In this article, the multivariate technique of classical multidimensional scaling is introduced to baraminology. Published in Origins n. 57.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 2003, covering topics such as bird conservation, convergence in corals, biogeography, banded iron formations, Cretaceous and Permian mass extinctions, Mediterranean evaporite, Homo floresienses, Archaeopteryx brain, fossil patterns, fossil insect, fossil hummingbird, fossil mammals, and speciation. Published in Origins n. 57.

Whenever religion and science have a dispute about some question of fact, religion always loses. So goes a common belief. The implication is that religion should never make any factual claims, as it has no contact with reality. For some religions, such an assertion is irrelevant, as these religions do not make any claims about the physical universe. But for biblical Christianity, such an assertion would be fatal.

Many models have been proposed that tend to blur some of the contrasts between the biblical and naturalistic theories. A number of attempts have been made to develop intermediate models in which elements of the biblical story of creation are mixed with elements of the scientific story of origins. All of these models share the biblical idea that nature is the result of divine purpose and the “scientific” idea of long ages of time, but all suffer from serious scientific problems or are entirely ad hoc and conjectural.

Darwin’s view of God is contrary to the biblical view of God and should give Christians pause before buying into Darwin’s naturalism and attempting to wed it to the supernatural in a theistic evolutionary synthesis.

The goal of this essay is to assess the compatibility of Adventist theology with deep time and the evolutionary reconstruction of the origins of earth history.

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.

Did God create the world and its environs in six days or did He use a natural process through billions of years? Two studies help to answer this question: an examination of methodological naturalism in the light of recent contributions made by the Intelligent Design movement and an examination of Scripture as revelation.

Revelation, rather than reason, is the source of explanation and truth for those who believe in God and his revelation in Scripture. The Bible's words and inner logic, however, still need interpretation. That is why we need to place all Christian theologies, including Adventist theologies, under careful methodological criticism to make certain we understand biblical thinking on its own terms and not from hermeneutical presuppositions defined by philosophy, science, and culture. Only then can we say in practice that the Bible is the foundation of truth.

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.

A review of the book, Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. Published in Origins n. 55.

Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil. Published in Origins n. 55.

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.

While Christians may be convinced that design in nature points to a Creator-God, the general scientific community has not been persuaded. Perhaps more scientifically respectable work on intelligent design of the kind done by Behe and Dembski will encourage evolutionary scientists to look beyond purely naturalistic mechanisms to explain the complexity and meaning of life.

The molecules of life suggest no need for Christians to become sycophants to materialistic philosophy posing as science. On the contrary, science liberated from the artificial constraints of materialism provides an elegant mechanism for study of the creation and logically points to a wonderful Creator.

Animals can change in small or even large ways to adapt to their surroundings, but humans were created as God’s perfect climax to all that had thus far been created.

The idea that species have changed since the creation is implicit in creation theory. The extent of change is limited, but the rate of change can be quite rapid. Creationists should not be criticized for believing in fixity of species, because (limited) change in species has been incorporated into modern creation theory. Published in Origins n. 54.

Thirteen biological phenomena are discussed in conjunction with evolution, creationist theories of diversification, and the hypothesis that transposable elements may produce rapid change in species. Published in Origins n. 54.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 2001, covering topics such as phylogeny of songbirds, theodicy, mutation rates, genetic load, fossilization process, Permian mass extinction, marsupial fossil in Madagascar, Cambrian Explosion, Ediacaran fossils, quality of the fossil record, philosophy of science, radiohalos, speciation in Galapagos finches.

Review of the book, Annie's Box: Charles Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution. Published in Origins n. 53.