Science in Scripture

When we think of science in the Bible we often think of examples like the circuits of wind flow (Eccl. 1:6), the life is in the blood (Lev. 17:11) and the importance of hygiene (Lev. 15:13). Have you considered Isaiah 28:23-29 and 29:11-16 in this regard?

Is. 28:23-29 (NKJV)
23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the spelt [rye?] in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him.
27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

Comments:
v. 24: Timing is important in farming and this gives a motivation to know astronomy which helps us track the seasons (Ge 1:14). Farming has existed from the beginning (Ge 3:23, 4:2) and experiment improves agricultural methods.
v. 25: The location of where various grains are planted is important. Planting is rows is an orderly arrangement. What should be planted on the border? Trees or potatoes?
v. 26: God made man in his image and gives him wisdom and understanding (Job 38:36). The all-wise God gave us reason and the ability to discern the structure on the world. The cosmos is not random, but ordered. The Lord may have communicated the basics of horticulture to Adam during the “cool of the day” (Ge 3:8). Language and technical skill have been transmitted from father to son, parent to child for thousands of years. Some isolated people groups do not farm at all – the skill has been lost.
v. 27: Through experiment and experience we learn that we must use the right tool for the right job. You don’t kill termites with sledgehammers.
v. 28: Various grains must be treated differently. Distinct methods fit corn versus cotton. Many things in creation remind of us wheels. Design in creation can inspire human inventions. Many things are cone shaped (carrots, pine cones) and a truncated cone makes a great millstone.
v. 29: Science is possible because God gives us a sense that the Maker of the universe is a God of order and purpose. The equations of creation are not random. Consider the simplicity of Snell’s Law that describes how light bends when it hits water or some other medium (n is the index of refraction):
Design in nature exhibits the fact that God is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.” Consider the photosynthetic sea slug:
Is. 29:11-16 (NKJV)
11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."
12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate."
13 Therefore the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
15 Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?"
16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Comments:
v. 11: Many evolutionists may say “I can’t read the Bible – that’s just myth.” But the Bible actually gives science its logical foundation. [1] The basis of science is biblical. God’s Word is revealed truth from the Creator of the Cosmos. If we want to know about the beginning we must go to the Bible. Scripture gives us True Truth, for God cannot lie (Num. 23:19). Jesus said that God’s truth is often sealed from the “wise and prudent” (Mt. 11:25).
v. 13: Evolutionary tradition, “commandments taught by men,” tells students to avoid research from creation organizations like CRS, ICR, AiG, CMI and others. Many are over-awed by scientific experts who pronounce the fact of evolution in the past, even though they were not witnesses to the events they describe.
v. 14: In the end, Darwinian “wisdom” will perish (2 Peter 3). The spurious speculations of the sages of science will ultimately fail.
v. 15: We can’t hide our sin from God (Num. 32:23). Could it be that the motivation for many who accept the molecules-to-man view of origins wish to explain God away to justify their ungodly lifestyle?
v. 16: Evolutionists deny their Creator – the Potter. You may have a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, but the Lord of heaven and earth knows infinitely more than you do. You can’t manipulate God. Yahweh is in control of the universe, not man.
Reflect on these quotes from G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown (fictional detective) stories:

It's the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense
(The Oracle of the Dog, 1923).
You hard-shelled materialists were all balanced on the very edge of belief - of belief in almost anything (The Miracle of Moon Crescent, 1924).

You may contact us through the email in our profile.

Note:
1) The Ultimate Proof of Creation by Jason Lisle (Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2009), pp. 57-66.

The End of Christianity Revisited

William Dembski blames the alleged millions of years of death and destruction before the time of Adam as a retroactive punishment for the Fall in his book The End of Christianity. Apologist Ken Ham strongly opposes this position.

Here is a short response to Dembski’s book and a longer critique is found in An Open Letter to Intelligent Designer. Thankfully, Dembski has moderated his view somewhat and now accepts a Global Flood.

Creation and the Bible

Creation or Evolution?: Consider the Evidence Before Deciding (Vol. 1) by Norbert Smith (Ph.D. Zoology) has just recently been published. Central to the book are over 1,500 Bible verses related to God as Creator and Sustainer. Evidence for and against evolution are given and details of modern religious persecution with over 3,000 professors being denied tenure or fired for doubting evolution. Here are the chapters:
Another work which compiles all scriptures on Creation and Providential Care is Who is the Intelligent Designer?, described here and reviewed here.

Ark Encounter

Answers in Genesis is building a theme park called the Ark Encounter with a full-scale reconstruction of the Ark as well as a Tower of Babel.

In 2010 Noah’s Ark Ministries International (NAMI) based in Hong Kong claimed that they have discovered Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat. Here is one response to many who have been skeptical of this exploration.

These videos highlight NAMI’s expedition:
ITN News

Exploring Inside the Ark

Description of Discoveries

Discovery of Noah's Ark supported by Ark InSight Foundation
Dutch Ark researcher Gerrit Aalten
A recently translated Babylonian text states that the Ark was circular (definitely not seaworthy). However, the NAMI team discovered a round compartment within the structure they investigated. This report of a circular Ark came from the Guardian which was at least kind enough to interview veteran Ark explorer John Morris.

Respected apologist John Warwick Montgomery reached the summit of Mt. Ararat and wrote a 384 page book containing eyewitness accounts of Ark sightings (The Quest for Noah’s Ark, Bethany Fellowship, 2e, 1974).

Fossil Order - Exposed and Explained

              *** UPDATE ***

Be sure to catch our latest video.  We tackle a potpourri of topics:  Thunder & C-14, Tree Rings & Ammonites,  Norman Macbeth (Darwin Retried), OMNI magazine & censorship ... #Rubio #NormanMacbeth #Darwin #AltMed #TreeRings

Why is there an apparent order in the fossil record from simple life to more complex? A philosophical answer to this question is in chapter 12 of Rock Solid Answers ed. by Mike Oard and John Reed, is “Fossil Distribution and the Flood” by John Reed (pp. 207-215). A good summary on fossil order is found here. John Woodmorappe has shown that much of the fossil record is random.

There are places on the earth where ALL the geologic periods overlay the Pre-Cambrian (Pre-Flood). In fact, 23.2% of the Ordovician is directly on top of the Pre-Cambrian and 18.6% of the Devonian is directly on top of the Pre-Cambrian. [1]
How do we explain the order where it does exist (e.g. Grand Canyon and correlated deposits)? Harold Clark proposed his ecological zonation theory back in 1946 in his book The New Diluvialism - animals in habitats at higher elevations would be buried later during the Deluge. [2] Andrew Snelling deals with fossil order in chapter 31 of The Answers Book 2 as well as chapter 91 of Earth’s Catastrophic Past and explains these mechanisms:

· Pre-Flood Biogeography (Ecological Zonation)
· Early Burial of Marine Creatures (95% of all fossils are shallow marine organisms)
· Hydrodynamic Sorting (diameter, sphericity and density)
· Behavior & Higher Mobility of Vertebrates (instinct and intelligence)

How do creationists predict the fossil sequence? Birds are found later in the record since they can escape a Flood more easily. Creation Geology Theory predicts the initial strata would show great diversity – that’s what the Cambrian Explosion is all about. Another important factor is that there are Pre-Flood, Deluge and Post-Flood deposits. Snelling places the start of the Post-Flood era around the KT boundary. [3]

In the evolutionary narrative, life started as a single cell so we should find the following in the fossil record:

In fact, we do not find 2-20 celled life in the fossil record.

The Cambrian Explosion, where a wide diversity of life appears suddenly, is consistent with Global Flood Theory, but is a great headache for anti-creationists – Darwin’s Dilemma. As Stephen Jay Gould (d. 2002) stated, “… if the true ancestors of Cambrian creatures lacked hard parts, why have we not found them in the abundant deposits that contain the soft-bodied Ediacara fauna?” [4]
Vertebrates have been found in the Lower Cambrian. [5] In 1969, it was thought that the first vertebrate appeared in the Middle Ordovician. [6] According to The Complete Encyclopedia of Fossils, jawless fish (Pteraspis) appear in the Cambrian. [7] Wikipedia still places them in the Devonian! In 1988, The Washington Post reported on jawless fish found in Bolivia and dated at 470M (Early Ordovician), 20 million years older than previously dated. The BBC reported on a jawless fish found in the Lower Cambrian in China! Apparent bird tracks have been found in Carboniferous strata, over 150M before Archaeopteryx! [8]

It is often claimed that primitive and complex life are not found together in the fossil record. What is meant by “primitive?” If we mean trilobites (not-primitive, e.g. their eyes), then they do coexist. The first mammal has been dated at 260M and the most recent trilobite existed 251M – so they overlap by nine million years by consensus dating. We would not expect them to be in the same rock layer since they live in different habitats.

Are there mammals in lower layers? Yes! In 1969 it was thought that the first mammals began about 170 million years ago. [9] Now it is accepted that the first mammal existed 260 million years ago – that’s a difference of 90M! Mammal footprints have been found in rocks at least 275M and, in similar fashion, horse hoofprints have been found in strata at least 350M (this would put horses at 300 million years older than previously thought). [10] Likewise, cuttlefish were found in the Lower Cambrian in 1974 thus extending their range back 400M! [11] In 1958 echinoids were thought to go back as far as the Middle Ordovician, but since then have been found in the Lower Cambrian – a change of tens of millions of years! Before 1963, it was generally accepted that Belemnoids first appeared in the Triassic. Actually, they were discovered in the Devonian in 1843. [12]
The chart above shows how fossil tracks of animals consistently appear before their body fossils. [13] During the Global Flood creatures fled the oncoming surge of destructive waters and left footprints. Later these same animals were buried during a later stage of the Deluge.
The Laetoli footprints that Mary Leakey found are clearly human. They are assumed to be an upright hominid because of the dating of the beds (3.75M).
There are many examples where the appearance or lack of fossils do not fit the evolutionary view of fossil order:

· Living Fossils (e.g. Coelacanth, Wollemi Pine)
· Lazarus species· Stratigraphic Range Extension (both older & more recent)
· Out-of-Place Fossils

Empire Mountain exhibits a reversal in the accepted order where the Permian rests on the Cretaceous (out-of-order) with no evidence of a thrust plane, but actually having an unconformity which indicates erosion:
There is even a reversal at Heart Mountain (WY) where a period repeats:

If we consider this as an overthrust, then only catastrophism associated with the Flood can explain such massive rock movements. John Morris tells how 50 large carbonate blocks moved over 30 miles at an incline of less than two degrees. Catastrophic Plate Tectonics may help power this mass movement. [14]

There are fossil reversals where we find a change from type A to type B then back to type A. Marvin Lubenow, known for his work with alleged “ape-men,” has compiled a few examples [15]:

James Beerbower, the author of a mainstream paleontology text, freely admits that Dollo’s Law (evolution has no reversals) is not valid. [16] There are also “condensed” sequences where fossils from many ages are found in a thin layer. There are examples of this for ammonites in the Alps, Bosnia, Greece, the Himalayas, Hungary and Italy. [17] In one case, seven ammonite zones (7-10 million years) are found in a deposit that is only three feet thick! The standard explanation that sedimentation was slow is not reasonable. The better explanation is that the entire layer was deposited at the same time and that the various ammonites lived concurrently. Fossil order favors the Flood and contradicts Darwinism.  Does the fossil order support ID and who actually is the Intelligent Designer?

How old is the Earth?  Is Darwinism valid?  How does the Renaissance of Catastrophism relate to the age of the world?  Is your favorite planet thousands or billions of years old?  Discover the shocking evidence in this powerful new book, YES – Young Earth Science by Jay Hall (at Amazon.com). 

Here are some cool Zazzle items on Young Earth Science (YES): 

Notes:
1) “The Essential Nonexistence of the Evolutionary-Uniformitarian Geological Column: A Quantitative Assessment” by John Woodmorappe, Creation Research Society Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 1, June 1981, pp. 46-71, p. 67.
2) "ecological zonation" "global flood" gets 727 hits on Google, 12-14-10.
3) Earth’s Catastrophic Past by Andrew Snelling (Institute for Creation Research, Dallas, TX, 2009, Vol. 2), pp. 751-761.
4) Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould (W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1989), p. 59.
5) Snelling, p. 352.
6) Historical Geology 3e by Carl Dunbar and Karl Waage, (John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 1969), p. 208.
7) The Complete Encyclopedia of Fossils by Martin Ivanov, Stanislava Hrdlickova, and Ruzena Gregorova (Rebo Intl., Netherlands, 2001, 2002 ed.), p. 244.
8) Snelling, p. 356.
9) Dunbar and Waage, p. 364.
10) “An Anthology of Matters Significant to Creationism and Diluviology: Report 1” by John Woodmorappe, Creation Research Society Quaterly, Vol. 16, No. 4, Mar. 1980, p. 211.
11) “Significant Fossil Discoveries Since 1958: Creationism Confirmed” by Marvin Lubenow, Creation Research Society Quaterly, Vol. 17, No. 3, Dec. 1980, pp. 155-157.
12) “The Cephalopods in the Creation and the Universal Deluge” by John Woodmorappe, Creation Research Society Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2, Sep. 1978, pp. 94-112, p. 101.
13) Snelling, p. 451.
14) “Catastrophic Superfaults and the Biblical Flood” by John Morris, Acts & Facts, April 2009, p. 23.
15) “Reversals in the Fossil Record” by Marvin Lubenow, Creation Research Society Quaterly, Vol. 13, No. 4, Mar. 1977, pp. 185-190, 230.
16) Ibid., p. 189.
17) “The Cephalopods in the Creation and the Universal Deluge” by John Woodmorappe, Creation Research Society Quaterly, Vol. 15, No. 2, Sep. 1978, p. 103.

Fall of the House of Ussher?

Edgar Allan Poe (d. 1849) wrote a gloomy tale The Fall of the House of Usher. He describes the melancholy Usher mansion that is about to fall apart and the demise of the Usher family line. Evolution, if carried to its logical conclusion, is a very depressing philosophy. Darwinists claim that mind ultimately comes from matter. Poe tells us that Rod Usher held to the “sentience of all vegetable things” and that this attribute applied even to inanimate objects as well! Poe speaks of a “dragon of a scaly and prodigious demeanor,” reminding us of the coexistence of man and dinos in the past. Rod Usher and his sister lady Madeline both die and House of Usher falls apart. So the House of Usher is no more - both the building and the family.

James Ussher (d. 1656) wrote The Annals of the World setting the date of Creation Week in 4004 BC. The date of his death, 1656, is the same as the age of the Earth at the time of the Flood (1656). The number 4004 is also fascinating, 4004 = 2 x 2 x 7 x 11 x 13. Evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould gave a fair evaluation of Ussher’s work:

Ussher represented the best of scholarship in his time. He was part of a substantial research tradition, a large community of intellectuals working toward a common goal under an accepted methodology… [1]

There has also been a Fall of the House of Ussher. His date for the beginning is no longer in vogue. A number of scientists helped promote the idea of an old earth:
Benoit de Maillet (d. 1738) estimated the age of the earth at two billion years based on his study of sea level decline. [3]

According to historian R. F. Foster, Ussher’s dating led to the “… practice among Irish antiquarians of showing scant respect for time.” [4] Leonard Bruno, Senior Science Specialist at the Library of Congress, claims that Ussher’s Annals is based on an “unscientific method.” [5] Ussher made reference to Scripture as well as many non-biblical sources (Livy, Tacitus etc.).

Others have kind words for Ussher. Marcus Tanner called him, “… the greatest apologist the reformed Church in Ireland possessed.” [6] The Standard Dictionary of Facts, published in 1908 and edited by Henry Ruoff, still held a great respect for Ussher’s dating (p. 54):
Dorsey Hager, president of the Utah Geological Society, said in 1957, “Many millions still live in mental bondage controlled by ignorant ranters who accept the Bible as the last word in science, and accept Archbishop Ussher’s claim that the earth was created 4004 B.C.” [7]
If we deny the numbers in Scripture, when do we start denying the words between the numbers?
What of Ussher’s family line? One of his most famous descendents was Clarence Ussher, an American evangelical missionary doctor. He was an Episcopalian and went to Turkey to aid Armenians in Eastern Turkey when they were being exterminated. There are at least 100 Usshers in the United States.

It is not strange that the heathens who are totally ignorant of the Holy Bible, should despair of ever attaining the knowledge of the world's beginnings. Even among Christians, that most renowned chronographer Dionysius Petavius when asked his opinion concerning the creation of the world and the number of years from creation down to us, made this disclaimer: "That the number of years from the beginning of the world to our time, cannot be known nor in any way found out without Divine Revelation.'' (Petav. de Doctrina Temporum, l. 9. c. 2.) – James Ussher

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov. 1:7).

Here is a defense of the traditional biblical chronology.

Notes:
1) quoted in Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati (Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2004), p. 129.
2) “St Hutton’s Hagiography” by John Reed, Journal of Creation 22(2), 2008, p. 122.
3) Great Feuds in Science by Hal Hellman (Barnes & Noble, New York, 2007 ed.), p. 108.
4) Modern Ireland by R. F. Foster (Penguin Press, London, 1988), p. 49.
5) The Tradition of Science by Leonard Bruno (Library of Congress, Wash., DC, 1987), p. 200.
6) Ireland’s Holy Wars by Marcus Tanner (Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT, 2001), p. 92.
7) quoted in The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris (Presbyterian and Reformed, Phil., PA, 1961), pp. 116, 117.

NOAH, Kinds & Preaching

Noah was warned about the Flood when he was 480 years old (Ge 6:3, 7:11). The Flood came 120 years later. What was Noah doing during this time? Noah’s father Lamech prophesied that Noah would bring relief to the earth (Ge 5:28, 29), so the people at that time should have been open to Noah’s message.

Noah’s sons were not born until twenty years after he was told about the flood (Ge 5:32). How did he start building the Large Barge (Ark)? Cornelius Van Til held that he hired carpenters. After Job’s ordeal he was very very blessed:
Could it be that Noah was also wealthy? He could thus afford dozens or hundreds of carpenters.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). Albert Barnes held that Noah, “…warned the world of the judgment that was preparing for it.” [2] According to A.T. Robertson, “… Noah preached to the men of his time during the long years.” [3] This view may also aid us in the interpretation of 1 Peter 3:19, 20. The same word in 2 Peter 2:5, “herald” or “preacher,” is also used in 1 Tim. 2:7 and 2 Tim. 1:11:
But what did Paul do? He went around the world preaching Christ – maybe Noah did likewise. Noah preached on the righteousness that comes by faith (Heb 11:7). Noah could easily travel the globe in 120 years.
Could it be that some repented and believed in the coming Savior (Ge 3:15) and died before the Flood started, such as Methuselah (Ge 5:26-28)?

Many object to the global flood because the ark could not hold all the species. [1] But this shows a serious confusion of kinds versus species. How many kinds are there? First, let’s look at the minimum number of kinds (17):
What about the maximum number of kinds? John Woodmorappe estimates the number of animals on the Ark as around 16K. [4] Thus there may be around 8K kinds. Suppose Woodmorappe is off by a factor of two, then we might give a provisional guess at the maximum number of air-breathing, land-based kinds at 16K. If there were many more kinds than that, the Ark would have been too crowded.

For more on biblical kinds, check out Variation and Fixity in Nature by Frank Marsh and The Natural Limits to Biological Change by Lane Lester and Ray Bohlin.
The work of the Baraminology Study Group and Art Battson is also helpful. Clearly, sponges, clams, starfish and lobsters are different kinds.

“Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” – Ge 6:8

How would Noah evaluate the ID movement and their reticence to name the Intelligent Designer?

Notes:1) William Smith, Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Fleming H. Revell, Tappan, NJ, 1977 ed. [orig. pub. 1884]), p. 457, “Noah” entry.
2) Albert Barnes, Barnes New Testament Notes (Online Bible), 2 Pet. 2:5.
3) A.T. Robertson, Robertson’s New Testament Word Pictures (Online Bible), 2 Pet. 2:5.
4) John Wodmorappe, Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study (ICR, Santee, CA, 1996), pp. 10-13.