The Minimal-Facts Fallacy

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with a Therapod dinosaur

Adam, Eve and a therapod dinosaur in the garden of Eden (Gen 1.24-30)

Having just dealt with similar issues in the previous article on Hugh Ross’ mis-directions, I felt a twinge of déjà vu as I read through an “A Minimal-Facts Case for Genesis”[1]. The author appears to have a problem with the teachings of origins as laid out in Genesis. He summarizes the main points of the Biblical origin account as:

1. God created the universe, Earth, and all life in six 24-hour days.
2. The Earth is only 6000 years old.
3. Common descent (i.e. “evolution”) is false.
4. Humans coexisted with dinosaurs.
5. Noah fit the ancestors of all present-day animals on the Ark.
6. The Flood covered the entire Earth, killing all other humans and land animals.[2]

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Q15: Psychology, evolution, agency and creation

Robin Hood splits the arrow

Robin Hood splits the arrow

This question is too long to be an article title. The title I used just captures the elements involved. Here is the full question:

Question 15: Psychology says evolution has wired people to find “agency” — a personal cause — in everything, even when we know it’s not true. If they think the world and what happens here has a personal cause, it’s just another case of imagining agency when it isn’t really there.

This is a complex question filled with assumptions and bad reasoning. So let’s start by identifying the assumptions and bad reasoning, and then we’ll go on to the core of the question and the answer. Continue Reading

Creation, Craig and the myth of a “mytho-historical” Genesis

My seminary apologetics teacher Dr. William Lane Craig has a quite serious problem on his hands.  He’s painted himself into a corner.  Dr. Craig has built a career and made and name for himself in apologetics and is well respected in the field. He now faces a problem that could undo all the good work he has done in defending the faith. What problem could possibly be so severe you wonder? Like the man cutting off the branch he’s sitting on, Craig is heading in the direction of undermining most if not all the work he has done in defending the existence of God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He appears ready to embrace the creation account as “mytho-historical.” Continue Reading

Are young earth evidences needed to defend Christian Faith?

10 Young earth evidences and why they’re needed 

Does the age of the earth matter to your faith? The witnessing approach known as Evangelism Explosion was known for its diagnostic questions[1], so let me take that approach and ask a few diagnostic questions. Answer yes or no to the following:

Question 1: Does the account of the creation of the universe as presented in Genesis depict literal events in a historical manner the way the gospels present the life of Jesus in a historical manner?

Question 2: Is it important to stand up for a “literal” understanding of the creation of the universe as depicted in Genesis the way we stand up for a “literal” understanding of the death and resurrection of Jesus?

Question 3:  Are you as proud and willing to stand for and defend the doctrine of creation  as depicted in Genesis – in 6 days – as you are to stand for and defend the resurrection of Jesus on the third day?

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The Global Flood: The Best Evidence for Creation?

The ark floating above fish in the global flood

The Bible states that the heavens and the earth were created in six literal days. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a garden called Eden. Adam and Eve sinned, bringing sin into God’s perfect creation, and sin brought with it the consequence of death. The Bible goes on to state that:

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Gen 6.5)

So God elected to start over, wiping all the wicked people off the face of the earth and begin again with the family of one righteous man: Noah (Gen 6:8-10). 

What is the best evidence of this creation account?  The first question to answer is what kind of evidence should we be looking for? The first criteria is that it should be evidence that is accessible and acknowledged by all – on both sides of the debate.  The second criteria has to do with the explanatory power of the evidence, which is explained below. Continue Reading

Testimony of the Golden Gate: Bridges, Body Parts and Intelligent Design

The Golden Gate Bridge

I enjoy looking for evidences of the Creator imprinted on his creation when I travel. This past summer we had the opportunity of visiting San Francisco where we saw the awe inspiring Golden Gate bridge and I snapped the above picture.  I was also reminded of the Creator – in an indirect way. Obviously God didn’t directly build the bridge – but the bridge is a reminder of the design inherent in His creation. Let me explain. It is abundantly evident that the Golden Gate bridge is intelligently designed. But beyond that, not only is it intelligently designed,  it’s clear it is also irreducibly complex. And irreducible complexity is an undeniable evidence of intelligent design..

Michael Behe introduced the concept of irreducible complexity in his book “Darwin’s Black Box, and defined it this way: Continue Reading

Is three tier flat earth cosmology getting short shrift from Biblical Creationists?

Heaven Earth and Seas of the Ancient 3 Tier Universe Cosmology

In response to my previous article “What Might Einstein Think About Flat Earth Theories” (posted on the Creation Club site)

Dean writes:

The flat earth society is the source for the absurd idea that the earth is “pancake shaped” and it is “accelerating upward” in order to replace gravity. The Biblical Three Tier Cosmology model makes no such claim. I am still looking for Biblical young earth creation ministries to honestly address the Biblical flat earth model. I keep finding articles like this that misrepresent the majority on other side.

The Bible teaches us that the earth is not in any motion and is at rest on a foundation with pillars and a cornerstone. All experiments designed to demonstrate earth’s motion have failed.

The Copernicus/Pythagoras model IS the Big Bang/Evolution model promoted by young earth creationists. It has no Biblical support whatsoever

You seem to value Einstein as a scientist even though this is his real resume:
Proven theories – 0
Patents – 0
Discoveries – 0
Inventions – 0

The response I wrote (below) is a bit long for a comment, so I present it here instead.  Also for the reader’s reference – depicted above – the Three Tier Cosmology model Dean refers to consisting of Heavens, Earth and Seas.[1]  Note that : Continue Reading

Human and Dino tracks and Why Atheists Can’t Find Evidence of God – Part 2

Alvis Delk Human Dinosaur footprints at the Creation Evidence Museum

Before we get to the meat of the matter, I’m sure some are wondering “Where is Part 1?”  Sometimes a better name for an article occurs to you after you’ve already published it. Such is the case with the previous article, which should have been titled something like:

Why Atheists Can’t Find Evidence of God (Part 1)
or
Why Atheists Can’t Find Evidence of Intelligent Design
or
Why Evolutionists Can’t Find Evidence of Creation

And while in this digital age of online publishing though it is possible to change the title, it still seems a bit unseemly, so I have left it with the original title. But for those who are wondering where Part 1 is, that’s where it is, titled with a question meant to get you thinking about one of the main reasons why atheists can’t find evidence of God (and why evolutions can’t find evidence of intelligent design.)

Part 1 lays out two reasons why atheists can’t find either evidence of God or Intelligent design; and in similar fashion why evolutionists can’t find evidence of Creation. Those reasons are: Continue Reading

Detecting Design and Entropy on a Beach

We had the pleasure in vacationing in Jamaica this past summer. Of course we made it to the beach where I waded in and sat, enjoying the warm waters. As I looked around at the sand and rocks beneath the water I found a rock which  appeared to have the impressions of a leaf embedded in it. With the possibility of having found a fossil I was, of course motivated to look for more. I found another one which appeared to have impressions of some type in it. I made a mental note to find someone knowledgeable about fossils to take a look at these to confirm whether these are what I thought they are.

As I continued to look for rocks in the warm water I came across an item I didn’t expect to find. It was perfectly square, about 1/8″ inch thick, flat on the bottom with beveled edges on top. It was blue with white speckles on top with a shiny coat covering the top, and solid white on the bottom. Continue Reading

Taking Pride in Creation: Genesis: Paradise Lost | Movie Review

 

Genesis: Paradise Lost movie

Since the limited run  of  Genesis: Paradise Lost is almost over (there’s a final encore on December 11, 2017), you may be wondering why another review. We’ll get to that in a moment. But first let me note that a number of even handed reviews have already been written. Here are 3 of them: Continue Reading