Creation Ministries Creation 2015 International Superconference

Dr. Dan Reynolds attended the recent Creation Superconference held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina July 13-17. Dr. Reynolds has provided us a summary of each of the sessions at the conference.

My wife, Cassie, and I recently spent a week in Myrtle Beach where I attended 19 of 20 talks on creation and related topics given at the Creation Ministry International (CMI) Creation 2015 Family Superconference. Cassie, while supporting my interest in creation, only attended one session and spent the rest of her time sewing on her portable sewing machine in our hotel room! The conference was held at the Springmaid Beach Resort located right next to the ocean. The accommodations, food, and staff were excellent. Mornings and evenings were filled with talks while afternoons had options for free time, a tour of a nearby aquarium with Dr. Robert Carter of CMI, or playing chess with Jonathan Sarfati, former chess champion of New Zealand. And as usual, there was an extensive bookstore offering hundreds of books and videos, often at reduced prices. I came home with a couple of bags full!

The talks dealt with a broad range of topics such as the age of the earth, problems with evolution, postmodernism, Islam, the new heavens and earth, the starlight-time problem, biomimicry, biblical archeology, UFOs and aliens, intelligent design, formation of the Grand Canyon, dinosaur soft tissue and radiocarbon analysis, and the minds of skeptics. Speakers were available between sessions. Brief speaker bios can be found online (http://creation.com/conferences/creation2015/speakers.php). I will briefly summarize below the talks I heard.

The first talk was given by CMI’s Scott Gillis and was entitled “The Battle for Origins.” According to 1 Pet 3:15, we should always be prepared to give an answer for the hope within us. The doctrine of creation is foundational. Organisms reproduce after their kinds. Operational science operates in the present, is repeatable, testable, and observable. Historical science (forensic science), in contrast, uses facts observable in the present to theorize about the past. In historical science, past events and causes are inferred from present data according to the presuppositions of the observer. Those events and causes are not repeatable and observable. We know there are millions of marine fossils on mountains tops. Fossils form when organisms are buried rapidly. The 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens demonstrated how much geologic work could be accomplished in a short period of time. These data are consistent with the Flood. Attempting to add millions of years to the Bible does not work theologically. There are no gaps in the genealogies. Putting millions of years before Adam means death came before the Fall and it was not a result of Adam’s sin, clearly an unbiblical idea. If there were no Adam and Eve, then the doctrine of original sin is wrong and there is no need for a savior. We must stand ready to cast down unbiblical speculations (2 Cor 10:4-5).

The next talk was given by CMI’s Jonathan Sarfati and was entitled “Impossible by Chance.” Jono (as he is called by those close to him) said his talk was about chemical evolution (abiogenesis) versus real chemistry. The combination of matter, time, and energy creates a mess, not the organization seen in living things. Life only comes from life. The simplest known organism (Nature 2006 Jan 19; 439: 246), Mycoplasma genitalium, is incredibly complex and must have at least 387 protein-coding and 43 RNA-coding genes to function. DNA is for information storage. There must be DNA repair mechanisms present; the accumulated copying errors would otherwise lead to error catastrophe in a few generations. The chemical instabilities of DNA and RNA would not permit them to remain intact 10s of millions of years, yet dinosaur DNA, allegedly 10s of millions of years old, has been found intact (creation.com/dino-dna-bone-cells). The RNA-world hypothesis as an explanation for the origin of life is known to have many problems (Biology Direct 2012, 7:23). Information is not a property of chemistry. There is a difference between order and complexity; many naturally occurring phenomena bring order (crystallization) but not complexity. Crystals are very ordered but carry little information. Information rides on matter but is not reducible to it. Chance is inadequate to build a chemical system with the minimal requirements for life; a system with information storage and processing, protein manufacturing, and an energy source. The Miller-Urey experiments did not show a plausible pathway for abiogenesis. In those experiments, formic acid was formed and would be fatal to any life. Oxygen was fatal. Water would hydrolyze any nascent proteins. There were many other problems.

The next talk, one of the best at the conference in my opinion, was given by Darrell Furgason and was entitled “Postmodernism and Tolerance.” We live in a time of postmodernism, tolerance, and political correctness. Ideas have consequences. God commands us to think; we are at war with ideas (2 Cor 10:3-5; Col 2:8-10). Our best universities were founded on Christianity. All knowledge was unified in Christ. We now have what could be called multiversities; disciplines are no longer unified. Naturalism is now the center instead of Christ. There are 3 major threats to Christianity today: secular humanism (includes Marxism, postmodernism, atheism), Islam (theistic), and cosmic humanism (Buddhism, pantheism. All non-biblical worldviews are evolutionary. There are false philosophies embedded in these worldviews. There are 4 major non-biblical philosophies at work today: naturalism, scientism, determinism, and postmodernism. Naturalism says that everything reduces to natural causes including life, the universe, and even natural law. Naturalism leads to scientism, the belief that science is the only way to knowledge. Determinism is the idea that all human thought and behavior are derived from evolution. We are programmed by our genes and environment. Free will is an illusion. Hence we are ultimately not responsible for our choices, including sexual orientation. Interestingly, science has not discovered a genetic basis for homosexuality. Tolerance is now seen as the greatest virtue. Postmodernism says there is no absolute truth, everything is relative. Before 1600, religion was the source of truth. From 1600-1960, reason was the source. Since 1960, we have embraced postmodernism. Now there is no meta-narrative, there is no truth. The Bible is now seen as politically incorrect and full of “hate speech.” The Bible should be the basis of everything; no one is free to redefine God or the Bible. Christians need to get their minds back: put off falsehood, put on truth. We need to redevelop a Christian mind with God at the center (Ps 24:1). The book Understanding the Times by David Noebel was highly recommended. Go to summit.org to learn more.

The next talk was by Keaton Halley and was entitled “The Truth about Dinosaurs.” Most churches know nothing about this subject. The Bible gives us the right perspective on dinosaurs; they were created on the sixth day (Gen 1:25). Hence humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Initially, the dinosaurs ate plants (Gen 1:30). There was no physical death before sin (Rom 5:12). The fossil record was therefore formed after the Fall. There were dinosaurs on the Ark. The Ark had the space of 522 railroad stock cars. Noah probably took small and young dinosaurs. Probably only 50 kinds were on board. Most dinosaur fossils were from burial of animals during the global Flood. At the Dinosaur National Monument, there are many fossil dinosaurs buried together, some in the “death throes” posture with the head craned back. This fossil graveyard was clearly laid down by water. Some fighting dinosaurs were buried together. Why haven’t human and dinosaur fossils been found together? Probably because humans were better able to escape the Flood. Soft tissue has now been found in fossils of many dinosaur species. DNA has been found in a T. rex [Bone 2013;52(1):414]. The iDino Project has found radiocarbon in several dinosaur fossils; an entire issue of the Creation Research Society Quarterly was devoted to this work [see CRSQ, Spring 2015;51(4); this can be downloaded for $8 at crbooks.org/index.php/ebooks/crsq-special-idino-issue-downloadable-version.html]. Dinosaurs lived after the Flood. Scripture refers to them as dragons, behemoth, and leviathan (Ps 148:7, Job 40:15). Could the animal referred to in Job 40:15 have been a Sauropod dinosaur? It ate like an ox, had limbs like bars of iron, and a tail like a cedar tree. Whatever it was, it was not an elephant or hippopotamus. Why are the dinosaurs dead now? Other animals have been found buried with dinosaurs that are still alive today. They may have died off because of a dwindling food supply and being hunted by humans. Dinosaurs are not birds. There are some similarities but the alleged forerunners of birds were not built for flight. Evolution of scales to feathers is unlikely as they are completely different structures. For example, feathers have interlocking hooks; scales don’t. The earliest bird fossils predate the dinosaurs from which they allegedly evolved. Dinosaurs: design (vegetarians), disaster (became carnivorous after the Fall), deluge (Flood), disappearance (began to die), discovered (fossils).

The next talk was by Gary Bates and was entitled “The Dynasties of Ancient Egypt.” So far, Egyptian archeology has not turned up any record of the Hebrews in Egypt. Did Egypt exist before the Flood? In Genesis, Egypt is mentioned 79 times, 291 times in the first 5 books. Ground penetrating radar has discovered vast amounts of unearthed history; an estimated 80% of what Egypt has to offer still lies beneath the surface, unexplored. The Egyptians were obsessed with life after death. The standard Egyptian chronology goes back to 5000 BC and predates the Flood. The pyramids were made from limestone so must have been built after the Flood. Historical dates are established by astronomical events, pottery, writings, and radiocarbon dating. The Egyptians rarely mentioned their enemies in their writings. They believed that the quality of one’s afterlife was a function of how often they were remembered by subsequent generations. Hence the pharaohs built large structures as memorials in the hopes people would remember them. Mentioning an enemy would cause that enemy to be remembered and hence give them aid in the afterlife. Moses never mentioned pharaoh’s name. More was said on this subject by Henry Smith and will be discussed later.

The next talk was by Alex McFarland and was entitled “Inside the Mind of the Skeptic.” McFarland quote: “The weakest ink is better than the best memory.” Alex was once a skeptic given to evolution and hedonism. He interviewed 34 atheists. He asked them to dismantle Christianity. He found that in most cases, the skepticism began with some type of pain. We can love without compromising the truth. We all have a God shaped vacuum. You need a relationship to win people to Christ. Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist. We need to understand what God will and won’t do. God will only act in accord with His nature, will, and word. His acts must be logically meaningful (so questions like “if God can do anything, can He make a rock so large even He can’t lift it?” are nonsense). He can’t sin. God preserved His word. There are 3 major threats to Christianity in the West today: militant secularism, intolerant homosexuality, and the rise of Islam. Most unbelief is a result of some kind of pain. We must make friendships with unsaved people. People want trust, honesty, and respect. All arguments against the Christian faith have a rational mistake somewhere. We all need acceptance, significance, and security. We need to know we are cared for. Data alone won’t win souls. We need to understand Millennials. Millennials are digital natives, moral libertines, social globalists, and spiritual eclectics. The academy has succumbed to intellectual anarchy. Jesus is not mythology (2 Pet 1:16). We must know our audience. There are several types of skeptics. Skeptics can be tolerant (want everything to be true), sensual (no rules), seeking, or syncretistic (we all get to heaven). Most skeptics are ex-protestants. When engaging skeptics, take one issue at a time. Are they seeking truth or just playing chess with God? They may have “daddy” issues. There are also skeptics that are educated, wounded, frightened, proud, or orphaned. There are skeptics that are angry, Bible “scholars,” antinomian (no rules or laws), and honest (really searching for truth). Four thoughts about the future: (1) people with recurring spiritual doubts will continue to grow in the West, (2) those with doubts will increasingly defy categorization, (3) building authentic relationships will be key to getting folks saved (gospel is established propositionally, shared relationally), and (4) we will need to know apologetics to reach 21st century pagans. We must have both social and apologetic savvy. Love is a commitment to meet others’ needs. We must ask God for wisdom when engaging skeptics (James 1:5).

The next talk was by Stuart Burgess and was entitled “Hallmarks of Design.” Stuart designed rockets and spacecraft for the European Space Agency (ESA). He designed ENVISAT, the largest satellite every made. He has published 140 papers in secular science journals. Many of his papers deal with design in nature as applied to various manmade machines. He has spoken to senior biologists who privately don’t believe in evolution. There is a vocal minority that demand belief in evolution. There are 6 hallmarks of design: (1) irreducible complexity—structures that could not have evolved in a stepwise fashion (e.g., knee joint—evolutionists have not even suggested how this could have evolved); (2) complete optimum design— everything must be right (e.g., there are no partially evolved birds); (3) added beauty—beauty for beauty’s sake (bird song, peacock feathers); (4) extreme similarity—common design comes from a common designer (e.g., common design of the eye in many animals); (5) extreme diversity—platypus and Ginko tree (both unique); (6) world designed for mankind—every kind of wood for every purpose is available, fruit, the horse. Stuart recommended some of his books: The Design and Origin of Man, He Made the Stars Also.

The next talk was given by Robert Carter of CMI and was entitled “Why the Spanish Flu Went Extinct.” Much of this talk is discussed in a paper about the H1N1 virus (www.tbiomed.com/content/9/1/42). All medical knowledge is for counteracting the curse. Genetic systems decay over time. In evolution, he who has the most kids wins. Mutations are mostly very slightly deleterious, rarely beneficial. The slightly deleterious mutations are usually undetected by natural selection so they accumulate over time. That genomes are slowly degrading and not improving is due to “genetic entropy.” Carter wanted to find a real-world example of genetic entropy. Carter was able to get the DNA sequence of the H1N1 flu virus that lived in 1918 from the corpse of an infected woman. He wanted to compare the DNA sequences of the virus from then and now to see what mutations had occurred. Natural selection will drive most things to extinction because it can’t eliminate deleterious mutations fast enough. The H1N1 virus has gone extinct at least twice due to genetic entropy.

The next talk was given by Henry Smith of Associates of Biblical Research (ABR) and was entitled “Biblical Archeology 101.” The historicity of biblical record of the battle at Ai (Jos 7-8) has been disputed. The first digs at Ai allegedly disproved the biblical account. We should challenge anti-biblical claims. There are several factors to consider:

1. (1) There must be a sound evaluation of the biblical text (what does it really say?).
2. (2) Take into account the topography and geography (e.g. Jos 7:2; 8:9,11).
3. (3) Consider tradition and historical testimony.
4. (4) Examine archeological evidence. One must use much data to get an accurate date. Examples of sources to be used for determining dates include writings of extra-biblical historians, nation state treaties, paleography and pottery (syntax, vocabulary, how letters were written; search for “ophel” at creation.com), and architectural tendencies (Deut 1:28; Num 13:28; Deut 9:1; 28:52). There were massive walls at Shechem (Jos 12:7,24). Joshua defeated 31 kings.
5. (5) Consider the political and cultural contest.
6. (6) Consider private correspondence or inscriptions.
7. (7) Consider royal decrees (Is 44:28; the Cyrus cylinder).
8. (8) Consider annals and records of kings.
9. (9) Consider the timings of solar and lunar eclipses.
10. (10) Consider the destruction of Ai by fire.

Using the above criteria, Archeological work by ABR has found Ai and demonstrated the biblical text is accurate history (see answersingenesis.org/archaeology/getting-archaeology-right-at-ai/). Arguments from silence are often false: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. If evidence is still lacking, wait!

The next speaker was Vance Nelson. His talk was entitled “Dire Dragons.” Nelson quote: “You only get answers to the questions you ask.” An example would be “is there any C14 in dinosaur fossils?” The iDino project looked at this and found the answer was “yes”! (see CRSQ 2015, Volume 51, Number 4; the whole issue is dedicated to dinosaur soft tissue and related topics). Vance was not raised in a church. He was taught evolution. Darwin coined the phrase “living fossils.” Many organisms buried with dinosaurs are still here today. There have been many alleged sightings of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were known as dragons for centuries (e.g., by the Chinese 1700 years ago). Vance has written a book about dinosaurs entitled Untold Secrets of Planet Earth: Dire Dragons. Dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible (leviathan, dragons, behemoth). Richard Owens, a creationist, coined the term dinosaur. Early (1841) paleontologists referred to dinosaurs as dragons. Genesis 1 refers to sea dragons—the same as dinosaurs. There never was a disconnect between dragons and dinosaurs. Nevertheless, evolutionists claim dragons were a myth. There is evidence that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time (petroglyphs, drawings, etc.). We now have evidence that dinosaurs lived recently: soft tissue, intact proteins and DNA, radiocarbon dating. Because C14’s half-life is only 5730 years, radiocarbon should not be detected in specimens older than 100k years. However, C14 has been detected in bones from sites that are alleged to be millions of years old: Hell Creek Formation, Horse Canyon Formation, and the Lance Formation. How can we explain dinosaurs in ancient artwork? Were they based on reconstructions of fossils? No fossils have been found near the artwork. There is a beautiful petroglyph of what looks like a brontosaurus at the National Bridges National Monument in Utah dated at 700 AD. There have been what appear to be dinosaur petroglyphs found in Mexico, South America, Holland, England, Africa, and China.

The next talk was by Mike Oard and was entitled “The Grand Canyon.” Mike does not like the breached dam explanation for the canyon. Evolutionists say the canyon took 300 million years to form with the sea level going up and down several times and laying down sediments. The Tapeats sandstone covers half of North America. The canyon must have been laid down fast since there is no evidence for erosion between layers. About 1000 cubic miles of erosion had to take place with much water in a short time. The dam breach theory has problems: no evidence for the alleged lakes, should have breached at low points, there are long tributary canyons. There are no shorelines, no lake bottom sediments. There are several water gaps in various mountain ranges, a testimony to the power of the Flood. Mike believes the Grand Canyon formed late in the Flood. Mike recommends the following books (his): A Grand Origin for the Grand Canyon, The Genesis Flood and Floating Log Mats, and The Geologic Column: Perspectives Within Diluvial Geology.

The next talk was by Jonathan Sarfati and was entitled “The Genesis Account.” Jono has recently published a new book entitled The Genesis Account. It is a commentary on Genesis 1-11 from theological, historical, and scientific perspectives. There have not been any “old earth” views until modern times. Jesus was fully God and fully man . There are no time gaps in the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11. God defines marriage (Gen 1:27; 2:24). Jesus did not see Genesis 1 and 2 as contradictory (Matt 19:3-9). Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 is section 1. Genesis 2:4 onward is section 2. Section 2 is a recapitulation of section 1. Paul talks about Genesis (1 Cor 15:21-22) pointing out that physical death is part of the curse. Today we must decide if man brought death or death brought man. Death before sin is not possible. When was the Fall? It must have been after creation week, before Cain was conceived, within 1 month of creation. Satan fell before the Fall. The creation was cursed as a result of the Fall. We were created vegetarians. Adam brought sin and death into the world (Rom 5:12-19, 1 Cor 15:21-22). Homo sapiens allegedly first appeared 160k years ago. Therefore old earth creationists are already wrong based solely on consideration of their thoughts about humans. The cannibalism, carnivory, disease, and death in the fossil record had to come after the Fall. Animals were initially vegetarian (Gen 1:30), coexisted in peace without carnivory (Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:25), and were brought under the curse (Rom 8:18-25; Gen 3:17-19). Scripture says that plants don’t die but wither—they were not living in the first place. Animals were not carnivorous before the Fall (Gen 1:29) but were after the Flood (Gen 9:3). The internal evidence of Genesis fits Moses’ authorship.

The next talk was given by Russell Humphreys and was entitled “The Light Years are not a Problem.” Russ is well known for his gravity-time dilation solution to the starlight-time problem and is considered one of the pioneers of the modern creation science movement. He has developed a biblical cosmology that explains how stars can be visible from earth yet billions of light years away in a 6000 years old universe. His cosmology explains galactic redshifts and the Pioneer anomaly (more on this later). He has revised his original cosmology published in 1994. His new cosmology can be found online at creation.com/images/pdfs/tj/j22_3/j22_3_84-92.pdf and creation.com/new-time-dilation-helps-creation-cosmology. A discussion of the Pioneer anomaly and its explanation using creationist cosmologies can be found at creation.com/creationist-cosmologies-explain-the-anomalous-acceleration-of-pioneer-spacecraft and creation.com/images/journal_of_creation/vol21/5181creationist.pdf. In Gen 1:2, what is the meaning of the “deep”? It must have had something to do with water and gravity. Russ proposed that the “deep” was a huge ball of water at the center of which was the earth “void and without form.” The “expanse” was interstellar space between the waters below and above. All matter in the universe was ultimately derived from this primordial and created water. In this model, the waters above affect the earth gravitationally. The earth is near the center of the universe and the universe has an edge; this contrasts sharply with the Big Bang assumptions of homogeneity and isotropy. We know from relativity theory and experiment that gravity affects time. Clocks in different gravitational potentials tick at different rates; the greater the gravitational potential, the slower the ticking. The effect that gravity has on time is known as gravity-time dilation. Russ said that a trampoline is a good analogy for gravity. The “waters above” make a circular dent in the fabric of the trampoline as would a heavy iron ring. The depth of the dent is related to the gravitational potential energy. The time dilation effect is from the potential gravitational energy, not gravitational force. The mass of the “waters above” is ~20× that of all the galaxies. In this configuration, the earth is just below the “timelessness” level of potential gravitational energy where physical processes stop. On the fourth day, God made the stars (Gen 1:16) and matter near the earth out to the waters above. New stars would dent the trampoline. Then God stretched out the heavens like a curtain. The new galaxies would fall below the critical gravitational potential energy as they formed. The creation of galaxies would continue out to the “waters above.” Then God could increase the tension of the fabric of space. This would cause the galaxies to rise above the critical gravitational potential energy starting at the outer perimeter then proceeding towards the center. Hence the earth would be the last place to emerge from the timelessness zone. So, while billions of years of physical processes transpired in the cosmos, only a few hours passed on the earth. Russ believes there may have been a second time-dilation event during the year of the Flood through the stretching out of the heavens (Ps 18:9, 2 Sam 22:10). This would have resulted in about 500 Ma of additional “aging” for the galaxies . Russ’ new cosmology may help explain why spiral galaxies look similar throughout the universe as well as the redshifts of galaxies. The Pioneer spacecraft are now well beyond our solar system. They appear to be accelerating (ever so slightly) when they should not be according to standard physics; this is the Pioneer Anomaly. If there is still a dent in the fabric of space with the earth at the deepest point, then the potential gravitational energy decreases as one moves out from the earth. Hence the time dilation observed during creation week would still be in effect, just at a much smaller magnitude. Clocks would tick faster as you move beyond the earth. Hence, the Pioneer spacecraft appears to be accelerating because clocks in their region of space tick faster than on the earth.

The next talk was by CMI’s Robert Carter and was entitled “Speedy Species.” We can examine what creation builds versus what evolution predicts. Change is part of the creation model. Does the Bible say species don’t change? Scripture says God created organisms according to their kinds (e.g., Gen 1:11, 21, 26). What types of change are permitted by the creation model? How many kinds of life are there? The Bible does not say. The concept of the “fixity of species” is from Aristotle and not scripture; historically, it was a mistake for Christians to embrace this idea. Creation and evolution are opposing worldviews. Evolution is a philosophy that says all life came from a common ancestor through much change over long time periods. Evolution is based on the facts of biology and the assumption of naturalism. Creation is based upon the facts of biology and the assumption of theism. In genetics, Darwin’s predicted tree is absent; life looks more like a bush or forest. This is more in line with creation where we would expect many separate created kinds without ancestor/descendant relationships. The created kind may correspond to the “family” of biological systematics. Kinds can make fertile babies and can hybridize. Darwin did not understand inheritance or genetics (see Journal of Biology, 2009;8:15; www.jbiol.com/content/8/2/15). Why didn’t Darwin discover Mendel’s laws? Because of Darwin’s bias and preconceptions; his theory needed unlimited mutability. Mendel was ignored by the scientific community for 50 years. Mendel’s work showed there were limits to change; traits can only be mixed. There are fossil jellyfish allegedly 505 Myrs old that appear unchanged today. Dogs do not differ in biochemistry. How do species change? Through differential reproduction guided by natural selection; organisms that reproduce more offspring earlier survive. The creation model holds that there were adaptations already built-in that can be activated rapidly under the right environmental conditions. Hence rapid speciation of the original created kinds is part of the creation model. Natural selection does not add information, it just sorts out what is already there.

The next talk was given by Russell Humphreys and was entitled “Evidence for a Young Earth.” (Much of this talk and additional information can be found in articles online at creation.com/evidence-for-a-young-world or www.icr.org/article/evidence-for-young-world or creation.com/age-of-the-earth). Scripture makes it plain that the earth is only thousands of years old (Ex 20:11, Mark 10:6, etc). The Enlightenment marked the start of skepticism of the Bible. Most dating methods (90%) give a young age. Here are a few examples that indicate the earth and universe are young:

1. (1) Spiral galaxies wind up too fast. The inner stars rotate faster than the outer stars so that the spiral structure would be destroyed in only 100 million years, but the galaxies are supposed to be 10 billion years old.
2. (2) There are not enough supernova remnants (SNRs). SNRs should last a million years. There should be 1 SNR per galaxy every 25-50 years. Hence there should be thousands in each galaxy. We only see 200 in the Milky Way. There are also not enough seen in the Milky Way’s companion galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. The lack of SNRs is consistent with a young age for the galaxy.
3. (3) Comets crumble too quickly. Comets, described as “dirty snowballs,” lose material every orbit around the sun. If the solar system is really 4.5 billion years old, there should not be any comets left. The alleged source, the Oort Cloud, has never been observed.
4. (4) Seafloor mud accumulation is too fast. An estimated 20 billion tons of mud are added to the oceans each year while only a billion tons are removed by subduction. The mud layer on the bottom of the ocean is only 400 meters thick which would only take 12 million years to accumulate at current rates.
5. (5) The sea is not salty enough. There are about 450 million tons of salt being added to the oceans each year and only 120 million tons being removed. Given these rates, the maximum age for the ocean would be 62 million years.
6. (6) Earth’s magnetic field is losing energy too fast. The earth’s field loses half its energy every 1400 years, so its maximum age is 20 thousand years. During the Flood, the field reversed over 100 times, losing energy at an even faster pace.
7. (8) Biological material mutates or decays too fast. DNA can’t last more than 10 thousand years; intact DNA has been found in dinosaurs. Mitochondrial Eve is allegedly 200 thousand years old, but measured mutation rates say she is only 6000 years old. DNA dated at 135 million years has been found in amber. Permian bacteria were revived that were allegedly 250 million years old; background radiation alone would have completely destroyed the DNA in that amount of time. The DNA of Neanderthals, allegedly 40 thousand years old, has allowed the genome to be reconstructed. Dinosaur fossils, allegedly 70 million years old, have blood cells, intact DNA and proteins (Science, 2015 Jun12;348(6240):1184), and even detectible C14.
8. (9) There are not enough stone age human graves. There would be 8 billion graves if there had been a million people living for 195 thousand years; only thousands have been found. This implies that the stone age must have only been a few hundred years.
9. (10) Written history is too short. Written records only go back 5000 years.

The next talk was by Stuart Burgess and was entitled “Inspiration from Creation.” Bio-inspiration reveals the truth about origins. Evolution predicts imperfect design while creation predicts good design (Job 37:14-16). Which is true in nature? Richard Dawkins says the human eye is badly designed, as he must if evolution is true. Evolution can’t produce irreducible complexity. The evolutionary process faces constraints far more severe than those facing human designers. Evolution is limited by what is needed for survival. Evolution does its job as well as it needs to and nothing more. One of Stuart’s bio-inspirations is to make a micro air vehicle like a dragonfly. There are many extremely well designed things in nature: dragonfly, knee joint, bird wing, and fish jaw are good examples. The battle over origins is naturalism versus the biblical worldview. Evolution is a man-made worldview, not science. Evolution is like a magic wand used to explain things: evolution of the gaps. The most vocal evolutionists are often not qualified. For example, Dawkins was never a full professor. Dawkins claims creationists don’t know anything, but consider Newton, Maxwell, and Lord Kelvin. Dawkins says he hates faith but believes in the origin of life by natural means. By promoting biblical creation, we are rebuilding the foundations like Nehemiah (Neh 4:7-9).

The next talk was by Gary Bates and was entitled “UFOs, Ghosts, and other Cultural Phenomena.” Gary is the author of the popular book Alien Intrusion. Many people are interested in this topic. Gary’s investigation showed that 90% of UFOs are manmade, and 10% are not easily explained. Some folks have had real experiences, but these may be demonic. There is a common pattern and sequence to many experiences. Experiences can be real, but deceiving. Occult themes dominate our culture. Many people claim to have been visited by aliens, departed spirits, or even departed loved ones. The devil does not play fair with people; he is a liar (2 Th 2:9-11). There are many documentaries on ghosts. We have become desensitized to this subject. The nature of ghost experiences: (1) interdimensional, (2) leave physical traces, (3) people can be physically affected, (4) there can be multiple witnesses, and (5) worldviews can be changed by these experiences. We can be deceived. Experiences can be deceptive. People are lied to. We need a reliable source of truth. Some people who have had “encounter” experiences may be suffering from “false memory syndrome” (FMS). FMS occurs when a person’s identity is centered around a traumatic experience that is objectively false. The Bible is our worldview filter. Angels can appear and have physical properties; they should not be worshiped. The experience Saul had with Samuel was real. We should avoid spiritualists (Lev 19:31).

The final talk was given by CMI’s Lita Cosner and was entitled “Creation Restored.” Genesis connects with Revelation and God’s original plan for creation. A popular idea nowadays is that everyone is going to heaven because everyone is good. Alleged witnesses (non-biblical) of heaven disagree with each other and scripture. The original creation was “very good” and engineered to be perfect. Then came sin and the Fall, impacting all of creation. What sort of restoration should we expect in the new creation? The new creation will be like the first but better. This fallen world will be destroyed. There will be a new heaven and earth (Ps 102:25-26; 2 Pet 3:1-13). God has acted in history: creation, Flood, incarnation, etc. God will bring the final judgment (Jer 4:23-26; Rom 8:19-23). God will “undo” this creation in the judgment and then restore and rebuild. Creation will be set free. There will be an “uncreation” of heaven and earth. The world will be restored and our bodies will be resurrected. God sees us in light of what he intends us to be. There will be a new heavens and earth but no sea. Christ has reconciled all things to himself (Col 1:19-20). God will restore his entire creation; there will be harmony in nature (Is 65:17; 11:6-9). What kind of restoration? Jesus was resurrected with a new yet recognizable body; he experienced physical restoration. Likewise, the new earth will be a restored physical place (Rev 22:1-2). There will be a river, the tree of life, and a city with walls. Another Fall will not be possible. Our new bodies will be physical, have senses, free of disease and defect, and immortal (1 Cor 15:42-44; 51-52). We will retain our personal memories (Rev 6:9-11). Will we be sad about people in hell? Our joy in heaven will be greater. Will there be time in heaven? Maybe. The triune God will be the focus of heaven and earth for all eternity (Job 19:25-27; John 17:24).