A report of the 2000 meeting of the Geological Society of America in Reno, Nevada. Published in Origins n. 51.

Origins may sometimes be a contentious issue in science and faith because of differing presuppositions about God's relationship to nature. An argument has been presented here that it is eminently reasonable to believe that direct supernatural action was involved in the origins of the universe, life, and humanity, and that a scientific process restricted to observable physical mechanisms is inadequate to discover and explain our origins.

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.

In this essay we will seek to find a balanced, practical approach to the relationship between science and God's Word.

This article will briefly explain the variety of conditions that influence the structures seen in flood basalt flows.

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.

Catastrophism and uniformitarianism have played a major role in the interpretation of the history of earth. The first assumes rapid, unusual, major geological events, while the second asserts with the contrary concept of small, slow, and prolonged changes.

Attempts to account for the He-4 in Earth's atmosphere on the basis of diffusion of radiogenic helium from the crust and thermal loss to outer space yield unreasonable models. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.

This article covers several features and areas that demonstrate the catastrophic processes that shaped the Northwestern US.

Polonium radiohalos are best explained by diffusion of by-products of radioactive decay of uranium and thorium, and not as evidence of supernatural activity. Published in Origins v. 24, n. 2.

Any of the proposed resolutions to the conflict between radiometric dating and biblical chronology has problems. The pros and cons of each need to be considered.

  FOREWORD byClyde L. WebsterPh.D. Senior Research Scientist Geoscience Research Institute Very few things capture one's imagination quicker than finding a fossil while on a nature walk or even a walk through a museum. There is an almost mystical drawing power associated with fossils. Questions of What? Where? When? Why? and How? immediately flood one's mind, and in some cases may remain there forever,…

Research in the Yellowstone "fossil forests" includes study of the sediments, purported paleosoils, and paleoecology. Together, these indicate the "forests" are not in situ, but have been transported. Comparison with the effects of the eruption of Mt St Helens and the floating log raft in Spirit Lake provide an example of a possible mechanism for emplacement of the fossil trees in Yellowstone. Published in Origins v. 24, n. 1.

Radiometric dating is an interpretive science. The complex chemical and physical processes taking place within Earth's mantle and crust are neither completely known nor understood. This is especially true when the radioactive isotope parameters are considered.

Examples of false fossils warn us to be cautious, especially when dealing with ill defined objects which, in spite of varied claims, may or may not be real fossils. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 2.

Various examples adequately establish that a radioisotope age does not necessarily have a real-time significance. A relationship of a radioisotope age with real-time must be based on an interpretation.

Most science is conducted under the philosophical assumption of naturalism. A few scientists are developing an alternative paradigm, here called interventionism (generally called theism). Published in Origins v. 23, n. 1.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1996, covering topics such as Homo erectus, the Permian mass extinction, mutations in Chernobyl rodents, dropstones, yeast genome, Heart Mt detachment, carbonate cycles, eye development gene, RNA World, Archaeopteryx, Cambrian chordate, turtles, stromatolites, and pseudogenes. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 1.