SINE OF THE TIMES
Genesis 6:15-16
“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.”
Mostly, I liked math (or maths, as we called it) when I was at high school. But one aspect of math was tedious. This was when special numbers had to be looked up in boring books called log tables. These books contained not only logarithms but also the trigonometric functions – sines, cosines and tangents. Today’s students simply press a button on their scientific calculators, but we had to look with painstaking concentration through page after page of figures until we had worked out the value required.
A clay tablet, called Plimpton 322, was discovered in the early 1900s in the area where Babylon must have been. This mysterious tablet, with four columns and 15 rows of numbers, has remained an enigma until recently. Researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered that the numbers are in base 60 rather than the base 10 that we use. In addition, they are trigonometric tables like those sine, cosine and tangent tables that I remember from my youth. It has been known for a very long time that the Babylonians used base 60. This is the source of our idea that an hour contains 60 minutes, and a minute 60 seconds.
Ancient civilizations were far from primitive. It is likely that the earliest post-Flood civilizations, such as Babylon, retained some of the pre-Flood knowledge passed down through the generations. No wonder their inhabitants wanted to keep central control of such knowledge, before God scattered the people across the face of the Earth.
Thank You, Lord, that You are in control of all the sciences, even mathematics. Thank You for the wonder of creation that we even see through historic math documents. Amen.
Genesis 6:15-16
“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.”
Mostly, I liked math (or maths, as we called it) when I was at high school. But one aspect of math was tedious. This was when special numbers had to be looked up in boring books called log tables. These books contained not only logarithms but also the trigonometric functions – sines, cosines and tangents. Today’s students simply press a button on their scientific calculators, but we had to look with painstaking concentration through page after page of figures until we had worked out the value required.
A clay tablet, called Plimpton 322, was discovered in the early 1900s in the area where Babylon must have been. This mysterious tablet, with four columns and 15 rows of numbers, has remained an enigma until recently. Researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered that the numbers are in base 60 rather than the base 10 that we use. In addition, they are trigonometric tables like those sine, cosine and tangent tables that I remember from my youth. It has been known for a very long time that the Babylonians used base 60. This is the source of our idea that an hour contains 60 minutes, and a minute 60 seconds.
Ancient civilizations were far from primitive. It is likely that the earliest post-Flood civilizations, such as Babylon, retained some of the pre-Flood knowledge passed down through the generations. No wonder their inhabitants wanted to keep central control of such knowledge, before God scattered the people across the face of the Earth.
Thank You, Lord, that You are in control of all the sciences, even mathematics. Thank You for the wonder of creation that we even see through historic math documents. Amen.
TEMPLE OF PI
1 Kings 7:23
“And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.”
In 1 Kings 7:23, there is an unusual account of how Solomon had the sea of bronze made. We read that is was “ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference”.
Many atheists and skeptics have used this verse to criticize the Bible. They suggest that the inaccuracy suggested by the dimensions given is inconsistent with a Book claiming to be without error. They suggest that a diameter of 10 cubits and circumference of 30 cubits is impossible, as the relationship between these two values is governed by a value called pi (π).
Now, pi, the famous mathematical constant, is found by dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. So, if Solomon had made the sea ten cubits across, then surely the circumference would have to be about 31½ cubits.
What the skeptics fail to notice is that verse 26 informs us that there was a rim, with a width of a handsbreadth. A cubit is about 18 inches, while a handsbreadth is 4 inches. So the circumference is 540 inches. The rim-to-rim distance is 180 inches, but we need to subtract two handsbreadths to find the diameter of the vessel, which will be 172 inches. 540 divided by 172 is 3.1395, which is extremely close to the recognized value of 3.1416, giving a tiny experimental error of just 0.07% – well within the accuracy of any measuring device used at the time.
This little math lesson is, as expected, consistent with our presupposition of the Bible’s trustworthiness.
Thank You, Lord, that we can trust Your word to be true in even the tiniest, least significant details. Help us to trust Your word for all the big events of our lives. Amen.
1 Kings 7:23
“And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.”
In 1 Kings 7:23, there is an unusual account of how Solomon had the sea of bronze made. We read that is was “ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference”.
Many atheists and skeptics have used this verse to criticize the Bible. They suggest that the inaccuracy suggested by the dimensions given is inconsistent with a Book claiming to be without error. They suggest that a diameter of 10 cubits and circumference of 30 cubits is impossible, as the relationship between these two values is governed by a value called pi (π).
Now, pi, the famous mathematical constant, is found by dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. So, if Solomon had made the sea ten cubits across, then surely the circumference would have to be about 31½ cubits.
What the skeptics fail to notice is that verse 26 informs us that there was a rim, with a width of a handsbreadth. A cubit is about 18 inches, while a handsbreadth is 4 inches. So the circumference is 540 inches. The rim-to-rim distance is 180 inches, but we need to subtract two handsbreadths to find the diameter of the vessel, which will be 172 inches. 540 divided by 172 is 3.1395, which is extremely close to the recognized value of 3.1416, giving a tiny experimental error of just 0.07% – well within the accuracy of any measuring device used at the time.
This little math lesson is, as expected, consistent with our presupposition of the Bible’s trustworthiness.
Thank You, Lord, that we can trust Your word to be true in even the tiniest, least significant details. Help us to trust Your word for all the big events of our lives. Amen.
DRINK COFFEE AND LIVE LONG
James 1:17
�Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.�
James says that �every good and perfect gift is from above...� Perhaps I am twisting Scripture a little by including coffee in this category. I have to confess � I love coffee. So I was delighted to read on the Science Daily website recently that the intake of coffee could contribute to longer life! If that is so, I could be looking forward to living as long as Methuselah!
Now, we have discussed coffee, or rather caffeine, before in these Creation Moments programs. It isn�t my purpose today to extol the virtues or otherwise of this honey-colored liquid. I simply want to note that a recent study has linked drinking four cups of coffee a day with a long and healthy life. 337 participants were studied over a ten-year period and were found to have a 64% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee. All participants lived in Spain or other Mediterranean areas. The researchers noted that previous studies on coffee consumption had not been carried out around the Mediterranean.
The study also notes that previous studies had sometimes shown that there was a deleterious effect to the over-consumption of coffee or other caffeinated drinks. There are, after all, many people who suggest that drinking coffee could be bad for one�s health. The fact that another study is now suggesting an opposite conclusion simply underlines how volatile the professional opinion of scientists can be. The idea of scientific consensus turns out to be a myth and not an argument of authority. Our only absolute authority is what God says in His word.
Thank You, Father, for the truth of Your word. Amidst all the changing opinions of the world, Your word remains the same. Amen.
James 1:17
�Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.�
James says that �every good and perfect gift is from above...� Perhaps I am twisting Scripture a little by including coffee in this category. I have to confess � I love coffee. So I was delighted to read on the Science Daily website recently that the intake of coffee could contribute to longer life! If that is so, I could be looking forward to living as long as Methuselah!
Now, we have discussed coffee, or rather caffeine, before in these Creation Moments programs. It isn�t my purpose today to extol the virtues or otherwise of this honey-colored liquid. I simply want to note that a recent study has linked drinking four cups of coffee a day with a long and healthy life. 337 participants were studied over a ten-year period and were found to have a 64% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee. All participants lived in Spain or other Mediterranean areas. The researchers noted that previous studies on coffee consumption had not been carried out around the Mediterranean.
The study also notes that previous studies had sometimes shown that there was a deleterious effect to the over-consumption of coffee or other caffeinated drinks. There are, after all, many people who suggest that drinking coffee could be bad for one�s health. The fact that another study is now suggesting an opposite conclusion simply underlines how volatile the professional opinion of scientists can be. The idea of scientific consensus turns out to be a myth and not an argument of authority. Our only absolute authority is what God says in His word.
Thank You, Father, for the truth of Your word. Amidst all the changing opinions of the world, Your word remains the same. Amen.
ROOSTING DINOSAURS
Genesis 1:20
�And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.�
Current evolutionary thought suggests, as most people are aware, that birds evolved from therapod dinosaurs. Therefore, evolutionary scientists must find their evidence, not only for the evolution of the skeletal structure of birds and features such as feathers, but many other behavioral characteristics. As someone who keeps chickens, I am well aware of the desire among these birds to roost together at night, lending each other protection.
Scientists at Canada�s University of Alberta have been examining a fossil from the Mongolian desert. The fossil shows three oviraptors, said to be juvenile. Two of the raptors are more or less complete. They are said to be preserved in a sleeping posture �so close, that they would have been touching in life�.
One of the best uses of evidence is to demonstrate the inconsistency of thought on the part of evolutionists. For example, creationists interpret many fossils, including the famous archaeopteryx fossil, as having been preserved suddenly in a death-throe posture. Evolutionists are critical of this interpretation, not able to accept that fossilization can be sudden.
But in the case of these oviraptors, Alberta scientists have to assume that these dinosaurs were fossilized suddenly in a sleeping posture. If this were true, then it undermines the evolutionary position on the formation of other fossils. But if the Alberta scientists have interpreted the fossil dinosaurs� posture incorrectly, then the entire usefulness of the fossil, as evidence for the evolution of birds, is negated. Either way, evolutionists have nothing to celebrate.
The Bible makes clear that birds were created on the fifth day of the creation week, while dinosaurs, being land animals, were created the day after birds, not millions of years before them.
We know, Lord, that the world outside does not want to accept Your word on how things were made. Keep Your people faithful to Your word. Thank You that all that we discover is consistent with what You told us in Your inspired word. Amen.
Genesis 1:20
�And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.�
Current evolutionary thought suggests, as most people are aware, that birds evolved from therapod dinosaurs. Therefore, evolutionary scientists must find their evidence, not only for the evolution of the skeletal structure of birds and features such as feathers, but many other behavioral characteristics. As someone who keeps chickens, I am well aware of the desire among these birds to roost together at night, lending each other protection.
Scientists at Canada�s University of Alberta have been examining a fossil from the Mongolian desert. The fossil shows three oviraptors, said to be juvenile. Two of the raptors are more or less complete. They are said to be preserved in a sleeping posture �so close, that they would have been touching in life�.
One of the best uses of evidence is to demonstrate the inconsistency of thought on the part of evolutionists. For example, creationists interpret many fossils, including the famous archaeopteryx fossil, as having been preserved suddenly in a death-throe posture. Evolutionists are critical of this interpretation, not able to accept that fossilization can be sudden.
But in the case of these oviraptors, Alberta scientists have to assume that these dinosaurs were fossilized suddenly in a sleeping posture. If this were true, then it undermines the evolutionary position on the formation of other fossils. But if the Alberta scientists have interpreted the fossil dinosaurs� posture incorrectly, then the entire usefulness of the fossil, as evidence for the evolution of birds, is negated. Either way, evolutionists have nothing to celebrate.
The Bible makes clear that birds were created on the fifth day of the creation week, while dinosaurs, being land animals, were created the day after birds, not millions of years before them.
We know, Lord, that the world outside does not want to accept Your word on how things were made. Keep Your people faithful to Your word. Thank You that all that we discover is consistent with what You told us in Your inspired word. Amen.
EVERYBODY LOVES PANDAS
Genesis 1:24
�And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so�
Everybody loves pandas, don�t they? We must love them because we are trying to save them from extinction, with some success; pandas have been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable. Apparently, their habitat in China is expanding, so that the likelihood of those adorable black-and-white icons of world wildlife may not disappear after all.
However, I recall one British comedian poking ironic fun at the mission to save the pandas by saying that we could do without them. After all, he opined, they seem determined to commit species suicide, so why not just let them go where the dinosaurs and mammoths went?
A Christian position is more logical � less sentimental, but more compassionate. If pandas had already gone extinct, then we could clearly live without them. However, given that humanity has a mandate from Genesis 1 of stewardship of the Earth and its resources; it is certainly admirable to attempt to preserve what we have in the way of panda populations.
The concept of panda extinction is inconsistent for evolutionists. A hard-line evolutionist should want them to die out because, in the survival of the fittest stakes, pandas have proved themselves less fit. Yet most people, while holding evolutionary philosophy, would rather try to take steps to preserve the cuddly looking giants.
It is only those taking a biblical worldview who can view the subject with any degree of rationality. Animals are only animals. When they die, their souls return to the ground. Yet, the survival of pandas has only occurred because of massive human effort � effort that is not wrong and can indeed be justified from Scripture.
Thank You, Lord, for the beauty of Your creation. Thank You for the varied creatures that You have placed in it, of which pandas must be among the most beautiful. Help us to know how and why and what we should preserve, as part of our stewardship of Your creation. Amen.
Genesis 1:24
�And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so�
Everybody loves pandas, don�t they? We must love them because we are trying to save them from extinction, with some success; pandas have been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable. Apparently, their habitat in China is expanding, so that the likelihood of those adorable black-and-white icons of world wildlife may not disappear after all.
However, I recall one British comedian poking ironic fun at the mission to save the pandas by saying that we could do without them. After all, he opined, they seem determined to commit species suicide, so why not just let them go where the dinosaurs and mammoths went?
A Christian position is more logical � less sentimental, but more compassionate. If pandas had already gone extinct, then we could clearly live without them. However, given that humanity has a mandate from Genesis 1 of stewardship of the Earth and its resources; it is certainly admirable to attempt to preserve what we have in the way of panda populations.
The concept of panda extinction is inconsistent for evolutionists. A hard-line evolutionist should want them to die out because, in the survival of the fittest stakes, pandas have proved themselves less fit. Yet most people, while holding evolutionary philosophy, would rather try to take steps to preserve the cuddly looking giants.
It is only those taking a biblical worldview who can view the subject with any degree of rationality. Animals are only animals. When they die, their souls return to the ground. Yet, the survival of pandas has only occurred because of massive human effort � effort that is not wrong and can indeed be justified from Scripture.
Thank You, Lord, for the beauty of Your creation. Thank You for the varied creatures that You have placed in it, of which pandas must be among the most beautiful. Help us to know how and why and what we should preserve, as part of our stewardship of Your creation. Amen.
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