CREATION 1. God's plan or random chance. God's Word explains how the universe and life on earth are a part of God's eternal plan. The only alternative to divine creation is evolution, a sequence of randomly operating processes. To an evolutionist, these random physical and chemical processes replace God and carry out their own creative acts. The forward of the 1971 edition of Darwin's Origin of the Species states "[The theory of evolution] forms a satisfactory faith on which to base our interpretation of nature." Having replaced God with natural processes, the evolutionist concludes that there is no accountability for sin. 1.1. God's plan. 1.1.1. God existed before creation (Ps 90.2; Col 1.16-17; 1 Pet 1.20; Jn 17.24). 1.1.2. God designed His entire plan for the ages in eternity past (Ps 104.1-5, 31-35; Job 38.4; Rev 13.8). 1.1.3. Creation was designed to bring glory to God (Ps 104.1-4, 31-35; Ps 148.5; Col 1.16-17; Rev 4.9-11. 1.1.4. God's plan included man (Ps 8.3-6; Acts 17.23-26). 1.1.5. Jesus Christ created the heavens, Earth, and all life forms complete in 7 days (Gen. 1; Ex. 20.11; Neh 9.6; Job 38.4, 31-33; Jn 1.1-3; Col 1.16-17). 1.1.6. The promises to Israel are backed by creation (Is40.1-14). 1.1.7. Creation was cursed because of mankind (Rom 8.12). (Entropy follows this principal and applies to all systems). 1.1.8. God's plan continues beyond creation (Ps 102.26; Mt 24.35). 1.1.9. God will have a Big Bang and new creation (Is 65.17; 2 Pet 3). 1.2. The evolutionist is left to natural processes. 1.2.1. Common physical and chemical phenomenon (gravity, magnetism, molecular forces) are not understood (Col 1.16-17). 1.2.2. The evolutionist has nothing but these forces to appeal to without God. 1.2.3. Faith is placed in these processes (Rom 1.18-22). 1.2.4. Starting with the assumption that there is no God, the evolutionist concludes there was no creative act: No God ---> No creation ---> No Adam ---> No original sin ---> No accountability for sin ---> No Savior. 1.3. Scientific facts will demonstrate that creation is much more reasonable than evolution. 2. Seven days of creation. Execution of God's eternal plan started in the 7 literal days of creation. All matter, energy, and life forms were created directly by God. The evolutionist ideas dealing with the creation of the universe (Big Bang, Steady State) do not answer the questions of 1st cause. 2.1. Summary of creation (Gen 1.1). 2.1.1. Beginning - God started time 2.1.2. Heavens - God created space 2.1.3. Earth - God created matter 2.2. God created light (Gen 1.3-5). 2.2.1. In our experience matter and energy are constant. 2.3. God created the canopy, atmosphere and hydrosphere (Gen 1.6-8) 2.3.1. The canopy controlled climate and radiation. 2.4. God created land and plants (Gen 1.9-13). 2.5. God created the sun, moon, planets, and stars (Gen 1.14-19). 2.6. God created water life and birds (Gen 1.20-23). 2.7. God created animals including man and woman (Gen 1.24-31). Man and woman are detailed in Gen 2.5-22. 2.8. One day was 24 hours (2 Pet 3). The diagram below shows the seven days of creation. 3. Theories of origin. 3.1. The most popular evolutionist ideas are the Big Bang and Steady State. 3.2. The "Big Bang" is defined as an explosion of all the matter and energy in the universe 10 billion years ago. 3.2.1. Very popular, but no evidence. 3.2.2. Contradicts entropy. 3.2.3. System like earth requires two explosions. 3.3. The steady state idea is a gradual buildup through gravitational attraction upon moving particles. This requires eternal matter. This is the only alternative to the Big Bang. This idea is kept around for scientists to fall back on when Big Bang predictions turn out backwards. 4. Noah's flood. God unleashed forces upon the crust of the earth during the great flood resulted in the geologic features and processes we see today. 4.1. Chronology of the flood. 4.1.1. God warned Noah (Gen 6.13). 4.1.2. 120 years to build the ark, gather animals (Gen 6.3-22) 4.1.3. 7 day warning - load the ark (Gen 7.4-10). 4.1.4. Flood starts: Fountains of deep open, floodgates of sky open, rain falls (Gen 7.11-12). 4.1.5. Waters rise for 40 days (Gen 7.17). 4.1.6. Mountains covered (Gen 7.20). 4.1.7. Air breathers die (Gen 21-22). 4.1.8. Flood level maintained 110 more days (Gen 7.24, 8.3). 4.1.9. Waters begin to subside 150 days after start. Wind passes over the earth, fountains of the deep close, flood gates of the sky close, rain is restrained (Gen 8.1-3). 4.1.10. Ark rests on Ararat (Gen 8.4). 4.1.11. Mountain tops visible in 74 days (Gen 8.5). 4.1.12. Raven released 40 days later (Gen 8.6-7). 4.1.13. Dove released 7 days later (implied) (Gen 8.10). 4.1.14. Second dove released 7 days later; olive leaf (Gen 8.10). 4.1.15. Third dove released 7 days later; did not return (Gen 8.12). 4.1.16. Ground dry 29 days later (Gen 8.13). 4.1.17. Noah commanded to leave 57 days later (Gen 8.14-19). 4.1.18. A total of 371 days on the ark. 4.1.19. Promise of weather and seasons (Gen 8.22). 4.1.20. Cloud and rainbow given as covenant of no more floods (Gen 9.8-17). 4.2. Geologic method: multiple working hypotheses. Any facts will support or refute certain hypotheses. 4.3. A correlation of Major Geologic features and Noah's flood, a working hypothesis. 4.3.1. All those animals and food? Yes, the ark had 3 decks with a total capacity of over 520 rail road box cars. 4.3.2. Sources of water. 4.3.2.1. Fountains of the deep could refer to volcanic vents. 4.3.2.2. Floodgates of heaven; a water vapor canopy would flood from the sky with increased volcanic activity. 4.3.2.3. A decrease in atmospheric pressure and temperature at the same time would cause great rain storms. 4.3.3. Plate tectonics initiated at this time. The one way trip of plates across the mantle of the earth began at a time of massive extinction of animals and great geologic change. Modern tectonic (motion of earth) events are a residual of the motion initiated during the flood. 4.3.4. Non-volcanic mountains must form rapidly if they are to have their current structure (today's tall mountains have formed since the flood). 4.3.5. Unique and enormous flood basalts were deposited under water (pillows, lake beds, petrified wood, soil). 4.3.6. Erosional features indicate rivers larger than any on earth today (Spokane). 4.3.7. Sedimentary rocks were deposited in situations not known to the earth today (sheets of sandstone, massive fossil beds, coal, Palouse hills). 4.3.8. Polar ice caps. There is no widely held mechanism for the formation of ice caps. Antarctica is a desert. The canopy flood theory offers a possible explanation. Other ice age features are better explained by the flood also (frozen mammoths, Spokane gravels). 5. Age of the earth. Lines of evidence indicating a young age of the earth far outweigh evidence for an old age of the earth. The best scientific methods produce ages which correspond with Biblical ages of the earth. Evidence for the Age of the Earth Young Age 1. Volcanism (continental accretion) 2. Water Formation 3. Meteoric Dust (earth and moon) 4. Soil Formation 5. Human Population Statistics 6. Decay of Earth's 7. Scarcity of Helium 8. The Earth-Moon System 9. Tree Ring Dating 10. Comets 11. Pleochroic Halos 12. Rotation of Earth 13. Revolution of Planets 14. Salt in the Sea Old Age 1. Radiometric Dating 2. Size of Universe 6. What is evolution? 6.1. Evolution is a philosophy which affects all areas of life. The key philosophic question is "Where did we come from?" The two currently popular models of evolution stand in absolute contradiction with each other. From the ancient ideas through the modern models only the major concept-origin and propagation of life forms without God-remains unchanged. Evolution provides the humanist with an answer to this apart from God. 6.1.1. Many specialists work in the context of assuming evolution to be true while they are not really aware of why they believe evolution. 6.1.2. This leads to turmoil (Marx, Hitler) and dehumanizing man (Ps 8.4). 6.2. What are the ideas of the origin of life? 6.2.1. God stated that He created life forms that reproduce after their own kind (Gen 1.11,21,24,29). 6.2.2. Ancient Greeks had attributed life to processes that work apart from God: Thales (600 BC), life arose from the sea; Heraclitus, life was transposed; Aristotle (300 BC) proposed an evolutionary scale. 6.2.3. Paul recognized that people ascribed God's creative power to idols (Rom 1.23) and god's of animism. 6.2.4. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1790) - evolution through inherited characteristics - environment causes changes. 6.2.5. Charles Darwin - natural selection (survival of the fittest). 6.2.6. Hugo DeVries (1900) - called attention to Mendel's work and added mutations. 6.2.7. Neo-Darwinism - natural selection is the key element, and mutation is the natural random process that produces a gradual change from one species to another. This is one of the most widely accepted views today. 6.2.8. Punctuated equilibrium ("Hopeful Monster") - long periods of equilibrium of a species are interrupted by sudden and major changes in the species. From a small beginning 40 years ago, this view has gained major acceptance. Although no possible mechanism is offered, this view does fit the fossil record better. 6.3. There are some common factors in all evolutionary arguments. 6.3.1. They offer an alternative to God's creative acts; God and evolution are mutually exclusive. It is not uncommon for someone to hold an idea because special creation is the only other option. 6.3.2. All require spontaneous generation, the idea that life sprang from non-life through random "natural process". 6.3.2.1. Spontaneous generation has been completely discredited. 6.3.2.2. The idea of a self changing/self duplicating molecule arising from random molecules acted upon by random forces is not established in any portion. Assumptions about the state of the pre-life earth's physical conditions are based entirely on what spontaneous generation would demand, and then the ideas still don't work. Miller and Fox did not duplicate any possible natural condition and what they developed was nowhere near life from non-life. With clones, DNA, genetic engineering or viruses, only life reproduces life. 6.3.2.3. The Pan-spermia idea (life from outer space) only postpones the ultimate origin question. 6.3.3. All call upon "natural processes" that have never been observed or defined. The process of spontaneous generation has never been duplicated in a laboratory. No new species has ever been observed even though we can greatly accelerate rates of mutation, fruit flies are still fruit flies, bacteria is still bacteria (although they may be deformed). No new structure has ever been observed to form. 6.3.4. All require an enormous time frame. If you ask "why don't we see evolution?" the answer given is "evolution takes place over billions of years and we have just never been at the right place at the right time". 6.4. Defusing evolution. Geologists credit biologists with the evidence for evolution while biologists credit geologists with the firm evidence. 6.4.1. The fossil record. The main issue of the fossil record is the order of appearance of animals. The fossil record matches creation of Biblical "kinds" perfectly. The lack of "intermediate forms" or "missing links" was the basis of punctuated equilibrium. Common pictures of the evolution of the horse and man are scientific distortions. 6.4.1.1. A fossil is any record of previous life. Because of rapid decay on the surface fossils must be rapidly buried (volcanic ash, flood). There are numerous methods of fossilization; petrification (replacement of wood by silica), a mold, a cast, a preserved shell, a foot print, freezing. 6.4.2. Comparative anatomy (comparing different parts). Evolutionists claim that different organisms have similar parts because they had a common origin. One important question is which parts should be compared with which animal. It would be more sensible to look for a comparative DNA (it is all made out of the same chemicals). Comparison of DNA does not match any evolutionary scheme. Comparative anatomy fits the idea of a creator reusing a design that works well (fins on a fish, shark, whale). 6.4.3. Vestigial structures (useless relics of evolution). Uses have been found for all 180 of these. 6.4.4. Phylogeny recapitulates ontogeny (development of embryo is an instant replay of evolutionary history). Embryologists reject this idea, mainly found in textbooks. The presence of this idea in current books is an illustration of how hard it is to get rid of an idea that does not work. 6.4.5. Geographic distribution. The abundance of marsupials in Australia is more of a problem for evolutionists than a solution. The variation of a species over an area (frogs) is an example of genetic variety, not evolution. This concept is usually called upon as one of the major controlling factors of evolution. 6.4.6. Controlled breeding. No matter how you breed dogs, you still get dogs - a Biblical "kind". 6.4.7. Genetics. Genetic engineering may result in altered structures or operation, but even with man (not random chance) controlling changes, no new kinds are developed. 6.5. Important factors evolutionists don't often consider. 6.5.1. Evolution is a complete contradiction to the second law of thermodynamics. Evolution demands an ordering of matter from spontaneous generation. 6.5.2. Simple forms of life do not exist. Some are smaller, have fewer parts, yet they carry out all necessary life processes. 6.5.3. Half developed structures would be harmful (eyes, ears, wings). 6.5.4. Relationships among unrelated organisms (mimicry, mutualism). Mimicry is one organism protecting itself by looking like another organism. Mutualism is two organisms which are interdependent. 6.5.5. 600,000,000 years is not enough time for all the necessary transitions. If evolution were true we would expect one new species every six years. 7. Defusing evolution. Every line of evidence ever proposed as a "proof" of evolution has fallen short. Ideas dealing with the evolution of the first organic molecule and the first life forms are without mathematical or scientific bases. There is no evidence or workable process which would change one species into another species. Further reading: Geology: The Genesis Flood, by John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris, The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company (major revision will appear in about a year). General works: Scientific Creationism, ed. by Henry M. Morris, Creative Life Publishers. Fossil record: Evolution: The Fossils Say No!, by Duane T. Gish, Creation Life Publishers. Humanism: The King of Creation. Copyright 1986 by George LeBret Provided by: Bible Bulletin Board internet: www.biblebb.com modem: 609-324-9187 Box 318 Columbus, NJ 08022 ....online since 1986 Sysop/Webmaster: Tony Capoccia