ABSTRACTS
The Clay Consolidation Problem and Its Implications for Flood Geology Models
Scott L. Dunn
The cornerstone assumption of all Flood Geology models is that rocks can form quickly (i.e., within the timeframe of months to years). However, to date, only isolated examples from the field have been used to support the hypothesis without any quantitative justification. This paper therefore presents the theoretical basis (originally set out by Terzaghi, 1922) for determining the timescales for the first phase of lithification, the mechanical compaction of the sediment under its self-weight (otherwise known as consolidation). The paper demonstrates that when basic soil mechanics theory is applied to the consolidation of thick clay layers of the order of 1,000 m such as those found in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caspian Sea, the timescales predicted for compaction are orders of magnitude greater than is currently assumed. Additionally, it is shown that there is a physical limit to the rate at which sediment can accumulate without creating excessive pore pressure and inducing geotechnical failures. For clay, this limit is approximately 0.1 m/yr, and, for silt, approximately 10 m/yr.
What Is the Meaning of the Floods on Mars? Part II: Uniformitarian Origin Theories and Conundrums
Michael J. Oard
Martian outflow channels and valley networks raise six questions and the first four are addressed in this part: 1) how were outflow channels and valley networks carved, likely from water?; 2) Were the channels and valley networks eroded by a few catastrophic floods or many small flows?; 3) What is the origin of the water: groundwater, rainfall and runoff, or both? If groundwater, how was it recharged?; and 4) What is the quantity of water needed for erosion; estimates varying from 3 m to 5000 m GEL. Ultimately, did water come from impacts, volcanism, or both?
Crassostrea Oyster Fossils Show Evidence of Extreme Longevity
Jake Hebert, Frank J. Sherwin, and Richard Overman
This paper presents evidence that fossil Crassostrea oysters experienced much greater longevity than their modern-day descendants. For extant animals, multiple studies have revealed a positive correlation between longevity and adult body size: the larger the organism's size as an adult, the longer its lifespan. Studies have also demonstrated that organisms that take longer to reach skeletal and/or sexual maturity also tend to have longer lifespans. Fossil Crassostrea oysters are generally larger than their modern-day counterparts, and ontogenetic growth curves suggest longer lifespans and generally longer growth intervals. This evidence should be of great interest to biblical creationists in light of the Bible's claim that humans in the pre-Flood and immediate post-Flood worlds experienced much greater longevities than modern-day humans. Animals may also have once experienced greater past longevity, since whatever genetic or environmental factors were enabling extreme human longevity were likely also operating across the animal kingdom.
How the World’s Most Educated People Produced the Worst Holocaust in History
Jerry R. Bergman
Nazism was fueled by highly educated and intelligent minds, establishing a confusing contradiction, since intelligent people should be able to recognize inhumane actions. This situation further revealed that Germany, as well as much of the Western world, was not exempt from the power that a non-Biblical worldview can have over even academically advanced individuals. A most significant reason that Nazi ideology was embraced by intelligent people is because the German educational system had inculcated Darwinian and Social Darwinian ideas for years prior to the Holocaust. Nazi leaders and German educators embraced them and taught them. All levels (including preschool) of German academia incorporated the study of eugenics, an indoctrination which played a crucial role in propelling the Germans toward racist ideology which ultimately lead to the justification of Holocaust horrors. While educational censorship was a reality that kept truth from being expressed, the foremost reason that Nazi ideology spread and birthed such horrendous consequences was because German leaders and "the intelligentsia" who were fueling the educational systems rejected the Bible. Nazism would not recognize the Genesis account of creation and therefore acknowledge the fact that all mankind was created in the image of God and came from one couple-Adam and Eve. As is the way of orthodox Communism, no alternative explanations were permitted-"intelligence" meant comply or be shot, persecuted, or rejected.
Notes from the Panorama of Science:
Bird Nest Lessons: Creation Perspectives in Avian Ecology
There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow. (Isaiah 34:15a) NEST—this simple word “nest” represents an enormously important part of a bird’s early life, as well as critical times in the life of a bird family. A baby bird’s beginning is experienced inside a nest. From embryonic egg to hatchling, from hatchling to fledgling, a baby bird’s life adventures are “hatched” inside a nest of some kind. Consequently, nests are the childhood homes to young nestling birds, plus parent birds repeat their multi-generational nest life as they reproduce and nurture the next generation of their own kind
The Dinosaurs of Job 40 and 41
One of the main purposes of Job is to call us to a firm belief in Creation and in the plan of the ages: that is, redemption; Paul’s preaching always began with this in the preaching of the Gospel to the Greeks and to those not understanding special creation. This integral part of Job shows that God was the Creator and Sustainer of creation. As a part of this demonstration of God’s majestic and humbling creation, Job 40 and 41 recounts a description of two now extinct and probably reptilian creatures, Behemoth and the Leviathan. Behemoth is likely a gargantuan sauropod while Leviathan is possibly a monstrous blue whale-sized ichthyosaur or mosasaur. Verse-by-verse descriptions are discussed here. Also, in this brief study, the Creation days, 5 and 6, are discussed, and important Biblical facts regarding dinosaurs (and reptilian marine beasts) are presented. These mighty fearsome beasts lead us to think of our great, terrible, and mighty God as well as our need to remember that the Lord is ever-merciful and forgiving