Persuaded by the Evidence By Doug Sharp and Dr. Jerry Bergman
Master Books, 2008, 288 Pages
Reviewed by Larry S. Kisner, B.S., M.S., D.D. (Hon)
Persuaded by the evidence is an inspiring collection of life-changing accounts of real scientists discovering the fact that science does not support evolution as defined by orthodox evolutionists (molecules to man by purely natural forces). Seeking the truth is what science is really about. Contrary to the popularly espoused view that evolution is science and creationism or ID is religion, evolution is not empirically verified science but rather is the hypothetical conjecture that life arose by purposeless, random naturalistic processes. Real science is objective, physical, and inductive, with measured evidence to support the theory. Belief in evolution, taken to its ultimate logical conclusion, is there can be no free will and no ultimate purpose in life. When you die, as Cornell Professor William Provine says, you are absolutely dead forever. We are born, we die, and that’s it.
One willing to objectively look at the evidence for macroevolution will find none. This scientific evidence logically supports the existence of design and intelligence, and even points to a Creator.
The format of Persuaded by the Evidence provides a refreshing, enjoyable reading experience as each chapter presents a personal account of how the author’s life was changed as they discovered the Creator God, the God of the Bible.
One author tried to win a prize by simply finding an example of physically verifiable evidence, or even a mathematical model sufficient to elevate the hypothesis of macroevolution to the level of a scientific theory. Another found arguments from probability and experimental verification that chemical evolution does not happen without intelligent guidance. Another saw the beauty, order, complexity, and sophisticated engineering design in the universe and in living organisms. Others discovered the absence of transitional forms in the fossil record, the inability to explain the origin of language, the fact that new information cannot be added by random undirected mutations, that circular logic is used in radiometric dating, and the inability of evolution to provide an answer to the problem of morality. These discoveries persuaded them to turn to creation and God for explanations.
I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking the goal of science, the truth.
Previous reviews:
BOOK REVIEW: SLAUGHTER OF THE DISSIDENTS
2008, Leafcutter Press, 477 pages, 957 references
By Larry Kisner, B.S., M.S., D.D. (Hon)
Slaughter of the Dissidents by Dr. Jerry Bergman is the new Survival Guide for every teacher, professor, PhD, scientist, and government worker who values their freedom of speech, and even their freedom of thought. Every parent who has an aspiring young scientist, doctor, professor or teacher must read this book before sending their child into the den of lions we call public education. Every high school student in the public school system needs to know the danger of expressing their views about God, or of mentioning anything critical of Darwinian evolution.
Viewpoint discrimination is rampant in our schools and the thought police make sure only one view about the origin of life is taught: they push the idea that evolution is a proven scientific fact, creationism or intelligent design (ID) are all non-scientific religious nonsense. Of course, a student can talk about creationism or ID as long as it is critical of these views and supportive of evolutionary naturalism. A student can usually openly support an atheistic view, or even witchcraft, but any positive view of creation or ID is censored. Good students are being denied a quality education which should provide a neutral, fair, balanced teaching of all subjects, allowing the students to critically evaluate all theories of origins and think for themselves.
Dr. Bergman exhaustively documents case after case of highly qualified, well published, dedicated professors and teachers that have lost their careers, failed to get tenure, and have been denied getting their degrees – in some cases while teaching only evolution but expressing their doubts about Darwinism to colleague or participating in church activities outside of class. In some cases the teacher was fired because the administration “perceived” the teacher was a Darwin Doubter without any evidence at all.
The chilling truth exposed by Dr. Bergman’s 30 years of research is the extreme hatred and intolerance of Darwin Doubters and particularly Christians who hold to the view that God created the universe and all life. This fact is shown to exist in nearly every institution of higher learning and in the vast majority of public schools. Even those who do not believe in the Biblical account of creation, but believe the scientific evidence points to intelligent design, or even hard core atheists who simply state that there are problems with the theory of evolution are targeted and their careers destroyed.
If you believe in God, I recommend you read this book and plan your strategy for survival for yourself and your children. If you do not believe in God, but think you live in a free country, read this book and find out that you and your children are also at risk of losing your academic and religious freedom.
"Expelled" the movie r />
I received this nice note about Expelled from a dad and this three sons in the junior & senior high age range.
"I went to this movie with the 3 boys and it was well received by all. Very well done, indeed, especially realizing that there is no finer critique than from adolescent viewers. It passed their tuned inspection skills, and so deserves high praise.
"One element of the movie that was new to me was the philosophical dependency of Nazi-ism on Darwinism, particularly on the idea of genetic improvements, and I think Ben Stein did a great job illuminating that.
"Thanks for your review of the movie, because it influenced me to take time and see it, and it was certainly worth the viewing."
(R.P. in New Hampshire)
Allow Intelligence
By: James Perloff
April 24, 2008
Traditionally minded Americans don’t often cheer Hollywood products. We gladly report an exception: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (rated PG).
As many NEW AMERICAN readers know, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution transformed Western culture. The Bible taught that life forms are creations of God, with man the centerpiece, made in God’s image. Darwin introduced a new doctrine: random interactions of chemicals had created life, and man was just an animal, evolved from lower life forms through survival of the fittest. Sold to the public as scientific fact, “Social Darwinism,” with its view of man as beast, helped spawn unprecedented cruelties under communism and Nazism.
Now, however, science has evolution on the retreat. For example:
• A single cell, which Darwin thought “simple,” is encoded with information that would fill thousands of books, and is far too complex to have formed by chance.
• In his book Darwin’s Black Box, Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe demonstrates that certain biochemical systems, such as blood clotting and the immune system, are “irreducibly complex” — that is, they consist of interdependent parts that cannot function in lesser stages, and thus cannot have evolved step-by-step.
• In Not by Chance, Dr. Lee Spetner, who taught information theory at Johns Hopkins University, documents that random mutations — evolution’s alleged building blocks — cause losses of genetic information, not gains.
• In Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, molecular biologist Michael Denton shows that, on a cellular level, there is no evidence for the proclaimed evolutionary sequence “fish to amphibian to reptile to mammal.”
As the new data has emerged, evolutionists have fought to prevent classrooms from openly discussing the weaknesses in Darwin’s theory. Freedom of speech has been suppressed in academia, and educators persecuted for daring to address intelligent design (ID). It was this trend that prompted the documentary Expelled.
According to the film’s website, the project “began with an observation made by [co-producer Walt] Ruloff, a successful computer software entrepreneur who comes from a high-tech world in which innovation is constant and eagerly sought. In stark contrast, he noticed, the scientific and academic communities were deeply resistant to innovation, in this case innovation that might revise Darwin’s theory that random mutation and natural selection drive all variation in life forms.”
The film’s host and narrator is Ben Stein, economist, law professor, speech writer for Presidents Nixon and Ford, and author of over 20 books, but probably best known as a comedy actor, with his trademark monotone voice. He is also a pro-life creationist, making him a maverick in Hollywood.
Liberty and Justice — for All?
“Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, no matter what the implications are,” says Stein. “Freedom of inquiry has been greatly compromised, and this is not only anti-science, it’s anti-American.” The film underscores America’s tradition of personal freedom with visits to landmarks such as the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument, and contrasts these with images of the Berlin Wall, symbol of tyranny. That wall is gone, but another, we learn, has been erected in American universities.
Stein interviews double Ph.D. biologist Richard Sternberg, a research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. In 2004, as editor of Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, Sternberg allowed publication of a peer-reviewed article suggesting there is evidence for intelligent design in nature. This resulted in a vicious, smear-tainted campaign of abuse against Dr. Sternberg, driven by certain Smithsonian officials and by the National Center for Science Education (self-described as a “clearinghouse for information and advice to keep evolution in the science classroom and ‘scientific creationism’ out”). The attack on Sternberg was so outrageous that it led to a congressional investigation and an ensuing report, Intolerance and the Politicization of Science at the Smithsonian.
Among others, Stein also visits:
• astrophysicist Guillermo Gonzalez, who, despite publishing over 60 articles in peer-reviewed science journals and being credited with helping discover new planets, was refused tenure at Iowa State University after he advocated teaching intelligent design;
• molecular biologist Caroline Crocker, compelled to leave George Mason University after including several slides about intelligent design in one of her lectures;
• NASA-honored engineering professor Robert J. Marks II, forced by Baylor to remove an ID-friendly website from the university’s servers.
But Stein doesn’t just meet intelligent design’s defenders, he also takes on some of its most adamant critics, including Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education; Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society; Cornell professor William Provine; and atheist blogger P.Z. Myers. Ultimately he travels to England to confront Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and probably the most vocal critic of ID and creation.
Producer Ruloff warns: “People will be stunned to actually find out what elitist scientists proclaim, which is that a large majority of Americans are simpletons who believe in a fairy tale.”
During his interview, Dawkins dismisses religion as “primitive superstition,” and those who reject evolution for it “ignorant or insane.” Logically questioned by Stein, Dawkins admits that life could have come from “a higher intelligence” that “seeded” it on this planet — i.e., he could accept aliens as our creator, but not God. But this begs for an answer to the question: how did life get started on the aliens’ planet?
Ideas Have Consequences
Creation-evolution is a vital issue. It is far more than a science discussion. Most Americans believe, as Thomas Jefferson said, that “men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” If, as Darwinism says, there was no Creator, then there is no basis for rights, no moral absolutes, nor any God to whom we are accountable for our actions.
Small wonder, then, that Darwinism has always found a comfortable home in totalitarian states. Stein visits the former mental institution at Hadamar, Germany, where over 14,000 mentally ill were once executed by the Nazis. As Stein notes, Charles Darwin advocated eugenics, writing that “the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.... Excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed.” Stein explores the link between Darwin and Nazi eugenics, interviewing California State University professor Richard Weikart, author of From Darwin to Hitler. And he notes that eugenics was espoused in America by Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.
The film also exposes media bias. Intelligent-design advocates tell Stein how the politically correct press has distorted their positions. Journalist Pamela Winnick recounts the abuse she received after trying to report on the evolution-design controversy in a balanced manner. A discomforting moment for Americans comes in the film when Polish scientist Maciej Giertych tells Stein that there is less censorship on this issue in Poland today than in the United States.
A Model of Communication
Expelled strikes a blow for free speech, and is drawing much-needed attention to the creation-evolution battle. It has been effectively marketed by Motive Entertainment, which also took on The Passion of The Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia. Motive’s appealing website for the film, www.expelledthemovie.com, along with grass-roots promotion from advocates of creation and intelligent design, has spurred a groundswell of demand.
Atheists have been bitterly denouncing the film. Atheist P.Z. Myers declared: “It’s going to appeal strongly to the religious, the paranoid, the conspiracy theorists, and the ignorant — which means they’re going to draw in about 90% of the American market.” Such attacks have unintentionally served as further promotion. On April 18, Expelled opened in 1,052 theaters, breaking the record for documentaries (Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 opened in 868).
Expelled is not your grandfather’s documentary. A fast pace, rocking soundtrack, and Stein’s deadpan humor all defy that word’s connotations. The interviews never drag — they are interspersed with clips from old films to underscore points being made. There are two superb animation sequences, one demonstrating the cell’s complexity, the other a satirical “casino of life” in which hundreds of slot machines must simultaneously hit jackpots in order for life to commence by chance. This movie will leave you entertained and informed (we know plenty these days that do neither).
Near the film’s end, shots of the Berlin Wall coming down remind us that the walls of academic censorship must fall also. Stein’s final words exhort audience members to get involved.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a model of communication that all can learn something from.
Other books by James Perloff
Tornado in a Junkyard: The Relentless Myth of Darwinism
TThe Case Against Darwin: Why the Evidence Should Be Examined
In The Beginning, Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood
Author: Dr. Walt Brownbr /> Reviewed by: Jim Coleman, Sr.
This review of Dr. Walt Brown’s book “In The Beginning, Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood” is filled with many good scientific evidences which encourage believing the Bible account of Creation.. Dr. Brown does this by primarily using good science, unadulterated with evolution (the molecules to man type).
The book is presented in three sections, Part I The Scientific Case for Creation, Part II Fountains of the Great Deep, and Part III Frequently Asked Questions.
Part I deals with Life Sciences, Astronomical and Physical Sciences, and Earth Sciences.
The theory of Organic Evolution is invalid as shown in the following categories.
The categories 1-16 show that organic evolution has never been observed.
The categories 17-27 show the arguments for evolution are outdated.
The categories 28-42 show that life is so complex that chance processes even over billions of years cannot explain its origin.
The Universe, the solar system, the earth, and life were recently created.
Categories 43-63 show the naturalistic explanations for the Solar System and the Universe are hopelessly inadequate. The order is even wrong.
Categories 64-73 show that the techniques that argue for an old earth are either illogical, or are based on unreasonable assumptions.
Categories 74-98 show that most scientific dating techniques indicate the earth, solar system and Universe are young.
The Earth has experienced a Worldwide Flood.
Categories 99-108 show Archeological evidence that Noah’s Ark probably exists.
Categories 109-133 show that many of the earth’s previously unexplained features. Can be explained by a cataclysmic flood.
Categories134-137 show that the seemingly impossible events of a worldwide flood are credible if examined closely.
Pages 42 to 83 include invaluable notes and references to scientific literature substantiating the Scientific Case for Creation.
Part II gives an overview of Dr Brown’s Hydroplate Theory. At some points his Hydroplate theory is contrasted with the more popular Tectonic Plates Theory. Dr Brown lists 25 mysteries which he feels are best understood via his Hydroplate Theory. Some of these points involve: The Grand canyon, Mid-Oceanic Ridge, Continental shelves and slopes, Ocean Trenches, Seamounts and Tablemounts, Earthquakes, Magnetic Variations on the Ocean Floor, Submarine Canyons, Coal and Oil formations, Methane Hydrates, The Ice Age, Frozen Mammoths, Major Mountain Ranges, Overthrusts, Volcanoes and Lava, and about 10 other topics, each of which seem to be the result of a sudden and unrepeatable event such as the Global flood. In this section he gives three criteria for evaluating a theory: 1) Process, 2) Parsimony, 3) Prediction.
Any theory of past events will usually have some assumptions. Dr. Brown’s first assumption is that there was a huge amount of Subterranean water deep in the earth prior to the Flood. The second assumption is that the pressure was increasing toward rupture points all across the world as evidenced in the mid-oceanic ridges. Dr Brown explains 4 phases of his Theory: Rupture, Flood, Drift, and Recovery.
As is true with any good theory, one should be able to make definite Predictions as to what further research will discover. Dr Brown makes around 30 Predictions. Most of them have to do with the effects of the worldwide Flood of Noah’s day and his Hydro-
Plate theory. At least one of these predictions has been confirmed about 9 years ago.
The last chapters have to do with such things as Liquefaction, Frozen Mammoths, the Origin of Comets, The origin of Asteroids and Meteors and finally a lengthy section on Frequently Asked Questions. The book is well referenced throughout.
The book is filled with plenty of illustrations, graphs, and even formulas for the inquiring minds. This review is based on the 7th edition printing. One can get an updated version on the website: WWW.CreationScience.com. The 8th edition is targeted to come out in the summer of 2008.
Jim Coleman, Sr.
The Riddle of the Dinosaurs
Author: Mike Riddle
Published in 2005
Reviewed by: Phillip
This is an excellent children’s video with illustrations and animation and will do well in capturing the attention of the younger audience.
Mike started out with the genesis account of six days, making it a point that God created dinosaurs and man on the same day of creation.
Mike explains how scientists put animals into groups.
He explained that we have about 200 types of dogs and showed that you can do the same thing with dinosaurs – less than 100 types of dinosaurs – from long necked, plant eaters, etc. It was an excellent discussion on how scientists class animals.
The average size of the dinosaurs is about the size of a pony. The weight of the dinosaurs could be accurately guessed by comparing their size to existing (known) animals.
Mike even showed how the error in putting the wrong bones together turned the Apatosaurus into the Brontosaurus we know today.
Mike continued on to show how scientists could guess the speed of a dinosaur by comparing the footsteps (fossils) of a dinosaur to a currently existing creature.
In the second part of the video (four parts in all), Mike gives some interesting and less known facts to stir up the thought process:
1. Stories and myths about dinosaurs whose origin is before the time that man first found dinosaur bones.
2. Petroglyphs from before dinosaur bones had been discovered.
3. Dinosaurs bones that have been found that had not yet fossilized.
Mike continued by discussing what the Bible says about dinosaurs. He did a wonderful job at stirring up the young minds that attended this presentation. Again, he involved the audience and kept their attention!
I have noticed that it is Mike’s “style” to always give extra information either on internet or on the disk, and he wasn’t slack on this one !
Be sure to put this DVD into your computer because there is a powerpoint slideshow and extra graphics that can be viewed. Your computer must have a DVD drive to do this.
You can download many of Mike Riddle’s PowerPoint presentations off of the internet by going to the following links:
http://www.nwcreation.net/presentations/
Many other young earth authors can be found that the above URL link.
All in all, I would highly recommend this video to be shown to our young school children. Especially if they are going to public schools.
What Darwin Didn’t Know
Author: Geoffrey Simmons, M.D.
Harvest House Publishers, Eugene Oregon
2004; illustrations; 318 pages including bibliography
A Review by: Richard Stevens
“Our body is way too complicated to be merely a wondrous accident,” writes Dr. Geoffrey Simmons in his book, What Darwin Didn’t Know. Many of us know this instinctively, and many of us have said the same thing without having strong knowledge to back up our intuition. Dr. Simmons’ book fills in the gaps by giving us scores of examples to prove the point.
Organized by systems and elements, the book’s short chapters describe many of the cellular and electro-chemical systems that operate invisibly in the human body. Helpful illustrations and photographs add visual details and give context. Each chapter ends with a checklist of key facts to remember.
We all recognize that the eye is a complicated organ. But do you know the processes that produce the feeling of hunger, or the sense of smell, or the antibody systems that defend against disease? Do you know how about the signaling processes that make the stomach work, or trigger insulin production, or regulate blood pressure? Dr. Simmons’ book discusses these and dozens of other systems, functions and features that we daily take for granted.
Is this a highly technical book? Not at all. Dr. Simmons displays the gift of clarity and simplicity in every sentence and paragraph, so that even readers without any classwork in biology (like me) can understand. The book is even easier to read and more reader-friendly than Michael Behe’s excellent Darwin’s Black Box. Dr. Simmons’ book talks to the everyday person in everyday terms, yet it does not sacrifice technical accuracy.
The book’s title is perfect. As Dr. Simmons explains, Darwin knew precious little about the biological systems and processes that occur in the human body or in any other animal. In Darwin ’s day, the smallest visible body item was the cell; scientists could see nothing smaller. Bodily functions were observed but not well-explained. Modern biology today can describe the amazing details of living organisms, starting from inside the cell and working out to the various interrelated macro-systems.
Evolution is still taught to the public as an explanation for the existence of the huge variety of body parts and configurations in all the species. One way to cause people to rethink Evolution is to unwrap the physical anatomy and reveal the host of precisely coordinated operations that make the body work. Dr. Simmons’ book supplies dozens of examples that most people have not considered and that Evolution does not neatly explain.
What Darwin Didn’t Know is terrific in nearly every respect. The publisher, however, apparently decided the book did not need an index or chapter endnotes. Some readers (like me) appreciate endnotes to locate information sources directly, and we appreciate an index to enable quickly jumping to a factoid in the book. Those minor deficiencies aside, this book wonderfully presents the fascinating features and functions of the human body, and uncovers the extraordinary amount of evidence of intelligent design that exists in each one of us.
Highly Recommended.
DVD: “THE FOSSIL RECORD” by Mike Riddle
A Review by Jim Coleman
The Creation model of history The Evolution model of history
In the Beginning God Created Earth evolved 4.6 Billion Years Ago
Gen 1:1 Life evolved from non-life 3.5 bya
Gen 1:25 All species evolved from common ancestors
Gen 6:17 We see billions of years as uniformitarianism
Each model can be tested by 1) The Fossil Record and 2) The Mechanism for change.
The evolution model should show many intermediate changes. The fossil record does not.
The Creation model should show NO intermediate changes, but variability within kind.
If evolution is true, we should see in the fossil record single cell to complex designs, such as backboneless creatures changing to backbone creatures, fish to amphibians, and reptiles to birds. MANY Evolutionist writers are quoted as revealing that the missing links are still missing. The gaps in the fossil record are still there after 150 years of intense search. Evolutionists do not like to talk about how the first life formed from chemicals. Scientists cannot even with all their fancy equipment produce life. Then how could it evolve naturally without their intelligence being involved?
The Cambrian Explosion is sufficient evidence to show the lack of transitional forms. The argument should be over. The textbooks claim that there are many transitional forms, but NOT ONE is ever REVEALED. They use such fuzzy words as: “we believe, they may have, it probably evolved from, scientists think, …” etc. This is a faith based system, not science.
Stephen J. Gould stated that since there are no evidences of transitional forms, new species must have evolved rapidly and so he and an associate came up with the idea that evolution happened by Punctuated Equilibria. i.e. it happened so fast, it left no transitional forms in the fossil record. Others have posited that life forms came from outer space since there is no evidence of evolution from simple to higher forms in the fossil record.
Archaeopteryx was long claimed to be intermediate between dinosaurs and birds, but is now known to be a fully perching bird and was preceded by the Hoatzin which still lives in South America today. Texas Tech researchers have reported discovering bird fossils in rocks dated much older than that of the Archaeopteryx rocks. These facts are not presented in textbooks today, but are left out by deception in order to support the religion of evolution.
If evolution were true, there must be a Mechanism for Change. Neither Natural Selection, nor Mutations can do the job. Natural Selection can only use genes that are already there.
Dogs will continue to produce dogs, Cats will continue to produce cats, even with great variation they will continue to be cats. Lions can mate with Tigers, but the Ligers are still part of the cat family.
Mutations can produce strange things, but there is no way to get additional information to form higher creatures. Most all mutations are detrimental. The ones that are not still show some loss in the creature. Information to program cell development is not material. It resides in the DNA. DNA can be mixed up, but not programmed for higher life forms.
Textbooks continue to give false information about Peppered moths, Darwin ’s Finches, Fruit flies, Bacteria resistance to antibiotics, etc.
The Fossil record can be perfectly explained by the Flood of Noah’s day. It is the only way the fossil record makes sense. Creatures were trapped by moving waters and preserved for us to know that there was a global flood just as the Bible states. It doesn’t take millions of years to form fossils.
We have a choice: To believe in the religion of evolution or believe God’s record in the Bible and in the fossils which is real true science.
The New Defender's Study Bible (King James Version)
Annotations by Henry M. Morris, Word Publishing, Revised 2006, 2,202 pp.
Review by Larry Kisner, AzOSA Board Member
The Holy Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God. There is no other book which offers eternal life to all who would read its pages and believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. The New Defender's Study Bible is the only Bible with detailed commentary notes from a Biblical and scientific perspective. This Bible is by far the most complete and comprehensive reference tool for the creationist to rely upon for personal growth and professional use.
There are 21 Topical Appendices including: Authenticity of Biblical Text, Creation vs. Evolution Worldviews, The Logic of Biblical Creation, History Outline in Genesis, Processes Indicating Recent Creation, Universality of the Deluge, Science and the Scriptures, Internal Designs in the Bible, and many more. For those leading Bible Studies, Creation Ministries, or for anyone to find the answers to life's difficult questions, this is the book for you. As a tremendous bonus, the book includes a the Abridged Defender’s Collection CD-ROM (containing the entire Study Bible with all footnotes and the text of Many Infallible Proofs).
"Dr. Henry Morris, our generation's foremost spokesman for biblical creationism, has given students and teachers an invaluable tool for the defense of the Christian faith ... matters related to geology, earth history, astronomy, biology, and other sciences. Dr. Morris' clear insight and doctrinal integrity combine to make this one of the most helpful study Bibles available." Dr. John F. MacArthur, Jr. Author and President of Master's College and Seminary
A Synopsis of Mike Riddle’s DVD “Dating Fossils and Rocks”.
By Jim Coleman, Sr.
Mike riddle divides this subject into 3 main parts.
1. Understanding how Carbon-14 works.
2. Understanding how scientists date rocks and the age of the earth.
3. Scientific evidences that support the Biblical account of a young earth.
Part 1. Atoms are composed of three basic parts, protons, neutrons and electrons.
The number of protons determines the type of element. For example Carbon has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons. Nitrogen has 7 protons, 7 neutrons and 7 electrons.
If a cosmic ray collides with a nitrogen atom and blasts off one proton, it becomes an unstable Carbon-14 atom. It now only has 6 protons, and thus becomes a carbon atom with 7 neutrons and 7 electrons. In other words, it is no longer balanced with the protons and neutrons. It wants to grab another proton from somewhere and become stable as a Nitrogen atom again. This is called Carbon-14 decay – going back into Nitrogen. If an animal dies, it no longer takes in CO-2 in the food it ate, which included both C-12 and C-14. Carbon-12 and Carbon 14 are normally in a ratio of 1 trillion to one as found in vegetation. The Carbon 14 slowly grabs another proton to get back to the stable Nitrogen 14 stable atom. It has been measured that in 5730 years, half of the Carbon-14 will change back to Nitrogen 14, so the ratio of Carbon 14 becomes less so that then there is only one Carbon-14 to 2 trillion atoms of C-12. In another 5730 years, there would be only one atom of C-14 to 4 trillion atoms of C-12. In about ten half life cycles, there would be very little C-14 to measure in comparison to the C-12.
As a result of this decay rate back to N-14, one would not expect to find measurable C-14 in anything older than 60,000 to 100,000 years old.
There is an assumption that the amounts of C-14 in relation the C-12 in the atmosphere have reached an equilibrium. It was estimated that it would take 30,000 years for them to be in equilibrium. They are not in equilibrium now.
There are three other assumptions which cast doubt upon the validity of C-14 dating.
a. Cosmic ray penetration affects the amount of C-14. we don’t know if this has been constant.
b. The strength of the earth’s magnetic field has an effect upon the production rate of C-14.
c. The Genesis Flood and its effect upon the atmosphere’s density has not been constant. It is likely that less C-14 was produced before the flood, causing the ratio of
C-14 to C-12 to be much less, therefore giving the impression of much greater ages with the present measuring systems.
Part 2. Radioisotope dating methods for dating rocks and the age of the earth have many problems. This is how it is supposed to work: Uranium decays eventually into the daughter element Lead, Potassium (the parent) decays into the daughter Argon, etc. There are four questionable basic assumptions
a. Is the amount of the daughter element known at the start?
b. Was there no contamination of independent daughter element along the way.
c. Was the sample in a closed environment.
d. Has the decay rate been constant.
There are many examples of different ages being given for the same rock by the same test and there is great variation of dates given for the same rock by a different types of tests. Basalt lava flows at the top of the Grand Canyon have been measured as being older than lava flows at the bottom of the Grand Canyon . Dr John Morris PHD in Geologic Engineering has said: “When the rock is dated by more than one method, it will often yield different ‘ages.’ And when the rock is dated more than one time by the same method, it will often give different results.” Another quote from him goes like this: “When we know the time of the formation of a rock from a lava flow, the radiometric dating is never right. How can we believe the radiometric dating of the rocks when we do not know of their formation time?” (not an exact quote)
Part 3. Scientific evidences that support the biblical account of a young earth.
a. Conflicts in C-14 dating of wood found in lava flows which are radioisotope dated.
b. Not enough Helium in the atmosphere to support long ages of the earth.
c. There is still too much Helium left in granite rocks to support long ages.
d. The RATE (Radioisotope and the Age of the Earth) group report in Nov. 2005
e. More evidences of a young earth.
(1) Too little Helium in earth’s atmosphere.
(2) Nuclear decay rates.
(3) Amount of Sodium in the oceans.
(4) Too little erosion of the continents for long ages.
(5) Too little sediment in the oceans.
(6) Decay of the earth’s magnetic field is too fast for long ages.
(7) Carbon-14 ratio in the atmosphere and in coal deposits all over the earth
(8) Radiohalos for Polonium in granite.
(9) Population statistics.
(10) Recession of the Moon
(11) Many more evidences for a young earth.
f. Many PHD Scientists believe in a young earth
Conclusion: Five facts.
1. The earth has not been scientifically proven to be billions of years old.
2. The Bible teaches a literal 6 day creation.
3. Many Scientists believe in a literal 6-day creation about 6000 years ago.
4. New evidence from nuclear decay supports a young earth model.
5. There are many scientific evidences for a young earth. Almost all of the founders of the early fields of science were Bible believing young earth creationists such as: Johannes Kepler (discoverer of the laws of planetary motion), Blaise Pascal (great mathematician), Robert Boyle (founder of modern Chemistry) Neils Steno (founder of Geology), Carolus Linnaeus (classifier of all things living), John Dalton (founder of modern Atomic Theory), Michael Faraday (giant of electrical research), Asa Gray (Botanist), James Prescott Joule (Joule’s Law), Gregor Mendel (pioneer in Genetics), Lord Kelvin (Physicist of Thermodynamics), James Clerk Maxwell, (father of modern Physics), Georges Lemaitre (expanding Universe), George Washington Carver (Pioneer in Chemurgy).
Ps 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
For more details, get Mike Riddle’s whole set of DVDs from AzOSA or AIG.org
Jim Coleman, Sr. with permission from Mike Riddle
What is Creation Science?
by Henry M. Morris and Gary E. Parker, Master Books, Revised 1997, 331 pp.
Review by Larry Kisner, AzOSA Board Member
This book stands as a benchmark reference presenting the case for Creation Science. Whereas the media continually touts the evolutionist position that only evolution is science and creationism is purely religious, the late Dr. Morris, highly regarded as the most respected creation scientist and author, and Dr. Gary Parker, a noted biologist, clearly and convincingly present scientific evidence for Creation Science in their book.
Dr. Morris gives evidence for the "vanishing case for evolution science", citing the facts that there is no fossil record of transitional forms, no new species evolving, no recapitulation, etc. He uses quotes from the evolutionists own words pointing to the lack of real evidence for macroevolution. Dr. Parker provides an in-depth look at the evidence from the study of paleontology, biology, and genetics to show the creation model superior to the evolution model in explaining the fossil record and the observed complexity of living organisms.
Dr. Morris examines the laws of physics, namely the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and shows the creation model validates these laws whereas the evolution model violates these laws. He looks at astronomical evidence pointing to the origin of the universe as an act of creation rather than a big bang, and looks at the geological evidence which points to a recent, universal flood as described in the Bible, rather than billions of years of uniformitarianism.
Appendix A provides answers to questions and criticisms of Creation Science, and addresses the teaching of Creation Science and Evolution in the classroom. This is a war of worldviews, and the proponents of evolution will say anything to try and discredit anyone who favors a balanced treatment of both view in our schools and universities. This book contains over 200 cited references, and is highly recommended as a must read for anyone desiring to learn the truth about Creation Science.
Tornado in a Junkyard
by James Perloff, Refuge Books, 1999, 321 pages
Review by Larry Kisner, AzOSA Board Member.
Mr. Perloff’s book is written in an informative yet easy to understand style. He provides many convincing arguments that reveal that there are no solid evidences that exist for macroevolution -- the process of change of living organisms from simple one-celled creatures into more complex animals including man.
The book examines the growing body of scientific evidence that invalidates Darwin 's theory of evolution. Among the many issues he covers are: why the lack of transitional forms in the fossil record fails to give credibility to Darwin’s theory, the impossibility of mutations serving as evolutionary building blocks, the lack of evidence for "ape-men" and the mathematic impossibility of life beginning by itself.
The book exposes the fraud of zoologist Ernst Haeckel that is still reference in some textbooks claiming to show pig, calf, rabbit, and human embryos are indistinguishable in their early stages. For students of history, this book gives a blow-by-blow comparison of the actual Scopes monkey trial with the “Inherit the Wind” movie that purposely portrayed creationists as buffoons and evolutionists as rational scientists. This book would be an excellent resource for anyone interested in creation, providing a comprehensive, concise compilation of many of the evidences against evolution, and providing a very strong case for God’s creation.
The Truth About Human Origins
by Brad Hurrub and Bert Thompson, Apologetics Press, 2003, 517 pages
This is an excellent technical book on the subject of Human Origins and would be a valuable resource for all those interested in a deeper understanding of the Creation/Evolution controversy. The first two chapters investigate the Origin of Mankind by examining in depth the fossil record, comparing the alleged evolutionary time line of man with the actual “record of the rocks”, that is, the observed fossil data. Chapter 3 examines the molecular evidence for human origins, including a detailed discussion of mitochondrial Eve and exposes the serious errors in the mitochondrial DNA data presented in the literature. The problem of the simultaneous chance evolution of gender and sexual reproduction is addressed in Chapter 4. A strong case for intelligent design rather than mere chance evolution is presented in this book. The evolutionary theories of the origin of speech and language communication is next examined and found to be a completely human trait.
Up to this point, most of the material presented has been covered in the literature, although this book goes into more detail than most. However, in the last three chapters the authors Dr. Brad Hurrub, a neurobiologist, and Dr. Bert Thompson, a microbiologist, present a fresh, new insight into the origin of the human brain, the evolution of human consciousness, and the nature of human blood types. Scientists can now probe deep into the human brain and record the activity of a single neuron, but can only speculate as to the role of this neural activity in producing our memories, emotions, or explain how we can be aware that we are aware of being alive. The “evolution” of the theories of the origin of human consciousness is presented in comprehensive detail.
Why is all this important? If humans are just animals, evolved over millions of years by random chance, then there is no real purpose of meaning of life. However, if God uniquely created us with the ability to comprehend our existence, He must have a purpose for creating us. God’s Word makes clear this purpose was to worship Him.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them. Gen 1:27 KJV
Reviewed for AzOSA by Larry Kisner, Feb. 26, 2007.
Getting the Facts Straight – A viewer’s Guide to PBS’s “Evolution” TV Series
Published by Discovery Institute Press, 155 p. 7.95 at Amazon.com;
Downloadable from the Discovery Institute
The PBS TV Series “Evolution” claimed in several places to be about science and not about religion, but in several of the 7 sections it brought in religion in a negative connotation . Much data and many beautiful nature scenes were interspersed, none of which gives scientific proof of the origin of life by purely natural means. There were many distortions of scientific and historical facts. There were many shallow and lopsided coverages of scientific controversies. The author of this book takes on each of the 7 episodes in great detail
The producers said that one goal was to show that evolution was important to almost every aspect of life. In the opinion of this reviewer, evolution had nothing to do with the science of putting a man on the moon or of computer development, or of building fine cars, etc. Evolution is religion pure and simple, Science does very well without it. A statement is made that “all known scientific evidence supports evolution”. Textbooks and the media religiously avoid mentioning any of the many facts which refute evolution. This book reveals many of them.
Jim Coleman, Sr.
In the Beginning Was Information by Werner Gitt
Dr. Gitt received his Ph. D., graduating (summa cum laude) from the Technical University at Aachen, Germany . He is now Director and Professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology. He has lectured on Information and technology at numerous Universities and technical forums. He has written numerous scientific papers on information science, mathematics and control engineering.
In the first chapter he lays out logically and scientifically the Laws of Nature and how they have been developed in respect to reality. He shows how paradigms shift as new information on a subject is discovered, but also shows the persistence of paradigms which have been overthrown as the laws of nature become more clearly defined. He also discusses the classification of Natural Laws.
In the next section the author discusses whether information is material or mental. And proves that information must be mental and emanate from a Mind but is recorded on matter such as computer discs, paper, or DNA. He uses an illustration that if a message is written on a blackboard, information has been passed from a Mind to whoever receives it. If the Information is erased and the chalk dust saved, the blackboard and the chalk dust still weigh the same, showing that information is non-material, that the information is gone.
He then shows five levels of information: Statistics (the code characters used), Syntax (the recognizable order of the code), Semantics (recognizable or agreed upon meaning of the code), Pragmatics (the desired action expressed to the recipient), and Apobetics (the why or purpose of the information).
The next sections show the origin of information in living things. It cannot be from the material or the atoms. It must originate from outside of the matter, namely from God. In John 1 it says: ”In Him was life, and He is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Heb 11:3 says: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen are made of things which do not appear.”
I like the one phrase “every piece of information is intentional”. An example is given of the DNA molecule and the messenger RNA. The RNA receives the info and takes it to the various “engines” in a living system to accomplish the purpose of the designer of the DNA and its corresponding systems.
The appendices give further examples of how information plays out in a few living organisms.
Heavy stuff.
Jim Coleman, Sr.
RadioIsotopes and the Age of the Earth. From ICR Rate Team. Body of text 458 pages, total pages 675. Quite technical. List Price $80.00
This report is by Jim Coleman, Sr. a former long ages creationist, who discovered his God was too small.
This book is a report of an eight year study of various scientific evidences pointing to a Young Earth. The last sentence of the Prologue is very cogent. "This? deserves careful consideration by all who value Truth."
The first chapter is an introduction by the chair of the RATE group, Dr. Larry Vardiman. He points out the predictions which were made at the beginning of the study and the fulfillments of those predictions as confirming data were developed. An added blessing of the studies involved research on RadioCarbon or C14 which has a relatively short half life (5730 years) and has only been used primarily to date organic materials. It is now being found in items presumed to be millions of years old by conventional radioisotope dating methods such as Uranium/Lead decay or Rubidium/Strontium decay.
Young Helium Diffusion Age by Dr. Russell Humphreys is the second chapter which shows much of the evidence of the peer reviewed literature which indicates a huge disparity in the traditional radiometric dating procedures. It is common to find date ranges which vary more than a million years when different radioisotope dating methods are used on the same rock. The most stunning evidence found in these recent studies is that when one compares the traditional age dates with the dates calculated from the Diffusion Rates of Helium in Zircon crystals, the dates vary consistently by a factor of 100,000. The graph on page 60 alone is worth the price of the book. Several samples of zircons were taken at various depths and corresponding temperatures. Since diffusion rates are not affected by radiation decay, there is the positive indication that the radiation decay rates must have been accelerated at some point in history. This is strong evidence that the earth is much younger than the traditionally selected and published rates and that the earth may actually be 6000 years old, approximately. Data of this study closely resembles or supports the work of Dr. Robert Gentry, physicist who worked at the Oakridge Nuclear Laboratory and whose studies were published in peer reviewed reports in major scientific publications as far back as 1977. The data in this study clearly reject the Uniformitarian Age model.
The Chapter 3 is Radiohalos in Granites: Evidence for Accelerated Nuclear Decay by Dr. Andrew Snelling. The thrust of Dr Snelling's studies continues further with Dr Gentry's studies of Polonium halos. Snelling proposes a thermal transport of polonium atoms and their halos from the parent Uranium and its halos. Here again the data show or demand an increase in radiation decay of the parent and child isotopes. He deals with the heat effect of the nuclear radiation and its dissipation and suggests that more study is needed.
Chapter 4 by Dr Snelling deals with Fission Tracks in Zircons and their implications relative to accelerated decay. Samples of Fission tracks were taken from a number of tuffs located in various parts of the country.. In general there is additional evidence of accelerated nuclear decay at some time in the past, perhaps during the great flood of Noah's day.
Dinosaurs and Creation, Donald B. DeYoung. 122 pages of text, and an additional 20 pages of references and indices. Price $ 13.00
This very readable book is easily understood by those who are in high-school and older. It covers a wide range of 50 questions, and answers them individually in length from 1 to 5 pages. Quite a few interesting topics not widely discussed are addressed. There are 10 very useful tables and 15 excellent illustrations, all in black and white. In many questions the evolutionist point of view is presented along with the data (which both evolutionists and creationists agree upon) that calls it into question. Then the creation explanation that makes sense of the data in light of the Biblical time frame for creation and the Flood of Noah is presented. This a good general resource to read straight through or to use to look up individual questions and answers, which are listed in the table of contents.
J. M. Kezele, M.D.
The Language of God by Francis Collins. Text, 283 pages. List price, $26.00.
The main thesis of this book is that you can be a credible scientist and a Christian by believing in theistic evolution.
Dr. Collins has very impressive academic credentials with his doctoral level studies in Physical Chemistry, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Medical Genetics. He also has marvelous accomplishments as a physician and as head of the Human Genome Project, which successfully mapped the complete human DNA sequence.
I find portions of the main text to be an excellent resource for the layman regarding information about the human genome, and especially the appendix for explaining for the layman the science of embryonic and adult stem cell research, cloning, somatic cell nuclear transplantation and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.
However in the discussion of the moral aspects of some of these areas he introduces relativism allowing for compromise in decision making. In particular, regarding embryonic stem cells, he uses the situation of the formation of identical twins to invoke confusion about when the embryo acquires a soul. To me, this side steps the real issue, which is that from the moment of the union of the egg and the sperm, the zygote (embryo) has the full complement of DNA, its genetic material, and is fully human. No further discussion is needed. He also ignores the real and very significant advances made in treating actual patients with adult stem cell line research technology successfully treating more than 60 different types of problems.
His well documented, profound and far reaching accomplishments in the area of observational science should not be confused with his musings in the area of origins science. First of all, multiple times throughout the book he promotes the false argument that the conflict is between science and faith in God. Dr. Collins lists various presuppositions, but accepts the big bang as if it was observed fact, and not a presupposition. He ignores the open letter to the scientific community, which can be easily found on the internet, and which is now signed by 405 secular astronomers, scientists, engineers and independent researchers who declare the big bang to be dead.
Dr. Collins closely adheres to the assumptions and misrepresentations of Hugh Ross. For example, he dismisses Genesis as history in one brief sentence on page 83: Unquestionably the language is poetic. This is compounded on page 207, where he invokes allegory again regarding Adam and Eve. He writes Some biblical literalists insist that the wives of Cain and Seth must have been their own sisters, but that is both in serious conflict with subsequent prohibitions against incest, and incompatible with a straightforward reading of the text.
Dr. Collins of all people would know that initially the genome was free of the accumulated burden of mutations, except for his presupposition that Adam and Eve were the continuation of some pre-Adamic race, necessitated by his belief in evolution. According to him, Adam and Eve allegorically represent pre-human beings transformed into human beings at some point in the distant past by an act of God instilling into them human characteristics such as a soul, the Moral Law and the ability to appreciate beauty. Dr. Collins sidesteps the incongruity between death preceding sin, which evolution requires, and death following sin, which Scripture quite clearly states is the case in Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When Scripture refers to Jesus as the last Adam, is Christ then also to be taken allegorically?
Returning to the subsequent ban on marrying very close relatives, it was subsequent, decreed by God in Moses time, in recognition of the accumulation of mutations in the genome, which began after the literal Adam and Eve. This demonstrates application of real science by God himself. Dr. Collins assertion, that Genesis 5:4b Adam had other sons and daughters. read in a straightforward manner, does not explain the source of Cains and Seths wives, is incomprehensible to me.
Unfortunately, the book is filled with flaws in interpretation of observed facts, due to the presupposition of evolution. But most disappointing to me as a physician are the repetitions of disproved evolutionary canards regarding human anatomy. Research has confirmed that indeed the design of the retina is ideal, the spine is well designed for optimum flexibility and weight loading, and that the appendix does have extremely important functions as part of the immune system in the earlier years of life.
Dr. Collins characterizing young earth creationists as extremists by using the label ultraliteralists does him no credit and should give him pause to rethink his interpretation of Scripture, for one day we all will have to stand before the Lord and account for our treatment of His word.
Joseph Kezele, M.D., President,
Arizona Origin Science Association |
