Free Republic

The cartoonification of Noah’s Ark How such ‘delightful depictions’ downplay the Deluge—and Christianity by Phil Robinson A cartoon is a drawing in an unrealistic style, usually for satire, caricature or humour, and/or to appeal to children. ‘Cartoonification’ (aka ‘cartoonization’) is a recent colloquialism for the process of making something that’s real look ‘cartoonish’. I.e. drawing it in a (usually ridiculously) oversimplified, child-friendly or ‘delightful’ manner. Unfortunately, this has happened with Noah’s Ark, marker of one of the key events in biblical history. Most depictions of it have become thoroughly cartoonized! With the Bible so clear on the size, purpose and...

A few days ago, a reader asked me to review an article by Dr. James Tour, as well as a video of a talk that he gave. I was initially hesitant to do so, because Dr. Tour is a giant in the field of organic chemistry. For example, he is the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. For those who aren’t familiar with the academic structure of universities, only the most elite professors are appointed to a position that is named in honor of someone else. This is called an “endowed professorship,” and anyone...

It’s Easy to Be an Atheist if You Ignore Science Although the general public is disconcertingly unaware of it, it is a fact that scientists do not have even the slightest clue as to how life could have begun through an unguided naturalistic process absent the intervention of a conscious creative force.Here are just a few well-chosen statements on the Origin of Life: (2016) “[There is] collective cluelessness…those who say this is well worked out, they know nothing, nothing about chemical synthesis…Those who think that scientists understand the details of life’s origin are wholly uninformed. Nobody understands…when will the scientific...

Human Vision Can Sense a Single Photon by Brian Thomas, M.S. * How well designed is the human visual system? Biophysics researchers from the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Austria and Rockefeller University recently demonstrated that people can see just a single photon of light. This led them to ask how evolution could have crafted a visual system sophisticated enough to overcome the overwhelming problem of discerning single photons from the sea of electromagnetic, molecular, and electrochemical "noise" inside a human head.

Evolutionary Crisis and the Third Way by Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D. * Evidence for Creation Modern evolutionary theory has never been without its problems and controversies—even among secular scientists. Famed evolutionist Douglas Futuyma recently stated: Ever since the Evolutionary Synthesis of the 1930s and 1940s, some biologists have expressed doubt that the Synthetic Theory [the prevailing modern version of evolution, also called neo-Darwinism], based principally on mutation, genetic variation, and natural selection, adequately accounts for macroevolution, or evolution above the species level.1 In fact, two of the most prominent and vocal skeptics were actually the leading neo-Darwinist evolutionists of their...

A Desperate Attempt to Solve an Intractable Problem Jul. 28, 2016 One of the many problems associated with an ancient earth is the young, faint sun. In a nutshell, we think we understand the way a star produces energy, and based on this understanding, a star starts off dim and grows brighter over time. Based on what we know, then, the sun should have been about 25% dimmer 3.8 billion years ago, when most evolutionists think life first emerged on earth. However, if the sun really were 25% dimmer back then, the earth would be far too frigid to support...

Neandertal-Human Hybrids: Old earth apologetics gone real bad by Fred Butler Published: 19 July 2016 (GMT+10) Recently on Twitter, I had a back and forth with a Reasons to Believe apologist. Our exchange began after I tweeted the following comment in response to another apologetic tweet, “Let’s talk about Hugh Ross & his pre-Adamic man theory. You apologetic folks ignore its problems.” The next day, the Reasons to Believe apologist tweeted to me the following response, “Brother at RTB we do not believe in PreAdamic humans. Adam was the 1st human & specially created.” Now in fairness, he is absolutely...

Should We Drop the Term 'Living Fossil'? by Brian Thomas, M.S. * › Fossils Show Stasis and No Transitional Forms Mark Carnall at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History recently wrote an article for the UK newspaper The Guardian. He argues that we should stop using the term "living fossil."1 What does his argument reveal about evolutionary thinking? Charles Darwin first used the phrase in the Origin of Species to describe life forms that look essentially the same today as their fossil versions, even though their fossils are absent from intervening rock layers.

Major Evolutionary Blunders: Breaking Dollo's Law by Randy J. Guliuzza, P.E., M.D. * Evidence for Creation According to the brilliant conception of the immortal Charles Darwin (1809-1882): Evolution—the transformation of organisms—results from the fixation of useful individual variations provoked by the struggle for existence under the influence of natural selection. All species—animal or plant—which exist or have existed since the appearance of life on earth, must originate via this fundamental law.1 So began “The Laws of Evolution” published in 1893 by Louis Dollo, curator of Belgium’s Royal Museum of Natural History. Dollo was a renowned Belgian paleontologist who gained his...

In “Our Town” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play authored by Thornton Wilder, one of the characters, Rebecca Gibbs, tells her older brother George about the sick friend of hers, Jane Crofut, who received a strangely-addressed letter from her minister: Jane Crofut The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; The Earth; The Solar System; The Universe; The Mind of God. Nearly 80 years after “Our Town” was first performed at McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, Elon Musk appeared this month at Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The...

There may never have been another intelligent, technologically advanced alien species in the entire history of the Universe. Last week, in the New York Times, scientist Adam Frank emphatically wrote that Yes, There Have Been Aliens, concluding that given all the potentially habitable worlds we know must be out there from our astrophysical discoveries, intelligent life must have arisen. What he fails to account for, however, is the magnitude of the unknowns that abiogenesis, evolution, long-term habitability and other factors bring into the equation. Although it’s true that there are an astronomical number of possibilities for intelligent, technologically advanced lifeforms,...

Geomorphology provides multiple evidences for the global flood by Michael J. Oard Geomorphology is a subfield of geology which specializes in studying and explaining the shape of the earth’s surface—its mountain ranges, plateaus, and plains. It includes study of small-scale features such as hills, valleys, slopes, and canyons. The individual features of the landscape within the field of geomorphology are called landforms. Geomorphology is a ‘gold mine’ of evidence for the Genesis Flood.

Neuron-Packed Bird Brains Point to Creation by Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D. * The amazing ability of birds to achieve ape-level cognitive traits—and in some cases exceed them like when they emulate human speech—has long confounded the evolutionary paradigm that claims humans evolved from apes. Now the bird intelligence evolutionary quandary has worsened as described in a new research report that shows bird brains contain over twice as many neurons per unit area as ape brains.

Atheists bash hotel Bibles: They’d prefer a Darwinian replacement! by Paul Price A recent article from The Christian Institute reported that the US-based ‘Freedom From Religion Foundation’ is now asking for ‘Bible-free’ bedrooms to be offered in hotels.1 For all of us who have been following the cultural trends in the West, this development should hardly come as a surprise—the anti-God agenda has been making further and further encroachments into traditionally Christian strongholds, as more and more of the culture has become saturated with secularism. The atheist group cited the actions of the Travelodge hotel chain, who removed all Bibles...

Monkey minds How evolution undercuts reason and science by Keaton Halley Published: 5 May 2016 (GMT+10) If our minds were not designed, why would we trust them? Atheists routinely style themselves as champions of reason and science, and they view evolutionary theory as a triumph of both. Indeed, they believe that evolution helps them to explain features of the world that would otherwise be inexplicable. As Richard Dawkins put it, “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.”1 Ironically, however, evolution cannot possibly bear this burden, because if evolution were true it would undermine our confidence in human...

"Something fun for everyone and yet another microscopic evidence for Young Earth - Proteins/tissues in petrified wood GLOWING under UV light - a phenomena called autofluorescence." MHA quote

Human life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg, scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the astonishing ‘fireworks’ on film. An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the exact moment of conception. Scientists had seen the phenomenon occur in other animals but it is the first time is has been also shown to happen in humans. Not only is it an incredible spectacle, highlighting the very moment that a new life begins, the size of the flash can be used to determine the quality of the fertilised egg. Researchers...

How Christianity and Science Can Interact Apr. 25, 2016 Over the past few years, I have been writing a series of elementary science courses for home educated students. Since the courses discuss scientific concepts in chronological order, I have spent a lot of time learning the history of science. In the process, I have found that a lot of what I was taught in school (including university) about how science developed is simply false. I have also become acquainted with the views of many great scientists from the past, which has allowed me to learn from them. I want to...

Radiometric backflip: Bird footprints overturn ‘dating certainty’ by Jonathan O'Brien Using well-known radioisotope technology, scientists dated the Santo Domingo rock formation in Argentina at 212 million years old. This happened to agree well with a nearby geologic formation that was also radiometrically dated.1 The radiometric date of the Santo Domingo formation also agreed with the dating based on fossil wood found entombed in the rock. This wood came from an extinct species of tree conventionally believed to have existed around 200 million years ago. Well-preserved and abundant tracks were also found in the rock, similar in appearance to bird tracks....

Yet another old-earther accuses a creationist of believing in evolution by Nick Sabato Published: 12 April 2016 (GMT+10) On a 28 March 2016 blog post, Professor Ken Keathley made the allegation that Ken Ham now embraces evolution. He bases this unfounded assertion on a recent article where Ham discusses how the diversity of species present today can be traced back to their respective “kinds” represented on the Ark. For Keathley, it is “big news” that a prominent creationist “has embraced macro-evolution.” However, as will be seen, creationists in general embraced speciation for decades; it is not just a property of...