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Showing posts with the label Answers In Genesis

Dethroning Sexual Selection

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Charles Darwin took the ancient pagan beliefs of evolution,  changed the meaning of natural selection, then presented the product as his theory. It needed rescuing from the get-go, so he also bundled sexual selection  with it at no extra charge. To oversimplify, the best-looking critters are chosen to mate and spread their genes while the unattractive or drab should disappear. It works to some extent in the animal kingdom and is supposed to apply to humans as well. Although it sounds plausible on the surface, sexual selection does not work. Victorian Fashion, Columbian magazine, February 1844, from Copyright Expired A recent study shows that the concept was never valid and not handled properly in the scientific community. Something that does not fit the purely physical aspect of sexual selection is the fact that people do not select mates strictly on appearance. Women want men who can be providers, for example. (It may be surprising, but it has been suggested that abusive men attract

Developmental Biology and You

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It is truly amazing to consider how a human life can grow, first from something imperceptible, then through stages until adulthood. It is also amazing that each part of us has to develop and grow. Not just get bigger, but in certain patterns. Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, said, "Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved." That is like a mantra , old son. Evolutionists are to keep brainwashing themselves, otherwise, they would see that there is a Master Engineer. Unborn child illustration, MorgueFile / Yoel (modified at PhotoFunia ) If you study on it a spell, something like developmental biology can very well prompt someone to realize that there is a great deal of specified, irreducible complexity. Living things were engineered, and that was done by the Creator (Rom. 1:12-18). Some may be stirred to praise him instead of Papa Darwin, and the secular science industry cannot have that. Developmental

Guppy Variations and — Mosquito Control?

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The Master Engineer designed many creatures to be able to adapt and make changes so they do not easily die out. One of the move obvious kinds are guppies, the Poeciliidae family. They make changes, but do not turn into something else. Darwin's disciples often falsely call speciation and variation "evolution." These fish are very popular among aquarists, as they are colorful, not overly sensitive to conditions, and tend to play well with others. The originals were frontloaded with genetic information that is switched on and off through epigenetics. Aquarists like to breed and hybridize them. Guppy, Wikimedia Commons / 5snake5  ( PD ) Interestingly, they like to chow down on mosquito larvae. That means fewer mosquitos which also cuts down on the malaria problem. And you thought guppies were just cute. (Yes, I am using guppy  as a kind of catch-all word.) Research is being done to let them feast for mutual benefit, them and us. Also, guppies not only adapt, but do it quickly

Woodpeckers and Other Science Errors

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In an unusual series of events, Lisa Myworries, supervisor of the Winkie Guards at the Darwin Ranch, sent word to me to help her get some supplies. Apparently the other ranch hands were busy, so I hitched up the buckboard, headed west on Folly Road past Stinking Lake, and on toward Deception Pass. Aside from a few glowers from the Winkie Guards, the trip was uneventful.  On the way back, Lisa started talking about birds. Woodpeckers are her favorite. She mentioned the shock-absorbing bone in their skulls. I was reluctant to correct her, but I felt compelled. Downy and hairy woodpeckers from Birds of New York  by Louis Agassiz Fuertes , 1910 & 1914 (PD) Correcting someone on a small detail is seldom worthwhile, especially a friend. If it must be done, it should be done gently. Let her keep her dignity. "Actually," I said, "that was a scientific truism for many years but was recently rejected. More deliberate thinking, better science, and all that good stuff. I mistake

The Non-Law of Evolution

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The tension in the room was obvious to everyone, and I was aware of my neck and back muscles tensing. "Evolution is a fact.  A law!" Rusty Swingset had raised his voice considerably. He punctuated his exclamation by slamming his fist on the table. The teaspoons rattled in our empty cups. Many believers in descent-with-modifications evolution emphatically agree. Some say scientists know that evolution is a fact, but they are still hashing out the details. Indeed, to say that evolution is a law seems excessive, but the claim was even used in a paper in Academia Biology . Hollow log in forest, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen (modified) More specifically, they are talking about evolution by means of natural selection. Some folks say that natural selection is  evolution, but that's conflation on definitions, old son. Creationists believe in natural selection, and it does not produce a new organism; no new genetic material is added. It's a mite silly to call evolution a law

Brain Collections and Evolutionary Racism

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When watching, reading, or listening to Conservative American political material, it is frequently pointed out that leftists are obsessed with race. White people are evil, darker shades are good — and quality of character is irrelevant. It is ironic when "people of color" support Darwinism. Although disliking people who are different has been around a very long time, Darwinism gave us eugenics and scientific racism. To prove that white people are superior, Darwinists used evolution to justify collecting brains and skeletons of  those they considered belonging to lesser races. Cushing Brain Collection, New Haven, Flickr / techbint ( CC BY 2.0 ) In the 19th and 20th centuries, evolutionists collected skeletons and brains of the aboriginal people of countries. Kindly pay attention: These evolutionists (many were scientists) were confirming their biases. That is, they did not other races to be inferior because of the science, but tried to make science fit their beliefs. Any writ

The Puzzling Narwhal Tusk

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A creature lives in Arctic waters, and much of the time in darkness. It is the stuff of legends. The horn growing out of its head adds to the mystery. It is the narwhal whale. One scientific puzzler is the fact that it can mate with beluga whales. There is no actual horn, but the narwhal is sometimes called the unicorn of the sea . Actually, that is a tusk growing through its lip — and keeps growing to impressive lengths. Is the tusk of Biggus Toothus a fluke of nature, or does it serve a purpose? Narwhal, Flickr / Jessica Simpson ( CC BY 2.0 ) Narwhals are difficult to study . The tusk sticks out straight instead of curving like the tusks on other critters, and as a bonus, it spirals. Sometimes it appears that narwhals use those tusks for play or to wave, "Howdy, neighbor!" They have been seen whacking fish with the tusks, stunning them before eating them. There are other functions being studied. One of those is that it senses water conditions. How the narwhal got its tusk

The Ark of Noah and Water Stress

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First, a look behind the scenes. I did not title this using the singular possessive because of the way titles and certain other things are rendered. In this case, Noah's Ark. When challenging a position someone holds, rational people try to understand the opponent's point of view. The material should be examined to see if it is internally consistent and not chock full o' arbitrary assertions. Scoffers presuppose atheism, naturalism, deep time, evolution, and so on. To them, Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood are just stories and not historical narratives.  Noah's Ark at Answers in Genesis, Unsplash / Elias Null Misotheists do not honestly examine what biblical creationists say for consistency and plausibility, instead writing it off because they filter what they say through their own worldview. Essentially, a straw man argument. They like to put Christians on the defensive and expect us to defend views we don't hold. We don't have to. You savvy that, Pilgr

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

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

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

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

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

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 evolution "

The Question of Being Born Gay

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In some ways, being born homosexual is a "gotcha" situation to condemn God. That is, if he created people that way, then he is wrong to say that their lifestyles are sinful. Proponents say that gay behavior that appears homosexual is seen in animals, so a hasty generalization is made to justify it in human behavior. People have long wondered what causes homosexuality. Many speculations have been proposed, including a "gay gene" — which does not exist (look it up). Perhaps it has a basis in biology? There has been a great deal of research in this area. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, no gay gene, based on Sidney Paget (1893) with Clker clipart added It is not surprising to this child that research and studies were faulty. Geneticists tried to pinpoint a cause, and studies were undertaken regarding biological causes. The studies were poorly conducted, the best results being that more research is needed but with larger sample groups. The word  gay  was appropriated f

What is Really Seen from the Webb Telescope

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Secular cosmologists, cosmogonists, and astronomers are frequently astonished when their expectations are not supported by space exploration. So are deep-time creationists and many in the Intelligent Design community. They expect to see evidence supporting their beliefs in cosmic evolution. There were high hopes that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) would reveal the primordial universe. Galaxies still forming, stars with only the lightest elements, and certain aspects of the redshift. Instead, they were astonished — again — and rescuing devices ensued. M80 galaxy, Flickr / NASA's James Webb Space Telescope ( CC BY 2.0 ) Over ten years ago, some atheopaths started a Page on Fakebook for the purpose of attacking me personally because of my stand on biblical creation science. (Attack the person instead of rationally dealing with the content...it's who they are and what they do.) I had written that there is no evidence of stars forming, and they found a secular piece that cla

The 2024 Solar Eclipse and Divine Judgment

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Posts and articles here will be sporadic for a few days or weeks until things get more under control. People are totally (heh!) excited about the February 8, 2024 solar eclipse, even more so than they were in 2017. Scientists can make observations, make predictions, test equipment, and so on. I'm happy for them. This one will be a bit different than the last one . It is not just for scientists, either. Just two days ago at church, I was talking with a couple of ladies who have friends in the area of totality. They are taking a trip there. Also, I saw people asking a worker at a big box store if they had the eclipse glasses. Get ISO 12312-2 from a reputable dealer to be safe . So I was surprised to hear that God's judgment on the formerly United States is part of the festivities. Total solar eclipse 2017, NASA / Aubrey Gemignani (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Bluntly, these people who see "signs" and "prophecy fulfillment" are embarras

Creation, Evolution, and Thermodynamics

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Centuries ago, I was new to discussing origins and showing problems with particles-to-pilot evolution. When I said in a discussion that evolution defies the second law of thermodynamics, the other guy wondered why I was making a reference to energy and engines. The second law of thermodynamics was developed and used to discuss heat and engines, but the bigger picture is that everything tends to go from order to disorder (entropy). Both creationists and evolutionists use — and misuse — thermodynamics. Rusty car in field, Pixabay / Siggy Nowak People get sidetracked and bogged down on whether or not entropy applies because of whether or not an open or closed system is involved. Some of Darwin's disciples on the internet try to use open or closed systems as a defense against entropy, but many have no idea what they are talking about and contradict each other. If energy is coming in, entropy is negated. Sure, that's why we drop off wrecked cars in the field and expect the energy fr

Evolutionary Fairy Tales and Trait Origins

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Atheists and other anti-creationists have a tendency to say that the Bible is "fairy tales," but they clearly have only a cursory knowledge of its contents. Fairy tales tend to use "Once upon a time..." and do not have details. The Bible has specific details. Particles-to-paleontologist evolution is touted as science, but it is vague historical science at best. While evolutionists cannot give dates and times, there should be some specifics. A writer at LiveScience  got herself a notion to tell readers how ten traits in animals evolved. It did not go well. Charles Darwin, magic fairy of evolution generated with AI at NightCafe Many of the explanations offered were infested with bad reasoning. Worse, some actually ignored basic facts of science and displayed ignorance not only of evolutionary mythology, but animal anatomy and behavior. This child believes that the secular science industry succeeds at bushwhacking so many people is that they do not have logical thinkin

DNA, Ancient Humans, and the Lineage of Noah

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The article featured below is from a creationist peer-reviewed technical journal, so it is primarily by and for scientists. However, there are several parts that non-scientists can understand. We can skim through the details (mostly in the middle) and still learn some important things; let the scientists have the rest. Biblical creationists have long pointed out that everyone has the same facts, and the interpretation of the facts are vital. In addition, scientists are human: They start with assumptions and presuppositions which heavily influence the results of their research. The DNA of Neanderthals and Denisovans was used by members of the secular science industry to supposedly support evolution from apelike ancestors. Data were selected that should support their views. Drawing from work by  Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson , creation scientists were able to use much of the data to show how it relates to the sons of Noah. This supports recent creation. Causes of Neanderthal extinction are also