BEING RIGHT ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG
Romans 2:15
"Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another..."
Ethicists who believe in evolution are trying to figure out an evolutionary explanation for why people universally have a sense of right and wrong. This line of study is so new that it doesn't yet have a name, although some have suggested "neuroethics" or "moral neuroscience".
Much of this study began by looking at the theories of philosophers John Stewart Mill and Immanuel Kant. Mill taught that moral good is defined by those actions that do the most good for the most people, even if some individuals must suffer in the process. Kant said that moral good could be defined by pure reason. Then they add in philosopher David Hume, who taught that people consider an action to be good if it makes them feel good.
However, researchers in this field noted that even monkeys, who don't read philosophy, have a sense of fair play. In one experiment, monkeys who had been accepting cucumbers as a reward began rejecting the cucumbers after they saw other monkeys getting much tastier grapes. At this point in this new "science", some researchers have concluded that right and wrong are nothing more than the instinctive firing of brain neurons.
Scripture, on the other hand, says that God has written His law on our hearts. This is a much more logical explanation of Man's universal sense of right and wrong.
I thank You, Father, for Your law, but I find comfort in the gospel of forgiveness. Amen.
Discover, 4/04, pp. 60-65, Carl Zimmer, "Whose Life Would You Save?" Photo: portrait of Immanuel Kant.
Romans 2:15
"Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another..."
Ethicists who believe in evolution are trying to figure out an evolutionary explanation for why people universally have a sense of right and wrong. This line of study is so new that it doesn't yet have a name, although some have suggested "neuroethics" or "moral neuroscience".
Much of this study began by looking at the theories of philosophers John Stewart Mill and Immanuel Kant. Mill taught that moral good is defined by those actions that do the most good for the most people, even if some individuals must suffer in the process. Kant said that moral good could be defined by pure reason. Then they add in philosopher David Hume, who taught that people consider an action to be good if it makes them feel good.
However, researchers in this field noted that even monkeys, who don't read philosophy, have a sense of fair play. In one experiment, monkeys who had been accepting cucumbers as a reward began rejecting the cucumbers after they saw other monkeys getting much tastier grapes. At this point in this new "science", some researchers have concluded that right and wrong are nothing more than the instinctive firing of brain neurons.
Scripture, on the other hand, says that God has written His law on our hearts. This is a much more logical explanation of Man's universal sense of right and wrong.
I thank You, Father, for Your law, but I find comfort in the gospel of forgiveness. Amen.
Discover, 4/04, pp. 60-65, Carl Zimmer, "Whose Life Would You Save?" Photo: portrait of Immanuel Kant.
GETTING RID OF THE TRASH
Psalm 139:15
"My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."
Years ago, evolutionary scientists labeled 180 human organs, such as the appendix, as vestiges left over from evolution. The fact is they did not know the function these organs actually served. Since that time, it has been learned that all of these organs have useful functions and have nothing to do with evolution.
Now a similar situation is shaping up with DNA. As scientists learned what the different segments of DNA do, they also found segments that appeared to have no function. These segments have often been referred to as "junk DNA". Predictably, evolutionists have suggested that these apparently useless segments of DNA are left over from our evolutionary history. Now researchers at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, have discovered that they may have a function after all. They were studying early mammalian development in fertilized mouse eggs and early embryos. As they traced the genes at work in these early stages of development, they discovered that about 10 percent of the so-called "junk DNA" was actively making protein during the first cell divisions of the egg. Further research is planned.
Like the so-called vestigial organs, at least some so-called "junk DNA" has a purpose and has nothing to do with evolution. Once again, as ignorance is replaced with knowledge, we gain a greater appreciation of what our Creator has made.
Father, I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by Your loving design. Amen.
Science News, 10/16/04, p. 243, C. Brownlee, "Trash to Treasure." See also: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139757702/dont-throw-it-out-junk-dna-essential-in-evolution (August 2011)
Psalm 139:15
"My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."
Years ago, evolutionary scientists labeled 180 human organs, such as the appendix, as vestiges left over from evolution. The fact is they did not know the function these organs actually served. Since that time, it has been learned that all of these organs have useful functions and have nothing to do with evolution.
Now a similar situation is shaping up with DNA. As scientists learned what the different segments of DNA do, they also found segments that appeared to have no function. These segments have often been referred to as "junk DNA". Predictably, evolutionists have suggested that these apparently useless segments of DNA are left over from our evolutionary history. Now researchers at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, have discovered that they may have a function after all. They were studying early mammalian development in fertilized mouse eggs and early embryos. As they traced the genes at work in these early stages of development, they discovered that about 10 percent of the so-called "junk DNA" was actively making protein during the first cell divisions of the egg. Further research is planned.
Like the so-called vestigial organs, at least some so-called "junk DNA" has a purpose and has nothing to do with evolution. Once again, as ignorance is replaced with knowledge, we gain a greater appreciation of what our Creator has made.
Father, I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by Your loving design. Amen.
Science News, 10/16/04, p. 243, C. Brownlee, "Trash to Treasure." See also: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139757702/dont-throw-it-out-junk-dna-essential-in-evolution (August 2011)
The Carnal Mind and Death
“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:6-7)
“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:6-7)
This passage defines for us both the carnal mind and the spiritual mind, not with formal definitions, but by giving equivalent terms.
First, the carnal mind is identified as being “enmity against God” (v. 7), a rampant disregard for God’s law. Furthermore, the carnal mind is equated with death, specifically eternal, spiritual death. A physically living person may have a carnal mind, bringing with it a spiritual deadness and eternal doom. This also serves us as a working definition of death—being hostile toward God, or minding the things of the flesh. “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” (vv. 8-9).
Next, we see that the spiritual mind is “life and peace” (v. 6)—a supreme preference for God and subjection to His will. This state not only leads to eternal life but is life, along with peace, even now. There can be no peace for the carnally minded.
Some would wrongly teach that the physical death of the unbeliever leads to the total annihilation of his body, soul, and spirit. However, this passage teaches that the minding of “the things of the flesh” (v. 5) does not only lead to ultimate physical death, but is death right now.
Death is not the extinction of being but the alienation of that being from Christ. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (v. 13). “If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (v. 10). JDM
CAN MONKEYS COUNT?
Ecclesiastes 3:21
"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?"
Listeners will know from our Creation Moments programs that the scientific establishment is firmly convinced that Man evolved from the higher apes millions of years ago. For this reason, rhesus monkeys have long been used not only for pharmaceutical trials but in psychological tests to determine how Man's intelligence evolved.
Researchers at Duke University, North Carolina, wanted to know if rhesus monkeys could count, and they set up an experiment to find out. Using two television screens, one showed two monkeys vocalizing and the other showed three. However, the audio of each television could be controlled so that in some trials two monkeys could be seen but three voices heard and vice versa. Each one of the 20 test monkeys spent more time watching the matching number of monkeys and voices. The researchers concluded that the rhesus monkeys could tell the difference between the numbers two and three.
They also pointed out that that the monkeys can count small numbers because this ability relates to their social worlds. Yes, and by the same token, Creation Moments would add that some insects can count to hundreds, but none of this means that Man is related to insects or monkeys! Scripture carefully distinguishes between Man and animals. God placed Man over the animals and gave him an eternal soul that is saved by His Son, Jesus Christ.
Father, I thank and praise You that You have made me because You wanted to love me through Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Science News, 7/2/05, p. 14, "Monkeys keep track of small numbers." Photo courtesy of Einar Fredriksen.
Ecclesiastes 3:21
"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?"
Listeners will know from our Creation Moments programs that the scientific establishment is firmly convinced that Man evolved from the higher apes millions of years ago. For this reason, rhesus monkeys have long been used not only for pharmaceutical trials but in psychological tests to determine how Man's intelligence evolved.
Researchers at Duke University, North Carolina, wanted to know if rhesus monkeys could count, and they set up an experiment to find out. Using two television screens, one showed two monkeys vocalizing and the other showed three. However, the audio of each television could be controlled so that in some trials two monkeys could be seen but three voices heard and vice versa. Each one of the 20 test monkeys spent more time watching the matching number of monkeys and voices. The researchers concluded that the rhesus monkeys could tell the difference between the numbers two and three.
They also pointed out that that the monkeys can count small numbers because this ability relates to their social worlds. Yes, and by the same token, Creation Moments would add that some insects can count to hundreds, but none of this means that Man is related to insects or monkeys! Scripture carefully distinguishes between Man and animals. God placed Man over the animals and gave him an eternal soul that is saved by His Son, Jesus Christ.
Father, I thank and praise You that You have made me because You wanted to love me through Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Science News, 7/2/05, p. 14, "Monkeys keep track of small numbers." Photo courtesy of Einar Fredriksen.
ANCIENT HUMMINGBIRDS WERE QUITE MODERN
Genesis 1:20
"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."
Today, hummingbirds are found only in North, Central and South America. Of course, since Noah's Ark landed in the mountains of Ararat, they had to cross Europe and the Atlantic or Asia to get there. However, until now, there was no evidence for this migration.
Scientists have now discovered two hummingbird fossils in a clay pit in southwestern Germany. These tiny fossils are remarkable in many ways. Until now, evolutionists claimed the earliest hummingbird fossils to be one million years old. The new fossils are said to be 30 to 34 million years old. While we would not agree with the evolutionary dating, we would expect the hummingbird fossils in Europe or Asia to predate those in the New World. Even more interesting is that the fossils suggest that these older birds are fully functional hummingbirds. Their wing bones are like those of modern hummingbirds, which suggest that they could hover and fly backward just like the hummingbirds we know today. Their beaks were twice as long as their skulls, suggesting that they drank nectar just like modern hummingbirds. In other words, there is no sign of any evolutionary development, another fact we would expect.
While the evidence for the history of hummingbirds is what we would expect, we do not need scientific evidence to uphold scriptural truth. We have God's Word on it.
I thank You, Lord, for the beauty of Your creation, which remains beautiful, despite our sin. Amen.
Science News, 5/8/04, p. 292, S. Perkins, "Ancient Buzzing."
Genesis 1:20
"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."
Today, hummingbirds are found only in North, Central and South America. Of course, since Noah's Ark landed in the mountains of Ararat, they had to cross Europe and the Atlantic or Asia to get there. However, until now, there was no evidence for this migration.
Scientists have now discovered two hummingbird fossils in a clay pit in southwestern Germany. These tiny fossils are remarkable in many ways. Until now, evolutionists claimed the earliest hummingbird fossils to be one million years old. The new fossils are said to be 30 to 34 million years old. While we would not agree with the evolutionary dating, we would expect the hummingbird fossils in Europe or Asia to predate those in the New World. Even more interesting is that the fossils suggest that these older birds are fully functional hummingbirds. Their wing bones are like those of modern hummingbirds, which suggest that they could hover and fly backward just like the hummingbirds we know today. Their beaks were twice as long as their skulls, suggesting that they drank nectar just like modern hummingbirds. In other words, there is no sign of any evolutionary development, another fact we would expect.
While the evidence for the history of hummingbirds is what we would expect, we do not need scientific evidence to uphold scriptural truth. We have God's Word on it.
I thank You, Lord, for the beauty of Your creation, which remains beautiful, despite our sin. Amen.
Science News, 5/8/04, p. 292, S. Perkins, "Ancient Buzzing."
DANCING INFRARED GROUND SQUIRRELS
Numbers 21:9
"And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
The last creature a rattlesnake wants to see is the California ground squirrel.
When an adult ground squirrel finds a rattlesnake, it begins to taunt the snake. The squirrel dashes into striking range, whips its tail about, bites the snake's tail and kicks sand on it. While a rattlesnake can strike with lightening speed, the little ground squirrel is even faster and well able to dart out of the way. Even if it was bitten, the venom wouldn't kill it since these squirrels have proteins in their blood that detoxify the poison. Frustrated snakes have been known to simply retreat when faced with this treatment.
Researchers have learned that the squirrels' bag of tricks is even deeper. Rattlesnakes can see heat as infrared light. When the ground squirrel is taunting the rattlesnake, it sends additional blood to its tail, causing it to heat up, producing a very obvious infrared image for the snake, further confusing it. Interestingly enough, when the ground squirrel taunts a gopher snake, which cannot detect the infrared, it does not heat its tail.
How does the squirrel know that the rattlesnake can be confused with an infrared show while the gopher snake cannot? The only explanation is that the Creator, Who made them both and calls us to saving faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, designed the ground squirrels' unique display.
Father, I thank You for the wonders You have made and for the innocent death of Your Son to take my sins away. Amen.
Science News, 6/26/04, p. 403, S. Milius, "Hot Bother."
Numbers 21:9
"And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
The last creature a rattlesnake wants to see is the California ground squirrel.
When an adult ground squirrel finds a rattlesnake, it begins to taunt the snake. The squirrel dashes into striking range, whips its tail about, bites the snake's tail and kicks sand on it. While a rattlesnake can strike with lightening speed, the little ground squirrel is even faster and well able to dart out of the way. Even if it was bitten, the venom wouldn't kill it since these squirrels have proteins in their blood that detoxify the poison. Frustrated snakes have been known to simply retreat when faced with this treatment.
Researchers have learned that the squirrels' bag of tricks is even deeper. Rattlesnakes can see heat as infrared light. When the ground squirrel is taunting the rattlesnake, it sends additional blood to its tail, causing it to heat up, producing a very obvious infrared image for the snake, further confusing it. Interestingly enough, when the ground squirrel taunts a gopher snake, which cannot detect the infrared, it does not heat its tail.
How does the squirrel know that the rattlesnake can be confused with an infrared show while the gopher snake cannot? The only explanation is that the Creator, Who made them both and calls us to saving faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, designed the ground squirrels' unique display.
Father, I thank You for the wonders You have made and for the innocent death of Your Son to take my sins away. Amen.
Science News, 6/26/04, p. 403, S. Milius, "Hot Bother."
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