Sunday, July 26, 2020

Notes on Scientific Creationism by Henry M. Morris

This article are some notes taken, while reading the book "Scientific Creationism" by Henry M. Morris. 
https://www.amazon.com.au/Scientific-Creationism-Evidence-Discover-Evolution/dp/0890510032

Ch 4 accident or plan
Complexity of living organisms
- mathematical impossibility of even the simplest molecules coming together. To create a combination of 100 particles, given 10e80 electrons in the universe and 30 billion years with 10e9 tries power second, is still almost impossible.
- a dna molecule is 400 linked amino acids which are complex molecules. there is almost no chance it can be formed by random combinations.
- the DNA molecule would require 1500 or 10e450 successive binary choices to create. comparing this to all information in printed books in the world is 10e20 which is only 66 successive binary choices.
- there have been many attempts to create the simple molecules of life in labs with primordial conditions but none are anywhere near conclusive.
- Similarities in evolution are used too postulate a common ancestry. In creation, similarities are a natural consequence that the creator has perogative you create different creatures, but some would obviously have similar characteristics.
- Differences in species is evidence of creation. The Creator specifically created individual species. Evolution is about species evolving into another. Hence there should be evidence of many transitional species, but there are no evidence given over 150 years of paleontology. Various animals thought to be transitional species like the fish with limb like fins, are found to be living today.
Synthetic gaps in fossil records
- the study of geological age and fossil records has gaps in the absence of transitional species.
- many modern species were found in the same ages with no evidence of evolving.
- the fish to amphibian to reptile to birds are not supported by strong fossil evidence.
- Though many animals are extinct which are mistakenly taken as evolving, majority of insects and plants are same today as in prehistory, there are no indication again of the transitioning species.

5. Uniformitarianism or Catastrophism.
- Uniformitarianism explains the geological column takes a long time to create different layers. However this is a tautology since it assumes fossil records takes long time to create and uses fossils in earth strata as evidence of a longtime.
- Catastrophism a.k.a. rapid formation - which is quite evident, suggest that different layers can be created suddenly, hence also suggesting the fossils could be recent.
- Fossilisation occurs suddenly, not over long periods of time. We can see this that when animal dies, it decays and the remains may even be scattered by other animals or the environment. It is difficult and rare to fossils starting from skeletons, then being covered with layers of earth through time. It is much easier to preserve or fossilise when there is a sudden even like volcanic eruption, or even human skeletons which are buried in one instance by their peers.
- Various types of rock formations can be formed by direct precipitation, sudden deposits of large amount of material washed to a location, large scale even continental level flooding.
- Coal and similar resources and other layered of earth are not rare to have include fossilized trees embedded across multiple columns.
- Oil and coal are more likely to be formed by massive sudden deposits of sedimentation than long process. We currently have the technology to convert garbage into oil.
Contemporaneity of the Fossil World
- The geological column composed of various strata or layers of different material does not indicate formation through time because there is no worldwide unconformity. The reason it was first assumed as time separation because of the since groups of fossils are found together in layers, and starting with the wrong assumption that the fossils belong to different time period, hence the strata was wrongly linked to time.
- Each stratum was formed rapidly, and so was the entire column, with hydraulic cataclysm, ie the different layers are formed suddenly by flow of waters.
- There are evidence of fossils from different ages are found together in the same strata.
- Fossils thought to be more ancient are found at the bottom. However this is not due to time but by physical nature. Given the assumption of worldwide hydraulic cataclysm, ocean floor animals are buried first, followed by fish, then amphibians, some reptiles. Humans and birds would be few. Though most humans would die in such a flood, they would be able to run to higher ground then still overtaken by water, but their bodies would be afloat and not buried. The types of animals from first layer to top layer are mistaken to be evolutionary path from fish to reptiles.
- Evidence of humans living with pre-historic animals. Ancient Mayan art show a pre-historic looking reptile-bird, which must be living at the time of the Mayans up to 5000 years ago (discovered by Jose Diaz-Bolio).
- The geological ages from Archaeozoic to Pleistocene to Recent should be recalibrated from fossil based age for evolution, to the different stages of the Great Flood.

6. Old or Young
- The widely accepted dating technique of rocks is not due to various scientific methods, but instead it is dated by 'index fossils'. In fact, the fossils are assumed to be very old because this fits into the evolution model. Then the reasoning is that since the rocks are so old, then the Earth would have enough time for evolutionary process to take place. In other words, this is a circular argument.
- Radiometric dating is a technique of measuring the age of geological formations, based on radioactive decay.Although the process of radioactive decay sounds very scientific, using that process to estimate the age of the rocks and earth is based heavily on assumptions that can easily be shown to be wrong. One such example is the assumption that the objects being measured, eg rocks are a closed system. However this cannot be true since the rocks would have been mix with other material throughout time. The second flawed assumption is that the radioactive decay constant, has remained constant over the millions of years. There is no proof, and humans have not been around long enough to observer that the decay constant is in fact, a constant value.
- On the other hand, there are many evidence on earth that may in fact point to a young earth. Some evidence include:
i) efflux of gases in the atmosphere, including small amounts of Helium
ii) influx of materials from space. If the earth is billions of years old, the earth would be covered with thick layer or dust.
iii) influx of material into the ocean.
iv) efflux of material from the Mantle to the Crust
v) Decay of earth's magnetic field.
Many of the above, if analysed based on the evidence, do point to a young earth of only a few thousand years.
- Recorded history of human civilisation dates back only to a few thousand years. Before that there is a complete absence of written record that can be used to establish a timeline.
- Another well established dating method is radiocarbon dating which is based on the presence of the ratio of carbon isotopes C14 to C12. This technique also suffer from similar flaws as radioactive techniques.For example, the decay rate may not be constant through time, the system may not be in equilibrium for C14 exchange, amount of natural carbon may be different in the past.
- Calculating the population growth, even with a few millions of years, the population would be unrealistic at 10^2100 (ten to the power of 2100).On the other, the calculation for a few thousand years results in a population number similar to present day.
- Measurement of solar activities also point to the Sun being much younger than the widely accepted age.

7. Ape or Man
- Cavemen have been part of the school system, museums, textbooks to the extent that it is unconsciously accepted as the truth. However, the idea of the cavemen is the result of accepting evolution as the truth. Evidence found of people living in caves does not prove conclusively their level of intelligence or development.
- There missing link between ape and men has not been found. Various findings of ape like creatures displaying some human attributes, turn out to be apes. Conversely various human like creatures like Homo Erectus and Neanderthal may in fact be human. Humans are found to have existed in the same time as these other pre-human creatures, strongly suggesting they could all be humans, not different stages of evolution.
- Evolution inevitably would explain the differences in race as one being better than the other. We know inherently that no one race is better than the other, which is more consistent with the fact that God created humankind and does not place any race above another.
- Human languages sets us apart from animals. Evolution is totally incapable of explaining the origins of language. Ancient civilisations are known to have complicated language structures.
- Actual written records of ancient civilisations date back to only few thousand years BC. This is consistent with age since Creation, when man is supernaturally created by God.
- Evolution explains the progress of humans from savage cavemen, to the development of farming and civilisation. This also reflects the use of tools of various technologies corresponding to different periods like stone age, bronze age, iron age - with the concept of evolution internally build-in. Creation allows for the fact that different societies may have been using different technologies in the same period of time.
- The dispersion of humans from the centre also explains the fact that man was dispersed from the region in the Middle East / Babylon. Historically the most ancient civilisation are found in the same area. It makes sense that the people who did not disperse too far formed bigger and more complex societies, whereas those who travel across to other continents may become more nomadic in their societies such as from the Babylon area to the Americas and Australasia.
- Cave paintings and other evidences point to sophisticated dwellers rather than savages.
- The spiritual and religious needs of the humans are also evident in cave dwellers. There is no evidence that animals are religious in any way. Thus evolution is unable to explain the special religious attribute of Man that are not present in any kinds of apes or other animals from which Man is supposed to have evolved from.