Adam’s role and identity in the Genesis account, his use in the New Testament, and his theological function in major Christian doctrines have become the epicenter of the new discussion concerning human origins. The hermeneutical and theological dilemmas created by these new proposals are ground shaking when it comes to the assumed stance on origins and soteriology sustained by an increasing number of Evangelicals. Slowly but surely this paradigm shift among and within Evangelicals is affecting their understanding of Scripture, and of its authority and primacy in matters of doctrine. Article published in Reflections, n. 80, newsletter of the Biblical Research Institute.

Why am I conscious of my purpose?

Fossils and the rocks in which they are contained are an excellent platform for discussing origins from a biblical perspective, especially in relation to the design and complexity of ancient life and the worldwide destruction caused by Noah’s Flood.

The iconic “March of Progress” is misleading

Claims of dinosaur DNA stir controversy

Cambrian arthropods were as complex as living species

The "Cambrian explosion" is a term used to describe the abrupt appearance in the fossil record of major animal phyla, without intermediate forms in lower layers. This pattern of abrupt appearance can be observed for many groups of organisms, including crinoids (sea lilies).

Fossilized crane fly eyes discovered to be calcified and have melanin

An average of 70 mutations occur in each person.

Fossils are remains or other evidence of organisms that lived in the past and are preserved in the rocks. How did they form and what can we learn from them?

Ancient Near Eastern views should be considered part of the history of the idea of evolution. The biblical Creation account, in describing the divine actions through which God actually brought the cosmos into existence, was likely deconstructing the alternative theories or speculations of origins available in the Ancient Near East. Consequently, the biblical narrative can be used as well to deconstruct contemporary cosmogonies and evolution. This article was originally published on Perspective Digest, v.24/3.

Is a recent fossil found in Peru evidence for transitional forms in an evolutionary sequence?

The abrupt appearance of trilobites in Cambrian strata and their absence in Precambrian sediments is a real feature of the rock record and not due to failure of preservation in Precambrian rocks.

A newly described Cambrian locality in China has added more than 50 new species to our knowledge.

Confirmation that fathers may sometimes pass mitochondrial DNA to their children violates the assumptions used to calculate the age of the most recent female common ancestor of all living humans. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 2.

A fossil bird recovered from Cretaceous lake deposits in China shows preservation of some soft tissues, including a pair of lungs that appear to have functioned in a way similar to those of living birds.

The Yellowstone "fossil forest" has many layers of volcanic ash. Trace element analysis of these layers reveals they derive from about four volcanic sources, and the layers from different sources are interlaced, implying contemporaneous eruptions of the different sources. Published in Origins n. 65.

An appeal, by Dr. Leonard Brand, for more original research, publications, and review papers to present a coherent model for the interpretation of the Yellowstone fossil forests that would bring it to the attention of the geological community. Published in Origins n. 65.

This post complements an article that was written in 2014. Since then, there have been some interesting developments in the area of Triassic pterosaurs that are worth mentioning, the most important being the recent description by Britt et al. (2018) of a Triassic pterosaur from the Nugget Sandstone of Utah.

During one of my frequent visits to the office of my high school headmaster, his individual tutelage yielded a life lesson that I’ve never forgotten. His exact words were, “You think you’re right!” Of course I thought I was right, wouldn’t anyone who thought they were wrong change their mind and then immediately think they are right? Now that I’m an adult biologist, I still think that I’m right. Inevitably…