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.
In the original earth as it was created and in the new earth, was there and will there be no decay and no death of animals or plants? Do all living things live forever in a perfect world?
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.
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.
The study of living matter is at the center of all current scientific efforts. But strangely, life itself is not the object of much study. Scientists seem to take the existence of life for granted.
Most animal phyla, including those with soft bodies, appear in Cambrian sediments, in a pattern called the Cambrian Explosion. This pattern is exactly opposite of that predicted by Darwin's theory, but is readily explained in the context of creation and a global catastrophe. 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.
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.
Trilobites are complex, elaborately segmented forms with jointed appendages and swimmerets, antennae, compound eyes, and cephalized, or head-to-tail, nervous systems.
Zoology and genetics are required courses for biology majors. Both subjects are usually structured around the theme of the theory of evolution. A careful examination of the scientific basis of these disciplines shows that the evolutionary framework doesn't fit with a lot of their fundamental aspects, however. Some of these topics even constitute strong evidence in favor of intelligent design.
The integration of Bible and science is an uphill work that requires careful reading of both the Bible and of scientific data. Because no other natural science has traveled so great a distance down an anti-biblical road, no other science requires this corrective procedure more than biology.
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.
If the stranglehold of naturalism can be weakened enough for open discussion of the philosophical issues, the resulting open-minded discussion of design vs. chance will be very beneficial to science. There is a great need of this openness in science. Science should be an open-ended search for truth, rather than a closed system that will not consider certain ideas.
How can we accommodate the paleontological record with Scripture? If our approach to science is as it should be, we can acknowledge that there are still many unanswered questions for all sides, and we should have no fear of deeper investigation in science the data are not all in.
Science/religion issues are important because they have to do with ultimate realities, such as whether a supreme being is above the creation and can supernaturally intervene with events such as miracles, an Incarnation, a resurrection, a new birth, or an Advent.
When Christian ethicists reach the same conclusions as Darwinists about our obligations to our fellow humans, it’s time to do some careful thinking. God created us, and He knows the evil of which we are capable. For this reason, He instructed us to treat all humans as worthy of equal dignity and respect.
This section focuses on South American fossil vertebrates, excluding marine fish. Extinct families will be emphasized here, as living families were considered in Part 1.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1998, covering topics such as boat-building by Homo erectus, biogeography of baobab trees, dispersal by hurricane, design in the genetic code, molecular machines, the problem of homology, peppered moths, lateral gene transfer, Antarctic fish hemoglobins, mammoth phylogeny, origin of life, diversity of Ordovician fossils, patterns of diversity in fossils, bryozoan carbonates, fossil insects and plants, fossil record of vertebrate tracks, body size in North American mammals, Precambrian sponges, Cambrian traces of dinoflagellates, fossil flowers, fossil bird taphonomy, decay of shrimps, catastrophic burial of dinosaurs, fossil whales, and Adam, death and sin. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
Many families of vertebrates appear to have reached South America from the north, as would be expected as they dispersed from the ark after the worldwide flood. These include all the widespread families. Many other families are restricted to South America. Their biogeographical history is unknown.
What are genes? What role do they play in the function of organisms?
