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Showing posts from November, 2024

Death and the Advancement of Evolution

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Scoffers sometimes refer to Christianity as a "death cult," which is an ad hominem  and a straw man; we believe that death is an enemy (I Cor. 15:26) that has been defeated by the bodily Resurrection of Jesus. It is indeed ironic that those scoffers uphold evolution which actually is a death cult. Strangely, people have a fascination with fear and death, but also a simultaneous aversion to them. In movies, violence and gore are extreme and people pay their hard-earned money to see them. Try to talk about their own mortality and people often change the subject. Cemetery, Pixabay / Patty Jansen Those of us who have experienced the death of someone close seem to have a stronger aversion to it than others. My wife died fourteen months ago today, and I have no interest in stories with numerous killings, and gore. I have long been put off by large body counts, but more so now. Indeed, others who experience grief often try to help others get through it. Darwin taught a version of na

Getting Around to Circular RNAs

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In the 1970s, molecular biology was quickly growing. Unfortunately, scientists brought a prairie schooner-full of assumptions with them instead of being objective. DNA was getting sequenced and a large section of it was labeled as "junk" leftover from our alleged evolutionary past. There are classes of RNAs that are puzzling, and they are are not always linear. Some RNAs were considered junk because they did not code for proteins, but some were involved in that after all. In reality, scientific hubris was defeated because RNAs have important functions. Then circular RNAs were discovered. Metabolism of circular RNA, Wikimedia Commons / Wei-Yi Zhou ( CC BY 4.0 ) There are three classes of circRNAs (so far). They surprised researchers by setting up camp in unexpected areas of genes. Their functions are quite complex, and like other things, have a say in gene expression. Mayhaps if secularists realized that there is a Master Engineer who put things in their places for good reaso

Penguin Wing Evolution Story Fails

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Time and time again, proponents of descent with modifications are presented with fossils of creatures that show no appreciable change between then and now. Some evolutionists admit that they walk by by faith, not by sight. The thought of admitting there is a Creator makes them squirm. There are seventeen accepted species of penguins. Despite common ideas, they are not confined to Antarctica, but are found in diverse places such as southern Africa, the Galápagos, and more. They vary in size with the smallest being the blue (little, fairy) penguin at thirteen inches (33 cm). Blue penguin, Flickr / Laurens ( CC BY-ND 2.0 ) A few fossil fragments about the size of the blue penguin were found. It could be considered an eighteenth species. Although this child is suspicious of the amount of information that can be deduced from a few fossils because big mistakes have been made, scientists are telling us that the new fossil ( Pakudyptes ) shows the wings were like those of modern penguins — fl

Radiometric Dating Assumptions and — Working Retail?

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by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  On another weblog, I wrote about riding to a town with Roland Meadows, the fiancé of my prospector friend Stormie Waters. We made friends with Aaron, an employee of a big box store. I went to his town and we met up at an eatery there and we made chin music about our jobs. The place where he works is quite large and the customer base is not exactly classy folks. Some are, but the majority show disrespect to employees, merchandise, and more. When he discussed retail reshops , I thought of radiometric dating, of all things. Grocery shopping, Pexels /  Hobi industri , modified at  FotoSketcher People assume that radiometric dating proves that the earth is old, but it is based on presuppositions of deep time and molecules-to-manager evolution. Simply put, a radioactive element (let's pick uranium for now) decays into lead. Uranium is the parent and lead is the daughter . The amount of each is compared and the decay rate is factored in, calculations are made, an

Stoned Apes, Evolution, and the Future

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It has been said that people throughout history have found ways to get high, which frequently includes alcohol. Generally speaking, drunkenness is something for disreputable people. The first instance in the Bible is Noah (Gen. 9:21) and it is usually spoken of unfavorably (consider Prov. 23:29-35). Part of the disfavor toward any form of intoxication is the loss of control (Eph. 5:18). In the 1960s, drug use was considered a way of opening or expanding the mind. Our evolutionary ancestors supposedly got high. Hippie-type van, Unsplash / Nick Karvounis Materialists have long denied the existence of consciousness or tried to explain it away, but this goes in the opposite direction. Dr. Bobby Azarian thinks that in the distant past, our apelike ancestors got stoned. (I can imagine a bunch of apes riding in a hippie van, wearing big sunglasses, acrid smoke and Grateful Dead music pouring out the windows...) It's supposed to open your mind, maaan! Far out! What great benefit to humanit

A Repopulation Lesson from the Black Robin

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There are several large land masses in the world, and Eurasia takes up a huge chunk. Japan is an island nation. SSE of there is the Philippines archipelago, south of that is Indonesia, and the South Pacific has many islands. Boom!  Australia is the world's largest island, kind of startling among its smaller neighbors. New Zealand is another island nation. It has a unique species of robin that has a different look and song than those in North America, and they are inquisitive. Mayhaps even friendly — making them susceptible to predation. Then there is the black robin. Black robin, Flickr / schmechf ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) As New Zealand is dwarfed by Australia to the north, it dwarfs the Chatham Island archipelago to their east. It is considered a part of New Zealand. Anyway, they have a black robin that also is a nice guy. The little chirper is cute, too. Something cannot get much closer to the brink of extinction than these. There were only five left, with just one breeding pair. In a

Salamander Fossil Confuses Evolutionists

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Salamanders are amphibians that looks somewhat like lizards, and many types are found in North America. They may bite when they feel threatened but have no venom. Some have secretions in their skin that may make someone sick, so refrain from licking them. Like humans, amphibians, birds, and many other critters, they are classified as tetrapods . That simply means vertebrates that have two pairs of limbs. Salamanders are also cold-blooded, which means the environment controls their temperature, not from an internal mechanism. A fossil was found in a cold place. Reconstruction of Gaiasia jennyae , Wikimedia Commons / Olmagon ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) (background modified) Down Argentina way, a fossil of a large tetrapod that resembles a salamander was discovered in the cold of Gondwana. The scientists wonder how a cold-blooded critter could have survived up there, and they are having some arguments. Still protecting deep time, though. Also, other organisms were found nearby, so a shallow lake wa

Building the Ark with Technology and Animal Power?

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A spell back, we examined characteristics of Noah's Ark and saw that the entire process was not just an series of miracles (see " Noah's Ark and the Miraculous " for those article links). Answers in Genesis has spent considerable time on the logistics of the Ark. Here are two more articles of interest. It has been a dogma of Darwinism that early humans swung down from the trees but had not yet evolved intelligence. Numerous examples of their genius ruins evolutionary presuppositions. That is because humans were created with intelligence from the beginning. Grinding peanuts with ox power, Wikimedia Commons / Michael Gunther ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Indeed, the Bible mentions skills of people before the Genesis Flood which included metalworking and the like. (Some people speculate that Noah and family could have hired people to help build the Ark, even though they would have thought it was foolishness.) They lived a mighty long time, and after the Flood, Noah reached a total o

Beauty and the Transcendent

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by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Although I am not fond of trends, I like a new one on my radar. "Beware of Smartphone Zombies" can be seen on T-shirts, possibly  real road signs , and many places on the internet. People do not watch where they are walking, forcing others to go around them — if possible. It illustrates a deeper problem related to the stupidification of society, especially younger people. Our Creator gave people minds to use, but their attention is on electronic entertainment and getting dopamine from a sort of electronic culture . They miss out on true beauty. Rondout Creek joining the Hudson River, several things happening, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen I'll allow that people want their entertainment and don't want to be interrupted. For instance, I was uninterested in going on "color tours" to see the autumn leaves changing because I had things I preferred to do. We all have some entertainment priorities or some things just have no appeal. However

Another Strike Against Dinosaur-to-Bird Evolution

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One crisp autumn day, I was riding out Folly Road past Stinking Lake (which is not as bad as it sounds). Riding down from the Darwin Ranch was Al Buehterawl. We reined in and commenced to jawing. Eventually the subject turned to birds supposedly evolving from dinosaurs. He knows full well that I oppose the idea that dinosaurs evolved into birds. When I pointed out that birds existed at the time of dinosaurs and museums are deceptive about this fact , Al Buehterawl took a deep breath and moved the goalposts with, "They were primitive  birds." Owl, Pexels / Simon Rizzi Darwinists are often deceptive. That's right, I said it!  Most (but not all) evolutionists believe that dinosaurs evolved from birds, treating it like an established fact despite contrary evidence. Their terminology is changing, referring to some reptiles as "non-avian dinosaurs" as a way of reinforcing their belief. For that matter, calling something "primitive" means less evolved, whic

Explaining Fossil Dinosaur Eggs, Tracks, and More

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Theories, models, worldviews, and other things need to be internally consistent. Atheism fails in this regard and is unliveable, so  professing atheists (Rom. 1:18-19) have to stand on the biblical worldview. Likewise, believers in particles-to-paleontologist evolution often need to borrow from biblical creation science. A student who claimed to believe the Bible lost faith because of fossil dinosaur footprints. He couldn't imagine  a global Flood allowing for footprints. Problem is, he did not check for that internal consistency in creationist models, so he made assumptions instead of doing his homework. Dinosaur tracks at Jurassic Moenave Formation, US Geological Survey (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) I'll allow that it's still something to consider. A flood is a busy time, especially when it's global in scale. Checking on creation models of the Genesis Flood shows a specific model that does a good job of explaining tracks, eggs, scavenging (they

John Dewey and Public School Indoctrination

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In the twentieth century, John Dewey was considered a great intellectual. He is credited with developing the modern public school system. Dewey had some odd and contradictory ideas in his worldview. He was an atheist and signer of the atheistic Humanist Manifesto, which openly admitted that it was a religion. Also, he did not believe in absolute truth or knowledge. It is ironic that an educator did not believe in knowledge. Worse, his rejection of God made him blind to the fact that logic comes from God — without God, morality, knowledge, wisdom, logic, and science are impossible ! Those details did not matter to Dewey. While he did some things that helped the school system, he wanted children depending on others to do the thinking for them — reflecting the atheistic, evolutionary, and Marxist trends that were growing in the formerly United States at the time. It can be seen today that many people have no inking about how to do critical thinking. Also, notice how these sheeple tend tow

La Brea Tar Pits and the Genesis Flood

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Near Los Angeles (translation: the angels) was an area known as Rancho La Brea  ( la brea  translation: the pitch, or, the tar), and a part of that became Hancock Park. Savvy readers know that it is the location of the famous La Brea Tar Pits. Much research has been done regarding this natural asphalt. The story goes that animals would get trapped by the tar and cry out in distress, attracting predators who would also get trapped. That tale is popular but the reality is quite different. Indeed, there are reasons to doubt current speculations. Mastodon display at La Brea Tar Pits, Flickr / Ingrid Richter ( CC BY 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Study on it a spell. Thousands of fossils recovered from La Brea, many of large plant eaters and carnivores. If those were trapped and pulled down, wouldn't the bones be together? In fact, most skeletons are disarticulated (spread out). Biblical creationists agree with secular scientists that the area shows massive flooding, but creationists go

Teaching Evolutionary Medicine is Worthless

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Everyone has a worldview, even if they have not spelled it out succinctly. It involves how they view life, what is important, morality, life and death, and all that good stuff. Descent with modifications is more than academic and scientific parlor talk, it is a worldview. Although evolution fails many tests, people presuppose that it is true and must be a part of their decision making processes. Some physicians have their spleens in a twist because they insist there should be more Darwinism taught in medical school. That should prompt cries of outrage because evolutionary thinking in medical science has actually been harmful , not helpful (see " Evolutionary Thinking Wrecks Modern Medicine "). Yanking out tonsils, adenoids, and downplaying the appendix may have been profitable, but if those doctors had bothered to think that the Creator put things in their places for a reason, patients would have been much better off. So, why isn't evolution taught very much in medical sc

System Engineering and Biology

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For a while now, biologists have been starting to look at living things from an engineering perspective. They are a bit skittish about it, because if things are engineered, there must be an Engineer a Designer. Indeed, C. Richard Dawkins and other Darwinists tell scientists to remind themselves that things only appear designed. Another reason for the reluctance of evolutionists to admit to engineering approaches is that biblical creationists have been talking about biological engineering for some time now. A paper in the Intelligent Design community discusses systems engineering in biology. Construction, Pixabay /  Adi Rahman Systems engineering requires making a plan to build something in order to accomplish a goal, models are developed, testing happens, and all that good stuff before a final product is made. Taking inspiration from mechanical engineering, the authors describe model-based reverse system engineering. To show how their approach would work, glycolysis was used. If a basi

Ape Fossils Found in Wrong Places

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It is interesting that Darwin's acolytes on social(ist) media tend to show ignorance of their own belief system, or mayhaps they try to steamroll over creationist opponents with hot air. Some have claimed that there are no fossils out of order — which would be news to secular scientists. There are many fossils and artifacts in what evolutionists would consider wrong places, which has caused them no small amount of embarrassment. Still, they cling to their uniformitarian views because the alternative (special creation) is anathema. Monkey fossils are causing loyal evolutionists consternation. Spider monkeys, Wikimedia Commons / Bernard Spragg ( PD ) Both creationists and evolutionists try to work out biogeography — how did that  get over there ? The monkeys in question were found in South America. Fine, nice weather, plenty of things to climb on and play with. But there are no fossils of their ancestors. They seem to have come from Africa. How, prithee? Although secularists laughed