Posted on November 26, 2013
Created to Look Old?
Last week I visited a couple of local private schools where I distribute my Creation Clues for Kids to give them copies of my latest issue. As I was talking with one of the administrators, she mentioned a thought someone brought up recently. The thought was, basically, that since God created Adam as an adult man (not an infant or a child), couldn’t God have created other things fully mature as well? For example, the trees in the Garden of Eden would not have been sprouting seeds , but full-grown trees that were already producing fruit for Adam and Eve to eat. Going back to the famous question of “what came first: the chicken or the egg?”, God created fully formed-chickens (not eggs) because an egg would need a mother chicken to keep it warm or else it would die.
In answer to this question/comment, yes, I do believe that God created some things already mature, or with the appearance of age. The act of creation was a miracle. It is a very bad idea to underestimate the power of God. However, this is a concept that we have to be very careful with because it can easily be misused and actually end up undermining the principles in God’s Word. Because of this, Answers in Genesis actually lists the argument that “God created things to look old” as one of their arguments that Christians shouldn’t use (please note: I do not necessarily endorse everything on Answers in Genesis’ list of “Arguments Christians Shouldn’t Use”).
Let me explain some of the problems that come with this idea. We could assume that God created not just Adam to appear old, but also the face of the earth and the light from very distant stars to appear older than they really are. We could think that God created the world looking basically like it does today. But if God just created the earth to look old, then nothing we learn about the way certain geologic features and fossils were formed would really be true. This would be like a false history in the rock record because God would have just created it all the way we see it. In the rock record we find evidence of many bad things happening: animals killing each other, disease, pain, disastrous storms, and violent volcanos. We see evidence of catastrophic supernovas through the light of distant stars, so according to astrophysicist Dr. Jason Lisle, God did not create the stars with light already on it’s way (please give some feedback on this topic in the poll bellow).
I know that some groups of Christians and Jews believe that God just put fossils in the rock layers to deceive people. God is not a liar (Numbers 23:19). It is not consistent with His nature to put a record of things that never happened here for people. Besides, He commanded us to “fill the earth and subdue it”. Using science is a significant way of subduing the earth, just like God commanded. Also, the fossils are records of death, pain, and disease. God certainly would not put a false record of death, pain, and disease for people who obeyed His command to subdue the earth to find. These bad things in our world are a result of Adam and Eve’s choice to sin, not God’s “very good” creation.
I am sure that most Christians who believe God created things to look mature and fully grown don’t take this view so far (I believe that God created some things mature and that we can trust Him no matter what). I just provided an extreme extension of this concept because I want to caution other Christians not to take this too far. I love having questions like this to think, pray, and study about. Please feel free to ask me questions or put in comments.
Posted on November 18, 2013
Christians & the Old Testament
Have you ever tried to read through the entire Bible in a year? This was one of my resolutions for the new year of 2013 and so far, I have managed to keep it up. Because I’m a math person, I decided to create my own reading plan rather than go off of someone else’s reading plan. This was probably not the most brilliant idea I have ever had since I ended up reading in Job, Isaiah, and Jeremiah (in addition to a daily Psalm) for about a month at the end of the summer.
As modern-day Christians living under God’s redeeming grace, we are generally more comfortable with reading the New Testament than we are with the Old Testament. Late one night after I had finished reading four very dreary, long chapters I thought, “this is miserable- hopeless, even”. Yes, parts of the Old Testament are pretty miserable and hopeless, but maybe that’s the point God is trying to make. Remember that this time in history is when people still had to be under the law. The Old Testament was before grace really became the main part of how God related to individuals. The point is that under the law that God gave to Moses we fail miserably. There is absolutely no way we can make it to God without His help. That’s why parts of the Old Testament are so miserable.
Like in any good adventure or romance story, just when everything seems completely lost and hopeless the Hero shows up, saves the day, and makes everything right. After all the major and minor prophets have come and the people of Israel are left wicked, wounded, and waiting- waiting with the little hope they have left for the promised Savior. Finally, He comes (not at all like they thought He would) and finishes the work He was sent to do, rescuing all who are willing to come through His free grace.
I believe that Christians should not ignore huge chunks of the Old Testament simply because they are hard to understand or unpleasant to read. The Old Testament gives us a very humbling picture of the righteousness, justice, and complete holiness of God. Don’t treat God like a throw pillow (soft, comfortable, and nice to look at) because His wrath is fierce. Reading through the Bible in a year is a good experience to give a person a good overall picture of God and His character. However, there were many times when I wished I did not have to go so fast or read so much every day because I wanted to explore a passage or topic in greater depth. I would definitely encourage other Christians to read through the Bible in a year at least once every 2-10 years.
Posted on November 10, 2013
Hope for Saul
The weather was nice that afternoon as some travelers made their way down the dusty road. The man in charge of the group smiled smugly to himself, satisfied by the power that the papers he carried would have. Suddenly, out of nowhere came a light much brighter than the sun. The travelers fell on their faces and trembled in horror. Then came a powerful voice calling out, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” The man in charge, once so proud, shook with terror. “Who are You, Lord?” The man asked. “I am Jesus Christ Who you are persecuting . . .”
Saul was a prominent and well educated Jew. He was there when Stephen, the first of many Christians to be martyred, was killed. Saul, of course, hated the Christians and did everything he could to harm or kill them. Who would have thought that this man would travel the world preaching Christianity, write a large portion of the New Testament, and suffer for the sake of the Gospel that he had tried so hard to crush? The story of Paul’s conversion is an incredible testimony to the grace and mercy of God. It should be encouraging to us as Christians to realize that God can change the hearts of even our worst enemies.
A good modern example of a Saul/Paul conversion in the creation outreach is Dr. Gary Parker’s story. Dr. Parker was a biology teacher at both the high school and university levels. He was a very strong proponent of evolution, known for trying to get students to fit evolution with their faith, and even pushing it so hard he made students cry. As time went on, Dr. Parker and his wife, Mary Parker, became Christians, but still insisted on evolution. A colleague gave Dr. Parker a copy of Morris & Witcomb’s The Genesis Flood, which discussed geologic evidence for the worldwide flood and young earth. Dr. Parker still wasn’t quite convinced, so he went back to school for his doctorate, where he also studied some of the geologic evidence he had read about.
Dr. Parker ended up being convinced by the scientific evidence as well as theological evidence for a young earth. He is now a well-known creationist paleontologist (see the booklet, From Evolution to Creation, an interview with Dr. Parker, published by Answers in Genesis). The Parkers started the Creation Adventures Museum in Florida and also wrote several children’s books. In fact, I loved reading their children’s books when I was very young. My favorite one was called Life Before Birth. Growing up on these books is probably a large part of why I aspire to write my own children’s books on creation topics.
It is important to pray for those that are opposing our ministries. A friend mentioned to me that Richard Dawkins is really a lot like Paul was before he converted. I never would have thought of something like that, but it is a good point to keep in mind when we are dealing with those that are trying to oppose us that they are really fighting against God. Don’t take personal offense to their attacks, rather, pray for them. You never know if Richard Dawkins or whoever opposes your faith may be the next “Paul”.
Posted on November 5, 2013
Gifts & the Grace of God
Life is not fair. Our world is full of tragedy, brokenness, and grief. Often, I wonder why God allows terrible things to happen to seemingly innocent people in our world. Of course, I know that we have pain and suffering in the world because of Adam’s original sin, and that by accepting new birth through the blood of the Second Adam, God will wipe all the tears from my eyes and make all things new and beautiful. Yes, life is not fair, but I sure am glad it’s not. If God were to be truly fair to all of us in this world, we would not be here. We would probably all be burning in Hell, were it not for God’s grace.
As a Christian and young-earth creationist in a secular college, I often look around me at everyone else and wonder why I’m not like them. I certainly don’t want to be like them – I am deeply grateful to God for the way He created me and the positions He has put me in. But, I sometimes wonder why – why did God choose to bless me? Why do I have all this information that other people don’t? It is only by His grace that I am a Christian and a creationist. I don’t deserve His blessings any more than these students I walk by every week.
In Luke 12:48 Jesus says, “. . . For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” I have been blessed with many gifts, but because God has given me these things, He expects me to use them for His glory. Because I have been blessed, it is my responsibility to share my blessings with those around me. I need to be sharing the gospel and explaining what I believe about the age of the earth with those around me. I cannot convict a person or change his or her mind, but I am responsible for being a witness to others. What about you? What gifts have you been given and what are you going to do with them?
Posted on October 25, 2013
The Little Things
I have recently become friends with some atheists in one of my college classes. I know that statement may sound counter-intuitive coming from a rather vocal creationist like me, but I’d rather talk to an atheist any day rather than a compromising Christian. Being exposed to atheists gives me an opportunity not only to be a witness to them of my faith but also to practice defending my faith by giving a “reason for the hope that is within” me (see I Peter 3:15). I was thinking recently about the reasons why I know that God exists. There are, of course, plenty of “big” reasons for believing in God, like the existence of logic and the need for love in humans and the incredible order of our marvelously designed universe. But, what I thought about more was not how I know about God – that He exists- but how I know God personally.
We could talk about scientific and logical support for the existence of God all day long, but God did not create us merely to think about Him, but instead, to know and love Him. God is a personal being, not a concept or a theory. He is my Very Best Friend. I come to Him to cry, laugh, muse, complain (better to Him than those around us), celebrate, and bask in awe at His holiness and justice.
God is really quite romantic as well – drawing His Bride (His redeemed people) closer to Himself. Think about it for a minute. When a young man is trying to win his bride, what kind of things might he do? Saving her life, of course, would be extremely romantic. But, it’s not just the big things that matter. Building trust through little things every day and knowing the strangest little quirks about each other creates the deep, lasting relationship. According to Beth Moore’s Tabernacle Bible study, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place (video session 3), one of the aspects of close friendship is small talk. No one else but your closest friends care to know all the silly little things about you.
When I think back on many of my prayers that God has answered my first reaction is to laugh. Why laugh? Because many of my prayers are ridiculus! I can’t count how many times I have asked God to do the silliest little things for me in the mundane little daily things – yet He answered. For example, one thing I’ve prayed for more than once goes along these lines, “Lord, You know I hate the loop. You know I especially don’t like that entrance ramp, right there. Please don’t let any other come up there when I pass it”, and He does it! I know God is real, not just because of the big things in my little world, but because God cares about even the smallest details of my life. I know I can trust God in the big things in my life because I’ve seen the incredible care He gives to the little things.
Posted on October 22, 2013
Grand Canyon: Monument of Mercy
I took a slow, deep breath, just trying to comprehend that it was all real. I felt like I had just stepped into a beautiful scenic photograph. But, the paradoxical combination of the sun’s oppressive heat and the bone-chilling splashes that occasionally drenched those of us at the front of the raft reminded me that it was real. I was surprised when I finally came home from the Grand Canyon to realize that I missed it. I’ve never missed any place but home before – not even after I went to the big Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. The Grand Canyon truly was a magnificent experience, and one I’m sure those of you who read my blog are tired of hearing about.
We have discussed my Grand Canyon Adventure, the fascinating elevation, the Great Unconformity, the beauty amid judgment, rock dating, and granite in the canyon. We can look at the tiny radiohalos in granite of the canyon or try to comprehend the utter vastness and beauty of the Grand Canyon and see God in it all. Through seeing the height of the canyon walls and the fury of the icy rapids bellow we can get a picture of how small and powerless we are as humans.
There I was, five foot four, floating on a 20-30 foot long raft (i.e., rubber and air) down a raging river with a water temperature of around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and pretty much no contact with the “rim world” possible. Recall that this river sits at the bottom of one of the deepest canyon on earth, about six thousand feet deep. Now, this is all on a relatively small hunk of rock revolving around an average sized star. Yet the Creator of the universe Who is perfectly just and righteous still cares about the silliest little things in my life that I tell Him about every day.
Not only does this God care for sinful, insignificant people like me, but He cared so much that He came to take my punishment that I justly deserve. The Grand Canyon is not just a monument to God’s power, wrath, and beauty in judgment, but also His mercy. Remember that the Grand Canyon is from the flood – the same flood in which God preserved Noah and his family in the ark. There’s another judgment coming too, but this time God will destroy the earth with fire instead of water. There’s another ark too, and Jesus Christ is the door through which you must enter if you want to be saved by His righteousness. Are you ready for this judgment? Have you entered through the Door and allowed Jesus to take your punishment for you? If you have entered the Door, are you, like Noah, inviting others on this ark, if they will enter through the Door?
Posted on October 13, 2013
Grand Canyon: Granite Rocks
As a geology student I love to look at, touch, and think about rocks. However, I am afraid that I do not love all kinds of rocks equally. My least favorite rocks are the ones that look like pieces of dinosaur bones and other fossils – “Oh, it’s just another rock”. On the other hand, I also have an all-time favorite type of rock, and that is granite. The first thing that most people notice about granite is it’s beauty, displayed in it’s unique depth of colors and textures. Next, people usually notice that it’s a pretty tough rock. The combination of these two reasons is why granite is frequently used in stylish kitchen counter tops, elaborate government buildings (like a state capital building or county courthouse), and grave stones and other monuments.
I appreciate granite for it’s physical beauty just like anyone else, but perhaps a bit more than your average granite admirer because when I look at granite, I look for the things that remind of it;s intellectual beauty as well. Last week, we discussed a little bit about rock dating in the Grand Canyon. Today we will explore the specific rock dating in the granite of the Grand Canyon. Don’t worry though, I will not make it as intimidating as it may sound. Granite is a rock. Rocks are a conglomeration of several minerals. The next time you see granite, take a deeper look at it, and see if you can find the minerals I’m telling you about in it. Granite is made of three minerals: Quartz (which comes in several different colors), feldspar (usually a creamy gray or peachy color pieces) and biotite (black or green).
The biotite is the key to radioisotope dating in granite. Biotite comes in tiny thin sheets of plastic-like material, all staked together. I have tried to pull apart bioitite sheets to get just one sheet to look at under a microscope, but I can’t really say I succeeded, because these sheets are so incredibly thin and stuck together. Radioactive Uranium is trapped in tiny crystals between the sheets of bioitite. Because this Uranium is radioactive, it shoots out tiny pieces of itself suddenly, which damages the delicate biotite sheets, leaving a series of rings around the original crystal that the Uranium was stuck in. Taking the layers of biotite apart, it ends up looking like onion slices. These rings (called raiohalos) are so tiny that three of them lined up would be about as thick as a single human hair.
We are often stunned by the vastness of the Grand Canyon, thinking of how marvelously it shows God’s mighty power. Yes, the big things of the Grand Canyon do show the glory and truth of our incredible Creator, God, but the little things do too. Tiny radiohalos, simple marks in the millions of layers of a little black speck in a rock, speak of God’s judgement in the flood and the truth of the Bible from the very beginning. Normal Uranium decay makes eight rings, but many radiohalos have been found with just one, two, or three rings. By measuring how big these rings are, we can know that the step of radioactive decay that made these rings happen very fast, but they have to start out as Uranium and go through millions of years worth of decay first. This means that the granite had to have still been soft and probably have water flowing through it after millions of years worth of Uranium decay happened.
So what does it all mean? It means that radioactive decay has happened faster in the past (during the flood) than it does today. In other words Radioisotope dating is not as simple or consistently reliable as scientists have thought and the Bible is right about the age of the earth and Noah’s flood. We can’t completely trust Radioisotope dating, but we can put our trust completely in God and His Word.
Posted on October 6, 2013
Grand Canyon: Rock Dating
The Grand Canyon is both a geologist’s dream and a geologist’s nightmare. It’s a geologist’s dream because it’s not just a bunch of sediment rock layers (like sandstone and limestone), but it also has hardened lava flows and hardened magma cutting through, under, and above the layers. Except for Carbon-14 dating, radioisotope dating only works on igneous rock, like lava flows or granite. Without these rocks, geologists have to rely on fossils to date the rocks. Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between lava and magma? Not many people do, but now you probably wonder. Lava and magma are interesting words in geology because they are not just names for what something is, but also where it is. Magma is underground and lava is above ground. That’s the only difference. The Grand Canyon has both hardened magma (this makes rock like granite and basalt) and hardened lava. Both of these can be used to find a radioisotope “age” for the rocks in the Grand Canyon.
On the other hand, the Grand Canyon is also a geologist’s nightmare. This is because of the results of radioisotope dating on the hardened lava and magma as well as some of the reasons I mentioned in previous posts and other reasons I haven’t written about yet. Let me make something clear, before I tell you about the results from radioisotope dating in the Grand Canyon. I do not endorse the “ages” placed on rocks using these dating methods, because they are based on unproven and wrong ideas to begin with and the methods have several other problems. The radioisotope dating of hardened lava flows and magma at the top and bottom of the Grand Canyon give the same age. For the lava flows to be on top, the layers have to be there first (otherwise, how could the lava flows burn the top layers?). If the radioisotope “dates” at the top and bottom of the canyon are the same it means that the layers must have all been laid down at once, not over several hundred million years. Next week we will talk a little more about radioisotopes in the Grand Canyon.
Note:
Some of my sources for information on radioisotopes include the following resources
“Another View of the Grand Canyon” from Answers Magazine, April-June, 2013
Grand Canyon: What is the Biblical Message, by Tom Vail
Thousands . . . Not Billions, by Dr. Don DeYoung
Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth: A Young Earth Creationist Initiative, by Dr. Larry Vardiman, Dr. Andrew Snelling, and Dr. Eugene Chaffin
“Radioactive and Radiocarbon Dating: Turning Foe Into Friend”, Answers in Genesis video talk by Dr. Andrew Snelling
“Radiohalos –“ Three part article in Answers Magazine , April-June, July-September, and October-December 2012 issues
Posted on September 28, 2013
Grand Canyon: Beauty Through Pain
The Grand Canyon truly is marvelous and incredibly beautiful. At first glance, most Christians would think of the wondrous creation works of God when they see this incredible monument to the power of God. However, God did not make the Grand Canyon, or most of our geologic wonders of the world, during creation week. They were a result of the flood – God’s fierce judgment for the wickedness of man. God is holy and pure, He hates evil. God will not be mocked and see His precious people pollute His image. Jesus is our Living Water, but if we pour that living water on the ground by refusing His righteousness that He offers to us through His grace, that same water will end up drowning us, just like the flood of Noah’s day.
Yes, God’s fierce anger was poured out, destroying the earth during the flood. Yet, the flood is also an incredible testament to the grace of God as well as His fierce judgment. God could have left us with an ugly earth after the flood – we would have deserved it. But, in God’s great mercy and compassion to us (as well as His love of beauty), He gave us something beautiful instead. God formed the Grand Canyon not only in His judgment, but also in His incredible grace. God loves beauty, so He gave us beauty through the pain and righteous judgment of the flood. Without the flood, we would not have the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, or Yellowstone. Not only did God provide beauty through the flood, but He also gave us practical things like coal, natural oil, gypsum (for things like sheetrock and chalk), and flint.
God gave us beauty through the pain of the flood He sent in His righteous judgment, but what about personal suffering, especially when we haven’t done anything wrong? What about our pain, heartache, troubles, and death – does God still see, and does He care? Absolutely. Isaiah 53:3-4 calls Jesus a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” and says that “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows”. Like Job, our suffering may not be the result of some specific sin. It is hard to understand why God lets bad things happen to good people. The reason we have suffering in our world is not because God chose to inflict pain upon us, but because of our choice to disobey God way back in the Garden of Eden. The reason why we suffer is generally because of a loss of or lack of some blessing, but we didn’t even deserve those blessings in the first place. Truth be known, none of us deserve to be alive at all right now. It is only by the grace and mercy of God.
Although we never understand it at the time (sometimes we will not understand until we meet our Maker face to face), God can use our sufferings to create something beautiful, just like He did during the flood. God can create a beautiful Grand Canyon through your sufferings. Now, that doesn’t mean that our sufferings are any less terrible or painful. Knowing the truth about suffering doesn’t necessarily make it easier. Suffering is hard, and God doesn’t ask us just to “get over it”. We should grieve, let ourselves cry and be comforted by friends, most importantly a Heavenly Friend. In Psalm 56:8, David says, “put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” God sees our sufferings, and He is willing to make something beautiful out of them.
Posted on September 22, 2013
Grand Canyon: Creation & Flood
On my trip to the Grand Canyon I saw many spectacular rock formations. Well, technically a person could say that I lived in a spectacular rock formation for several days. This week I want to show you one of my favorite rock formations that I saw up-close at the Grand Canyon. There are three main geologically significant features in the Grand Canyon – the basement rock, the layers, and the canyon that has cut through them. The “Great Unconformity” (see picture) shows us all three of those features at once.
Basement rock is pretty much creation rock. This type of rock is generally very dark in color and high in iron content. When God created the earth He made basement rock and put thick coating of softer sediment on top of it (plants cannot grow very well in basement rock). When God sent the world wide flood of His holy judgment, the waters swept up over the land, scraping off everything that was on top of the basement rock (including people animals, and sediment). Later on during the flood, sediment was deposited into layers. The Grand Canyon was probably carved close to the end of the flood, when the waters were draining off the land, or possibly shortly after the flood when the earth was still going through the “aftershock” of the flood.
The “Great Unconformity” is the boundary between the basement rock (creation rock) and the first sedimentary layers (flood layers). An unconformity (pronounced un-cun-form-itty) is a space between layers that show that something happened between those layers to erode whatever was on top of the bottom layer and keep the next layer from being deposited. Secular geologists would tell you that hundreds of millions of years passed between these layers. But, what really happened in the “Great Unconformity”? It was the beginning of the flood. It was an incredible experience for me to touch both halves of the “Great Unconformity” at once. Creation rock reminds us that God loves us and created us in His image, and that first flood layer reminds us that God is just and will punish sin, while leaving a way of redemption (the ark in the flood and Jesus today) if we are willing to jump on board.
