Creationism Q and A

Originally posted by JS357
More to that: there are lots of google hits that say the same thing about the book making mention of craters and the battle.

Apparently the person who reviewed the book at

http://www.amazon.com/The-Remarkable-Birth-Planet-Earth/dp/0871234858

didn't really read the book.

Originally posted by catstorm
I agree. It was only speculation to begin with. It is misleading to suggest it was anything more.

Originally posted by JS357
It assumed that the battle was a possibility.

New news:

There is an interesting letter to the editor at

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19830326&id=G5gyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3079,3650593

that I found by googling on

"The possibility is at least open that the fractures and scars"

in quotes.

It refers to the two editions [b]and refers to pages 66-67 as the location of the quote.[/b]

There are a number of Biblical references indicating that in some way the stars may actually participate in human battles (Numbers 24:17; Judges 5:20; Revelation 6:13; 8:10; etc.) Such passages may all be simply figurative, but then again they may not. In any case, the possibility is at least open that the fractures and scars on the moon and Mars, the shattered remnants of an erstwhile planet that became the asteroids, the peculiar rings of Saturn, the meteorite swarms, and other such features that somehow seem alien to a "very good" universe as God must have created it may have been acquired later. Perhaps they reflect some kind of heavenly castastrophe associated either with Satan's primeval rebellion or his continuing battle against Michael and his angels.

In any event, this type of cause warrants further research as a potential explanation for apparent disturbances in the stars and planets since their creation.

Originally posted by RJHinds
Yes, it is pages 66-67 in the 1978 edition I have. Here is the paragraph that catstorm was referring to:
[quote] There are a number of Biblical references indicating that in some way the stars may actually participate in human battles (Numbers 24:17; Judges 5:20; Revelation 6:13; 8:10; etc.) Such passages may all be simply figurative, but then again they m ...[text shortened]... ened and cause the crators on the moon, but is only bringing it up as a speculative possibility.

Originally posted by JS357
"...only bringing it up as a speculative possibility."

People can decide for themselves how reasonable this speculation is and how reasonable it is to consider it possible.

A straw man is a common type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on the misrepresentation of an opponent's argument. To be successful, a straw man argument requires that the audience be ignorant or uninformed of the original argument.

The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man" ) and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man" ) instead of the original proposition.

New question. Paleontologists using an ancient earth/evolutionary framework predicted the existence of marsupial mammals in Antarctica. They then found the fossils where they were expected to be.(paleo.gly.bris.ac.uk). Does this suggest that there was some truth in the framework, or was it the luckiest wild guess in history?

Originally posted by catstorm
New question. Paleontologists using an ancient earth/evolutionary framework predicted the existence of marsupial mammals in Antarctica. They then found the fossils where they were expected to be.(paleo.gly.bris.ac.uk). Does this suggest that there was some truth in the framework, or was it the luckiest wild guess in history?

I must confess that I have doubts about the efficacy of this argument in establishing universal common descent. Phenomena like island biogeography or "ring species" may well demonstrate limited common ancestry. In the case described above, it does not even compel the conclusion of the common descent of all marsupial mammals. For one thing, there is even some paleontological evidence for very old lines of marsupials inhabiting China (Ni et al., 2007; Luo et al., 2003)! Very ancient -- indeed, the oldest European -- fossil marsupials have also been discovered in France (Vullo et al., 2009). In fact, marsupial fossils have now been identified on every continent.

You were not aware of a prediction before the fact but it was available and well known to the world of biologists.

One more before I go. I believe God created, using a process of evolution (which is a proven process). Why is that not good enough? Creationists insist it was "Special" creation. What does that mean anyway? Some of what He creates is Special and some is Regular?

Originally posted by catstorm
One more before I go. I believe God created, using a process of evolution (which is a proven process). Why is that not good enough? Creationists insist it was "Special" creation. What does that mean anyway? Some of what He creates is Special and some is Regular?

Last,last question of the day. Why are Bible literalists ready to scrap the Sciences because of Genesis 1, but do not give their coats away because of Luke 3:11, don't believe the dancing mountains of Psalm 114 are literal and do not believe that the Last Supper wine is Christ's literal blood? Some of the Bible is literal and some is not. Who decides and by what authority? Instead of sending me to youtube, can someone please tell me?

Originally posted by OdBod
Hi catstorm, hate to say this, but speaking as an Atheist I see your requirement of god creating evolution in pretty much the same way you view creationists. I guess in the end everything is a question of perspective.

Originally posted by catstorm
You were not aware of a prediction before the fact but it was available and well known to the world of biologists.

Originally posted by RJHinds
Well, since marsupial fossils have now been identified on every continent, it does not seem unusual to find marsupial fossils in the Antarctic which would also be predicted by a YEC.

Originally posted by RJHinds
Well, since marsupial fossils have now been identified on every continent, it does not seem unusual to find marsupial fossils in the Antarctic which would also be predicted by a YEC.