inefficient in tiny robotic planes. So
aeronautical engineers are looking at flapping
wings as an alternative.

Researchers at the University of Oxford (UK) and
the Australian Defence Force Academy decided to
study locust flight because locusts are such
efficient flyers…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
search for ‘signature file’ and your mail program
will do it automatically every time you send a mail
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Two Free clicks here = SOMEONE GETS FED!

There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
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It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

Gilding the (sea) lily—Evolutionists’ absurd defense of
their long-age story as Mississippian crinoids yield
organic molecules
Evolutionary researchers say beautifully preserved sea
lily fossils were buried quickly, and contain distinctive
organic molecules found in sea lilies today. But then
they overstretch …

The photograph at right appeared in an Ohio State
University press release, with the following caption:

“Different species of the sea animals known as
crinoids display different colors in these 350-million-
year-old fossils. Ohio State University researchers have
found organic compounds sealed within the pores of
these fossilized animals’ skeletons. Photo by William
Ausich, courtesy of Ohio State University.”

Now, there’s a major problem with that caption. Can you
spot it?…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pliable plants
Tropical bats use living leaves to make roosts for their
young—but how can the leaves remain healthy when
much of their water supply has been cut off?

Many plants have an amazing ability to tolerate some
rather harsh treatment.

For example, several species of tropical bats create
tent-like shelters out of large living leaves. The bats bite
the leaf in certain places to collapse the sides, thus
creating a protected roost (photographed here from
below) for themselves and their young.

As these ‘tents’ are made of living leaves, they last for
extended periods, so the bats do not need to be
constantly making new roosts. But how can the leaves
remain healthy when much of their water supply has
been cut off?…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We’re all ‘born that way’
A Christian discussion of homosexuality points to the
Gospel.

J.J. from Australia wrote in with a question:

Hi. Just wondering if you could tell me from a
Christian standpoint whether homosexuality is genetic? I
saw an article on Wikipedia supposedly defending it. I’d
like to be able to debate using the most up-to-date
evidence, but I’m not very scientifically-minded. Any
suggestions would be appreciated!

Information Officer Lita Cosner responds…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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A full size ark and it floats!
An intrepid Dutchman builds his second floating ark;
this time it’s humungous!

 In 2008, I interviewed Dutchman Johan Huibers for
Creation magazine. He had built a floating replica of
Noah’s Ark, which, though only half-size (so it could
traverse Dutch canals), was still considered immense
by most people who saw it.

Revisiting him some three years later, it turns out that
this was in his view only a ‘practice project’. Johan has
been busy for the last three years with his real project,
envisioned from day one—a full size floating ark. It was
almost done when I saw him; by the time this article
appears, it should be ready to launch….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reading between the lines

I visited China in 1983, at the time when the cult of Mao
was just beginning to loosen its grip on that country.
However, Communist party cadres still very much
controlled everything, and the minders for my visit
made out that this was ‘paradise on earth’. “There is no
unemployment in China”, they said.

Beijing’s English language newspaper was full of
positive thinking—everything was wonderful in utopia.
The newspaper praised all the enterprising citizens who
were contributing to the ‘revolution’. And then my eyes
fell on a story about a madam comrade, a model
citizen, who had started a program for ‘idle youths’,
giving them training in various work skills so they no
longer got into mischief. In other words, they had been
unemployed!

I suspected my minders had been stretching the truth
just a little in claiming that there was no unemployment
in China. How could there be ‘idle youth’ in need of skill
training if everyone had a job? It was likewise with
crime. Crime and corruption did not exist but were
reported when the culprits were punished.
Propagandists catch themselves out because it is
difficult for them to be consistent….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abraham Ulrikab—the ‘zoo exhibit’ who could write
The ‘zoo exhibit’ who could write

  Creation readers may recall the story of Ota
Benga—the pygmy taken from his home in Africa in
1904 and showcased in a US zoo as an example of an
evolutionarily ‘primitive’ race. His story was not unique;
from about 1870 to 1940, “travelling exhibits of
non-European natives were recurring features of
zoological gardens where they eclipsed the drawing
power of the more usual animal exhibits.”

Abraham Ulrikab was an Inuit (formerly called ‘Eskimo’)
whom Moravian missionaries in Hebron, Labrador
(Canada), counted among their converts. He and
several of his fellow Inuit were one of many so-called
‘primitive’ people to be shown in zoos throughout
Europe and North America in that era, showcased as
examples of inferior stages of ‘evolutionary progress’…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
search for ‘signature file’ and your mail program
will do it automatically every time you send a mail
once you set it up. That way we can remind each
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Two Free clicks here = SOMEONE GETS FED!

There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
Let’s start a revolution of serious caring

It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

My Journey
A medical missionary now believes in biblical creation
and thinks that it is very important.

CMI asked Dr Robert J.M. Gurney, medical doctor
and missionary, and author of Six-Day Creation:
Does it matter what you believe?, to share how he
eventually came to accept a straightforward view of
the time-frame of creation from the Bible and why he
thinks that this is very important for Christians today….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has the universe always existed?
How and where does God fit into the scheme of all
things?

Ted G. from the UK wrote in response to Don Batten’s
article Who created God? as follows:

    The ‘Universe’ is the set of all sets. This means it
contains EVERYTHING (and therefore every
person) that exists. It follows immediately that there
is NOTHING outside the set we call the universe.
Therefore there cannot be any kind of thing outside
the universe. Therefore the universe wasn’t created
by anything because every thing is inside the
universe. Simple logic! If you define the universe in
a different way then you need another word that
means ‘The set of all sets’. I don’t know of such a
word, so I prefer the definition given already for the
word ‘Universe’. We know the universe exists and
cannot have come from something else because the
‘something else’ would already be inside the
universe! Therefore, the universe has always
existed! Simple logic!

Carl Wieland responds…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Defending Faith of Our Fathers
Dr Chan Kei Thong, author of Faith of our Fathers,
answers a critical review.

CMI received a series of emails from Tony J. who
objected that the main thesis of Faith of our Fathers:
God in Ancient China that the ancient Chinese believed
in a God similar to the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, was wrong. Tony quoted certain parts of a
review of Faith of our Fathers by Dr Wright Doyle, of
Global China Center, to back up his objections. Tony
seemed to be motivated by a sense of Chinese
nationalism, seeing Christianity as some sort of western
cultural imperialism that was ‘anti-Chinese’ (of course
Jesus was not ‘western’ at all!). Clearly Tony had not
actually read Faith of Our Fathers, which he was urged
to do, because the authors are very respectful of
Chinese history and culture. We asked Dr Chan Kei
Thong, major author of Faith of Our Fathers, to
respond. We thank him for his full response to the
review by Dr Doyle (not just the matters cited by Tony
J.)….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
search for ‘signature file’ and your mail program
will do it automatically every time you send a mail
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
Let’s start a revolution of serious caring

It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

HE IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY EVERYONE!

The importance of the Resurrection of Christ
to our salvation

The central teaching of Christianity is that our sins are
forgiven by the death of Christ—indeed, we can only
be saved by trusting in His sacrifice. This is taught all
over the New Testament. For example, “Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law be becoming
a curse for us … ” (Galatians 3:13); cf. Romans 5:6;
Hebrews 9:26; 1 Peter 2:24. But someone might ask
why the Resurrection was necessary; didn’t Christ
actually pay for our sins by dying? Was some part of
our forgiveness left undone while He was still in the
tomb, but then completed when He was
resurrected?…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did Joseph of Arimathea move the body?
Responding to another ‘bodysnatcher’ theory of the
empty tomb.

There is no shortage of scenarios used to try to
explain away the empty tomb without appealing to the
Resurrection. One of the most common accusations is
that the disciples stole the body and lied about it
(invented by the Jews at the time of the Resurrection;
Matthew 28:13). However, it has been pointed out that
most of the disciples died for their faith; surely no one
would take the hoax that far, dying for what they knew
was a lie, when recanting could have saved their lives.
However, Martin H., a member of the Australian
Skeptics, wrote in with a different perspective,
criticising Dr Jonathan Sarfati’s article Should we
trust the Bible? The letter is printed below entirely,
then it’s followed by a point-by-point response by New
Testament specialist Lita Cosner….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rapping for the Creator
Creation rap group shows that a controversial
musical genre can glorify the Creator

Gary Bates chats with Dave and Donovan of the rap
group Destiny Lab.

As young men, Dave and Donovan experienced for
themselves the deleterious effects of evolutionary
teaching on young minds. That’s why they feel called
to communicate the truth of biblical creation. But how
would they get young people to listen, particularly
when creation information is so widely censored in
the public domain, where most perceive that evolution
is true and the ‘facts’ support it?….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
search for ‘signature file’ and your mail program
will do it automatically every time you send a mail
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
Let’s start a revolution of serious caring

It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

NASA shock: ET from Earth
NASA’s quest for alien life has hit a very terrestrial snag.

The American space agency NASA adeptly draws attention
 to its space exploration program by linking it to the quest to
 find alien life. Its periodic announcements about potential
extra-terrestrial life certainly make a big media splash.
(Though perhaps many in the public would be dismayed to
realize that NASA isn’t generally talking about discovering
the sort of sentient ET life portrayed by Hollywood, but
rather microbes.)

However, recent research findings have put a dampener on
NASA’s quest to discover ET. In this case, it was not what
was found (or not found) on Mars or Europa (a moon of
Jupiter) or Enceladus (a moon of Saturn) that dealt a blow
to NASA’s alien life project. Rather, it was what was found
here on Earth—in NASA’s own spacecraft assembly and
launch facilities, to be precise….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does evolution turn people into Christians?
A charge that CMI causes ‘Christians’ to leave the faith is
not substantiated.

Mark M. from the UK commented on the article
Compromising chaplain castigates creation, round 2 as
follows:

    May I congratulate Rev M for his stance and for
articulating so comprehensively the damage CMI and its
followers, and all creationists, are doing to Christianity. Do
you all honestly not realise that many Christians are
horrified at how you are destroying the credibilty of Christ
from within. I too have seen many leave or refuse to
consider Him because of the very real damage being done
by creationism. People need God. God whose works and
creation are being revealed through real science and real
understanding of the nature and beauty of Genesis, not
your false, simplistic versions of His created works and
overly simplistic lack of understanding of His words. You
need to face up to facts before you destroy the whole
church. You need to stop and take on board the criticisms
levelled. You need to stop before it is too late

Gary Bates responds…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus: imposter or Israel’s God?
A Rabbi asks us to stop mentioning Jesus.

  In today’s feedback, Rabbi Chaim D. writes in response to
Noah’s Ark … or what? He appreciates our emphasis on biblical
creation, but asks that we leave Jesus out of the discussion.
CMI’s Dr Carl Wieland shows why Jesus is the reason why we
write about creation—he is our eternal Creator and Israel’s God
 come in the flesh.

    I enjoy and appreciate reading this and other articles. They
show your commitment and dedication to the Bible and true
science, and are much more truth seeking and respectfully
written than evolutionist writings. I wish you would stop mentioning
 Jesus in articles, as they make myself and other Jews feel
alienated from the articles, as Jesus-worship is absolutely
forbidden to Jews. Please appreciate our feelings and leave him
out of the articles. After all, he is irrelevent as he lived over 2000
years after the creation and flood events dealt with in the articles.
 Our ancestors heard the Voice of the Creator speaking at Mount
Sinai and telling us to keep the Sabbath as a reminder of creation
 in six days. We will never give this up because of Jesus or Paul
or any other imposter. It is hoped that articles will be made
suitable to both Jews and Christians, not limited to Christians.
Praised be G-d the Creator! Best wishes, Chaim

CMI’s Dr Carl Wieland responded…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
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Here there be dragons … but no centaurs
Is the creationist dragon/dino link similar to ancient belief
in centaurs?

What’s the difference between believing in centaurs and
 believing in dragons? Jamie L. from Australia writes in
response to The Year the Water Dragon Roared:

I am a Christian and a subscriber to your magazine. I
would love to find more evidence that supports our view
 of a creator and loving God, however sometimes I think
 we are just reaching. If we use this kind of rationale,
we could also perhaps say that the Egyptians knew of
half men half horse centaurs. I think we can do better
than this, don’t you?

CMI’s Carl Wieland responds:

Dear Jamie

Thanks very much for sending in your comments. It’s
important not to overreach, as you indicate, but I wonder
 if you have thought the centaur-dragon matter through
carefully?…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Creation education in Russia
While secularists seek to stifle the teaching of creation
evidences in western schools, some politicians of the
former communist-bloc are more open-minded.

The question of educating children in the public school
system can raise a whole host of issues for the Christian
parent. Issues can spark controversy in the time it takes
to wipe clean a whiteboard! Whether it’s the principle of
funding or performance tables or sex education, the
decision to place the next generation through a system
that is becoming increasingly divorced from Christian
values can be a difficult one. The issue of creation in the
classroom is one that is perennially in the news, although
influential secular humanists (atheists) have worked hard
to ensure that such teaching is ruled out—for instance
their activities brought significant further restrictions in
UK schools during 2011 and 2012 (see also here).
However, it may surprise you to discover that there are
other nations for whom creation teaching in schools is
finding a voice. One such place is the unlikely nation of
Russia; unlikely, but perhaps not surprising….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Nature of peer review
Known creationists blacklisted at major journals.

Today’s feedback features a single correspondence in a
 longer exchange on the article Argon diffusion data
support RATE’s 6,000-year helium age of the earth
between the author Dr Russ Humphreys and Graham D.
 from Australia. The first two exchanges are featured in
the comments section of that article. However we felt that
 this part of the exchange warranted special attention.
After Graham D. recommended that he submit his
research to the well-known journal Nature, Dr Humphreys
 recounts an episode where he did just that, and his
articles were rejected, though Nature published
something on the exact same topic from different authors
 after Dr Humphreys submission had been rejected,
though it only validated his original submission. This
shows the clear bias at major peer-reviewed journals
against known creationists…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
Let’s start a revolution of serious caring

It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

Pacific salmon
Pacific salmon are more accurate than guided missiles when it is
time to spawn.

One of the great resources of the west coast of the United States
and Canada is the multitude of salmon in the coastal ocean and
rivers.

The life cycle and habits of salmon have been studied in detail
because of the fish’s usefulness as a food resource — not only for
the people of this region, but also as a major export.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pinnacle of Creation
The Bible and secular science give two very different versions of
man’s place in creation.

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon
 and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are
mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have
made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him
with glory and honour. You have made him to have dominion over the
works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep
 and oxen—even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the
fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our
Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3–9)

The Bible and secular science give us two very different versions of
man’s place in creation. Secular scientists believe that man (by
which I mean mankind) is nothing more than an intelligent animal
who came into existence purely by unthinking natural processes, by
 means of evolution. Furthermore, there may be many other
intelligent beings—some of which may be much more intelligent than
 we are—that have evolved by similar processes on other worlds.

The Bible, on the other hand, tells us that God created man “in his
own image” and gave him authority over the whole world (Genesis
1:26–28). We are spiritual beings who were created to know God, to
 communicate with Him and to have a relationship with Him forever.
We are told also that our planet, the earth, was created before the
sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:1–19). In fact, the latter were
created for our benefit! (Genesis 1:14–19; Psalm 19:1–6). The earth
 was created “to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18), and the implication
seems to be that it is the only such world in the universe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vitamin B12
Evidence of design.

Vitamins are organic compounds required by organisms in tiny
amounts as nutrients. In other words, an organic chemical
compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesised in
sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the
diet. Vitamin B12 has a recommended intake for an adult of a tiny 2
to 3 μg (micrograms) per day. It contains cobalt, and so it is also
known as cobalamin, or the red vitamin, due to its bright red colour.
It is exclusively synthesized by bacteria and is found in the diet
primarily in meat, eggs and dairy products. Vitamin B12 is
necessary for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of
the nervous system, and growth and development in children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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The Bible … on the History Channel?

How did they do fitting the Bible into a
10 hour TV series?

You may have heard that this Sunday,
March 3rd, 2013, the History Channel
(USA) will premier the first of five 2-hour
episodes of the “epic docudrama”, The Bible.

Last October, highly-acclaimed producer
Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Voice, The
Apprentice, Shark Tank, etc.) and his wife,
actress Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel)
invited Creation Ministries International’s (US)
CEO Gary Bates and myself (Scott Gillis) to
join with 25 other Christian leaders to attend
a special private preview of their upcoming film.
After dinner and viewing a handful of scenes
from the rough cut footage, Gary and I had the
opportunity to personally discuss CMI’s mission
with Mark, and he consequently asked if we would
be willing to review the opening Creation scene
and give him some feedback. The producers, fully
knowing that we were Bible-believing creationists,
ultimately not only sent us the opening scene, but
we were one of the few organizations trusted to
review the entire 10 hour production before it airs
for the first time this weekend…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Refuting Noah’s ark critics

Article ‘How did all the animals fit on Noah’s
Ark?’ has recently been subjected to a barrage
of atheistic attacks. However, all fail against
simple genetics and animal husbandry methods.

The article How did all the animals fit on Noah’s
Ark? was only Dr Jonathan Sarfati’s second article
for Creation magazine, published in 1997. But only
in the last year, it has received a barrage of criticism
from biblioskeptics. The article was probably linked
on some atheopathic site inhabiting some of the
darker corners of the Internet. We thought that Dr
Sarfati’s refutations of these critics would be instructive
for a weekend feedback article. They show that the
biblical account can withstand the strongest attacks
even better than the Ark could withstand the Flood
waters (which is saying a lot)…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trial balloons and the age of the earth

Scientists release their calculated ‘age’ into academic
space, never sure if it will float or be shot down
like a balloon.

Geologist John Woodmorappe in his book The Mythology
of Modern Dating Methods describes every age estimate
as a trial balloon. When a scientist publishes an ‘age’, it
is like releasing a balloon. If other scientists like his answer
they will let the balloon float, but if they don’t like it they
will shoot it down.

The great physicist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin, 1824–
1907) is famous for his age estimates of the earth. In the
late 1800s, he was saying the earth was between 20 and
40 million years old. Of course Kelvin had not measured this
age but calculated it using complicated physics and mathematics.
He assumed the earth was first a molten blob and guessed
all the details, like its initial temperature and conductivity.
Based on these assumptions, he calculated the time for the
blob to cool…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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Is the Bible anti-abortion?

What does the Bible actually have to say
about abortion, and what should we expect
it to say?

This week was the 40th anniversary of Roe
v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the US Supreme
Court decisions which made abortion legal
through the entire pregnancy. Current estimates
are that in the past 40 years, 55 million children
have been murdered by abortion in America
alone. It’s notable that the two women involved
as test cases for the pro-abort side, Norma
McCorvey (‘Jane Roe’) and Sandra Cano
(‘Mary Doe’) now want that decision reversed.
Surprisingly, some Christians think that abortion
is not against the Bible…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charge the hill

Vimy Ridge was a pivotal WW1 battle
because of the strategic importance of
controlling the high ground. Controlling
earth’s history is the key to winning the
battle of origins.

On 9 April 1917 Canadian Corps soldiers advanced
through sleet and snow to engage German forces
in the pivotal battle of Vimy Ridge. Their victory
that day marked one of the turning points of WW I,
as Vimy Ridge was a key position of the German
line in Northern France.

Nearing ten kilometers in length and 110 meters at
its highest point, Vimy Ridge not only commanded
the view of the entire Douai Plain (providing the
Germans an uninterrupted line of sight of all enemy
advances) but it shielded vast amounts of German
territory against allied guns. The combination of
artillery, machine gun nests and cruel barbed wire
guarding the hundreds of meters of open ground
leading up the slope made Vimy seem impenetrable.
The 150,000 British and French casualties inflicted
between 1914 and 1916 attempting to take it starkly
reinforced that belief. At the time of battle, the German
defenders comprised three divisions under the command
of General Ludwig von Falkenhausen…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another major ‘link’ fails

A fossil claimed to be ancestral to seals
looks just like an otter.

For 150 years, evolutionists had not been able to
find evolutionary ancestors for the aquatic group
of mammals called pinnipeds—the seals, sea lions,
and walruses. This was odd because they had found
well over 15,000 fossil pinnipeds but they had not
found any land ancestors that were on the way to
becoming a seal, sea lion or walrus. Their ‘oldest’
fossil, a creature called Enaliarctos, looked like a
modern sea lion, with fully aquatic front and back
flippers, not feet or even webbed feet.2 Such a wealth
of fossils but no transitional creature fossils posed
a conundrum for evolution scientists. For creation
scientists, this was not a problem at all but the expected
fossil pattern: Pinnipeds were created ‘as is’, and
did not evolve from another animal, hence the missing
links should not be found…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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Radiocarbon in dino bones

International conference result censored.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are look-alikes related?

What else could explain look-alikes?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 A road trip with a difference!

What happens when the BBC take British
creationists on an American road-trip, meeting
leading evolutionist experts? Read on to
find out …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
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Yes, it is very late this week. One of my blog plugins crashed and I couldn’t access my blog back office. Let us hope this doesn’t happen again

Atheism, evolutionism and families

Are atheists really gentle homebodies
in the `quiet middle’? Or are they actually
rabid provocateurs at the noisy extreme?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gospel of the Triune God:
our prime concern

People sometimes think we’re only concerned
about creation, but our prime concern is the
gospel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giraffes

Walking tall … by design

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

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Where are all the people?

How could the human population have
grown to seven billion from the eight
survivors of Noah’s Flood only 4,500
years ago?

*I have posted this before but it is a
classic. It is my all time favorite article.
If I could have only one article to show
people regarding creationism, this would
be the one!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pygmy pipehorse pipe dream

There’s a lesson from this
magnificently-camouflaged little critter,
for those who can see it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Germ with seven motors in one!

Marine bacterium has seven motors
bundled into one, with interlocking fibrils
acting as gears. This germ can swim
10 times faster than most.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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Is ‘mitochondrial Eve’ consistent with the
biblical Eve?

The creation model doesn’t need tweaking
to fit with the evidence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear deer—when white ‘mutants’ have a
selective advantage

These ‘Ghosts of the Forest’ defy the odds
against their survival. Or do they?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Firefly lanterns inspire LED lenses

Firefly lenses have fine structure allowing
optimal light transmission. LED lenses inspired
by that structure similarly allow more light
transmission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
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Can we ‘conclusively’ say that dinosaurs
were created on Day 6?

We were not there, but the God of the Bible
was, and we can trust His word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time, eternity, and the creation of the universe

Can the universe be caused by something
immaterial and eternal?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What’s in an Egg?

Unscrambling the mysteries of the ‘eggstraordinary’
egg—testament to a Creator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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Egyptian blue

The science of the ancients and
their ‘eternal’ colour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

True versus false humility

How does a person’s view of Genesis
relate to the humility of the incarnate
Son of God? If he or she desires to be
Christ-like, there is a very clear relationship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is the faint young sun paradox solved?

The earth would have been a ‘snowball’ if
an evolutionary origin of the solar system
was true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
your emails. Click on your email help button and
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will do it automatically every time you send a mail
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
What would happen if we all clicked once per day?
We could easily feed the 30,000 kids that starve daily!
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It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses

Why do some Christians suffer more
than others?

The Lord never promised his people
freedom from suffering before until the
eternal state.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How does the Bible teach 6,000 years?

Calculating the dates from the Flood to
the Exile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eat your Brussels sprouts!

The variety in the cabbage family speaks
of how God created plants with a built-in
capacity to diversify—within limits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David

Folks, please copy and paste this signature into
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There are over 1 billion people on the net,
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It is too easy now to do some good, so we have no more excuses