ABSTRACTS
DeSoto Falls in DeSoto State Park, Alabama: Evidence for Recent Formation?
A. Jerry Akridge
Uniformitarian geology is based on long periods of time which are demanded for the formation of geomorphic features found on Earth. According to this doctrine, most extant geomorphic structures required millions of years of slow and gradual processes for their formation (Dunbar, 1955). In contrast to this, the Young-Earth Flood model predicts that these features were formed within the last few thousand years while undergoing the effects of high-energy, short-term, catastrophic processes (Gish, 1985). Conditions which favored rapid modification of the Earth’s surface were present during the period of the Flood Event and the subsequent Ice Age (following the geologic framework proposed by Froede, 1998). DeSoto Falls, located in DeSoto State Park, Alabama, is such a geomorphic feature that is best explained within the framework of the Young-Earth Flood model.
Dark Matter
Don B. DeYoung
Dark matter has never been directly observed. Its presence is indicated by unexplained gravitational effects on stars and galaxies. It is sought within galaxies, in galaxy clusters and throughout space. Surprisingly, dark matter appears to comprise the bulk of the entire universe. This article surveys the evidence along with possible micro and macroscopic dark matter candidates. The entire idea is then evaluated from the creation perspective.There are also theological implications.
Trematode Parasites: What Is Their Genesis?
Mark H. Armitage
An overview of trematode parasitology from the evolution and creation perspectives is presented, including a discussion of the “design-like” features of these parasites. No credible evolutionary explanations are found in the evolutionary literature to account for these “design-like” aspects.
Histological microtechnique for electron microscopy is also reviewed and some cyst ultrastructural data are reported. A caring God may have designed trematodes, now recognized as parasites, to serve other functions before the Fall of man (Genesis 3).
Why Abiogenesis Is Impossible
Jerry Bergman
If naturalistic molecules-to-human-life evolution were true, multibillions of links are required to bridge modern humans with the chemicals that once existed in the hypothetical “primitive soup.” This putative soup, assumed by many scientists to have given birth to life over 3.5 billion years ago, was located in the ocean or mud puddles. Others argue that the origin of life could not have been in the sea but rather must have occurred in clay on dry land. Still others conclude that abiogenesis was more likely to have occurred in hot vents. It is widely recognized that major scientific problems exist with all naturalistic origin of life scenarios. This is made clear in the conclusions of many leading origin-of-life researchers. A major aspect of the abiogenesis question is “What is the minimum number of parts necessary for an autotrophic free living organism to live, and could these parts assemble by naturalistic means?” Research shows that at the lowest level this number is in the multimillions, producing an irreducible level of complexity that cannot be bridged by any known natural means.
What is the Upward Limit for the Rate of Speleothem Formation?
George T. Matzko
The speleothem formation experiments conducted in the late 1970s by the Society have been resurrected at the Van Andel Creation Research Center. A new experimental apparatus has been constructed, other ancillary equipment collected and testing has begun. The earlier work is reviewed and the results of that research are summarized. The deposition of speleothems from a theoretical perspective, emphasizing the chemical processes involved, is considered. Recent advances in the age dating are examined. The factors that affect speleothem growth are discussed. Recent studies conducted in natural cave environments are mentioned. The kinetics of speleothem precipitation is being studied in an attempt to predict what natural conditions encourage rapid development.