DOES IT LOOK OLD?
Deuteronomy 33:15
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills.
One lady who approached me after one of my presentations said, “God made the Earth 10,000 years ago, but he made it look like it was millions of years old.”
Evolutionary scientists believe that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Does it look 4.5 billion years old? Suppose you came with me to England’s Jurassic Coast, to examine some of the dinosaur fossils there. Evolutionists say that these fossils are 65 million years old. Do they look 65 million years old? Creationists would say that these fossils were formed in the Flood, about 4,400 years ago. Do the fossils look 4,400 years old? What do they look like: 65 million years old or 4,400 years old?
In everyday life, we do not make such errors. There is no such thing as an appearance of age unless we have something to compare it to. The twenty-year-old actor in a teenage role has the appearance of a teenager because we have an impression of what a teenager should look like. But what does a 65 million year old rock look like? Given that, as biblical creationists, we do not believe any rock is anywhere near 65 million years old; we have nothing against which to judge its age, apart from the Bible. The Bible makes clear that the rock containing the fossil must have been made in the Flood, 4,400 years ago, so it looks 4,400 years old because that is the only objective standard against which we can measure it.
We know, Lord, that all things come from You and that all things were created by You – the Ancient of Days. Thank You for Your Divine Wisdom in all that You have made. Amen.
Deuteronomy 33:15
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills.
One lady who approached me after one of my presentations said, “God made the Earth 10,000 years ago, but he made it look like it was millions of years old.”
Evolutionary scientists believe that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Does it look 4.5 billion years old? Suppose you came with me to England’s Jurassic Coast, to examine some of the dinosaur fossils there. Evolutionists say that these fossils are 65 million years old. Do they look 65 million years old? Creationists would say that these fossils were formed in the Flood, about 4,400 years ago. Do the fossils look 4,400 years old? What do they look like: 65 million years old or 4,400 years old?
In everyday life, we do not make such errors. There is no such thing as an appearance of age unless we have something to compare it to. The twenty-year-old actor in a teenage role has the appearance of a teenager because we have an impression of what a teenager should look like. But what does a 65 million year old rock look like? Given that, as biblical creationists, we do not believe any rock is anywhere near 65 million years old; we have nothing against which to judge its age, apart from the Bible. The Bible makes clear that the rock containing the fossil must have been made in the Flood, 4,400 years ago, so it looks 4,400 years old because that is the only objective standard against which we can measure it.
We know, Lord, that all things come from You and that all things were created by You – the Ancient of Days. Thank You for Your Divine Wisdom in all that You have made. Amen.
COUNTING LEAD ATOM BY ATOM
Psalm 77:5
I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Suppose your friend has a bag of M&Ms. She is counting each color separately. You have five orange M&Ms, and you add them to her mix. But this stops her being able to count them properly. She wants you to remove your five orange M&Ms from the six orange M&Ms that she has. But they are now mixed. How do you know which were the original M&Ms and which were the ones you added?
Naturally occurring lead is comprised of three stable isotopes – 204Pb, 206Pb, and 207Pb. 206Pb and 207Pb are products of the radioactive decay of uranium isotopes 238U and 235U respectively. 204Pb is assumed to be “common” lead – that is, long-age geologists assume that 204Pb comes from the original formation of the Earth.
When rock is exposed at the Earth’s surface, scientists will attempt to date it by U-Pb dating, by measuring the amount of lead and uranium. If these elements were simple, we could assume that all the lead had been derived from uranium and could calculate the age, given that we know the half-life of uranium. In practice, the elemental composition is more complicated. For example, it is not possible to tell the difference between an atom of 206Pb that might have been in the rock originally and one formed by radioactive decay, anymore than your M&M friend could distinguish between orange M&Ms from different sources.
Creation geologists have shown that new rocks added to the crust during the year-long Flood would have accumulated lead isotopes by accelerated decay. As usual, a biblical model makes more sense than an evolutionary deep-time bias.
We read in Your word, Lord, how You made the heavens and the earth and how Your creation took six days. We marvel at the way You have made all things well. Amen.
Psalm 77:5
I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Suppose your friend has a bag of M&Ms. She is counting each color separately. You have five orange M&Ms, and you add them to her mix. But this stops her being able to count them properly. She wants you to remove your five orange M&Ms from the six orange M&Ms that she has. But they are now mixed. How do you know which were the original M&Ms and which were the ones you added?
Naturally occurring lead is comprised of three stable isotopes – 204Pb, 206Pb, and 207Pb. 206Pb and 207Pb are products of the radioactive decay of uranium isotopes 238U and 235U respectively. 204Pb is assumed to be “common” lead – that is, long-age geologists assume that 204Pb comes from the original formation of the Earth.
When rock is exposed at the Earth’s surface, scientists will attempt to date it by U-Pb dating, by measuring the amount of lead and uranium. If these elements were simple, we could assume that all the lead had been derived from uranium and could calculate the age, given that we know the half-life of uranium. In practice, the elemental composition is more complicated. For example, it is not possible to tell the difference between an atom of 206Pb that might have been in the rock originally and one formed by radioactive decay, anymore than your M&M friend could distinguish between orange M&Ms from different sources.
Creation geologists have shown that new rocks added to the crust during the year-long Flood would have accumulated lead isotopes by accelerated decay. As usual, a biblical model makes more sense than an evolutionary deep-time bias.
We read in Your word, Lord, how You made the heavens and the earth and how Your creation took six days. We marvel at the way You have made all things well. Amen.
THE STARS DIED
Psalm 8:3-4
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
The atheist physicist Lawrence Krauss believes he has life figured out. As a cosmologist, he adheres to the Big Bang view of origins, believing that the universe came into existence from a singularity about 13.7 billion years ago.
The Big Bang theory is not compatible with a biblical understanding, but it would be a mistake to dismiss the theory as if there were only one point to it. Over the decades, as with the Theory of Evolution, a very sophisticated set of ideas has been woven around Big Bang cosmogony.
Krauss has referred often to stardust. �We are all made of stardust,� he has opined. The reason for this assertion is an evolutionary concept of the birth, life, and death of stars. Big Bangers have an explanation for how they believe stars formed from the original universal matter and began nuclear fusion. However, these models do not suggest a route to producing enough of the heavier elements found in the universe. So, scientists like Krauss suggest that these stars eventually die and explode, and new stars grow from the older, exploded stardust. He supposes that the only reason we, as humans, could have evolved is because of the production of gradually heavier elements, by second- and third-generation stars. Krauss says, �Forget Jesus � the stars died that we might live.� Krauss, like his biology parallel Richard Dawkins, believes in presenting a kind of awe of science to young people. So it is to the stars that he supposes this awe must be directed because they are our saviors.
The Bible, in contrast, explains that the stars are not a subject for awe, except in the sense that they point us to God, so that we worship Him.
Indeed, what is man, Lord � what are we that You should care anything about us when we consider the glory of the universe You created? Yet, You intended all this for Your glory, especially that we might come to know You through repentance from our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Psalm 8:3-4
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
The atheist physicist Lawrence Krauss believes he has life figured out. As a cosmologist, he adheres to the Big Bang view of origins, believing that the universe came into existence from a singularity about 13.7 billion years ago.
The Big Bang theory is not compatible with a biblical understanding, but it would be a mistake to dismiss the theory as if there were only one point to it. Over the decades, as with the Theory of Evolution, a very sophisticated set of ideas has been woven around Big Bang cosmogony.
Krauss has referred often to stardust. �We are all made of stardust,� he has opined. The reason for this assertion is an evolutionary concept of the birth, life, and death of stars. Big Bangers have an explanation for how they believe stars formed from the original universal matter and began nuclear fusion. However, these models do not suggest a route to producing enough of the heavier elements found in the universe. So, scientists like Krauss suggest that these stars eventually die and explode, and new stars grow from the older, exploded stardust. He supposes that the only reason we, as humans, could have evolved is because of the production of gradually heavier elements, by second- and third-generation stars. Krauss says, �Forget Jesus � the stars died that we might live.� Krauss, like his biology parallel Richard Dawkins, believes in presenting a kind of awe of science to young people. So it is to the stars that he supposes this awe must be directed because they are our saviors.
The Bible, in contrast, explains that the stars are not a subject for awe, except in the sense that they point us to God, so that we worship Him.
Indeed, what is man, Lord � what are we that You should care anything about us when we consider the glory of the universe You created? Yet, You intended all this for Your glory, especially that we might come to know You through repentance from our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ. Amen.
ABANDONED AT COLDWATER
Psalm 23:1-2
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Coldwater Lake in Washington State looks so pretty, nestled between the mountains. This scene of tranquility is very popular among the fishing community.
A better view of Coldwater Lake can be had by climbing the steep trail up to Coldwater Ridge. As you reach the top, you look back at the magnificent views of the Mount St Helens with its gaping crater, forever marred by having lost such a large portion of itself in the violent eruption of May 1980.
In the other direction, you see the lake, which did not even exist before the eruption. The devastation caused by the volcano blocked Coldwater Creek so that the valley filled with water.
So you keep walking along the ridge, and you espy a different sort of devastation. Huge pieces of rusting machinery can be seen. This machinery was there to aid with logging processes because this ridge used to be covered with forest before the eruption.
The blast from the volcano had a speed of up to 350 mph as it hit the ridge, knocking down the trees and sending the logging machinery into a spin so that it landed in its current position. If the eruption had occurred on the Monday or the Saturday, one can imagine that this machinery would have been operated by many loggers, causing far more deaths than actually occurred on that Sunday morning.
Out of that violence has come the tranquility of the lake scenery, just as out of the violence of the worldwide Flood, God brought a message of hope and mercy to a world reborn.
Thank You for the beauty of Your creation, Lord. And thank You that You bring beauty out of brokenness. We pray that You will do just that in the brokenness of our lives and our hearts. Amen.
Psalm 23:1-2
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Coldwater Lake in Washington State looks so pretty, nestled between the mountains. This scene of tranquility is very popular among the fishing community.
A better view of Coldwater Lake can be had by climbing the steep trail up to Coldwater Ridge. As you reach the top, you look back at the magnificent views of the Mount St Helens with its gaping crater, forever marred by having lost such a large portion of itself in the violent eruption of May 1980.
In the other direction, you see the lake, which did not even exist before the eruption. The devastation caused by the volcano blocked Coldwater Creek so that the valley filled with water.
So you keep walking along the ridge, and you espy a different sort of devastation. Huge pieces of rusting machinery can be seen. This machinery was there to aid with logging processes because this ridge used to be covered with forest before the eruption.
The blast from the volcano had a speed of up to 350 mph as it hit the ridge, knocking down the trees and sending the logging machinery into a spin so that it landed in its current position. If the eruption had occurred on the Monday or the Saturday, one can imagine that this machinery would have been operated by many loggers, causing far more deaths than actually occurred on that Sunday morning.
Out of that violence has come the tranquility of the lake scenery, just as out of the violence of the worldwide Flood, God brought a message of hope and mercy to a world reborn.
Thank You for the beauty of Your creation, Lord. And thank You that You bring beauty out of brokenness. We pray that You will do just that in the brokenness of our lives and our hearts. Amen.
GOLD REVISITED
Psalm 119:72
The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Gold must be one of the most remarkable elements in the Periodic Table. Its chemical symbol is Au, its atomic number is 79, and its atomic mass is 196.967. It is a lustrous, yellow-colored metal, and is almost chemically inert. It is this lack of chemistry, coupled with its rarity, that gives it its value.
Gold is almost completely unreactive to the sort of agents that normally corrode metals, such as water or acids. It will, however, react with aqua regia � a blend of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Because of this unreactivity, gold is found as a native metal, not as a compound or ore. Most gold that is mined is stored as bullion, but its attractiveness and monetary value make it useful in jewelry.
Because gold has such a large atom, it has a great many electron orbitals. The outer orbitals are very large for atoms, so an electron in the 5d orbital can reach speeds approaching the speed of light. The transition of an electron from the 5d to 6s orbital requires a photon of energy. However, by analogy with the transition from 4d to 5s in silver, this ought not to alter the basic silver color of the metal. But the speed of the 5d orbital is such that there is a relativistic effect, causing this transition to absorb a photon in the blue range of the visible spectrum. With blue light thus absorbed, gold appears, well, gold-colored! I find it fascinating that, when looking at my gold wedding ring, I am seeing Einstein�s theory of relativity in action.
Gold is a metal fit for a king. That is why the Wise Men brought some to the child Jesus.
Thank You for making materials as beautiful as gold. When we learn more about its properties, we stand amazed at Your Creative Power. Amen.
Psalm 119:72
The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Gold must be one of the most remarkable elements in the Periodic Table. Its chemical symbol is Au, its atomic number is 79, and its atomic mass is 196.967. It is a lustrous, yellow-colored metal, and is almost chemically inert. It is this lack of chemistry, coupled with its rarity, that gives it its value.
Gold is almost completely unreactive to the sort of agents that normally corrode metals, such as water or acids. It will, however, react with aqua regia � a blend of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Because of this unreactivity, gold is found as a native metal, not as a compound or ore. Most gold that is mined is stored as bullion, but its attractiveness and monetary value make it useful in jewelry.
Because gold has such a large atom, it has a great many electron orbitals. The outer orbitals are very large for atoms, so an electron in the 5d orbital can reach speeds approaching the speed of light. The transition of an electron from the 5d to 6s orbital requires a photon of energy. However, by analogy with the transition from 4d to 5s in silver, this ought not to alter the basic silver color of the metal. But the speed of the 5d orbital is such that there is a relativistic effect, causing this transition to absorb a photon in the blue range of the visible spectrum. With blue light thus absorbed, gold appears, well, gold-colored! I find it fascinating that, when looking at my gold wedding ring, I am seeing Einstein�s theory of relativity in action.
Gold is a metal fit for a king. That is why the Wise Men brought some to the child Jesus.
Thank You for making materials as beautiful as gold. When we learn more about its properties, we stand amazed at Your Creative Power. Amen.
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