ABSTRACTS
The Acceptance of Evolution and a Belief in Life on Other Planets
JERRY BERGMAN, PH.D.
Our belief structure highly influences our explanation and conclusions concerning ambiguous stimuli. When it was accepted by most Westerners that humans and all life were direct creations by God, if other worlds existed and had life, it must have also been created by God. Acceptance of non-theistic evolution indicated that if life evolved on earth, it could likewise have evolved elsewhere. This life could be either a "lower" or "higher" level than humankind, or an entirely different kind based on a non carbon molecule. If many kinds and types of life exist elsewhere in the universe, their visits to earth become a real possibility. Today, some exobiologists such as Carl Sagan and others have postulated that it is highly probable that life exists in many far off places in the universe. This paper hypothesizes a relationship between public belief in evolution and the number of claimed sightings of UFOs. Before the late 1940s, there were almost no reports of UFOs. The acceptance of evolution, the first famous claimed sighting in 1947, the American space program, and the fear of invasion from foreign powers with advanced technology (especially the former Soviet Union) have all contributed to the phenomenal number of claimed UFO sightings since 1947.
Honor to Whom Honor... Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873)
TREVOR J. MAJOR, M.SC.
Matthew Fontaine Maury achieved considerable respect in the middle of the nineteenth century for founding the science of oceanography. His mappping of the world’s major ocean and wind currents for the benefit of sailing ships earned him the title "pathfinder of the Seas." Other fields, such as meteorology, navigation, and ordnance, also profited from his methodical and inventive mind. Although largely forgotten outside his native Virginia, Maury endures in Bible-science literature as a credible scientist who took a literal view of Scripture. According to one common story, Maury’s reading about the "paths of the sea" in Psalm 8:8 led him to discover ocean currents. Although various aspects of this legend fail historical scrutiny, Maury held strongly to the view that the Bible and science were in perfect harmony. For modern creationists, he represents a successful scientist who eschewed the modernistic trend to divide secular and biblical knowledge.
A Proposal for A Creationist Geological Timescale
BY CARL R. FROEDE, JR., B.S., P.G.
The uniformitarian framework for the origin and age of the earth began over 200 years ago with the writings of Scottish geologist James Hutton. Since that time uniformitarians have been defining and refining their model in an effort to reconstruct earth history from purely physical processes. Many young-earth creation scientists have attempted to integrate the biblical record with that proposed by the uniformitarians. This has resulted in confusion and disbelief in the biblical account provided in Genesis one. This author proposes that an integration between the uniformitarian model and the creationist model will not work; rather, it is proposed that a framework be constructed which is based squarely on the biblical young earth creation/flood model. By creating our own timescale we can then follow the timeframes outlined in the biblical account. Field work should be performed and all relevant and appropriate geologic information should be examined to futther substantiate the creationist timescale. Using our own timescale will then allow creationists to examine the stratigraphic record without unrealistic presuppositions, and should result in a more accurate account of the earth’s geologic history.
Mid and High Latitude Flora Deposited in The Genesis Flood, Part I:Uniformitarian Paradox
MICHAEL J. OARD, M.S.
Paleofloras from mid and high latitudesindicate a warm, equable climate for the "mesozioc" and "early Tertiary." Especially interesting are the warm-climate "forests" and subtropical fauna found on Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands near 80 deg. N. latitude. Computer simulations indicate the Cretaceous and early Tertiary climate would be quite cold in winter at high latitudes and at mid latituudes within continental interiors. Several possible explanations for this unifomitarian paradox are reviewed and shown to be inadequate. This presents another contradiction to the uniformitarian paradigm in which it has been suggested that there was a temperate and long lasting "Tertiary" period.