CREATION MOMENTS: 11.25.17

THE BIRTH OF DEEP TIME

Psalm 78:15

“He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.”


I was on an open-topped tour bus, seeing the sights of downtown Edinburgh—the capital city of Scotland. From this vantage point, our guide stopped frequently, to tell us about John Knox’s grave and house, the Royal Mile, and beautiful Edinburgh Castle. At one stop, there were three things to see. To our left was Britain’s ugliest building—the Scottish Parliament. Straight ahead was Holyrood House—where the Queen lives when she is in Edinburgh. And to the right was a cliff face, called Salisbury Crag. This rocky outcrop consists of a lower level of greywacke, topped by several layers of sedimentary rock.

 The guide pointed the crag out to us, and said that in 1787, the crag was studied by James Hutton. In fact, the guide said that in 1787, it was by studying these rocks that James Hutton proved the Bible to be wrong.

 Why would this guide think that Hutton had disproved the Bible? Hutton invented the concept of deep time; of millions of years. He supposed the unconformity separating the two rock sections must have been formed by erosion, millions of years ago. In fact, this smooth erosion is evidence consistent with a much shorter age. The lower rock would have been laid down early in the Flood, and turned over while still plastic. Powerful underwater currents would have caused the erosion that we see. Finally, the layers of rock would have been laid down on top. This model is fully consistent with the truthful account in God’s word.

Your word stands forever, O Lord. Nothing can take away from Your word. We pray that we might submit completely to Your word, that we might not sin against you. Amen.

 

A NEW VOLCANO INSIDE THE OLD

Psalm 83:14

“As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;”
Many people know about the devastating and explosive eruption of Mount St Helens in 1980. Not so many people know that the volcano has erupted since then, but in less spectacular fashion.

 Throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s, lava continued to appear in the crater, with a dome of lava growing in the middle of the crater. On October 11th 2004, magma once again erupted from the volcano, causing a new lava dome to grow rapidly south of the existing dome. Many unusual but temporary shapes were formed, such as a large lava formation called the “whaleback”. On July 2nd 2005, the pressure of the magma resulted in an eruption, which broke the whaleback, and sent ash into the air, visible from Seattle. A number of other eruptions occurred during the period from 2004 through 2008. On July 10th 2008, there had been no activity for six months, so the US Geological Survey officially concluded that this eruptive period was over. There has been no significant eruptive activity since then.

 The lava dome is now quite big. The summit of the lava dome is currently about 7,500 feet above sea level, so it is still below the 8,300 foot high crater walls. However, if the dome grows any larger, it could grow above the crater rim. Basically, the lava dome is a new volcano growing inside the ruins of the old one. It already takes up 6% of the space lost by the big 1980 eruption.

 One thing is clear. Once again, even in less spectacular fashion, Mount St Helens has proved that the surface of the Earth can change rapidly at times, and that changes do not require millions of years.

Father God, You continue to witness to the truth of Your word, through natural occurrences worldwide, and especially at Mount St Helens. We pray that we might be faithful in pointing people, therefore, to the truth of Your word. Amen.

 

FAST DEAD TREE OIL

Isaiah 55:12

“For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”


Forestry organizations have a major problem with beetles. The Mountain Pine beetle infests many coniferous trees in the Western United States. Apparently 40 million acres of forest have been damaged by these critters. A fungus can get into the tree with the beetle, and this fungus prevents transportation of water and nutrients. The beetle lays its eggs in the bark, and beetle larvae can also cause the tree to die.

 If this were not bad enough, forestry companies then have the difficulty of disposing of these trees, before they cause further damage from fire. The timber from the trees, however, is likely to be cracked and damaged, and is often stained by the presence of the beetles and fungus.

 University of Washington scientists have come up with an ingenious solution. The damaged timber can still be used as a fuel. So the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences have come up with a way of heating this wood, and other organic materials, at very high temperatures, in the absence of oxygen. This treatment creates a type of fuel oil, which is a dark brown liquid. This fuel has been used in some countries for heating buildings, such as hospitals.

 Different kinds of oil will have different compositions. While there is not necessarily a close similarity between this wood oil, and petroleum oil, the process at least demonstrates that fuel oils do not take millions of years to form. Similarly, petroleum oils need not have taken millions of years, but could have formed in conditions at the time of the Flood.

Thank You Lord, for the wisdom and ingenuity that You have given human beings, even when they do not acknowledge You as Lord.  Amen.

 

PROGRESS IN TECHNOLOGY

Genesis 4:20-22

“And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.”
I was talking to a group of young children, perhaps 10 or 11 years old, and they were looking at a partly mud-covered house. This house had got covered in mud at the time of the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. Meanwhile, close by was a fridge, which had been washed out of the house, at the time of the mudflow. One boy was incredulous. “Did they really have fridges in 1980?”, he asked, genuinely shocked.

 We all had a laugh at this. Yes, I confirmed, there were indeed fridges in 1980. However, our lives were hard, because we couldn’t report to the world on the details of our lives, using Facebook or Twitter. We were not carrying smartphones around with us in the 80s, so we were not permanently connected to the Internet. How did we get by without such technologies? Did we not experience deprivation?

 Of course we did not, because we had no notion that such things would come about. So, technologically speaking, the world is getting better and better, while we see the world sinking downhill fast in terms of its moral standard.

 Technological progress has always been available to us. Even before the Flood, we read about people like the sons of Lamech, who were pushing forward the boundaries of technology in husbandry, metallurgy and music. This is a part of the way God has made us, and we should thank Him for it.

Thank You, Father, for all the technology that we have. We are aware that we can use it for Your glory, or we can misuse it. Help us to glorify Your name, through our use of technology. Amen.

Image: Adobe Stock images, licensed to author. 

 

 WHEN WERE ANGELS CREATED?

Job 38:4-7

�Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.  Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;  when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?�
Have angels always existed from eternity? The Bible says �No�. Only God, the One God in Three Persons, has existed for all eternity. So the angels and any other spirit beings that there might be must have been created by God.

 If the angels were created, then when were they created? Were they, perhaps, created before the creation week? Perhaps God made them a long time before He made the world. Again, the Bible is very clear that this is not the case. We read in Exodus 20:11 that everything was made in the six days of the Creation Week.

 So, we can definitely say that the Bible teaches that angels were created by God, they have not existed for all eternity, and that they must have been made during the creation week. However, we cannot be anywhere near as dogmatic about what day of the creation week God created them.

 If we look in the book of Job, we read this: �Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth� when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?� It seems likely that these words refer to angels. If they were singing for joy at the foundation of the Earth, then they possibly saw most of creation happen. It is also my opinion that angels were created early on Day One of the Creation Week. At the end of the Creation Week, everything was �very good�. So all the angels were still good at the end of that week. No angel had yet fallen, though that would happen soon, before the events of Genesis 3.

Lord, we know that all things were made for You, through You, and by You. All of creation brings glory to Your Name. We thank You and praise You for Your creative power. Amen.

Ref: Hodge, B. (2010), What about Satan and the Origin of Evil?, in Ham, K. (ed. 2010), The New Answers Book 2, (Master Books). Image: Adobe Stock photo, licensed to author.

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 11.18.17

HOURGLASS OF THE ROCKS

Ecclesiastes 1:10

“Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.”
Evolutionary geologists find ages for rocks, using a method known as radiometric dating. For example, uranium-lead dating relies on the change of uranium into lead. The rate at which uranium changes into lead is not linear, but can nevertheless be measured. This value is called the half-life. If we know the half-life of uranium, and the amount of lead that there was in the rock, when it was formed, then we can calculate the age of the rock, assuming that no lead has been added to or taken out of the rock.

 Imagine an hourglass. Sand is flowing from the top to the bottom. You could measure how much sand was in the top of the hourglass, and also how much in the lower part. Finally, you would measure the rate at which sand flows from top to bottom. You might think you could use these values to calculate how long the hourglass had been going, but you would be wrong. This is because you do not know if all the sand started in the top, or if the glass was shaken at some time, making the sand go through faster. In the same way, geologists assume that an igneous rock was formed without any lead in it, but it is impossible to know this. They also assume that the half-life of uranium has never changed. But we now have considerable evidence to suggest that the half-life changed rapidly in the past.

 There is, however, a fully reliable method of dating the Earth. This involves using the dates found in the Bible, yielding an age of just over 6,000 years.

Help us, Lord, to weigh everything we know against the truth of Scripture. Thank You for Your word, Lord. We pray that it might guide us into truth. Amen.

Ref: Humphreys, R. (et al), Radioactivity and the Age of the Earth, (ICR). Image: Adobe Stock image, licensed to author.

 

AGING STARS

Genesis 1:16b

“…he made the stars also.”
Today, I want to talk about aging stars. But I am not referring to your favorite movie icon of yesteryear. Instead, I am talking about stars in the universe.

 How old is a star? And how can we tell?

Big Bang cosmologists refer to the ages of stars in billions of years. One recent science article talked about a star, which they said was so old that it was formed just after the Big Bang itself. The article, published in 2014, gives the age of the universe as 13.7 billion years old. I used to teach physics and chemistry in public high schools in Britain, until 1999. In the textbook, which I used at that time, the age of the universe was given as 12.3 billion years. This age was repeated in a subsequent edition of the book, in 2001. So, in the 13 years from 2001 to 2014, the universe got 1.4 billion years older, which is an increase of 11.3%. How could such a large margin of error be introduced, with so little comment? Could it be that the star to which I referred could be measured more accurately, pushing back the age of the universe?

It turns out that the age of the star is actually measured relative to the dating of the Big Bang. In the case of this particular star, they examine its chemistry (by studying its spectrum), and fit its age with whatever chemistry they think may have been available at the time. Such guesswork is not needed, when we realize that God has already given us reliable and intelligible dates for when creation events happened, in His word.

we thank You and praise You that Your word is true. Help us to submit to what You say, rather than following blindly after the will of the world. Amen.

 

FASTER URANIUM DECAY

Ecclesiastes 1:10

�Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.�
In two previous Creation Moments, I have described how radiometric dating works, and how uranium changes into lead. We found that, for every atom of uranium that decays, eight atoms of helium are made. If a rock contained no lead when it was formed, then all the lead must have been made from uranium, and there would be 8 times as many helium atoms as lead atoms.

 Mica crystals, containing uranium and lead, were examined. The amount of helium in the crystal was measured. Then the amount of helium that there should be was found. The difference between the mass of helium calculated, and the mass of helium at the end of the experiment, shows how much helium has escaped. If the age of the crystal were known, we could calculate the escape age.

 Unfortunately, we do not know the age of the crystals. However, the crystals have two possible ages�an evolutionary age of 1.5 billion years, and a creationist age. The amount of helium that has escaped, or diffused, is divided first by 1.5 billion, then by 6,000 years�the creationist age. Both ages are plotted on a graph, along with other plots from other crystals. Finally, some independent experimental results were obtained for helium diffusion by deliberately heating other crystals.

 The results of these experiments, when plotted on to a graph, fit with the creationist long-age rates, and not with the evolutionary model.

Thank You, Lord, for scientists, carrying out real science experiments. Thank You that we can expect scientific observations to be consistent with biblical truth. Thank You for pointing us to the truth of Your world. Amen.

Ref: Humphreys, R. (et al), Radioactivity and the Age of the Earth, (ICR). Image: Adobe Stock Photos, licensed to author.

 

 URANIUM HALF-LIFE AND DECAY

Micah 5:2

�But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.�


The half-life is a value which gives an indication of the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes. Radioactive decay occurs in an exponential, rather than linear way. Suppose an isotope, which we will call X, has a half-life of 1 year. If we have 32lb of X today, then in a year, we will have just 16lb � half of 32. In another year, however, we will lose only 8lb more�half of 16. The year after that, there will be 4lb left, and so on.

 The term half-life is misleading. Half-life is a notional number, showing how long it would take for half a given radioactive material to decay. When we say that uranium-238 has a half-life of 4,500 million years, this figure is not a problem for creationists. We simply mean that uranium is decaying at a rate, whereby half of it would not decay until 1,500 million years had passed.

 Uranium-238 decays into stable lead-206 by a 14 step process. Eight of these steps involves the release of an alpha particle, which is the nucleus of a helium atom. So, every atom of uranium that turns into lead will also yield 8 atoms of helium. An igneous rock should, therefore, contain 8 helium atoms for every one lead atom. Of course, it doesn�t. Helium can escape into the atmosphere. But this means that we can calculate the speed at which helium can leave radioactive rocks. Measuring this speed reveals that uranium must actually have decayed very much faster in the past than it does today.

We thank You, Lord, that You know all things. You are not taken in by human technology today. No true science can or will oppose Your word�though for a season, people sometimes think that they have disproved Your word. Help us to stand strong for You, and to believe all that You have told us. Amen.

 

CURIOSITY FOR LIFE ON MARS

Isaiah 45:18

�For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.�
Like many people of my generation, I was fascinated by the Apollo Moon landings from 1969 through 1972. As a small boy, I keenly watched all the special programs that I could on BBC TV. I clearly remember one of the BBC experts, signing off the Apollo 17 broadcast, by telling us that NASA would certainly have people on Mars before 1990. I waited eagerly, but it never happened.

 Perhaps the development of the Mars Rovers has helped somewhat. I love the photographs from the surface of Mars. And I love the idea of discovery, purely for the sake of discovery. I don�t think there needs to be any political justification for finding out as much as we can about the Red Planet.

 Of course, that position is slightly na�ve. There is no question that NASA is not carrying out voyages of discovery for the sake of pure discovery. There is an agenda. And that agenda is to emulate David Bowie, by finding life on Mars.

 One rover, called Curiosity, has recently reported pictures of sedimentary rocks, with halos of silica. One possible, and likely, mechanism for the production of these halos is the action of water. It is interesting to think that water may have shaped large parts of the surface of Mars. However, matters being what they are, the inference is being made, as it has been made so many times before, that the existence of water on Mars is possible evidence for life. This is not the case. Life requires water, of that there is no doubt. But water does not imply life. It is the Earth that God has caused to be inhabited.

We praise You, our Heavenly Father, that You have made everything well, and have made this planet a suitable home for us, in Your purposes. We pray for Godly discoveries and discoverers, who will bring honor and glory to Your Name. Amen.

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 11.11.17

PEPPERED MOTHS AGAIN AND AGAIN

Romans 1:21-22

“. . . because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
Every so often, we need to return to the topic of peppered moths, which we have featured a number of times before. Previous Creation Moments have explained why Peppered Moths are not an example of evolution, and how, in the 1980s, it was found that the famous photos showing light and dark moths on light and dark tree trunks had, in fact, been staged. The moths do not normally settle on the trunks, so the photos were taken by gluing dead moths on to the trees.

 What we want to note at the moment is that teachers continue to perpetuate the peppered moth myth. One evolutionist has stated that this is because the concept of what happened to these moths is easy to understand, and more recent studies have suggested that the population of dark moths is indeed higher in urban areas than that of light moths.

 As creationists have often pointed out, this is not really the point, because, even if the accounts were correct, this is not an example of Darwinian evolution, as no new genetic information has been made. It is, however, an example of bad experimental technique, led by a desire to prove a particular outcome, rather than genuine investigation.

 It is disturbing, therefore, to look at that portion of the BBC’s website, where they publish notes for high school students. An up to date science review page for students, with the heading “Evidence for Evolution”, once again publishes the faked moth photos. For us, this constant re-publication of error aptly illustrates the paucity of evolutionary science.

Your word, O Lord, is always true. We thank You that Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We pray that we might constantly follow You, in all that we do, seeking to glorify Your Name. Amen.

 

ONE BEST FRIEND, MANY VARIETIES

Genesis 1:25

“ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
There is a story about a man, who had a dog. A friend asked him what kind of dog it was. The man replied “He is a Heinz dog”. “I have never heard of a Heinz dog”, said the other. “Sure you have”, said the first. “He has 57 varieties”.

 Man’s best friend comes in a bewildering number of varieties, or breeds. Imagine if a future paleontologist found the fossil skulls of a bulldog and a greyhound. Such a paleontologist might suppose these to be entirely different animals. Yet they are not. They are not just part of the same dog family, along with wolves and foxes, they are actually part of the same species, Canis familiari. Over the millennia, the domestic dog has been selectively bred into a wide variety of forms, sizes, hair lengths etc. Almost any characteristic that can be thought of has been manipulated through such selective breeding.

 Pedigree dogs will have certificates from the American Kennel Club, or similar bodies in other countries. An AKC certificate proves that up to four previous generations were of the same breed. The reason for this is that the different breeds obviously interbreed easily—they are the same species. So, this artificial selection of genes is not evolution. In fact, many breeds suffer from genetic diseases, because they are genetically inferior to mongrel dogs, containing much less genetic variety.

 Natural selection is not entirely the same as artificial breeding, but it has sufficient similarities for this point to be made; natural selection is not evolution, as no new genetic information is created.

I thank You, Lord, for my dogs, and for the fun they bring into our lives. Thank You that You designed dogs to be as they are. Thank You for Your wisdom in creating all these animals, to reproduce according to their kind. Amen.

 

 THE HEAVENS DECLARE

Psalms 19:1

�The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.�
I often think that all Christians should be interested in astronomy. That does not mean that I think you should be experts in how stars work, or how light travels. But the Psalmist says that �the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork�. So it is good to look upwards at night, and notice what God has made out there in the heavens, because this causes to stop and consider what God has done.

 We are charged in Scripture never to worship anything in the heavens, because these are things that God has created, but it is right and proper to consider stars, planets, galaxies and so on, and to stand in awe at all that God has made.

 In Genesis 1:14, God tells us that one of the purposes of the night sky is to mark signs and seasons for us. When night falls, it will be different stars that appear on the horizon at different times of year, because of the position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, so we keep track of the seasons. But also, by measuring the angles of certain starts above the horizon, and above the equator, we can work out what latitude we are at. Coupled with the longitude, calculated using accurate time, we can pinpoint our position on the Earth.

 With our modern technology of smartphones and satellites, we take such matters for granted today. But God provided us with time-keeping and positioning software in the sky, right from the beginning of creation. That is certainly a cause to praise His Name!

As we gaze into the heavens, Lord, we see that they declare your handiwork. We are amazed by the beauty of the sky, and our amazement increases, as we learn more about it. We praise You, for You are great and holy. Amen.

Image: Galaxy M8, license: Public Domain (NASA)

 

MAKING AN IMPACT

Psalm 8:3-4

�When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?�
The Solar System has seen many impacts. On so many bodies of the Solar System, these impacts have produced craters. It is well known that the surface of the Moon contains many craters, which are thought to have been formed when a meteorite hit the Lunar surface. However, the Moon is not alone. I have often shown my audiences a photograph of the surface of Mercury, and asked them what it is, because I know that most people will think it is the Moon, because of its cratered surface. In recent years, exploratory, unmanned missions to bodies in the further reaches of the Solar System have revealed surfaces pockmarked with craters.

 We cannot give a definitive answer for how or when the craters were formed. Some creationists believe that this cratering was actually a part of God�s creative process, so that the cratering took place within the Creation Week. Others believe that the cratering was part of the process that initiated the Flood.

 One creation researcher has suggested that a massive Flood-time bombardment of other planets and moons would also have led to massive impacts on the Earth. Some of these impacts would have been of sufficient energy to cause large vertical faulting, and to help split the Earth�s crust into the Tectonic Plates we see today.

 Whatever cratering mechanism turns out to be the best one, we can be sure that these impacts were not random accidents, not merely freaks of nature. They had a purpose in God�s plan, whether they were at the formation of the Solar System, or at the initiation of the Flood.

Nothing has happened by chance, Lord God. Everything has taken place for a reason, even though we may not have that reason revealed to us. Thank You for doing all things well. Amen.

Ref: Oard, M, What do impacts accomplish in the first hour?, Journal of Creation 27(1):90�98 April 2013. Image: Adobe Stock Photos, licensed to author.

 

DID GOD DESIGN THE EYE BADLY?

Proverbs 20:12

�The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,  the LORD hath made even both of them...�
Richard Dawkins believes he has found an organ system, which is badly designed, and so proves that no god could have designed it. He has popularized this accusation so widely that atheistic websites and forums simply quote the example, as if it were proven. He refers to the color receptors on the retina of the vertebrate eye. These are the wrong way round, he says, with the receptor pointing towards the retina, instead of out to the lens. He says:

 �Any engineer would naturally assume that the photocells would point towards the light, with their wires leading backwards towards the brain. He would laugh at any suggestion that the photocells might point away, from the light, with their wires departing on the side nearest the light.�

 The wiring, to which he refers, is that of the nerves. He supposes that the nerves should be behind the retina, so that the receptors point outwards. However, the nerves cannot be behind the eye, as this is the space required for the cooling blood system. If this cooling system were not there, then the receptors would overheat. The receptors could also locally overheat, if they were pointed outward, and so could detect light directly. It would appear that it is better, safer, and more efficient for the receptors to receive light indirectly. Moreover, the nervous system is actually transparent, so light can get through the system just lensward of the receptors.

 Far from being bad design, the structure of the vertebrate eye is an example of masterful design. That, of course, is what we expect from the creativity of the God of the Bible.

As we consider that our eyes were perfectly designed by You, Lord, we also remember that You say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. Help us not to look on things that pollute, but to consider what is worthy. For Your glory�s sake. Amen.

Ref: Sarfati, J.D. (2008), Fibre optics in eye demolish atheistic �bad design� argument, Creation 31(1):45�47, December 2008
Image: Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 11.4.17

FEAR

Matthew 6:31-32

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
One highly qualified British creationist scientist related to an audience how another scientist has approached him, to help with a course he thought their university should run, about the problems associated with evolution. My friend said he would be happy to help. A few days later, the other scientist returned sheepishly to my friend. He would not, after all, be able to run the course. It had been put to him that, if he were to do so, he would lose his career.

 Some creationist scientists, working in secular universities, have estimated that many of their colleagues do not really accept evolution, but are afraid for their careers, their future, and their ability to provide for their families. Fear is a very real phenomenon. While not many Christians lose their lives for their faith in Western countries, like the United States, even peer-pressure can cause an element of fear.

 There may be a case for intelligent circumspection, and there is certainly no biblical mandate for deliberately seeking out persecution. Nevertheless, we must remember that Jesus counseled us against fear and against worry. “Do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” Jesus wants us to face issues with confidence, knowing that we are doing His will. It is not everyone’s calling to stand up for the creation account, in an academic setting. But we all have our situations, where the rubber hits the road, where we are called to trust in Him, rather than in the agencies of the world.

Prayer: I pray, Lord, that You will take away our anxieties, and give us boldness instead; boldness to carry out Your will in every situation. Amen

Ref: Matthew 6:31-32 Image: Adobe stock photos, licensed to author

 

A TALE OF WHALE EVOLUTION

Genesis 1:21

“So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
London’s famous Natural History Museum features an enormous gallery, where, among other large creatures, you can see a life-size blue whale hanging from the ceiling.

 On a mezzanine, overlooking this gallery, a display can be seen, which purports to provide evidence for the evolution of the whale from a group of land animals, called mesonychids. One display contains three skulls. The first is a mesonychid skull. The second is of ambulocetus—a supposed intermediate form. This word comes from the Latin, and means “walking whale”. The third fossil skull on display is that of a dolphin. The implication is that these skulls illustrate a linear evolution of the whale. One would expect, therefore, that the first fossil would be the oldest.

 It is actually the ambulocetus that has the greatest evolutionary age. So the display shows asymmetric error bars for these ages. The ambulocetus is shown to be one of the first of its kind, while the mesonychid is assumed to be one of the last. Thus, the colored error bars show the bulk of the mesonychid timeline as being before that of the ambulocetus, with some overlap. Their justification for this arrangement is that this is the order of evolution. So evolution is assumed, in order to justify the order of display of the fossils, and the display is then offered as evidence of evolution. This is circular reasoning.

 The Bible gives us a much clearer, unambiguous account, relating that whales were created on Day Five of the creation week—a day before land animals.


We are amazed, once again, when we consider a creature like the whale. We know that You made these beautiful, enormous creatures, Lord, and we stand in awe at Your handiwork. Amen

 

 Born of God
�If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.� (1 John 2:29)

 

This is the first of seven occurrences of the phrase �born of God,� or �born of him,� in the little epistle of 1 John. If anyone wishes to know how to recognize one who has truly been �born again,� these seven descriptors are available for that purpose.

 

The first such test, in our text, is that such a person is one �that doeth righteousness.� The second and third are found in 1 John 3:9: �Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.� That is, he will not practice sin because God�s own nature has been implanted in him.

 

Another evidence is genuine love. �Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God� (1 John 4:7). Still another is genuine faith in Christ, which in turn produces genuine love. �Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him� (1 John 5:1).

 

Those who are truly born again will not be permanently defeated by the world. �For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?� (1 John 5:4-5).

 

Finally, �we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not� (1 John 5:18).

 

The term �born again� is being used very loosely these days, and we need to realize that true regeneration is a permanent, life-transforming miracle accomplished by God Himself in a believer�s life. HMM

 

ORCHIDS AND BEES

Psalms 103:15-16

�As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.  For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.�
When I was a science teacher, in government schools in England, I used to like to show a particular video to my classes. This video featured some unusual plants that had strange reproductive methods. The most unusual of all was the bucket orchid.

 This orchid grows in Central and South America. The flower forms a bucket, which fills with a sticky secretion from the plant. The flower then has to sit and wait for a bee. But it is not just any bee that can pollinate this plant. It has to be the special, beautiful, green orchid bee. The bee is attracted by the sweet liquid, but slips and falls into it. The exhausted bee eventually climbs out, through a passage way of Goldilocks proportions�not to big, not too small, just right.

 As the bee tries to escape through this passage, the flower holds it tight, and glues two pollen sacks on its back. After holding the bee long enough for the glue to dry, the flower releases the bee.

 If a bee arrives at the orchid, with pollen sacks already on its back, the flower lets it quickly through the system, and takes away the pollen sacks, before the bee can finally escape.

 Evolutionists maintain that this is an example of co-evolution�two organisms evolving so that they cannot do without each other. Which evolved first? It is difficult to see how one could have evolved before the other. It is far more sensible to take the biblical presupposition, that both were the work of our Creator.

Father, like the bucket orchid and orchid bee, you have designed us to work together in teams, families and churches. We pray that, as we do so, we will realize that we are part of the same body, all valuable, and will work for You accordingly. Amen.

 

 QUICK FOSSIL FOREST

Psalms 95:4

�In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.�
The devastating blast from the eruption of Mount St Helens, on May 19th 1980, tore down huge, mature trees. Old growth forest was flattened north of the volcano in an area covering 230 square miles. Trees were demolished up to 17 miles away.

 Spirit Lake is just 4 miles from the volcano, so all the trees on the hillsides around the lake were snapped like matchsticks. As the landslide rushed into the lake, a huge wave of water was pushed 800 feet up the hillside opposite. As the water washed back, to settle on top of the landslide, 300 feet above where it had been previously, it brought a million logs with it. Even today, 300,000 of these logs are still floating on the lake surface.

 In time, the root ball end of these logs would take in water and get heavier, causing the log to float vertically. Eventually, it would sink vertically. There are many such logs at the bottom of Spirit Lake, without bark (which fell off), and without roots, yet standing upright, buried through several layers of sediment.

 This formation looks like the fossil �forests� seen in such places as Specimen Ridge in the Yellowstone National Park. At Specimen Ridge, it can be seen that the fossil trees, lodged through many layers of sediment, do not, in fact, have roots. This is because these trees did not grow there. They were deposited there, sinking vertically through water, probably during the Flood.

 The area around Mount St Helens is a wonderful laboratory, helping us to understand more about the mechanism and aftermath of the Flood.

Thank You, Lord, for the area around Mount St Helens. Thank You for enabling us to show people how rapid Your work can sometimes be. Help us to be able to show people that what You said in Your word was and is all true. Amen.

Ref: Taylor, P. (2016), Mount St Helens: A Message for Today, (Toutle, WA: J6D Publications) Image: taken by author

 

STONEHENGE AND BABEL

Genesis 11:7-8

�Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.�
It often surprises visitors to England, to see how close it is to the main road. Perhaps they imagine it should be remote, miles from civilization. However, when Stonehenge was built, whatever purpose it was built for, it was clearly at the center of civilization at the time.

 Many people have pointed out that Stonehenge, and other similar ancient stone circle monuments, are observatories. Various stones match up with sunrise or sunset on particular days, or with certain stars at certain times of year. Much has been made of the reasons for such alignments, and all such monuments are associated with large numbers of books and videos, each with a different take on the reasons for the monuments� construction. Perhaps they were built by refugees from an advanced civilization. Some have even suggested links of alien or occult origin.

 After the Flood, God commanded people to scatter over the face of the Earth. People were disobedient, and this disobedience found its focus at Babel, when a city and a tower was built �with its top in the heavens�. It seems that this was an attempt to reach the heavens without reference to God, and it prompted God to divide people�s languages, so that they were forced to scatter over the face of the Earth.

 It is possible that monuments like Stonehenge were built by refugees from Babel. Although neolithic monuments vary enormously from each other, their astronomical uses suggest that they too were attempts to get to the heavens without God. Many of the tribal migrations from Babel produced such magnificent monuments to man�s folly.

Thank You, Lord, for enabling us to see and visit so many monuments from history. Help us to learn the lessons of history, rather than to repeat the mistakes, and, in all things, to give the glory and honor to You. Amen.

 

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