CREATION MOMENTS: 3.31.18

EVOLUTION OF THE EARLY EARTH

Genesis 1:1-2

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”


Many people are aware that evolutionary astrophysicists believe that the Earth came into existence about 4.5 billion years ago. The formation of this planet-size lump of rock allegedly happened by gravitational accretion from the dust that had previously swirled around the Sun. One grain of dust would attract another. Gradually, one lump would attract another. This would keep repeating until a planet-sized object appeared.

 There are two main problems with this scenario, apart from the fact that it is not described that way in the Bible. First, why would particles of dust or small stones stick together by gravity? If this were a normal thing to happen, then why has it not subsequently happened in the asteroid belt? The second problem is that even if such accretion were possible, it would only produce a planet-sized lump of amorphous rock. But the Earth has structure, with a solid crust, semi-molten mantle, and molten inner and outer core.

 So evolutionary astrophysicists suppose that about 3.9 billion years ago, another planet, about the size of Mars, crashed into the Earth, and vaporized. This caused the Earth to melt so that it could reset in the "correct" order. Although this model is a lot more sophisticated than this simplified version, it still seems to be something of a fiddle-factor – an invented story to attempt to explain the inexplicable.

 In contrast, the Bible tells us that the Earth was a direct creation by God and that the rest of the Solar System – and, indeed, the rest of the universe – was formed three days later, again as a direct creative act of God.

We give You all the honor and all the glory, Lord, for creating this entire universe, the way that You willed it. Amen

 

 

A SNOWBALLS CHANCE

Job 38:22-23

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?”
We are all familiar with the concept of the Ice Age – probably due to the eponymous cartoon feature film series. Evolutionists believe that this event took place about 2.6 million years ago. There is considerable evidence around the world of valleys carved by glaciation, and glacial moraines – deposits of rocky debris left at the end of glaciers. In a biblical framework, it is relatively easy to explain how the Ice Age could have happened. Instead of beginning 2.6 million years ago, we think that the Ice Age began in the immediate post-Flood period as oceans warmer than today evaporated into an atmosphere cooler than today.

 However, evolutionary geologists do not believe in just one Ice Age. They believe that the Earth has been through a cyclical path of continual ice ages and times of more temperate climate. Their evidence for this is found in rocks which bear scratch marks similar to those damaged during the known Ice Age. Indeed, evolutionists suppose that some of these earlier ice ages could have had ice sheets covering nearly the whole Earth.

 Such a scenario causes a problem. It can be seen that this sort of ice age would perhaps have caused a snowball effect. That is to say that most of the Earth could be covered by a white ice covering which would reflect most of the Sun's heat away. In that case, it is difficult to see how the ice could ever have melted to return Earth to temperate conditions.

 Creationist researchers have shown that the effects interpreted as early ice ages could more easily be explained as being caused by landslides and other geological movements during the Flood.

Thank You, Lord, for researchers who are not put off by unbiblical presuppositions, but are determined to research matters in a biblical and godly manner. Amen.

 

THERES GLORY FOR YOU!

Matthew 5:37

“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
"There's glory for you!" said Humpty Dumpty.

 "I don't know what you mean by 'glory'" Alice said.

 Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't – till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"

 "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.

 "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what

I want it to mean – neither more nor less."

 This classic scene from Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass aptly illustrates one of the flaws of the pseudo-intellectuals. It is that they might take a word and try to make it mean something different. Take the word "evolution", for example. In one sense, evolution simply refers to the act of change. It could be said that this very creation ministry has evolved over the years! It is not the same as it was at the very beginning. However, we know that, biologically speaking, evolution refers to a specific kind of change. It refers to the way that creatures have supposedly changed from single-celled organisms to human beings. Yet these changes are not seen, by definition, because they are supposed to have taken millennia to achieve. Therefore, evolutionists will show you another example of biological change that occurs in a much shorter timescale, and say: "See! If this can evolve, then bigger evolutions can take place." But the evolutionist is not comparing apples with apples. Different types of changes have different mechanisms and, therefore, there is no observable evidence for molecules-to-man evolution.

Thank You for Your wonderful word, Lord. We thank You that the words of Scripture are true, from Genesis to Revelation. Amen.

WHAT WAS LEVIATHAN?

Job 41:1-2

“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?”
The leviathan of Job 41 appears to be a ferocious creature. It cannot be caught with any sort of hook. It cannot be captured by harpoon, either through its jaw or its nose. The description given in Job 41 is that of an enormous sea monster with great strength, defensive armor, and able to breathe fire. This last attribute has led many to suggest that the creature is not real but only mythical. After all, the passage makes leviathan sound like a fire-breathing dragon, and there is no such thing, is there?

 It is certainly very difficult to ascertain what leviathan could have been. However, a biblical presupposition will tell us that, whatever our confusion, the animal must have been real and must have possessed all the attributes ascribed to it. Several candidates have been suggested in the past. Perhaps, for example, it could have been some sort of plesiosaur. It is interesting that many versions of the Bible footnote the creature and suggest that it was a crocodile. However, the same versions tend to refer to behemoth as a hippopotamus, when it seems clear to me that behemoth was a sauropod.

 One interesting suggested candidate is a huge extinct creature called Sarcosuchus. This animal looked a bit like, and could have been related to, modern crocodiles. However, it was 36 feet long, and its weight is estimated at 8 tons. It also had a large cavity inside its bulbous snout. Could this have been an organ to produce heat?

 Sarcosuchus may or may not have been leviathan. But leviathan certainly existed, and its description in Job 41 is clear.

We are constantly amazed, Lord, at the wonders of Your creation, just as was Job when confronted with Your might. Thank You for creating all things well. Amen.

Ref: Booker, P., A New Candidate for Leviathan, TJ 19(2) 2005. Image: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.