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.
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."
If microorganisms are indeed ubiquitous and indispensable, it is reasonable to expect to find evidences of their activities in the biblical record. Such an approach may enrich our grasp of the sacred text. This paper intends to show that there is more microbiology in the Bible than meets the eye!
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 2003, covering such topics as fish biogeography, chicken teeth, wings of stick insects, evolution as a religion, tests of common ancestry, Black Sea flood, gene duplication, paleoclimate, Permian bacteria alive?, Triassic bird footprints?, historical science, and parallel speciation. Published in Origins n. 55.
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.
Is the epistemological certainty of evolutionary theory so absolute that Christian theologians should feel rationally compelled to accept its conclusions even if they explicitly contradict the teachings of biblical revelation on the origin of life on our planet?
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.
The purpose of this research was to examine the contact for evidence of what is thought (14 million years of erosion) to have elapsed between the laying down of the last flow of most of the Columbia River Basalts and the deposition of the wind-blown glacial silts of the Palouse soil. Published in Origins n. 53.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1999 (mostly), covering topics such as fox domestication, biogeography, a polyploid mammals, gene duplication, inbred cattle, pseudogenes, Missoula Flood, protein evolution, origin of life, dinosaur skin, quality of the fossil record, fossil burrows, Cambrian explosion, Neanderthal DNA, problems in phylogenetics, Australopithecus face, Galapagos tortoise phylogeny, the hoatzin bird, lateral gene transfer, limits to change, shark phylogeny, rift lake cichlids, and homeobox genes. Published in Origins n. 52.
Several attempts have been made to explain the biblical flood as a local event, but none of them is consistent with the biblical description of the global flood. Published in Origins n. 52.
Fossils speak of catastrophic burial by water in many areas of the world, thus contradicting the uniformitarian model. A growing number of modern geologists concur with this view, although they may not accept the theory of a universal flood. Those of us who rely in the biblical story of a universal flood find in the fossil record abundant evidence that the surface of the earth once experienced the convulsions of a catastrophic destruction.
A report of the 2000 meeting of the Geological Society of America in Reno, Nevada. Published in Origins n. 51.
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.
The story of our origins is a vital part of our understanding of ourselves and our world. Although many details of creation are not well understood, the Genesis story of origins provides the logical foundation for the gospel. Both science and Scripture contain many mysteries, but we can see enough to understand that the creation is the result of intentional, supernatural action by a loving Creator, and we can share this good news with others.
Is there a possibility that the matter of faith and faith in matter can have some talking point? What are the aims of Christianity and those of science? Can we conceive of common goals for both? Where lies the final answer to human queries?
