Ecological Zonation: Theory, Problems and Perspectives
Ecological Zonation Theory suggests that the order of fossils in sedimentary basins reflects landscapes sequentially eroded by rising Flood waters.
Ecological Zonation Theory suggests that the order of fossils in sedimentary basins reflects landscapes sequentially eroded by rising Flood waters.
Currently evolutionary geology explains the fossil record as the result of slow processes and change occurring over long periods of time. However, an increasing number of rock formations and fossil occurrences previously interpreted within such an evolutionary framework must be reinterpreted as the result of rapid, or even catastrophic, processes operating on a different time scale.
The purpose of this article is to examine major interrelated issues that are present in current discussions about the biblical Flood narrative of Gen 6-9.
The known history of birds appears consistent with the idea that they were created. These new and spectacular avian fossils suggest is that the original creation produced a much greater variety of birds than previously imagined.
When all is said and done we are forced to answer the question that Yahweh posed to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?." We are forced to admit that when it comes to origins, the entire human race is ignorant. The only way to pacify our ignorance is by exercising faith. The question is, “In what will you place your faith?”
The concept of a monotheistic God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, not a plurality of capricious gods, suggested the universality, consistency and coherence of His creation. Among the contingently created beings were humans created in God's own image. This led to "the idea that we lesser rational beings might, by virtue of that Godlike rationality, be able to decipher the laws of nature."
Creationism is a robust paradigm, fully capable of undergirding the scientific enterprise in the new millennium. Wider acceptance of creationism by the scientific community in the future will depend, in part, on how well theologians can convince scientists of the priceless value of revealed information.
We have much study to do before we will truly understand how to fit together all the evidence into a coherent picture. But I as a Christian and a scientist find a three-step process helpful: trust God's communication to us in Scripture; study carefully and seek to recognize human ideas that we have incorrectly read in between the lines in Scripture; and follow up with careful scientific work.
Paraconformities suggest that little time was involved in the deposition of the sedimentary layers, and these are the layers that harbor the fossil record.
The geological column is not something you can find in the rock layers that form the crust of the Earth. It is more like a map. It is a column-like representation of the general order of the rock layers over the surface of the Earth.
Many would say scientists must leave all religious influences out of their scholarly pursuits, because to do otherwise would compromise the search for truth. However, I believe the God of the Bible understands the highest levels of scholarship, not just comforting inspirational themes.
Most of us are familiar with the story of Elijah standing on a mountain top, calling down fire from heaven. The biblical account states that Elijah’s experience occurred on Mount Carmel.
In two recent publications, Alister McGrath cites John Calvin in support of divine accommodation in a theory of origins. In order to evaluate the validity of McGrath's use of Calvin, it is necessary, first, to look briefly at the concept of divine accommodation and its use as a hermeneutical tool.
Historians of science have suggested that the Judea-Christian environment of western Europe and the belief in a monotheistic God were responsible for the development of modem science in that culture. Today students can still see that Christianity and physics are compatible and that similar assumptions underlie both.
Beginning with the authority and historicity of Scripture, this paper outlines the importance of the biblical texts that create guidelines and boundaries for interpretation of nature in general and in the classroom. Application of this approach as a means of bolstering faith in the Christian classroom is presented, followed by evidences from the rock record that seem to me to be consistent with the biblical account of a worldwide flood.
There has been a long and arduous search for a plausible evolutionary mechanism that would produce complex organized life. We shall look briefly at the past two centuries of this search.
This article will briefly explain the variety of conditions that influence the structures seen in flood basalt flows.
Science and Scripture are built, according to Boyle, on the same epistemological features of revelation, reason, and experience but with different relative contributions from each.
Science/religion issues are important because they have to do with ultimate realities, with whether to "worship" the Creator or the creature (creation), with whether a supreme being is above the creation and can supernaturally intervene.
A ring of volcanic and earthquake activity is being felt around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Volcanologists, with the help of modern technology, are able to monitor dormant and active volcanos in the Pacific Rim, identify indicators of increased activity that may lead to eruptions, and issue early warning to communities living along the Pacific Coast.