The world of science
in review
Although the evidence refutes the theory of evolution and refers to
intelligent design, scientists do not admit this because of their naturalistic
worldview
Many scientists claim
to be impartial and scientific, but in reality they have
adopted a naturalistic worldview, in which the universe is
closed. God is not taken into account in the early stages of
the universe or at any other time, even if it is the best
explanation. Their view is not scientific but based on
faith, if they try to claim, for example, that the universe
and life arose by themselves. On the other hand, even a
person who believes in God has to resort to faith in these
areas, because creation cannot be proven afterwards. It is a
different matter which direction the evidence points.
Everyone can draw conclusions from that
Since naturalists and
atheists do not admit the influence of a supernatural God at
any point, they are also critical of the idea of
intelligent design. They can admit intelligent design, for
example, in a man-made statue of an athlete, but they cannot
admit it in living animals or humans, who are millions of
times more complex than statues and perfect in what they are
and do. If this is not spiritual blindness and madness, what
is it? These atheist scientists are not very sensible in
denying intelligent design.
A typical view in
secularist circles has been that Christian faith has been an
obstacle to the development of science. However, they do not
take into account that literacy, dictionaries, grammars and
alphabets originated mainly thanks to the efforts of devout
Christians. They do not take into account that a large part
of the world's schools and universities were founded on a
Christian basis (Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale...
Similarly, in modern Africa a large part of the schools and
hospitals were founded on a Christian basis). They do not
take into account that the so-called scientific revolution
began in the circle of Christian theism in the 16th-17th
centuries. It was not started by secularists, because almost
all leading scientists believed in creation. Secularist
circles have a blind spot in this area, as they do not know
history.
A case that
secularist circles like to bring up is Galileo Galilei and
heliocentrism. However, they do not take into account that
the same thing has been repeated hundreds of times today.
Many a scientist's career could have ended if he criticized
Darwin's theory for insufficient evidence. Atheist
scientists act exactly the same way as happened in the case
of Galileo. They do not want to question atheist theories of
origin or Darwin's theory, but protect them even when they
clearly contradict observations, such as the fossil record.
This behavior is certainly due to their naturalistic and
atheistic worldview. We all act in the same way from our own
worldview.
Darwin is respected
by many secular scientists, and Darwin was certainly a
meticulous naturalist. However, Darwin's idea that all
modern species are descended from a single original cell
remains unproven. Even in his book On the Origin of Species,
Darwin was unable to show a single example of species change
- a fact that has been acknowledged by many evolutionists
who have read Darwin's book. He had no direct evidence for
species change, just as we do not know today how life could
have arisen on its own. His great examples, such as the
variation in the size of birds' beaks, are just ordinary
variations within basic species. They do not in any way
prove the primatory cell-to-man theory to be true.
So what did Darwin
accomplish? The simplest explanation is that Darwin
displaced God and intelligent design from people’s minds.
Until then, it had been widely believed that God was behind
everything, but Darwin’s theory erased this from people’s
minds. They were led to believe that God had not created
anything, but that everything had evolved by itself from the
most primitive forms of life. This is what Darwin
accomplished: a change in people’s minds.
When looking for
evidence for the creation of celestial bodies, the creation of
life, or the current abundance of species, it has been
explained that time makes everything possible. Atheist
scientists have given time the properties that were previously
classified as belonging to God.
However, time itself
does not create or give birth to anything. Even if we were
to allocate an eternity of time, inanimate matter would not
automatically become alive. That is an impossibility. This
is again a question of the naturalistic worldview of atheist
scientists. When the existence of God is denied, the same
properties are given to time. Time does what would normally
not be possible. These scientists need understanding from
God so that they can see their error in this area.
1. Naturalism in review
When the Soviet Union was in power, the dominant trend in society was
Marxism-Leninism together with atheism and Darwinism. This trend was
considered scientific and influenced the content of textbooks and all
education. Children were taught from an early age to accept atheistic and
Marxist-Leninist ideology and were not allowed to question it. The maintenance
of the ideology also led to the fact that the dissemination of any kind of
spiritual teaching was forbidden, and the Bible was among the forbidden books.
One of the program proposals of the Communist Party said:
The party uses the means of ideological upbringing to raise people in the
spirit of a scientific-materialistic worldview and to overcome religious
prejudices... In this task, it is necessary to seek support in the
achievements of modern science, which better illustrate our worldview, give
man more and more power over nature and leave no room for imaginary stories
about supernatural forces. (1)
Nowadays, many western universities have a similar atmosphere to that of the
former Soviet Union. Many scientists claim to be unbiased and scientific, but
in reality they have adopted a naturalistic worldview in which the universe is
closed. It means that God is not taken into account in the early stages of the
universe or at any other time. It is not always directly referred to or said
openly, but it is in the background in thinking and conclusions. The word God
is not very common in university circles. In this sense, the current
university in Western countries resembles the former Soviet system.
One indication of naturalism is the notion of a battle between science and
faith. In this view, an attempt is made to strongly reject the view that God
created the universe and life. Especially the idea of a young universe is
being attacked. Likewise, the idea of an intelligent plan is being attacked.
If you talk about these things, the result is somewhat similar to when Paul
proclaimed in Ephesus. People did not accept the word and did not want to find
out about things:
-
(Acts 19:23-30) And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
24
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines
for Diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen;
25
Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs,
you know that by this craft we have our wealth.
26
Moreover you see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout
all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away much people, saying that
they be no gods, which are made with hands:
27
So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nothing; but also
that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her
magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.
28
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried
out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
29
And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and
Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with
one accord into the theatre.
30
And when Paul would have entered in to the people, the disciples suffered him
not.
Matti Leisola has described in his interesting book Evoluution ihmemaassa
what kind of attitude there can be in scientific circles and elsewhere if the
naturalistic conception of the universe and the beginnings of life is called
into question. The book's titles include topics such as "professors are
interested, principals are scared, publishers are hesitant, Yle is careful and
warns, skeptics are nervous, Darwinists are scared". Very few are willing
to examine the basis of their beliefs:
However, I haven't always thought this way; as a young student I laughed at
Christians and their attempts to put God in the gaps of science. I refused to
listen to their arguments and placed my own materialistic explanations in
these gaps. Usually this so-called “god of the gaps” argument is used against
theists, but it goes both ways because our knowledge is always lacking. A
better option is to assess whether the evidence is better suited to a
naturalistic or theistic view. My own path away from naturalistic evolutionary
belief was arduous and long.
In this book, I describe the development of my own thinking over the
course of more than 40 years. I also discuss the coping mechanisms, anger,
prejudice, contempt, fears, power play and persecution that anyone who rises
up against the prevailing evolutionary paradigm – and the naturalistic
worldview that underlies it – must experience. I have often encountered
non-religious religious fanaticism, whose representatives are not ready to
give up their own views when the evidence demands it. In fact, they are not
even interested in evidence and open discussion.
The intellectual crisis of evolution is shown by the fact that, at the
same time that critical researchers conduct precisely reasoned studies of the
performance of the evolutionary mechanism and their limitations, the ardent
supporters of evolution resort more and more often to emotional imagery,
arrogant slurs, censorship and outright mockery. One goal of my book is to
show how strongly the naturalistic evolution paradigm guides the
interpretation of both biological observations and the history of the Earth.
(2)
As
stated, a naturalistic worldview is the dominant view in university circles.
It is not always directly referred to or said openly, but it is in the
background in thinking and conclusions. In this view, God as an explanation is
excluded from everything. God's influence is not accepted at any point.
Instead, it is believed that the universe began by itself, as well as life and
all current species of plants and animals. This way of thinking is considered
scientific, critical and progressive. In contrast to that is creationism,
which these people consider to be an old-fashioned, prejudiced, religious and
biased view. However, there are a few fundamental problems with connecting
naturalism to science. We will look at them next.
Is
naturalism science?
As noted, naturalistic scientists believe they represent science when they
accept a naturalistic explanation of the early stages of the universe.
However, this is where they are wrong. They have adopted one worldview
among others, and it has nothing to do with science. It is wrong to associate
a naturalistic worldview with science. What is causing this?
The reason is simple: no one has seen the beginning of the universe or the
birth of life, because these events are beyond direct observation. Thus, when
naturalistic scientists define their own position as scientific and the
opposite view as religious, they are wrong. They also have a religious
position and a religious worldview. They believe that matter itself developed
into heavenly bodies and gave birth to life, while in theism God is assumed to
be behind everything. These two views can be summarized in the following
creeds. The first of these is from Hebrews and a theistic view:
Theism:
-
(Hebr 11:3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do
appear.
Naturalism and atheism:
Through faith, we understand that the universe was born from nothing, that
matter itself formed the heavenly bodies, and that life arose from itself.
When scientists and others have adopted a naturalistic worldview by faith,
they have rarely, however, become familiar with the foundations of their faith
(The author can say something about this based on his own experience. I used
to be an atheist.). Their view may be based on some information from school
books or nature programs, but usually they have not tried to find out how
reliable these perceptions are. They have adopted a naturalistic understanding
because they were born into a culture that teaches it. Matti Leisola tells his
own experience of how this has happened in the scientific world. Naturalism
and the theory of evolution have been accepted without proper familiarization
with the basics of evolutionary theory:
I
was surprised that an internationally known biochemist approved of the
evolution theory without ever having given more thought towards it. Our
conversation about the topic continued the same year in Switzerland and later
in Finland. I have discussed the same issue with hundreds of scientist
colleagues from all over the world, and I have yet to find a person, who would
have properly familiarized themself with the basics of evolutionary theory. I
often come across the following claim: “The whole science community believes
that the evolution theory undoubtedly holds true.” The truth of the matter is
completely different; only a small section of the science community has
seriously thought about it. They have adopted evolution as part of the Western
science education.
(3)
Naturalism and the connection to pantheism.
There are different philosophical views in the world, pantheism being one of
them. In this worldview, it is assumed that nature and god are one and that
there can be nothing outside of them. Creation is supposed to have originated
from the same impersonal deity. Among other things, this view occurs in
Hinduism, where nature and god are identified with each other. The animism of
natural peoples, where spirits are seen in all objects, is almost a similar
view.
Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu guru, tells more about the subject. It was
difficult for him to internalize the Hindu concept that the creator and
creation are one and the same:
During my third year of school I felt my inner conflict grow. I realized that
God is the Creator; He is separate from the world, which He created. This
realization that had been a part of me since my childhood, was clearly
opposing the Hinduism account, where Creator and the world are one and the
same… The real conflict was between two opposing concepts of god: is He being
a part of everything, or whether He can create a rock or a man without them
being a part of Him? (4)
What about atheistic naturalism? Interestingly, it does not differ much from
pantheism. Scientists who claim to represent science often endow matter with
supernatural and miraculous properties, just as in pantheism. They eg. explain
how matter brought about life, even though no one has any experiential
knowledge of it. Likewise, they can give numerous similar explanations, where
nature creates something new and gives rise to complex structures. Here are
some examples. This kind of language and storytelling occurs repeatedly in
nature programs and evolutionary literature. In them, matter is endowed with
properties that have traditionally belonged only to Almighty God:
•
The universe brought about its own existence
•
Stars and planets formed from matter by themselves
•
Nature invented a way to make amino acids and the building blocks of life
•
Nature created the first cell that began its evolution towards man
•
Nature invented a way for unicellular organisms to become multicellular
•
Nature created the trilobite's complex eyes
•
Nature figured out how asexual reproduction could turn into sexual
reproduction
•
Nature developed the dog's precise sense of smell, the orientation ability of
birds and the echo sounding system of bats
•
Nature made the cheetah fast
•
Nature created wings that enable movement in the air
When scientists with a naturalistic worldview have given matter supernatural
properties, they have also admitted the possibility of miracles. In this
context, however, they do not speak of a supernatural almighty God, but assume
that everything happened by itself. They drift into almost the same concept as
that found in pantheism, i.e. they give nature and matter divine features.
Richard Dawkins puts forward such a view in his book The Blind Watchmaker. He
explains the origin of life and the development of human's consciousness:
It
is obvious that such a small probability gives us almost no hope that the
miracle of the birth of life will happen in our laboratory. However, if we
assume that life has arisen in the universe only once, our theory allows for
very large strokes of luck, because there are very many planets in the
universe where life could have arisen. Such an assumption is justified because
life demonstrably exists…
I'm making an argument that is contradictory, but that's why it's the most
interesting. I argue that as natural scientists we should be more concerned
than we are now if the development of human consciousness does not seem to
involve a miracle. From the point of view of our everyday life, an obvious
miracle is exactly the part of the theory that we look for when explaining the
origin of life.
2. Prohibiting intelligent design is
unintelligent
There is one essential difference between the naturalistic worldview and
theism: in naturalism, it is assumed that only the cosmos, or matter, exists.
In theism, on the other hand, it is assumed that there is a God in addition to
the cosmos. That summarizes the difference between naturalism and theism.
The same setup emerges in the attitude towards intelligent design. When
naturalists do not admit the influence of a supernatural God at any point,
they are also critical of the idea of intelligent design. They outright reject
what can be considered a logical consequence of their materialistic worldview.
In this matter, however, it is worth paying attention to the following points:
•
When in naturalism it is assumed that arguments for an intelligent plan are
not science, but arguments against it are science, it is in itself an absurd
idea. What makes granting intelligence a religious view and denying it a wise
and scientific view? Certainly nothing. It is only a preconceived view that
one wants to hold on to. It has nothing to do with science.
On the other hand, in everyday life and practical work, many scientists
act contrary to the naturalistic concept. They admit the existence of
intelligence or look for signs of it:
-
The SETI project is based on searching for intelligence in space just like it
is on earth. The assumption is that intelligent life exists elsewhere as well.
-
An archaeologist looks for signs of intelligence when digging in the ground.
He is not interested in ordinary stones, but those with inscriptions or he is
looking for objects that show signs of design.
-
In the area of technology, you can look for smart ideas from nature. For
example, ideas for the design of airplane wings have been obtained from the
wings of birds. Another example is the bows of Japanese high-speed trains,
which are designed using the beak of a kingfisher as a model. This is how the
trains have been made quieter, faster and they consume less electricity.
In a recent Finnish science journal (Tiede 3/2014), more examples of how from
nature has been sought as a model in technological design are reported. One
article tells how Canadian researchers made a glass plate 200 times more
impact-resistant than usual by taking a model from the mother-of-pearl of a
seashell. The second article tells how batteries can be made even more durable
by imitating the structure of a pomegranate. Such examples all point to
intelligent design in nature, and how it can be put to good use.
•
In the naturalistic conception, it is assumed that the initial state was
impersonal and senseless. This concept is considered reasonable and
scientific, even though it contradicts e.g. the Cambrian explosion. The
Cambrian explosion, which is supposed to have happened about 530 million years
ago according to the evolutionary scale, shows that life was complex and
intelligent from the beginning. These findings are thus inconsistent with the
notion that the initial state was devoid of intelligence and impersonal.
What then, if everything really started from a state devoid of
intelligence, like in the Big Bang? Or if man has evolved from ape-like
creatures, as the theory of evolution assumes? The fundamental problem then is
how we can trust our reason and our perceptions. However rational and
scientific we may consider ourselves to be—as naturalistic scientists and
almost every human being does—it is rather dubious to trust such information.
Brains and thoughts that evolved from a Big Bang-like state cannot be very
reliable. This problem arises in the naturalistic view, where everything is
supposed to have started from a state devoid of intelligence.
Another problem is, where did the information and intelligence come from
if it didn't exist in the beginning? For example, the DNA code is so complex
that it is impossible to explain how it was created from a lifeless state like
the Big Bang. Today's computer programs are simple compared to the DNA code.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has stated that "DNA is like a computer program,
but far more advanced than any program we have ever developed." (5)
Where did this information come from? If we do not accept intelligence
from the very beginning through God's work of creation, it is difficult to
explain its emergence in any other way. This problem is still current and a
solution has not been found. Matti Leisola talks about the topic:
I
do not believe that the theory of evolution gives a true picture of natural
history. I have followed the literature in the field since 1970. Before the
discussion event organized in Savonlinna in 2009, which I will talk about in
more detail in chapter 9, I read Jerry Coyne's book Why Evolution is true,
the book Evoluutio nyt edited by Petter Portin and Timo Vuorisalo, and
the book Kaikki evoluutiosta edited by Ilkka Hanski, Ilkka Niiniluoto
and Ilari Hetemäki. None of these three books gave an answer to the only
essential evolutionary question: How is the new information necessary for
evolution created? The examples in the books dealt with natural variation and
pseudo evidence, which can be interpreted in many different ways. (6)
•
Those with a naturalistic worldview tend to begrudgingly admit that
intelligent design is evident in animals, humans, and plants. It is difficult
for them to admit it because they are committed to a naturalistic worldview.
However, in their books and commentaries this thing may occasionally come up.
They have to make an effort and lie to themselves to hide the obvious truth
that the structures of nature are not simple. For example, Paul wrote aptly
about such people in the letter to the Romans (Rom 1:19-22): Because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to
be wise, they became fools.
Below you can find some comments from distinguished evolutionists. They
acknowledge that structures look like they have been designed, but deny that
it would have had anything to do with a designer, which could be God.
Darwin:
Another premise to believe in God that relates to reason and not to feelings,
seems more cogent. You see, it is extremely difficult or rather impossible to
imagine that this enormous and wondrous universe, including humans, who can
look far back into the past and far into the future, had come into existence
by pure accident or without any intermediation. While wondering this, I feel
as if I must look for a First Reason, which had an intelligent mind, somehow
comparable to human mind, and thus I can be called a theist. (7)
Jerry Coyne:
If there generally are verities about nature, the fact that plants and animals
seem to be complexly and almost perfectly designed to live their lives must be
considered as one of these verities. - - Where does this all lead up to? To a
master mechanic of course. - - The more we learn about animals and plants the
more we are wondering, how well their physical structure is fitted to their
life style. What would be a more natural conclusion than to think all this
compatibility is the result of intelligent design? Darwin, however, looked the
other way from the obvious and suggested – and supported it with detailed
evidence – two ideas, which made thoughts about intelligent design vanish
forever.
These
ideas were evolution and natural selection.
(8)
Francis Crick:
Biologists must constantly keep in mind that, what they are seeing is not
designed, but the result of evolution. (9)
Richard Dawkins:
A leaf-eating giraffe, a flying albatross, a plunging tar swallow, a curving
hawk, a leafy sea dragon invisible among seaweed, a cheetah accelerating to
full speed after a turn, a gazelle leaping - the illusion of design is
intuitively so strong that one must truly strive to think critically and to
overcome the temptations of naive intuition.
(10)
How do scientists with a naturalistic worldview try to disprove intelligent
design? The usual way is for them to try to draw attention to structures that
they don't think lend themselves to intelligent design. For example, the
following quote criticizes the human brain, even though it is actually the
most complex known substance in the universe. Many computers are simple
compared to the human brain. The authors may not have thought that when they
criticize the structure of the brain, they are at the same time calling their
own thoughts and opinions into question. How can they trust their conclusions
if if our brains were so bad structure?
The brain is not the product of a super-intelligent and omniscient engineer,
but – like all products of evolution – anything but a sophisticated structure
assembled from the existing building materials produced by development. The
human brain is the result of a short-sighted evolutionary process that has
solved the current problems without considering the future evolutionary
potential of selected structures. Because of this, significant developmental
limitations may be found in the brain.
(11)
If
we look at e.g. animals with an open mind, we can certainly notice intelligent
design in them. They would not be able to eat, move and reproduce if they did
not have a functioning digestion, blood circulation, reproductive mechanism
and functioning limbs. They wouldn't even be alive if these complex and
intelligent structures weren't ready.
What about a human? It is hard to imagine how the current structures could
work better. For example, you can write, draw, throw a ball, push a ball, hang
from a tree or carry things with your hand. Another example is the head, which
has complex organs such as eyes, brain (thinking), nose, mouth and ears.
Through the mouth we can also speak, sing, eat and breathe and feel the taste
of food. A third example is reproduction. It involves the awakening of
interest in the other sex, the compatibility of the genitals, the
compatibility of the gametes so that fertilization can take place, the growth
of the fertilized egg in the mother's womb into a baby of about three kilos,
and the postpartum intake of nutrition from the mother's breasts. It is hard
to imagine how such things could be planned better.
The following quote refers to the same topic. It is hard to imagine how a
person would have been able to design, for example, the wing of a bird or a
bat to be better than what they are now. It is much more logical to believe
that these structures as well as reason, emotions, personality and senses have
been ready through creation. It is an arrogant idea to dismiss the idea of
intelligence from the very beginning. No one can or has been able to show how
inanimate matter like a chip of rock can become living beings with feelings,
reason, and complex structures. It is not wise to believe that such things
have arisen on their own.
In
section 18 of the Britannica encyclopedia of 1988 there is i.a. the following
specialist’s statement in the chapter containing the evolutionary theory:
“From a practical viewpoint it is inexplicable that a tortoise can swim, a
horse run, a human write and a bird or a bat fly with structures that are
based on similar bone structures. An engineer could design better fitting
limbs for each of their purpose. However, if we accept that all these bones
are inherited from a shared ancestor and transformed only through different
developmental stages, we can find a rational premise for similar structures.”
This utterance made Paul Nelson criticize this evolutionary view as follows:
“Ha! Introduce me to an engineer that can design a better structure than is
the wing of a bat or a bird! Show me an engineer that can design a better leg
for a cockroach! The thought of this is absurd. Where do the people come from,
who present these ideas? We are far away from the knowledge that was required
to construct animals – we are on the other side of the universe, millions of
light years away, millions. We don’t even understand the compelling nature of
the question.
Think about it: the leg of a cockroach will fix itself, sense its environment
better than any robot, it is equipped with tactile hair and other sensors
throughout, from which we cannot evaluate more than a fraction. A cockroach
doesn’t need fuel, electric current or compressed air. Only a little bit of
waste, where the general structure of the leg will be formed by growing, which
can make the strength of titanium feel like playdough. If a cockroach was the
size of a human, it would easily move forward ca. 300 km per hour. This
comparison could go on forever… The writer of the encyclopedia clearly doesn’t
know, what they are talking about – to say something like this in a reference
book is really silly… As an engineer I have noticed the highest possible
intellectual arrogance in the writer”.
(gnelson@falstaff.mae.cwru.edu,)
(12)
3. The scientific revolution did not begin by secularists
As
stated earlier, the media and naturalistic scientific circles often present a
view of the conflict between faith and science. It is thought that faith in
God and science are opposites of each other. In this idea, science is supposed
to have been powerful in Greece and only progressed again when, during the
Enlightenment, it broke away from the religion of revelation and began to rely
on reason and observation. The importance of Darwin in particular is
considered important for the final victory of the scientific worldview.
What was Europe like before?
When many naturalistic scientists think that Christian faith has been an
obstacle to the development of science, they do not take into account what
Europe was like before. It very much resembled Hindu society or African
societies decades ago. It included idolatry, paganism, pantheism and animism.
Even in the Nordic countries, you don't have to go back many centuries when
the situation was like that.
A good starting point for understanding what Europe was like before the
appearance of the Christian faith is Acts chapter 17. It tells about the
situation in Athens when Paul arrived there:
-
(Acts 17:16,22-30) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
22
Then Paul stood in the middle of Mars' hill, and said, You men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.
23
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him
declare I to you.
24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of
heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands;
25
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing
he gives to all life, and breath, and all things;
26
And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation;
27
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find
him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own
poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29
For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by are and man's
device.
30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every
where to repent:
The Christian faith therefore changed Europe in a positive direction. For
example, the ability to read and the written language have been created mainly
by pious Christians. For example, here in Finland, Mikael Agricola, Finnish
religious reformer and father of literature, printed the first ABC book and
the New Testament and parts of other books of the Bible. The people learned to
read through them. In numerous other nations in the Western world, development
has taken place through a similar process:
Christianity created the Western civilization.
If
the followers of Jesus would have stayed as a faint Jewish sect, many of you
would have never learned how to read and the rest would have read from hand
copied scrolls. Without theology coined with progression and moral equality,
the whole world would currently be at a state, where non-European societies
were roughly in the 1800s: A world with countless astrologists and alchemists,
but without scientists. A despotic world without universities, banks,
factories, spectacles, chimneys and pianos. A world, where most children die
before the age of five and where many women would die of childbirth – a world
that would truly live in the “Dark Ages”. A modern world only arose from
Christian societies. Not in the Islamic realm. Not in Asia. Not in a ”secular”
society – as such a thing did not exists.
(13)
Greece and science.
It was stated above how idolatry was common in Athens during Paul's time. The
Acts shows this.
However, it is noteworthy that during the heyday of the Greek city-states,
many of the Greek scientists and thinkers believed in a rational Creator who
made man and creation. Many naturalists today exalt this period, but fail to
consider that many of the leading thinkers had a belief in God. Among them
were e.g. Socrates, Plato, Plato's student Aristotle, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras
and Empedocles. They were defenders of the faith in God in ancient Greece.
Their thinking was close to a theistic, not a naturalistic worldview, although
those who support a modern naturalistic view may argue otherwise.
A good example of creationism is the statement of Socrates, the father of
logic, about man. He was clearly a proponent of intelligent design. In
Xenophon's memoirs, he refers to details in human that cannot be considered
mere coincidence:
Do
you think that he, who in the beginning of time made men, gave them senses for
their benefit, eyes to see what there is to see, ears to hear what to hear. -
- Don't you think it also shows consideration that the eyes are closed with
lids like doors that open when the eyes are needed. They close in sleep, and
so that the winds don't damage them, lashes were put on them like sieves. The
eyebrows are like an eave so that sweat falling from the head won’t injure
eyes. Besides, the ear catches all sounds but never becomes filled. (...) - -
When everything is planned like this, I ask again, is it the result of chance
or consideration? (14)
Scientific revolution in Europe.
As stated, the notion that the Christian faith was an obstacle to the
development of science constantly appears in the media and in the books of
naturalistic scientists. Belief in God and science have been considered
opposites of each other.
However, this perception cannot be supported by historical research. In
the modern sense, science has started only once, i.e. in the Europe of the
16th-18th centuries, where Christian theism prevailed. It did not start in a
secular society, but specifically in a society inspired by the Christian
faith. Almost all leading scientists believed in creation. Among them were
Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Copernicus,
Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal, Michael Faraday, James Clerck Maxwell, John
Ray, Louis Pasteur, etc. They were not representatives of the Enlightenment
but of Christian theism:
These are the slogans used by one of the most long-standing and most efficient
campaigns, based on polemic articles, in the history of Western countries. But
while this campaign has had a very significant effect on the intellectual
world in general, it seems to have had no effect on the scientists themselves.
The implementers of the scientific revolution were known for their faith in
God, and the tradition they represented has continued in science. For example,
throughout almost the entire 19th century, doing science remained as much a
religious as a secular vocation – the efforts to understand the work of God's
hands continued.
(15)
Some comments refer to how believing in God used to be common in the lives of
these notable scientists. This becomes apparent from their memoirs and
writings:
Johannes Kepler:
I think the reasons for many features of the universe can be traced to God's
love for man. Surely no one wants to deny that when God built the universe as
a dwelling place, he thought of its future inhabitant again and again. For man
is the goal of all creation and the universe. (16)
Isaac Newton, the most famous scientist of the 17th century:
When I wrote my treatise on our System, I focused my attention on the
principles that would make people believe in God. Nothing could please me more
than to find my treatise useful for that purpose. (17)
Robert Boyle, the founder of modern chemistry:
Nature's wise and mighty Creator, whose penetrating eye Reaches the whole
universe and examines all its parts in one moment, in the beginning created
the material bodies into a system, and set them to govern the laws of motion
according to the ends he set, and made the world - - like a well-made clock.
(18)
John Ray, the father of English natural science:
There is no nobler and more pleasant task for a free man than to contemplate
the beautiful works of nature and to revere the infinite wisdom and goodness
of God. (19)
What about the centuries before the 1500s-1700s? The general perception has
been that these centuries, or the Middle Ages, were through ignorance, which
stopped the development of science and culture. Science began to develop again
only when culture gradually freed itself from the stifling influence of belief
in God during the Renaissance and Enlightenment. This may have been taught in
many books on the subject.
According to researchers familiar with the matter, the reality is the
opposite. In reality, science developed considerably since ancient times. From
the early stages of the "Dark Ages" began "one of the most inventive periods
of mankind" (Jean Gimbel: The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution
in the Middle Ages, New York: Penguin Books, 1976 / see also Lynn Whyte Jr.,
Medieval Technology and Social Change, Oxford University Press). It meant
great and continuous progress over the Roman Empire. The change took place
e.g. in architecture, mechanical engineering, agronomy and exploitation of new
energy sources. Inventions included the wheeled plow, water wheel, windmill
and its development, the development of fine ceramics and glazing, the birth
and development of the mechanical clock, the development of lenses for
eyeglasses, the magnetic compass, water pumping methods in mining technology,
etc.
One indication of the development are the universities, of which there
were about sixty in Europe by the year 1500. They were born with the active
support of the medieval church, and natural science research and astronomy
played a prominent role in them. In them there was considerable freedom of
research and discussion, which was favored. These universities had hundreds of
thousands of students, and they helped prepare the ground for the scientific
revolution to be possible in Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. It did not
suddenly appear out of nowhere, but was preceded by a favorable development:
The Middle Ages created a basis for the greatest accomplishment of Western
society: modern science. Claim that says science did not exists before
“Renaissance” is simply untrue. After familiarizing themselves with classical
Greek research, scholars of the Middle Ages developed ideology systems, which
led science much further compared to the antique times. Universities, where
academic freedom was protected from the leaders’ power, were founded in the
1100s. These institutions have always provided a safe haven for scientific
research. Even Christian theology proved to be uniquely fitted to encourage
researching the nature, which was believed to be God’s creation.
(20)
The rough idea of the Middle Ages as a millennium of stagnation brought about
by Christianity has largely disappeared among scholars familiar with the
period, but it remains alive among popularizers of the history of science —
perhaps because recent popularizers have uncritically relied on their
predecessors rather than familiarizing themselves with research on the
subject.
(21)
4. Galileo Galilei and
heliocentrism
One of the most common reasons naturalistic scientists reject theism is the
case of Galileo Galilei and heliocentrism. They see it as an example of how an
open-minded scientist rises up against the superstitious world of religion.
However, these people do not take into account the following points:
•
The earth-centered world view is by no means a Christian heritage, but it was
inherited from antiquity. Behind it was the Greek scientist Ptolemy and his
works on astronomy. It influenced astronomers for centuries:
The world view of Ptolemy created a basis for the commonly accepted assumption
that the Earth is the center of the Universe and stays put… Ptolemy finalized
his geocentric model in 150 BC. in his treatise Hẻ megalẻ syntaxis
(Great Treatise). It became one of the most influential works in astronomy for
centuries. In fact, every European astronomer was influenced by it and none of
them questioned the geocentric model of the universe in earnest.
(Simon Sing: Big Bang, p. 36,38)
•
The myth of the flat earth is similar to the controversy surrounding Galileo.
Many think that this idea was common in the Middle Ages and that it would have
been replaced only with the advent of the Enlightenment, but that is a
completely wrong idea. Instead, the myth of the flat earth only gained ground
in the 19th century, when the atheist writer Washington Irving wrote about it
in his book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In the late 19th century, this
idea, like the assumption of a battle between faith and science, spread as
Darwinist propagandists used it in their writings. The well-known atheist
paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould describes in his book Dinosaur in a
Haystack, how he himself came across this false idea:
I,
too, once learned that most of the ecclesiastical scholars of the Dark Ages
had refuted Aristotle's idea of a sphere-shaped earth and described our
country as a flat or, at most, slightly curved plate... I am writing this
essay to show that the most significant such story about science — the notion
that in the early and late Middle Ages the Earth would simply have been
considered flat — is utterly mythical. In addition, when we trace the origins
of this fairy tale back to the 1800s, we get a double lesson about the dangers
of false taxonomies... In turn, the idea of the flat Earth in the 1800s was
born to support another dubious and harmful distinction which associates with
another legend of historical progress — the supposed war between science and
religion... There was never a "dark time of the flat Earth" among the
scholars... Greek knowledge of spherical nature never disappeared, and all the
greatest scholars of the Middle Ages accepted the roundness of the Earth as a
cosmological fact.
•
When it has been suggested that Galileo Galilei's case was a battle between
faith and science, it is not taken into account that Galileo himself was a
devout Catholic who respected God in his writings. He considered man to be
created in the image of God, and therefore man has the ability to obtain
reliable information about the universe.
What about Copernicus, who invented the sun-centered universe even before
Galileo Galilei? He was a Catholic priest by background, who received help in
his research from a young Lutheran researcher named Georg Joachim von Lauchen.
This traveled to meet Copernicus and contributed to the publication in 1543 of
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, a work on Copernicus' heliocentric
worldview.
Johannes Kepler also played a decisive role in the emergence of the
sun-centered world view. He had a Lutheran background and corresponded with
Galileo Galilei. Kepler's calculations showed that the planets moved in
elliptical orbits instead of circular orbits.
•
When it has been suggested that Galileo Galilei's case was a conflict between
faith and science, it is not taken into account that the representatives of
both science and faith were divided in their attitude to Galileo's theory.
Some churchmen were on his side, others against. Likewise, some scientists
opposed his ideas. This is always the case when new theories appear.
Understanding the heliocentric model may have felt, and may still feel,
counter to observations. For example, almanacs and newspapers do not talk
about the rising and falling times of the country, but about the times of
sunrise and sunset. It seems to us that the sun is moving, but the earth is
standing still. We don't feel the constant wind due to the movement or the
ground slipping away from under our feet. In this regard, it is understandable
that opinions on heliocentrism were divided centuries ago. One of the reasons
why Galileo Galilei was in a better position than others was also the
telescope, which was the most powerful of his time and which not everyone had.
It was a new invention that contributed to the emergence of the sun-centered
model.
•
Claims that the church would have persecuted researchers during the so-called
Dark Ages, are not in accordance with the facts. Australian skeptic Tim O’Neil
has addressed these claims: "It's not hard to kick
this bullshit to pieces, especially when the people talking about it know next
to nothing about history. They've just picked up these weird ideas from
websites and popular books. These claims fall apart when they're hit with
incontrovertible evidence. I find it fun to poke fun at the propagandists
perfectly by asking them to name one - only one - scientist who was burned at
the stake or persecuted or oppressed for his research in the Middle Ages. They
can never name a single one... At the point when I list the scientists of the
Middle Ages - Albertus Magnus, Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, John Peckham,
Duns Scotus, Thomas Bradwardine, Walter Burley, William Heytesbury, Richard
Swineshead, John Dumbleton, Richard of Wallingford, Nicholas Oresme, Jean
Buridan, and Nicolaus Cusanus—and I ask why these men in all peace advanced
the science of the Middle Ages without the church disturbing them, my
opponents usually scratched their heads in amazement, wondering what really
went wrong." (22)
5. What were the accomplishments of Darwin?
Earlier, it was noted how the media and naturalistic scientist circles often
present the view that faith in God and science are opposites of each other. In
this idea, science is supposed to have progressed only when it broke away from
the religion of revelation and began to rely on reason and observations. The
importance of Darwin in particular is considered important for the victory of
the scientific worldview. It is claimed that he turned the long-standing
struggle between science and religion once and for all in favor of science. In
this matter, however, it is worth paying attention to the following points:
•
When naturalistic scientists keep explaining that science should be based on
reason and observation, and that Darwin represented such a point of view, they
are partly right, partly wrong. They are right that Darwin was a thorough
naturalist who made accurate observations of nature, learned about his subject
and knew how to write about his research. No one who has read his magnum opus
On the Origin of Species can deny that.
However, they are wrong to accept Darwin's assumption of species changes.
The reason is simple: Darwin failed to show a single example of species change
in his On the Origin of Species - a fact acknowledged by several
evolutionists who have read Darwin's book. He had no direct evidence for
species change, just as in modern times it is not known how life could have
arisen by itself. His excellent examples, such as the variations in the size
of the birds' beaks, are just ordinary variation within the basic species.
They do not in any way prove the primordial cell-to-human theory to be true.
If Darwin had taught in such a way that instead of one family tree (the
view of evolution, which assumes that the current life forms developed from
the same primordial cell), there would have been hundreds of family trees,
and that each tree has branches, he would have been closer to the truth.
Variation does occur, as Darwin proved, but only within the basic species. The
observations are more suited to the creation model than to the notion that
current life forms originate from a single stem cell:
We
can only speculate about the motives that led scientists to adopt the concept
of a common progenitor so uncritically. The triumph of Darwinism undoubtedly
increased the prestige of the scientists, and the idea of an automatic process
fit so well with the spirit of the times that the theory even received a
surprising amount of support from religious leaders. In any case, scientists
accepted the theory before it had been rigorously tested, and then used their
authority to convince the general public that natural processes were
sufficient to produce a human from a bacterium and a bacterium from chemical
mixture. Evolutionary science began to look for supporting evidence and began
to come up with explanations that would nullify the negative evidence.
(23)
•
It should be noted that Darwin's influence was limited to only a narrow
sector, i.e. it is a belief related to the past. It has nothing to do with
other developments in science or technology. There was progress in these
matters before Darwin and after Darwin. For example, Darwin's own homeland,
England, was the most technologically advanced country in the world even
before Darwin, so these two things have no connection with each other.
In addition, progress was greatest specifically in societies where the
Christian faith was common and strong. England was one such country. Darwin
himself studied theology before becoming a full-time researcher.
What about Darwin's influence on biological breakthroughs and biological
research? These things don't seem to have anything to do with each other.
Instead, Darwin's theory of evolution has become the creation myth of our
time, replacing belief in God:
Penn State University professor Philip S. Skell researched major breakthroughs
in biology in the 20th century and interviewed more than seventy prominent
biologists in an effort to find out the importance of Darwinian theory as a
guiding factor in research. He came to the view that Darwinism has no guiding
significance in the study of biology. The theory is only referred to when a
research breakthrough has already been made, and it is mainly used as an
interesting explanatory narrative...
According to David Berlinski, the scientific importance of Darwinism is
insignificant. Its real meaning is to act as a creation myth of our time. "If
Darwin's theory of evolution has little to contribute to the content of the
sciences, it has a lot to contribute to their ideology. It functions as a
creation myth of our time, which gives nature properties that were previously
attributed to God..." (24)
•
If Darwin did not cause a scientific revolution, what was his sphere of
influence?
The simplest explanation is that Darwin pushed God and intelligent design
out of people's minds. Until then, it was generally believed that God is
behind everything, but Darwin, through his theory, led people to think that it
was the other way around. It was a question of a revolution in thinking, in
which God was displaced from the position of Creator.
Apparently, Darwin himself foresaw the revolutionary nature of his theory
and delayed its publication for years. He knew how to expect that the
materialistic theory he presented would erase the idea of God from people's
minds. Darwin published his book only when Alfred Wallace was about to publish
his own work on the same idea.
When Darwin's theory removed God from people's minds, it also removed
judgment. It was no longer believed that actions have consequences after this
life, but it was thought that everything ends in physical death without
accounting of our acts. Nor was it believed that there is any morality that
binds everyone, originating from God. Faith in both was lost.
The last century gives evidence of what is produced by thinking that
rejects the teaching of God's judgment. It did not lead people to a better
life, but to brutality and cruel treatment of their neighbors. Lenin, Stalin,
Hitler, Mao and numerous communist leaders are examples of this. They believed
in Darwin's theory, which removed from their minds the concept of judgment
after this life. If they and millions of others had faith that each person
will be judged according to their deeds, they would certainly have acted
differently. What we think about our origin and the afterlife affects our
behavior:
If it is difficult
for you to believe that evolution is connected to the issues mentioned above,
you will see the connection clearly after studying a couple of historical
examples. In fact, I have yet to meet a single well-educated evolutionist who
disagrees with me about the connection of these moral issues and evolution.
They are not necessarily of the opinion that this is what should have happened
but they do agree that people have applied evolution in this way. It is
important for you not to misunderstand what I’m about to say. Of course, there
were bad philosophies that go against God already before Darwinist evolution.
People did abortions long before Darwin announced his popular view on
evolution. However, people’s beliefs about their origins influence the way
they view the world. When people reject God -- the Creator -- their attitude
towards themselves, other people and our world changes. (25)
6. Can time make everything possible?
Earlier, it was brought up how numerous scientists have adopted a naturalistic
worldview and the theory of evolution through faith, but have rarely become
familiar with the foundations of their faith. Their view may be based on some
information from school books or nature programs, but usually they have not
tried to find out how reliable these perceptions are.
One common notion in the scientific world is also that time makes
everything possible. Although these scientists do not believe in a personal
God, they give time the same characteristics as to God. They may explain that
"when there is enough time, anything can happen." E.g.:
•
The universe can be born out of nothing (the Big Bang), although not a single
practical observation in modern times suggests such a thing. If the universe
really appeared out of nothing by itself, as the naturalistic theory assumes,
why do we not observe the same now? No one has seen cars, birds, elephants,
rocks or lions appear out of nowhere. However, the universe, which is many
times bigger than them, is supposed to have experienced that. It is a great
naturalistic magic trick and miracle.
•
Life can arise by itself, although this too is not supported by any practical
observation. The experience of more than a hundred years has shown how
difficult the problem is. Rocks or other materials do not become alive on
their own, even if you allow a hundred billion years of time. It is a
naturalistic assumption for which no practical evidence can be found.
•
Species can change into others, even though, for example, Darwin, who made
this view known, could not present any examples in his most famous work, On
the Origin of Species. The examples presented in Darwin's book as well as
in other literature in the field are related to ordinary variation within
basic species. Evidence from modern times and fossils points to how organisms
and plants have been ready since the beginning. They are not half-finished,
even though Darwin's theory requires it to be. Well-known fossil researchers
Stephen J. Gould and Niles Eldredge considered the evidence so clearly against
the gradual development presented by Darwin that they presented their own
evolutionary model called punctualism (Species changes have occurred so
quickly and in narrow areas that no fossils have survived). In this way they
tried to get around the fact that there are no intermediate forms in the
fossils.
Stephen Jay Gould:
The extreme rareness of intermediate forms in fossil material continues to be
the trade secret of palaeontologists. The evolution trees appearing in our
textbooks include facts only at the heads and folding points of the branches.
The rest is reasoning, no matter how reasonable it is, not evidence of fossils
–- I do not want in any way to belittle the potential competence of the
gradual evolution view. I want only to remark that it has never 'been
observed' in rocks. (...) (26)
Niles Eldredge:
We palaeontologists have said that the history of life supports [a story about
changes that promote gradual adapting], even though we know all the while that
it does not.
(27)
•
In the theory of evolution, it is assumed that all current species have
descended from the same stem cell. Different evolutionary trees have been
drawn up from it, the first of which already in the 19th century. However, the
problem is, as stated, that no gradual evolution can be observed from fossils
and current species. The evidentiary material is clearly better suited to the
creation model, where the species have always been separate from each other
and ready-made. This evidence should be taken as it is and not tried to
forcefully make it fit the theory of evolution.
Second, when evolutionary trees are drawn up, they are purely based on
imagination. The problem of the origin of life is unsolved. Similarly, it is
impossible to know afterwards which fossils have been related to each other by
kinship or descent. Fossils and organisms are placed in such an order that
they fit the evolutionary model, but which cannot actually be proven to be
correct. Henry Gee, the editor of the world's most famous science journal
(Nature), admitted this. We are on weak ice if we try to figure out the
development chains of organisms after the fact:
None of the fossils were buried with a birth certificate. The periods of time
that separate the fossils are so vast that we cannot say anything certain
about their connection to each other in the sense of kinship or descent. Each
fossil is a solitary dot with no known connection to any other fossil, all
floating in an endless sea of gaps... To take a group of fossils and claim
that they form a chain of evolution is not a testable scientific hypothesis
but a statement with the weight of a fairy tale - entertaining, perhaps
instructive, but not scientific. (28)
•
Experiments with bacteria and banana flies show how permanent species
boundaries are. They have not changed into other species, but have remained
the same all along, even though experiments have been carried out for 150
years. An example of this is the experiments carried out by Richard Lensky's
working group over 20 years with E. Coli bacteria, in which 44,000 generations
were born. In these experiments, the biggest change was that the E.coli
bacterium was able to use citric acid as its food. Evolutionists considered it
to be proof of evolution (New Scientist newspaper reported: "A significant
evolutionary innovation has just been born before the eyes of scientists. For
the first time, evolution has been caught in the act of producing such a
complex new feature" , (29) but in reality it was only a small
microevolutionary change. E. coli bacteria were still the same species and did
not change into other bacteria, let alone other species. Thus, the examples in
the scientific literature are evolution and variation within certain limits.
True species changes, or macroevolution, have not been proven to be true.
I
have been assured that there are evolutionists, who have described, how the
necessary changes could have happened. When I ask, what are the books, where
these descriptions can be found, I either get no response or I get referred to
books that don’t have these descriptions. Everyone seems to know about the
descriptions existence, but I have not yet found anyone, who would know where
to find them. (David Griffin, 2000, Religion And Scientific
Naturalism, State University of New York Press)
I've asked people to explain macroevolution to me, and I still don't
understand it. I understand better than most people how molecules relate to
each other, and what they can and cannot do. I do not understand how
macroevolution occurs. I know how small changes occur. But I don’t understand
how new kind of organs could develop like that. (Jim Tour. He is among the ten
most cited and published chemists in the world) (30)
More about time.
When the idea that time makes everything possible is presented, it is based on
the view that time has been available for millions or even billions of years.
It is assumed that long time periods automatically make possible what would
otherwise be impossible or improbable. Time is made into a god, capable of
creating life and changing species into others.
Long time periods are also the basis of the geological time chart. In this
chart, it is assumed that there have been periods of different lengths on
Earth, when only certain types of life have appeared. For example, Cambrian
organisms such as trilobites, whose residence was in the sea, are believed to
have appeared approx. 500 million years ago, while dinosaurs are believed to
have appeared on Earth approx. 250-65 million years ago. It is not considered
possible that they appeared at the same time as humans.
However, long periods can be questioned. If one holds to the view that
Cambrian organisms and dinosaurs lived at a different time than humans, then
there should not be a single discovery that contradicts this view. A single
discovery is enough to prove the geological table wrong.
A good starting point is to study human-related discoveries. If you find
man-made objects or traces of strata that are defined as ancient, it suggests
that man lived tens to hundreds of millions of years ago, or that the strata
and fossils are actually only thousands of years old. However, the latter
option is more likely, because almost no one believes that man lived e.g. a
hundred million years ago. Among other things, the following discoveries have
been made. They contradict the geological table:
•
Footprints clearly resembling human footprints have been found in several
different areas and strata whose age has been determined to be several hundred
million years. Such discoveries should not occur at all if the geological time
chart is correct. Even one discovery in the wrong place is enough to prove the
table wrong.
If
man (...) existed in any form as early on as in the carboniferous period,
geological science is so completely wrong that all geologists should give up
their jobs and take up truck driving.
So, at least for the present, science rejects the tempting alternative of man
having left those footprints. (The Carboniferous Mystery, Scientific Monthly,
vol. 162, Jan 1940, p.14)
•
There are discoveries that show that humans and trilobites were on earth at
the same time, even though trilobites had to live approx. 600-250 million
years ago in the Cambrian period. In general, trilobites, seabed animals, and
human-related discoveries are not made in the same stratification. What is
causing this?
Evolutionists explain that it is because trilobites and humans lived on
Earth at different times, but there is also a simpler explanation: ecological
compartments. For just as today Sea animals are far from humans living on
earth, so it was in the past. It doesn't have to be a question of that they
lived at a different time, but only in different areas, maybe tens or hundreds
of kilometers away from each other. Therefore, they are usually not found in
the same strata. However, a few discoveries show that they lived at the same
time:
William Meister made an amazing discovery on June 1, 1968 in Utah. He found
several trilobite fossils in a fossilized human sandal print! But according to
evolutionary periods, arranged on the basis of geological strata, trilobites
became extinct about 230 million years before man appeared!
… Geologist Dr. Clifford Burdick found further evidence to support the
hypothesis of human and trilobite coexistence. He found the footprints of a
barefoot child, one of which contained a flattened trilobite.
(31)
• Interesting are the
discoveries where human belongings or even skeletons have been found in coal
deposits. The usual belief is that these deposits were formed in a special
Carboniferous period approx. 300 million years ago, but still human-related
discoveries have been made from them. Likewise, dinosaur fossils have been
found in coal deposits. The fact that even one such find occurs is enough to
prove the geological table wrong.
A
bronze, approximately 15 cm tall bell (stem bell) was found inside the coal.
Coal from a coal mine operating in West Virginia was also commonly used for
the heating needs of local residents. Coal pieces that were too big for the
furnace were broken into a suitable size at home with a hammer. It was a big
surprise when a bronze bell appeared from inside the coal mine. The coal
deposit from which the mined coals were retrieved has been determined to have
been formed during the Carboniferous period, approximately 300 million years
ago.
(32)
What about dinosaur discoveries?
Many naturalistic scientists want to believe that dinosaurs lived tens of
millions of years ago and at a different time to humans. However, numerous
folktales tell of large dragons and lizards that resemble dinosaurs. Some
argue this is a coincidence, but a more likely explanation is that early
humans lived at the same time as these animals.
Descriptions, which may be based on old memory information, can be found
among many different peoples, so that dragons are mentioned e.g. in English,
Irish, Danish, Norwegian, German, Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Babylonian
literature. The World Book Encyclopedia (Vol. 5, 1973, p. 265) tells
about these accounts.
The dragons in legends are, strangely enough, just like real animals that
lived in the past. They resemble large reptiles (dinosaurs) that ruled the
land long before man is supposed to have appeared. Dragons were generally
regarded as bad and destructive. Each nation referred to them in their
mythology.
One interesting comment comes from the late respected fossil scientist Stephen
Jay Gould, who was a Marxist atheist. He stated that when the book of Job
speaks of Behemoth, the only animal that fits this description is a dinosaur
(Pandans Tumme, p. 221, Ordfrontsförlag, 1987). As an evolutionist, he
believed that the author of the book of Job must have obtained his knowledge
from fossils found. However, this one of the oldest books in the Bible clearly
refers to a living animal: Behold now behemoth, which I made with you; he
eats grass as an ox... (Job 40:15)
• It was already
stated earlier how human footprints have been found in layers that have been
considered to be hundreds of millions of years old. A similar problem is that
human footprints have been found in dinosaur deposits in several areas such as
Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Texas and other
parts of the United States. Such discoveries should not occur at all if the
geological time chart with millions of years is correct. The findings point to
the simultaneous presence of humans and dinosaurs on Earth.
Many known scientific facts cast serious doubts on the geological sequence and
geological eras. One such example would be the discovery of simultaneous human
tracks and dinosaur tracks in Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky,
Illinois and elsewhere in the United States. These tracks occur over a wide
area and are usually only exposed by floods or earthmoving machines. They have
been carefully examined and authenticated by reliable paleontologists and
cannot be passed off as frauds. In addition, in Arizona and the former
Rhodesia, human-drawn pictures of dinosaurs have been found on the walls of
caves and canyons. (32)
• Well-preserved dinosaur fossils are a great puzzle if they are 65-200
million years old. The reason is that they contain substances that should not
survive in nature for hundreds of thousands of years, let alone millions of
years. E.g. Tyrannosaurus Rex leg bone containing red blood cells has been
found. Similarly blood vessels and proteins such as collagen, albumin,
osteocalcin and DNA have been found. DNA has been isolated from e.g. About
Tyrannosaurus Rex bone material (Helsingin Sanomat 26.9.1994) and dinosaur
eggs in China (Helsingin Sanomat 17.3.1995). What makes DNA discoveries
difficult for the theory of evolution is that it is supposed to last in nature
for only thousands or at most tens of thousands of years, depending on the
temperature. This has been achieved by studying e.g. Egyptian mummies where
the DNA has already changed. However, the fact that DNA, proteins and other
poorly preserved substances are present indicates their young age. It is
impossible for these substances to have survived for tens of millions of years:
On
the other hand, it is known that biomolecules cannot be preserved for more
than 100,000 years (Bada, J et al. 1999.
Preservation of key biomolecules in the fossil record: current knowledge and
future challenges. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences. 354, [1379 ]).
This is the research result of empirical science. Collagen, which is a
biomolecule of animal tissue, i.e. a typical structural protein, can often be
isolated from fossils. It is known about the protein in question that it
breaks down quickly in the bones, and only its remains can be seen after
30,000 years, except in very dry special conditions. The Hell Creek area is
sure to get some rain from time to time. Therefore, collagen should not be
found in "68 million" year old bone that has been buried in the soil. (34)
If the observations
about proteins isolated from dinosaur bones, such as albumin, collagen and
osteocalcin, as well as DNA are correct, and we have no reason to doubt the
researchers' carefullness, based on these studies, the bones must be re-dated
to no more than 40,000-50,000 years old, because the maximum possible
preservation time of the substances in question in nature cannot be exceeded.
(35)
A
similar problem to the presence of DNA and proteins in dinosaur remains is the
radiocarbon in them. Its half-life is about 5700 years, so there shouldn't be
any left after 100,000-200,000 years. However, the fact that radiocarbon is
found in dinosaur fossils, as it has been found in Cambrian organisms, points
to their young age. None of them can be millions of years old:
Fossils that are assumed to be very old are not usually carbon-14 dated
because they should not have any radiocarbon left. The half-life of
radioactive carbon is so short that it has practically all decayed in less
than 100,000 years.
In August 2012, a group of German researchers reported at a meeting of
geophysicists the results of carbon-14 measurements that had been made on many
fossilized dinosaur bone samples. According to the results, the bone samples
were 22,000-39,000 years old! At least at the time of writing, the
presentation is available on YouTube. (36)
How was the result received? Two of the chairmen, who could not accept the
measurements, deleted the abstract of the presentation from the conference
website without mentioning it to the scientists. The results are available at
https://newgeology.us/presentation48.html. The case shows how the naturalistic
paradigm affects. It is almost impossible to get results that contradict it
published in the scientific community dominated by naturalism. It is more
likely that the raisins fly. (37)
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