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Showing posts from June, 2023

Mitochondrial DNA and the Crocodylia Baramin

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Although the system of taxonomy was initially made by creationist Carl Linnaeus , secularists have made it into their own, rejecting anything biblical out of hand. Creation scientists use taxonomy, of course, but they are developing baraminology,  which is based on the created kinds . The biblical kind is somewhere around  order  or family  in the traditional classification system. Like other fields in science, baraminology has differing views on how it should be developed and applied. Creation science technical journals publish articles where differing views are presented. Crocodile, Pixnio / Steve Hillebrand , USFWS Data from research is often made available to everyone, which is very helpful to both creationist and secular scientists. An examination of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was undertaken to see commonality in relationships in the Crocodylia order. Comparing this information with other data on these reptiles (which have features unlike other reptiles) suggest that they may belon

Dinosaur Biomolecules and the Iron-Toast Union

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Believers in descent with modifications were aghast when Mary Schweitzer announced that soft tissues were found in dinosaur fossils. That is old news, but less old is the supercilious attempt to use iron as a preservative . Some fundamentalist evolutionists accepted that despite its glaring problems. Another rescuing device was proposed that applied the  Maillard reactions of toasted bread to dinosaur proteins , but that did not work. The secular science industry is toying with a new hope for their rebellion against the Creator. It combines the two rescuing devices. Made at  PhotoFunia  with an image on Pixabay by  Ralph Sure, why not? Since both of those ideas fail, mayhaps putting them together will make a complete answer. That'll be the day! However, like so many other explanations by advocates of deep time and evolution, devotees will pick it up and use it as ammunition against creationists — not understanding its weaknesses. Once again, the evidence indicates recent creation

Why we Care about Blinking

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Yes, it seems like an dull subject, but blinking is important for many creatures so they can keep their vision. People who have dry eye syndrome need treatment. Although blinking is not a conscious activity, it can be controlled for a short time. In " Mudskippers Blink, Evolution Tinkers ," we considered how Darwin's disciples study the mudskipper for evidence of evolution, assuming  it is evolution in action and that life evolved in the sea — then things decided to evolve further on land. Yet there is no evidence for mudskipper evolution. Blink and smile, Flickr / Lee Haywood ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Controlled winking and blinking are often used for communication. When a cat gives you a slow blink, that's affection, Alfred. In the book of Proverbs, those planning evil signal with blinks and such ( e.g. , Prov. 6:12-15). More importantly, autonomic blinking cleans and lubricates the eyes. Evolutionists study mudskippers, ignoring the fact that there is no evidence for evolu

The Nebular Hypothesis and Failed Solar System Evolution

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Pretty much everyone knows that the origins of the universe, the solar system, life, and humanity are fundamental questions. Believers in atoms-to-atheist evolution find science and logic abhorrent when they support special creation , so they come up with other ideas that are in keeping with materialism. There is no uniformity among scientists about the origin of the solar system, and there are several speculations that have their own adherents. The nebular hypothesis is the prize pig at the fair, the best of the worst . Artists concept of a protoplanetary disk at NASA People say that something is nebulous, meaning unformed or gaseous ( nebulous thinking is one example). In the imaginings of secularists, there was the extremely hot Big Bang, and eventually, swirling hot gasses came together to form the sun and planets. Except that this defies several laws of physics. Sure, some owlhoots may say, "A paper that says hot gases can contract," but those ignore important facts. He

Placing Value on Human Life

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Obviously, it is human nature to celebrate the arrival of a new life, and to mourn the loss of life. It is interesting that people get emotional over the passing of a celebrity that they never met. People wonder what makes human life have value at all, whether close to us or someone we admire from a distance. Materialists necessarily believe that there is nothing beyond molecules and atoms, but their evolutionary worldview is very self-refuting. They cannot account for logic, thought, love, or any of the preconditions of intelligibility. Standing near Giants Causeway, Unsplash / Steven Roussel It is consistent with his worldview for an atheist to value human life by how much someone contributes to society — using an inconsistent arbitrary standard. Obviously, Christians have a far different worldview and is not utilitarian. Life comes from God the Creator. That alone gives it value. More than that, however, is that God made us in his image ; we are not the product of evolution. The end

Mudskippers Blink, Evolution Tinkers

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A critter known as the mudskipper  is found in warmer waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic. They are surprising in the way they use their front fins and tails to skip across dry land, and can even climb branches. Not for too long, though, they must remain wet. Believers in fish-to-fool evolution claim that life began in the ocean and that we are, ultimately, fish. Those with Atheism Spectrum Disorder want to know how tetrapods (a large group of mammals including us) evolved to move from the sea to live on land and walk around. Mudskipper, iNaturalist / George Baker   ( CC BY 4.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Of course, materialists assume evolution in order to prove it (begging the question), so they figure that the mudskipper gives insight into how tetrapods evolved from fish. Mudskippers blink, but they are amphibious fish and somehow give insight into how blinking evolved. There is no evidence for mudskipper evolution. Darwin's acolytes insist that they are "evolution in

Secular Science Industry Angry that India Schools Dropped Evolution

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This news is a mite confusing on several levels. The secular science industry is outraged — outraged , I tell you — that evolution has been dropped from the education system in India. That may change momentarily, but like evolutionists feeling threatened by Neanderthal intelligence , principles here are important. One thing this child found confusing is that officials said one reason to remove evolution is that it "conflicts with creation stories." Evolution is in keeping with Hinduism, the majority religious viewpoint. (Christians are a minority, and atheists are a tiny fraction of the population.) Secularists were disingenuous in their objections. Angry shouting scientist image made at Bing AI Image Creator As expected, tinhorns said that evolution is essential for science. That is false, and there are many times when genuine science is performed without rubbing the belly of the Bearded Buddha. Molecules-to-mystic evolution is unhelpful in teaching medical science , and we

Neanderthal Intelligence Threatening to Evolutionists

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There is a substance called pitch  that is the result of geological processes, and that has been presented as a problem for biblical creationists. Pitch is the result of the Genesis Flood, so how could Noah coat the Ark with this waterproof tar-like substance (Gen. 6:14)? That is not such a "gotcha" as scoffers think, since pitch also comes from plant material . It has been learned that Neanderthals learned how to make and use pitch from birch trees. This shows yet again that they were smarter than secularists previously thought — and this threatens them. Neanderthal reconstruction, Flickr / Michael (a.k.a. moik) McCullough ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ) Obviously, denizens of the secular science industry will not accept the fact that these fully-human folks were descendants of Adam, who was created intelligent from the get-go. Secularists are reluctant to relinquish the evolutionary link concept. Like my Question Evolution Day breakfast, there are link problems.   Excuses are made,

Moses Really Did Live 120 Years

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The biblical patriarchs lived hundreds of years until after the Genesis Flood, but this is rejected by those who disrespect the Bible,. Even afterward, there were some who had impressive ages. These include Abraham at 175, Isaac was 180, etc. When watching movies like the silent 1923 or the 1956 The Ten Commandments , Moses was not exactly a spring chicken. They were not far off in that detail.  He was around eighty, and afterward led cursed Israel for the forty years of wandering in the wilderness . Moses died at age 120, but he was not decrepit (Deut. 34:7). Moses and the Ten Commandments , James Tissot There are people today that reach the century mark and even beyond, but they are not exactly vigorous. Skeptics, including some professing Christians, reject what the Bible says about Moses' age. They appeal to average lifespans of the time, ignoring evidence of long age from their own extrabiblical sources. (It should be noted that lifespan averages way back yonder or in the Medi

Nice Planet, Good Neighborhood, Great Atmosphere

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There are many things about Earth that make it stand out from the competition. The stellar neighbors are far enough away so their antics of giving deadly radiation bursts do not bother us, and our own sun is well-behaved . Indeed, even the planets keep the solar system in balance . Our Creator has given us things of beauty and order for our pleasure, and they also reflect his nature. The atmosphere of Earth is obviously supports life, including colors and displays that are simply amazing. 747 Solar Glory, Wikimedia Commons / Brocken Inaglory ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) You like rainbows, and those less common double rainbows? Same here. There are seven colors discernable to the eye, but the spectrum is actually far more complex . How about a circular rainbow ? Then there's something that has several names, one of which is glory . It has similarities to a rainbow, but is different in composition. A glory can manifest around objects and even the shadows of people, but special conditions invol

Marine Reptile Locomotion Imaginings

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Some folks make a big deal out of saying that marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs,  thalattosuchians , and so on were not dinosaurs. It is a classification thing, we get that, but no need for being fastuous about it. Moving on. Those water dinosaurs (I had to do that) — marine reptiles of dinosaur times cause consternation for secular paleontologists because a priori  presuppositions of evolution are not supported by evidence (see " Paleontologists Dodging Important Ichthyosaur Questions " for one example). Their research on locomotion is...interesting. Varieties of ichthyosaurs. WikiComm /  Nobu Tamura , compiled by Levi Bernardo ( CC BY 3.0 ) Darwin's disciples want to know how they evolved and adapted. Creation scientists argue from their own presuppositions and say that they did not evolve, and the evidence is nonexistent. Michael Benton said that scientists "know" some things, but how? Were they there ? Obviously not. This is a historical vie

A Magical Story of Butterfly Evolution

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Regular readers should remember that Stevia Dolce, the baker at the Darwin Ranch, has expressed doubts about evolution. Yesterday afternoon, she was in her wagon heading away from Deception Pass, and I happened across her when I was out riding so we stopped and talked. She gets good pay, but Rusty Swingset requires all employees to believe evolution. If she expresses doubts, she is afraid she will lose her job. The main doubt began when she held out her hand and a butterfly landed on her finger. Then Stevia did the worst thing for evolution: she began thinking. Swallowtail butterfly, Unsplash / David Clode Honest evolutionists admit that there are many things about butterflies they do not understand, especially metamorphosis itself. Monarch migration is an exquisite mystery, how they supposedly existed before flowering plants appeared , the design of the wings , and other stories are nothing less than evoporn . Now some tinhorn says he has things figured out. As is too common in the s

Orangutans — Designed for Tree Life

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 It is less common today, but one can see orangutan written as orang-utan . In the Malay language, orang  is man  and hutan  is forest. It is the man of the forest (no word on how the females feel about this). These great apes are supposedly related to humans. Because evolution. However, their supposed 94 percent genetic similarity to humans is not discussed because chimpanzees are our closest relative. Because evolution. Orangutans are Asian great apes, and they are gentle giants. They may look comical to us with those long arms and short legs, but they are adroit at tree life. Orangutan image via RGBStock /  Adrian van Leen The intelligence of orangutans has bemused and dismayed some of the people living near them. Also, they were considered to be ape-men before Charles Darwin began his storytelling. Orangutans were created separately from humans, and reveal that they were designed for their lifestyles. As large, tailless primates, orangutans belong, along with chimpanzees, bonobos

Hezekiah and the Tunnel to Siloam

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Stormie Waters stopped by my place the other morning, and I asked her about a sluice gate because it was just mentioned in my reading material. She said she uses a small version in her prospecting and said big operations have larger devices. I learned that sluice gates control water flow. King Hezekiah  was a godly king when kings of Judah (like his father Ahaz) were wicked, idolatrous sleazebags. His achievements are discussed in the Old Testament. One of these was the tunnel connecting the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside Jerusalem — which involved a sluice gate. Inside Hezekiah's Tunnel, Flickr / Ian Scott ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) This tunnel was an impressive feat of engineering, sluice and all. Some folks doubted that Hezekiah even existed because they reject the historicity of the Bible. Others did not believe that he was involved in this project. Extrabiblical verification was small and doubtful, based on a fragment that probably said "Hezekiah" and "pool.&q

Darwinism Masquerading as Actual Science

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Believers in descent-with-modifications evolution frequently equate their flawed science with empirical science. What is presented here often deals with origins, but there are scientists working in the secular science industry who just want to do their jobs. Most science has nothing to do with evolution. They get their models all gussied up and mount them on their prize ponies, mayhaps nobody will notice the bad science and deception. (Sometimes bad guys get caught but their papers are not retracted. Just ask  Vishwa Jit Gupta .) Evolutionists pretend to be just as good at science as the others. Charles Darwin as a cowboy on a horse, made with AI at Bing There are stories that are pretentiously presented as scientific research, but skip over the important details. F'rinstance, molecular machines called nitrogenases  are not understood for the process of nitrogen fixation. Experiments yielded conclusions that would not withstand serious examination. So, how about those marsupials? T

Evosplaining Human Ancestors Walking Upright

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People who are skeptical of molecules-to-man evolution, and those who reject it outright, are labeled "science deniers" and ridiculed. We are stupid because evolution is a proven fact — even though it is called a theory , not a fact , by the secular science industry. Also, evolutionary scientists are constantly slapping leather with each other over interpretations of data and our alleged apemen ancestors , some ideas are...truly bizarre. New data prompts more odd things. The latest squabble involves how our supposed ancestors changed their posture. Remember, evolution is supposed to be unguided natural processes; the Stuff Happens Law  instead of teleology (purpose). Evolutionists say it but don't mean it, invoking outside forces and causes in keeping with the pantheistic nature of the ancient philosophy of evolution (the apostle Paul debated Epicurean evolutionists, for example, in Acts 17:16-32 ). Those extremely apelike things we supposedly evolved from originally lear

Honeybee Engineering and You

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If you study on it a spell, there are some amazing similarities between organizational structures and honeybee lifestyles. Scientists often discover new functions and processes in existing cells — oh, look, a new organelle ! We have micro- and macroscopic bodily parts work together for the whole. Analogies are usually imperfect, but compare the lifestyles of honeybees to more complex organisms. But first, consider a workplace. The supervisor assigns a task to an even if it is not their usual area, then normal duties resume. Bees take on new duties for a while, then often resume the old ones. Honeybees swarm, Flickr / USFWS, Sarah Swenty ( CC BY 2.0 ) Individual honeybees can be interesting, but the way they work like an organism is fascinating. They were designed with knowledge of various functions. Bees use their wings for flying but also cooling the hive. They also know that the hexagon is the ideal shape for the honeycomb. God provides for us with honey via bees, and bees are desig

Chameleons Change Color by Design

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Dewey Lye, one of the hands at the Darwin Ranch up near Deception Pass, got himself a chameleon. It was a real one, not one of those green anoles often passed off as chameleons. He did well, getting the right housing and considering reasons not  to own one , and does not handle it overmuch. These reptiles reside in several warm areas. Species have learned to live in places that are dry or rainy. Those independently rotating eyes and the slow movements can be fascinating. When it zaps a bug with its long tongue — now that is fast. Panther chameleon, Wikimedia Commons / Charles J. Sharp ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) While some of chameleons' startling ability to change color is caused by blending in with a surface, mood has a great deal to do with it. Males meeting males can bring out fightin' hues. They were equipped by the Master Engineer to change color by using cells that act as photonic crystals. (I wonder if evolutionists can give a plausible explanation as to how this happened withou

Designing the Designer — Incoherent Atheism

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Christians who have spent any time in forums, on social(ist) media, and even in person defending the faith have encounterd professing atheists who play word games. We are commanded to spread the faith (Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 1:8) and to defend it (Jude 1:3, 1 Peter 3:15, Eph. 6:10-12). There are many times that misotheists are not asking honest questions, and we can see that they are dealing from the bottom of the deck, so we  should walk away . Having a basic knowledge of logical fallacies is extremely useful, as many of their challenges are trash. Image by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Ever notice that atheists cannot take a good-natured joke but have no qualms about firing off caustic humor about Christians? But I digress — sort of. Straw man arguments, often including personal attacks and statements railing against Christianity, are common. Others and I have countered some of these "arguments" with facts. Challengers often lie further (it's a lie when the truth is known and igno

Comb Jellies Thought to be Last Common Ancestor

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The name comb jelly  does not sound like a real creature. (Indeed, the awful Pexels search engine produced none of them, instead showing people with gel in their hair.) They are almost transparent and seem gelatinous, often with colors that seem like something out of a science fiction movie. Comb jellies have tentacles so they can eat zooplankton and occasionally small fish. They are not jellyfish despite the resemblance, and their tentacles do not sting. They are common in oceans and seem to like being near the shores of the Americas best . Comb jelly, Wikimedia Commons / Alexander Semenov ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) There are about 150 known species of these critters, but some believers in universal common ancestor evolution think they are the descendants of the common ancestor in the distant past. It seems almost a game, jelly fanciers or sponge folks, who will win the prize of determining the ancestor? Let's see if they can explain the complex nervous systems and reproduction of these &q

No Evolution in Shark Jaw Study

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When the word shark  is mentioned, people may think of certain movies involving man-eaters with powerful bites. There are over 300 species of sharks but only a dozen are dangerous to humans. (In a ludicrous example of appealing to Darwin, NOAA said that they evolved before we did, so that is why we are not usually on the menu !*) Checking sources on which animals have the strongest bite force yielded disagreement, but the Great White was the only shark on those lists . Tiger Shark, Flickr / Oregon State University, N. Hammerschlag ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Evolutionists wanted to make Charles Darwin smile so they studied a variety of shark jaws. The researchers claimed that habitat and prey shaped their jaw evolution. (The fact that sharks have always been sharks and there is no sign of evolution should have given them pause on asserting jaw evolution, but that's none of my business.) No, old son, the Master Engineer designed them to adapt, and calling what is found