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Showing posts from May, 2024

Animals with the Blues

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Looking at pictures and spending time in nature, you are likely to see various creatures displaying many colors. Even the dull creatures such as the house sparrow have various shades of brown and white. Many times, we see colors that are not actually present. Wait, what? It could be said that some colors we see are a trick of the light. A prism effect reveals some colors, but they change based on the angle of the observer. We can only guess why the Creator held back on blue, but sometimes when it is present, it is startling. Blue jay with spread wings, Unsplash / Phil Robson Two of my late wife's favorite birds were the northern cardinal and the blue jay. She and I both liked the bright red of the cardinal, and admired the patterns on the blue jays. Like many critters, cardinals exhibit their colors because they have the necessary pigment. Blue jays are not blue. That is, they have no blue pigment (which does exist elsewhere in the animal kingdom), but have that refraction thing go...

Evolutionists Making Up Facts Again

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Just yesterday, I was in town to send a telegram over the singing wires, then stopped in at the eatery. At the next table were several executives of the Darwin Ranch. They were finishing lunch before saddling up and riding back to Deception Pass. I was on the prod after having dealt with the same old "put 'em on the defensive" remarks from atheists. The ranch folks were getting rambunctious. Dewey Lye was going on about new research on feather evolution. I mentioned there has never been conclusive  evidence for dinosaur feathers. Al Buehterawl took a deep breath and evosplained it to me. Pond off Sawkill Road, Kingston, NY, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen , modified with FotoSketcher Actually, I learned very little. Researchers were looking in the wrong place at the wrong things on the wrong birds. Eventually, dinosaur scales were compared to those of crocodiles, so the dinosaur was getting ready  to evolve. "Evidence" was obtained by citing a paper from several ...

Adaptation, Not Evolution, for Galápagos Finches

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People know the story that young Charles Darwin was on the Beagle  from 1831 to 1836, appointed to be the ship's naturalist. He discovered evolution by means of natural selection  and thereby revolutionized science. Nice story, but he reworked the already existing concept of natural selection, and never provided evidence for his speculations . One of the most famous stops was at the Galápagos islands off the coast of Ecuador. He studied finches (not knowing what type of bird they were at the time), and they became icons of evolution. But that is false. Galapagos ground finch, Flickr /  Judy Gallagher  ( CC BY 2.0 ) Poster effect at  PhotoFunia  and cropped Charlie thought that all of the finch variations today came from an original pair. These birds have been the subject of many studies over the years. Creationists have pointed out for a long time that they do not show evolution. Studies that get into the genetics show that what is seen is natural — an...

Reminders and Memorials

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Several countries have special days set aside to pay tribute to those killed in the service of their countries. Today is ours. One tradition is to put American flags on graves of the fallen, and people tend to blur Veterans Day (which honors living people in the armed forces) with Memorial Day. It is a good thing to have holidays to prompt us to remember the fallen, and also for other noteworthy times in a culture or individual lives. We do something similar with birthdays and anniversaries. Establishing reminders is found in the Bible. Memorial Day flags and cross / Pxhere God instituted symbols and feasts to prompt Israel to remember him and what he did for them. The most obvious in the Old Testament is the rainbow, which is God's promise to never flood the entire earth again. Another famous reminder is  Passover , which had detailed instructions for the observance. Yesterday at church, we had Communion (the Lord's Supper). Passover was a strong foreshadowing of the time when...

The Amazing Eye

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One need not be a biology major to realize that the eye is amazing. Raptors in flight can see their prey with great accuracy. Cats are designed to use dim light. Humans and cats do not need the vision of eagles for our lifestyles. Raptors and humans do not need such extreme night vision. Dysteleology is where people claim to find flaws in nature so they can say there is no Creator, only evolution. These tinhorns have never designed an eye from scratch. When C. Richard Dawkins makes the daffy claim that the human retina is "backwardly wired," he is showing his ignorance . Cowboy Bob Sorensen's eye, modified at PhotoFunia Claiming the eye is poorly designed is not a scientific conclusion, but a theological opinion ! Frankly, (mind if I call you Frank?), that's stupid. They misrepresent certain aspects of the human eye, plus the specified complexity of the eye itself as well as the brain that interprets the input. Consider also that God the Son, the Creator who made eyes...

The Moon Io Continues to Thwart Deep Time

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It is obviously human nature to want to know things. A wagon train-load of grotzits has been spent on space exploration even before rockets went up yonder. Telescopes, bigger and better telescopes, telescopes in space — not enough, people want to go and look. Cameras, telescopes, and communications equipment were loaded onto various space probes. Sending humans were just not feasible, so that was the next best thing. Jupiter and its moons have had several visitors from here: Pioneer , V'ger  (I mean, Voyager ), and others have shown Jupiter's moon Io to be recalcitrant to deep-time beliefs. Infrared view of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, NASA / JPL et al. It has been known for quite some time that Io is volcanically active, which should not happen if it was billions of years old. The Juno mission showed further images of volcanic activity. Secularists are attempting rescuing devices to explain what is observed, including how it spews lava, reconsumes it, and do it again hundreds ...

Design Work of the Creator Seen in DNA

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When Gregor Mendel (peas be upon him) initiated the science of genetics, he could not have known how intricate and valuable it would be. A major part of genetics is the DNA molecule. Its existence was known for quite some time, but Drs. Watson and Crick eventually determined that it took the form of a helix. The code of DNA is startlingly simple, just four letters long. Their combinations and the ways they are expressed why it is so complex. It is interesting that in Psalm 139, David wrote about inward parts that have been woven together — which describes DNA. DNA art, Pixabay / Gerd Altmann (geralt) There is an old expression that has been attributed to several people, but essentially, it is "Standing on the shoulders of giants." It is a colorful way to say that discoveries and advances are based on the work of others who had come along before. This is certainly true of DNA, as one discovery inspired another, and the learning grew. Atheists often compare creationists with t...

Judicial Bias in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Case

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by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  In late 2005, the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial was held in a US federal court. Many lies were told from the get-go, including that it violates the establishment of religion clause of the US Constitution. But Dover asking students to realize that Darwinism is not proven and to check out other points of view is not establishing any religion. Secularists keep using that trick and getting away with it with schools, local governments, and others to keep them quaking in their boots. It may seem puzzling that this court case from several years ago is being discussed up here. One reason is that anti-creationists bring it up when discussing creationism (and especially the Intelligent Design movement). Another is that, as hinted above, it has repercussions and set a precedent for activists who want to protect evolution from scrutiny. Anti-creationists and anti-Intelligent Design folks repeat several things that are clearly false as if they had been p...

Rescuing Device: Protein Molecules in Dinosaur Eggs

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Original biological materials from fossils have been found for many years, but the 1997 discovery of soft tissues in a dinosaur bone  by Dr. Mary Schweitzer and company really took the rag off the bush . Things get worse for them because biomolecules are also found in dinosaur material. Despite numerous reports of dinosaur soft tissue discoveries reported in peer-reviewed journals, some jaspers still refuse to believe that they exist. Others admit they exist and come up with rescuing devices. The reason is that these things make Papa Darwin sad. Fossil dinosaur eggs, Flickr / Gary Todd (PD) As discussed before, worldviews strongly influence how people interpret evidence. A paleontologist evidence-denier wanted to be the smartest one on the bus, so he tried to refute claims of original biomolecules. It did not go well. Instead, he indulged in circular reasoning: Assume that dinosaur eggs are millions of years old, then prove biomolecules last for millions of years! Yeah, peopl...

Design and the Golden Ratio

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A couple of years ago (well, the twelfth century), Leonardo Fibonacci discovered that certain numbers had a pattern. This amazing sequence is often called the golden ratio — "Hey, I have one of those on the end table, Cowboy Bob!" No, you have a golden radio . Slow down your read speed. The Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio, is is all over the place, in organisms and sometimes in things designed by humans. There are other ways of looking at it mathematically and also seeing the sequences in nature. Bromeliad leaf, where the spirals show the Fibonacci sequence, WikiComm / Grupo Firenze (PD) Keep in mind that Darwin's disciples desperately deny design, it is because it is an indication of the Creator — to whom we are all accountable. Randomness, deep time, survival of the fittest, dumb luck, and all that good stuff infest the secular science industry. If Leo Fibonacci discovered the sequence only once, that could be dismissed as a "one-off" occurrence. Instea...

Evolution and Natural Selection Definitions Matter

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Something I learned and have been passing on to readers is the importance of definitions . When dealing with atheists and other anti-creationists, get those definitions nailed down! Many people claim to know about evolution and natural selection, only to reveal that they want to dispute creationists at all costs. A furious atheopath barked, "Natural selection is  evolution!" Another insisted, "Changes in alleles is the  scientific definition of evolution!" As mentioned before, knowledgeable creationists often need to correct internet atheists on their evolutionary mythology. Endler's guppy, iNaturalist / David Barros Cardona ( CC BY-NC 4.0 ) Before proceeding, it is important to discuss how society today holds to the nihilistic philosophy of postmodernism . Adherents believe that there are no absolute truths; you have your truth, I have my truth, and that's groovy. Except for that Bible stuff and insistence that Jesus is the  way,  the  truth, and the life ...

Nice Guys Finish — More Evolved?

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The evolution story is convoluted, using natural selection, mutations, and especially time. Death is the way that life forms advance, Although Charles Darwin did not come up with the phrase  survival of the fittest , he incorporated it into revisions of On the Origin of Species . Evolution is all about the struggle for resources; those who survive get the reward of passing along their genes. Y'all might want to sing about it being a wild world, baby, but it turns out that the violent struggle is overstated. Indeed, creationists have been pointing out cooperation  for quite some time. Charles Darwin serving cookies, generated at Bing AI Speaking of convoluted, this post is introducing the article featured below, which examines a paper reviewing a book about cooperation. Of course, evolutionary selfishness still exists are a motivation. Yeah, convoluted. We've all heard about symbiosis (win-win) and the like: Woolly bats live in carnivorous pitcher plants , the oxpecker on ...

Power of the Wolf Pack

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When browsing through some fleece throw blankets that had artwork, I saw a howling wolf. Although I am a cat person, I admire wolves — which are probably very close to the original created dog kind . Even in recordings, a gray wolf pack singing their song is impressive. There are stories of brutality to move up in the ranks and take over the leadership, but those are only stories. They please Papa Darwin and his scenatrio, though. Wolf packs are actually quite different from what people generally think. Wolf pack at Yellowstone, NPS / Doug Smith (usage here does not imply endorsement of site contents) By the way, the article linked below states that nobody knows where the misconception of wolves howling at the moon originated. I have a speculation: perspective. The moon is up, the wolves are howling, and it looks like they are howling at the moon. But they're not. Moving on... The wolf pack is pretty much a family unit for survival. Like we use our senses in our daily lives, they ...

Scientists Doubting Big Bang Principles

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When a theory or hypothesis is presented, it is reasonable to expect supporting evidence to be displayed as well. Predictions are often made. Scientists are supposed to do that sort of thing. Unfortunately for science, poor reasoning and incomplete procedures are all too common. We have seen that the Big Bang as an explanation for the origin of the universe has been Frankensteined so much that it has little resemblance to Grandfather's Big Bang model of the 1930s. At least, the original had superficial plausibility. Recently, cosmologists attended a conference, doubting fundamental principles of the source of cosmic evolution. The Passion of Creation with JWST image from NASA , both modified According to secular scientists,  homogeneity is expected, meaning a certain degree of sameness regarding the spreading of energy and matter. Ain't happening, Zeke. There are structures of sorts in the universe, such as the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall of galaxies. Things like tha...

Chernobyl Mutation Study uses Invalid Comparison

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It had been quite a spell since Lisa Myworries, Winkie Guard supervisor at the Darwin Ranch, had stopped by my place. (She has been having doubts about evolution but keeps quiet because she needs her job.) The head of their Ministry of Truth, Russell Watchtower, said a study on mutations is bad news for the creationist view on genetic entropy . (That is, harmful mutations are building up at a known rate and we should be extinct by now.) Roundworms do not seem bothered by Chernobyl radiation. Large roundworms, Wikimedia Commons / Alaa ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) The explosion at the plant released large amounts of radiation, which caused areas to be evacuated. Workers got radiation poisoning, which led to the deaths of several. Other people were also affected. Roundworms did not seem bothered by the radiation, so some evolutionary tinhorns inferred that genetic entropy was not valid. This also helps their view of mutations helping evolution. Problem is, humans are not roundworms . (These are supp...

Getting Marsupials to Australia

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Despite the persistent straw man accusations of anti-creationists, we are not content to say, "GodDidIt, case closed!" While creation scientists believe that God did something, they want to know how  he did it. They look for scientific answers first. Not that those are superior, as we presuppose the truth of the Bible. Unlike Darwin's disciples who presuppose naturalism and say, "Case closed," creationists and Intelligent Design theorists appeal to the miraculous when that is the logical conclusion. Both secular and creation scientists ponder biogeography — just how did  koalas and other marsupials get to 'Straya? Koala eating, RGBStock / Richard Dudley (modified at Imgflip ) Creationist explanations for biogeography are superior to those of secularists, as the methods of animal travel they propose are inadequate — even though the quantity of marsupials in Australia is somehow considered evidence for evolution. The debate is not easy for either side since e...

Military Biomimetics and Butterflies

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As stated before, biomimetics  is when scientists observe in nature and try to imitate certain abilities or characteristics of organisms for our purposes. Hummingbird wing motions for use in aerial vehicles, the navigability and structure in the boxfish, woodpeckers for brain cushions , and a passel of other things. Military minds are always on the lookout for developments that can give an edge over enemies, and it is surprising that butterflies are being studied. Another surprise is that the research is not for flight, but for submarines. Monarch butterfly, Pixnio / Nextreader Creationists have used butterflies as examples of the Master Engineer's brilliance during the amazing metamorphosis time, and also how monarchs have amazing migration . Like some other critters, monarchs tune in to the earth's magnetic field — but these venture to a place they've never been! These small, delicate creatures are a problem for universal common descent evolution. You can probably think ...

Secular Assumptions Ruin Archaeometric Dating

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Dating methods are fraught with problems. Secular scientists admit it on occasion. Also, the conflicting results and poor reasoning are brought to the fore by biblical creation scientists. Historical records are suspect because victors often write history, and in ancient times, often embellished the stories. Archaeometric dating is a reasonable idea at first glance. Ancient artifacts often contain bits of iron, and when it is heated (such as when cities were burned), the conditions of Earth's magnetic field are shown. Sounds like a plausible way to calibrate a dating method. Clay brick inscribed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar II, WikiComm / Dr. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) It doesn't work. Secular scientists make a number of assumptions, primarily uniformitarianism ("the present is the key to the past") and deep time. The magnetic field of the earth was stronger in the past, but there were times of great changes in it. Observations and models of bibli...

No Luck in Grand Canyon Creature Designs

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Although most are reluctant to admit it, proponents of descent with modifications evolution believe in a heapin' helpin' of luck. But luck is not a lady for them in regards to life forming without a Creator, that our sun is well-behaved, Earth's perfect orbit, and more. When considering individual creatures and their survival skills, evolutionists evosplain what is observed and imply luck helped. Their own narrative does not work. For instance, the abilities of the bombardier beetle must be in place all at the same time for the insect to live. Consider some of the residents of Grand Canyon. Horned Lizard, Wikimedia Commons / Room237 ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) The homely horned lizard has camouflage, is hard to digest — and can squirt blood out of its eyes on target at a predator. (Internet anti-creationists act that way in social(ist) media comments.) Although nothing like the roadrunner of cartoon fame, this bird really does run down the road. It also can grab a striking rattlesna...

Building the Myth of Charles Darwin

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Charles Darwin has been long portrayed as a great scientist, and his brilliant observations led to insightful theories that changed the world. It has been rightly observed that he is adored above scientists who have actually contributed something for the betterment of humanity. Atheists and evolutionists often become angry when people make parodies or satirize Darwin, and especially when people point out how evolution increased racism. Telling the truth about a man that secularists treat like a religious icon is a serious offense to them. Charles Darwin, street hobo with guitar, AI generated at Img2Go His version of natural selection as a creative force was not accepted by the scientific community at first. Papa Darwin promised to provide support for the material he published, but that did not happen. Could the fact that he never had formal scientific training have anything to do with it? He got by with a little help from his friends and did not end up being a hobo playing guitar for ...

Concrete, Cement, and Algae

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It seems that many people do not know the difference between concrete and cement, so here is the hard truth. There are several stages involved in making concrete , the porous stuff that people drive on or live in. It begins with limestone, which is thought to take millions of years to form. Limestone and a silica source are heated, then the result is ground to powder. Other ingredients are added. When this mixture is going to be turned into concrete, cement , water, and other things are mixed in to make the concrete. Algae is turning those deep-time assumption upside-down. Coccolithophore bloom SW of Ireland, Flickr / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center ( CC BY 2.0 ) Coccolithophores  are marine algae that build protective shells around themselves. The shells of these bad boys make chalk (a form of limestone) deposits, and uniformitarian scientists say chalk takes millions of years to form. Not in this case! Further, coccolithophores could have been producing huge quantitie...

An Actual Chinese Dragon

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For some reason, I was invited out to the Darwin Ranch to meet the new hand. It was a mite late and the shadows cast by the setting sun at Deception Pass made the going a bit slow. Once I arrived, foreman Rusty Swingset and his assistant Cliff Swallows had me meet Crappie Crankbait. It seems that Crappie is a specialist in aquatic dinosaur-age creatures. He found it interesting that this is the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac, and recent research on a Chinese dinosaur fossil seems to fit right in. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis , Wikimedia Commons / Nobumichi Tamura ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) (modified) Scientists actually used the word  dragon  regarding this critter because the long neck is somewhat similar to the long necks in portrayals of Chinese dragons. This is not exactly a new animal, but a few more fossils have been found. Sure does look like a plesiosaur, but paleontologists insist that D. orientalis  is not related and lazily invoke " convergent evolut...