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       #Post#: 2386--------------------------------------------------
       Vestigial Organs?
       By: AGelbert Date: December 14, 2014, 10:43 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Vestigial organs
       [quote]An idea destructive to medical science and our health
       Editor’s note: Since this 1998 article was written, research has
       uncovered more functions for such things as the appendix. We
       recommend that readers also check articles under Vestigial
       organs Q&A.
       By Robert H. Franks
       Certain organs of man, as well as of various animals, have long
       been described as useless ‘leftovers’ (vestiges) of structures
       which were useful in a former evolutionary stage. However, this
       evidence is no longer offered with the confidence it once was.
       Practically all the so-called ‘vestigial’ organs, especially
       those in man, have been proved in recent years to have definite
       uses. They are not vestigial at all.
       At one time, evolutionists claimed there were more than 100 such
       vestigial organs in man. But few are claimed now. Some of these
       are essential to everyday existence. So what are these so-called
       ‘vestigial’ organs? Some regarded as vestigial are:
       1. The little semi-lunar membrane at the corner of the eye.
       Facial expression in the human being far exceeds that in any
       other vertebrate.
       2. The pineal gland in the brain.
       3. Ear muscles.
       4. Wisdom teeth (molars).
       5. Tonsils.
       6. The thymus gland in the neck.
       7. Nipples in the male.
       8. The appendix.
       9. The tail-bone (coccyx).
       Let’s take these one by one and look at what modern medical
       science knows about them.
       Semi-lunar membrane
       The plica semilunaris is a little fold of tissue at the inner
       corner of the eye. Some evolutionists feel that it is a remnant
       of the third eyelid of a lower form, such as the third eyelid in
       birds and reptiles. But in man this tissue has several essential
       functions. If you did not have the tissue for support at that
       location, the eyeball would sink. This would cause double
       vision. The tissue not only supports the eyeball, but the
       tearduct as well. Without this tissue, tears would drain over
       the cheeks causing a cosmetic problem.
       This area also serves to collect foreign matter. When you wake
       up in the morning, you will often find some white material in
       the inner corner of your eye. It collects in this fold, the
       semilunar fold of the eye. It is not true that this fold has no
       purpose. It was designed. And it does not represent the cleverly
       designed third eyelid of the bird which prevents the bird’s eyes
       from drying out during flight.
       Pineal gland
       The pineal is a small gland situated on the mid-brain. This
       little organ, the size of a peanut, is said by evolutionists to
       be derived from the third eye of primitive reptiles. The organ
       is covered by the skull, so it is certainly no eye. But it does
       help regulate our biological clocks. This makes it an essential
       organ. It secretes a specific hormone,melatonin, which
       influences the activity of a number of glands probably by a
       direct action on brain centres.
       When the interplay of various factors governing the pineal is
       finally understood, man may be able to adjust his biological
       rhythm and become nocturnal like an owl for a period of time, or
       for long-distance international travel.
       Frog pineal cells may be similar to the cone cells of the retina
       and even be photo-receptors, or so-called ‘third eyes’. But
       pineal cells in man are certainly not eyes. To postulate that
       the human pineal is therefore a vestige serving no biologic
       purpose is erroneous. The vestige theory for the pineal is
       rapidly being refuted.
       Ear muscles
       Ear muscles are muscles of facial expression. Facial expression
       in the human being far exceeds that in any other vertebrate. By
       no means are facial muscles vestigial. Evolutionary reasoning
       argues that rabbits have large ears and well-developed ear
       muscles.
       Since humans have smaller ear muscles, these must be vestigial.
       Does this mean that any human who can wiggle his ears is
       primitive? Ear muscles allow the ears to be moved to gather
       sound, and thus are a worthwhile mechanism. It is possible that
       this was more efficient in our (human) ancestors, and that
       degenerate mutations have caused a partial loss. But this is
       certainly no demonstration of upward evolution!
       Wisdom teeth
       Wisdom teeth are often mentioned as vestigial organs. It is true
       that when they do not erupt, and then become impacted, they
       cause problems. Infection and pain can ensue. But ingrown
       toenails also become impacted and cause infection and pain. And
       toenails certainly are not vestigial! Molars are grinders and
       necessary for chewing certain foods. It is no more fair to say
       that molars are non-essential than it is to say that incisors
       are non-essential.
       Tonsils
       Tonsils are glands in the throat which function as part of the
       lymphatic system. They are part of the defence mechanism of the
       body to resist bacteria and other disease organisms. The
       evolutionary argument is that since they can be removed with
       impunity, they must be useless. Actually, if a person were
       unfortunate enough to be born without tonsils or any other
       lymphatic tissue, he would be in bad shape. In the case of the
       tonsils I try not to remove them before the child is two years
       old. By then, I don’t worry about removing diseased, infected
       lymphatic glands because the body has many lymphatic glands. The
       Creator has built in a fail-safe mechanism so that removal of
       the tonsils does not render a person incapable of resisting
       disease. Thousands of lymphatic glands remain.
       Thymus
       Another member of the lymphatic system of the body is the thymus
       in the neck (not to be confused with the thyroid). It is very
       prominent in children. In earlier days, perhaps partly due to
       the influence of evolutionary thinking, the thymus was treated
       with X-ray in some children with respiratory distress. Sadly,
       some of these children later in life became leukemic, so we no
       longer irradiate the thymus in children with respiratory
       distress.
       Since the thymus shrinks, we might conclude that it is not
       necessary. But that is not the case. A group of physicians
       reported in 1968 the case of a baby boy born without a thymus.
       The physicians were able to trace the child’s diarrhoea and
       continual running nose to lack of the thymus. The month-old boy
       did not thrive. When his immune mechanism was challenged, he
       could not respond, because the thymus is involved in the body’s
       ability to resist invading organisms and reject foreign tissue.
       After thymus tissue was transplanted into the baby, the
       diarrhoea and running nose abruptly ceased. The child responded
       to irritating chemicals and rejected a skin graft, showing a
       healthy immune response. He began to thrive. This work gives
       additional support to current concepts of the essential early
       function of the human thymus gland.
       [b]Nipples[/b]
       I am sure no one regards nipples in the female as non-essential.
       Now if I tell you that the human breast does not know whether it
       is male or female except by responding to male or female
       hormone, perhaps you can understand the complexity of the
       situation. In the male treated with female hormone because of
       prostate cancer, the breasts and nipples enlarge in response to
       the female hormone.
       Many evolutionists reason that since male humans do not suckle
       the young, male breasts are vestigial. Would this mean that we
       are descended from some (unknown) mammal in which the male
       suckled the young? More informed evolutionists actually agree
       with the creationist that this is an example of sexual homology
       and has nothing to do with vestigial structures.
       Appendix
       The appendix is another organ of the lymphatic system, like the
       tonsils and the thymus gland. The human organ also regulates
       intestinal immunity to repel germs attacking through the
       unsterile foods digested. Intestinal immunity also causes
       rejection of foreign allergenic materials. The appendix is able
       to sample the bowel contents and form antibodies. It is in a
       very beautiful location to do this. Of course, like the tonsils
       it sometimes falls prey to infection and requires removal.
       Again, God has built in a fail-safe mechanism so that we can get
       along without the appendix. There are hundreds of lymphatic
       glands in the mesentery of the intestine (the mesentery is a
       fold of abdominal tissue keeping the intestines in place).
       The evolutionist compares the rabbit appendix, which is a
       digestive organ, to the human appendix, then states that since
       the human appendix does not function like that in the rabbit,
       then ours is vestigial! That is not good science.
       [b]Coccyx[/b]
       The coccyx is also called the tail-bone. If you were designing
       the vertebral column, would you have it end in a circle, a
       square, or a triangle? God chose to end it with a triangular
       bone called the coccyx. Attached to the coccyx are the
       pubococcygeal muscles important for child-birth, intercourse and
       bladder control. Would the evolutionist like to be devoid of
       this important structure?
       Important nerves and blood vessels course nearby. Individuals
       who injure the tail-bone may develop a painful condition called
       coccydynia. Removal of the coccyx seems to be a poor operation.
       I counsel my patients with tail-bone pain to resist removal of
       the coccyx if ever suggested.
       Conclusion
       In view of the history of this subject, it would seem wise not
       to claim any organs at all as vestigial.
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       The ignorance of scientists about the specific functions of such
       structures does not prove they have none. It is more than likely
       that further study will, as in the past, reveal specific
       functions for the remaining supposedly useless organs.[/quote]
  HTML http://creationtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/4156.png
       Related Articles
       Vestigial Organs Questions and Answers
       Do any vestigial organs exist in humans?
       ‘Vestigial’ Organs: What do they prove?
       Vestigial arguments: remnants of evolution
       Is the dog’s ‘collar bone’ vestigial?
       Is the human male nipple vestigial?
       Further Reading
       Badly designed arguments—‘vestigial organs’ revisited
       The plantaris and the question of vestigial muscles in man
       The human umbilical vesicle (‘yolk sac’) and pronephros—Are they
       vestigial?
       Cutting out a useless vestigial argument
       Related Media
       Vestigial Organs
  HTML http://creation.com/do-humans-have-vestigial-organs
       #Post#: 2457--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: December 27, 2014, 12:51 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       MORE PROOF that Wall Streeters are EVOLUTIONARY DEAD ENDS!
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsWs6bf7tvI&feature=player_embedded
       This is NOT what I was taught about Darwin's Theory in College
       Biology. But it's nice that they are fighting Wall Street's
       CELEBRATION of GREED with some HARD SCIENCE!
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       #Post#: 2481--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: December 31, 2014, 7:28 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Quoted from an Essay on Dogma and the Universe by C.S. Lewis
       [quote]“When a Central African convert and a Harley Street
       specialist both affirm that Christ rose from the dead, there is,
       no doubt, a very great difference between their thoughts. To
       one, the simple picture of a dead body getting up is sufficient;
       the other may think of a whole series of biochemical and even
       physical processes beginning to work backwards.
       The Doctor knows that, in his experience, they never have worked
       backwards; but the African knows that dead bodies don’t get up
       and walk. Both are faced with miracle, and both know it. If both
       think miracle impossible, the only difference is that the Doctor
       will expound the impossibility in much greater detail, will give
       an elaborate gloss on the simple statement that dead men don’t
       walk about. If both believe, all the Doctor says will merely
       analyze and explicate the words ‘He rose’.
       When the author of Genesis says that God made man in His own
       image, he may have pictured a vaguely corporeal God making man
       as a child makes a figure out of plasticine.
       A modern Christian philosopher may think of a process lasting
       from the first creation of matter to the final appearance on
       this planet of an organism fit to receive spiritual as well as
       biological life.
       But both mean essentially the same thing. Both are denying the
       same thing—[i]the doctrine that matter by some blind power
       inherent in itself has produced spirituality.”[/I][/quote]
       #Post#: 2546--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 13, 2015, 7:02 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed in our Brave New "Scientific"
       World
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EPymcWp-g&feature=player_embedded
       I won't hold my breath waiting for those so THREATENED by
       religions in general, and Christian Fundamentalists in
       particular
  HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-scared005.gif,
       to
       UNDERSTAND how a much GREATER a threat to science and
       rationality the DARWINST RELIGION IS.
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183337.bmp<br
       />
       Science has stated that 250 COMPLEX proteins are required for
       the most simple life form to form in the correct order.
       Mathematicians have stated that it is statistically impossible,
       in 12-14 billion years, for that many complex proteins to
       "mutate" into the proper sequence. I've written about that here
       before. Twelve Billion years is not even ONE PERCENT of the time
       needed for that to occur. A NON-RANDOM event produced life,
       PERIOD. The latest hypothesis is that we were "seeded" by
       intelligent life. Who made them? NOBODY! You see, there are
       trillions of parallel universes with trillions of variations.
       SO, in one of THOSE, there was enough TIME for those 250
       proteins to get this show on the road. Umpteen billions later,
       the aliens got huge brains. Then they found our YOUNG universe
       and seeded it. End of story!
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       Homo SAPS are expert in demonizing any teachings that, no matter
       how rational, would require acceptance of the mere possibility
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       that
       they OWE THEIR EXISTENCE to a superior being (unless it's ET).
       So it goes.  [img width=30
       height=30]
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       #Post#: 2547--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 13, 2015, 7:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Eddie said, [quote]The term "evolution" has been completely
       struck from the text books, and has been replaced with
       euphemisms designed to placate the fundies, like "change over
       time" and "developmental progression". Did you know that there
       are 94 synonyms for evolution? And that textbook writers are
       expected to use them in order to be "more precise"?[/quote]
       There is a Law of gravity, but Evolution is a theory, NOT a law.
       If you and your daughter want to "go with the flow" on the
       theory of Evolution, why should the rest of us be force fed it?
       Your argument against "force feeding" creationism is a form of
       mockery. Next you will be telling us creationism requires we
       believe the earth is 6,000 years old and is flat too.
  HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2932.gif
       The implications of intelligent design are one thing; the
       science is another. Let's not confuse the two. Science does not
       do slippery slopes.
       The evidence of cell biology nano-molecular machines has been
       presented, peer reviewed and fastidiously fact checked over and
       over. The complexity of these machines could NOT come about
       through random mutations in 12-14 billion years. If your
       daughter does not know this, she is behind in her science. As
       you know, a scientist MUST be ready to question any theory that
       no longer best explains the evidence.
       Intelligent design is not "the tooth fairy did it"; it's a more
       rational explanation of life than Darwinian evolution.
       The belief, and that's all it is (regardless of what textbooks
       claim) that modern scientific advances are a result of the
       acceptance in the scientific community of the Theory of
       Evolution as the best explanation of how life came to be here is
       merely human resistance to change.
       The Piltdown man fraud is history. So is the "tadpole to human
       evolution" fetal development baloney that was in biology
       textbooks for half a century AFTER it had been proven a clever
       fraud.
       It's time the theory of evolution was sent to the dustbin of
       failed theories. That's science. If people don't want to believe
       in God, so what? You supporters of evolution think that people
       in your camp will be given a firing squad for being an infidel
       if intelligent design is accepted. That's just silly.
       The reality is that if ANYBODY that is a credentialed scientist
       and attempts to discuss or write about, with accompanying
       scientific HARD EVIDENCE, the irreducibly complex cell machinery
       and the theory of intelligent design, he or she gets fired from
       their university or research lab position and CANNOT get a job
       in the same field because WORD GETS AROUND!
       THAT is what I consider THREATENING, FASCIST, INTOLERANT and
       UNSCIENTIFIC behavior.
       But you think those scientists that get kicked out of THE CLUB
       for talking irreducible cell complexity deserve to go. Don't
       deny it. The fact that you are sweating fundy craziness and are
       happy as a lark about the "way it works" in the evolutionary
       true believer university club is proof.
       When I see you weigh in equally against intolerance on both
       issues, I will accept you are being objective. Yeah, I know, you
       aren't going to lose any sleep over my opinion. Join the crowd.
       ::)
       #Post#: 2549--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 14, 2015, 7:33 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Eddie provided us this gem of erudition. I consider it a
       diversion from the real issue. Nevertheless, I will argue the
       merits:
       [quote] THEORY
       1) The grandest synthesis of a large and important body of
       information about some related group of natural phenomena
       (Moore, 1984)
       2) A body of knowledge and explanatory concepts that seek to
       increase our understanding ("explain") a major phenomenon of
       nature (Moore, 1984).
       3) A scientifically accepted general principle supported by a
       substantial body of evidence offered to provide an explanation
       of observed facts and as a basis for future discussion or
       investigation (Lincoln et al., 1990).
       4) 1. The abstract principles of a science as distinguished
       from basic or applied science. 2. A reasonable explanation or
       assumption advanced to explain a natural phenomenon but lacking
       confirming proof (Steen, 1971). [NB: I don't like this one but I
       include it to show you that even in "Science dictionaries" there
       is variation in definitions which leads to confusion].
       5) A scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an
       explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a
       hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation
       or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for
       the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general
       laws, principles or causes of something known or observed.
       (Oxford English Dictionary, 1961; [emphasis added]).
       6) An explanation for an observation or series of observations
       that is substantiated by a considerable body of evidence
       (Krimsley, 1995).
       [/quote]
       The THEORY of EVOLUTION does not meet "3)", "5)" or "6)". Key
       word = EVIDENCE. It's NOT THERE. I can prove it's not there. You
       just don't want to go there.
       So, not only does the BELIEF in Evolution not qualify as a LAW
       in science, it's not even a THEORY according to the proper
       definition as you presented it! NO EVIDENCE, NO THEORY. Science
       is based on EVIDENCE, [i]not good narratives about how this,
       that and the other happened. [/i]
       Newton, Pasteur and many other scientific greats were DEVOUT
       Christians. That did NOT stop them from providing the basis for
       the scientific method. Are you saying they were childish people
       that learned their science in Sunday school? I didn't think so.
       Those scientists ALL went to Sunday school back in the 19th
       century, ya know! Somehow, that did not prevent them from doing
       good science, DID IT?
       THEY had to fight furiously with the "KNOW IT ALL" scientific
       community of THEIR DAY to get the truth out. The TRUTH, along
       with the presented EVIDENCE, was RESISTED TOOTH AND NAIL!
       Pasteur wasn't talking fairy tales, now was he? But they still
       tried to shut him down for MOST OF HIS LIFE.
       The doctor in Poland that PROVED that women got disease (causing
       the death of their child and sometimes the mother too!) from
       doctors that delivered babies after doing autopsies died in a
       NUT HOUSE. Lister came LATER. Spare me the stuff about how the
       scientific community welcomes dissent as long as evidence backs
       it. That is just not so. I wish it was. That's the pretense, no
       the reality.
       IN FACT, when the science textbooks tell the TRUTH about the
       history of scientific inquiry, the belief in ONE GOD and ONE
       TRUTH is attributed to the basis of the scientific method.
       The relativistic baloney that is peddled today is a DETRIMENT to
       the scientific method. Fun and mocking games about Gods and
       Goddesses shows disdain for metaphysics and caricatures the
       OBVIOUS fact that, if there is ONE GOD, said being doesn't DO
       reproduction, regardless of what reproductive mechanisms IT sets
       up in his created critters. But I digress. All that stuff about
       God this or God that is NOT the issue. You (and others
       ;))always try to make it the issue. The ISSUE is the LACK OF
       EVIDENCE for the Theory of Evolution.
       As for me, do you think the 35 college credits I have in
       Biology, zoology, parasitology, genetics, botany and
       microbiology is SUNDAY SCHOOL!!!?
       That was quite a cheap shot, pal! Shame on you.
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       Do you think I WANTED to buck that rigid mass of groupthink in
       the scientific community that puts the word "evolution" in every
       other article and paragraph out there? I just did the math.
       They've got nothing. I cornered my profs. They've got nothing.
       They would get thoroughly upset  but could not counter my
       arguments. I told them over and over that the evolution story is
       not based on science. Yes, it's a nice story but it's NOT
       evidence based.
       They claimed that BECAUSE of that theory, we left the dark ages
       of scientific inquiry and modern science OWES its existence to
       the Theory of Evolution. I KNOW you believe that.
       THAT, and not natural selection or the irreducible complexity of
       molecular machines in cells, is what you evolutionists fear will
       be LOST if the theory of evolution is discredited.
       You are defending a BELIEF system, not science. You think if
       that belief system is discredited, SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY will be
       discredited.
  HTML http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TzWpwHzCvCI/T_sBEnhCCpI/AAAAAAAAME8/IsLpuU8HYxc/s1600/nooo-way-smiley.gif<br
       />That's why you use every tool in the book to mock and discredi
       t
       THE EVIDENCE that makes mincemeat out of the [s]Theory[/s]
       BELIEF in Evolution. I accepted that possibility back then. It
       beat the hell out of magic and incantations.   :icon_mrgreen: It
       seemed to be CFS.
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       But, after  several decades of wading through scientist
       publications, I have become convinced that the reverse is true.
       Your prized theory is a groupthink, unscientific world view
       holding science back. No, I am not advocating a return to magic
       and incantations. That's NOT what Newton or Pasteur did, is it?
       I admire them and respect the way they went at science. Their
       faith AIDED them, by their own admission, in their scientific
       research. They didn't say that to avoid being burned at the
       stake!  8)
       I am advocating a rejection of the Theory of Evolution based on
       the FACT that there is NO EVIDENCE to support it.
       I READ science, as you do. I have been doing it steadily for
       about 30 years. I am sick to death of seeing every damned thing
       they can't figure out, and other things TOTALLY unrelated as
       well, to be explained away as evolution this and evolution that.
       The most outlandish bull**** is presented in science articles
       AND papers WITHOUT PROOF as "scientific conjecture" with
       "[b]evolution coulda done dat[/b]" attached to it. Subsequently,
       every tenured groupthinker that knows which side his bread is
       buttered on says, "AMEN, brother!".
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       I follow the EVIDENCE. I suggest all readers do as well.  8)
       5. Is intelligent design theory incompatible with evolution?
       It depends on what one means by the word “evolution.” If one
       simply means “change over time,” or even that living things are
       related by common ancestry, then there is no inherent conflict
       between evolutionary theory and intelligent design theory.
       However, the dominant theory of evolution today is
       neo-Darwinism, which contends that evolution is driven by
       natural selection acting on random mutations, an unpredictable
       and purposeless process that “has no discernible direction or
       goal, including survival of a species.” (2000 NABT Statement on
       Teaching Evolution). It is this specific claim made by
       neo-Darwinism that intelligent design theory directly
       challenges. For a more thorough treatment see the article
       “Meanings of Evolution” by Center Fellows Stephen C. Meyer &
       Michael Newton Keas.
       6. Is intelligent design based on the Bible?
       No. The idea that human beings can observe signs of intelligent
       design in nature reaches back to the foundations of both science
       and civilization. In the Greco-Roman tradition, Plato and Cicero
       both espoused early versions of intelligent design. In the
       history of science, most scientists until the latter part of the
       nineteenth century accepted some form of intelligent design,
       including Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer with Charles
       Darwin of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In the
       Judeo-Christian tradition, meanwhile, the idea that design can
       be discerned in nature can be found not only in the Bible but
       among Jewish philosophers such as Philo and in the writings of
       the Early Church Fathers. The scientific community largely
       rejected design in the early twentieth century after
       neo-Darwinism claimed to be able to explain the emergence of
       biological complexity through the unintelligent process of
       natural selection acting on random mutations. In recent decades,
       however, new research and discoveries in such fields as physics,
       cosmology, biochemistry, genetics, and paleontology have caused
       a growing number of scientists and science theorists to question
       neo-Darwinism and propose intelligent design as the best
       explanation for the existence of specified complexity throughout
       the natural world.
       7. Is intelligent design theory the same as creationism?
       No. Intelligent design theory is simply an effort to
       empirically detect whether the “apparent design” in nature
       acknowledged by virtually all biologists is genuine design (the
       product of an intelligent cause) or is simply the product of an
       undirected process such as natural selection acting on random
       variations. Creationism is focused on defending a literal
       reading of the Genesis account, usually including the creation
       of the earth by the Biblical God a few thousand years ago.
       Unlike creationism, the scientific theory of intelligent design
       is agnostic regarding the source of design and has no commitment
       to defending Genesis, the Bible or any other sacred text. Why,
       then, do some Darwinists keep trying to conflate intelligent
       design with creationism? It is a rhetorical strategy on the part
       of Darwinists who wish to delegitimize design theory without
       actually addressing the merits of its case. For more information
       read Center Director Stephen Meyer’s piece “Intelligent Design
       is not Creationism” that appeared in The Daily Telegraph
       (London) or Center Associate Director’s piece “ Intelligent
       Design and Creationism Just Aren’t the Same“in Research News &
       Opportunities.
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       #Post#: 2550--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 14, 2015, 9:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=559.msg64253#msg64253
       date=1421292833]
       FACTS and QUOTES from: The Origin of the Species (sixth Edition
       published in 1872)
       [quote][I]Darwin spent 13 years revising and correcting what was
       a literary monument to indecision, uncertainty, and
       obfuscation.[I][/quote]
       SNIPPET:
       b) Hundreds of equivocations
       Far from being a definitive work, the Origin is saturated with
       conjecture. In the final 1876 printing20 of the 1872 sixth
       edition, Darwin employed the word “may” 642 times, “if” 493
       times, “might” 203 times, “probable” or “probably” 182 times,
       “tend” or “tendency” 153 times, “suppose(d)” 141 times,
       “perhaps” 63 times, “no doubt” 58 times, and so on.21 “I
       believe” occurs 58 times, and “I think” 43 times; down from 97
       and 81 times respectively in the 1st edition, because Darwin’s
       correspondents complained!19
       Here’s a sample of Darwin-speak from p. 100 of his 6th Edition:
       [quote]“variations in a single species inhabiting an isolated
       station might be beneficial, and thus the whole mass of
       individuals might be modified, or two distinct forms might
       arise.”[/quote] (Emphases added.) But equally, they might not …
       might not … might not. Darwinian conjecture does not constitute
       scientific evidence.
       c) No actual evidence of anything
       In Chapter 4 on Natural Selection, under the heading:
       “Illustrations of the Action of Natural Selection, or the
       Survival of the Fittest”, Darwin wrote:[quote] “In order to make
       it clear how, as I believe, natural selection acts, I must beg
       permission to give one or two imaginary illustrations.”
       [/quote]22 (His words, emphasis added.) Why “imaginary
       illustrations”? Well, when you can’t cite a single real-life
       example of natural selection producing anything new, the only
       resources left are imaginary ones!  ;D
       The first of these is about wolves chasing their prey. Darwin
       wrote:
       [quote]… let us suppose that the fleetest prey, a deer for
       instance, had from any change in the country increased in
       numbers, or that other prey had decreased in numbers. … Under
       such circumstances the swiftest and slimmest wolves would have
       the best chance of surviving, and so be preserved or selected. …
       I speak of the slimmest individual wolves, and not of any single
       strongly-marked variation having been preserved.22[/quote]
       Actually, the facts about wolves are substantially different, as
       Sir David Attenborough has demonstrated in several of his
       nature-study TV films. Wolves prefer to hunt in packs rather
       than singly, and whatever their prey group is, they don’t choose
       the strongest and fleetest individual to attack but the weakest
       and slowest, which may be injured or sick or old or a juvenile.
       So, not only could Darwin not produce a single real-life example
       of natural selection producing anything, even this imaginary
       case was contrary to the facts. The Origin is all speculation,
       ad hoc assumptions, and special pleading. See:
       Muddy waters: clarifying the confusion about natural section
       [color=navy]Natural selection &#8800; evolution
       Refutation of New Scientist’s Evolution: 24 myths and
       misconceptions
       How information is lost when creatures adapt to their
       environment
       Exploring the God Question: 2, Life and Evolution, Part 1
       (Darwinism)
  HTML http://creation.com/exploring-evolution-darwinism
       [i]Agelbert NOTE:[/i] In typical goal post moving fashion, I
       expect someone will claim that, "It was supposition THEN but we
       have 150 years of PROOF NOW! Yada-yada ya!"
       NOPE! What we HAVE now is a LOT of Evidence that contradicts the
       hypothesis that produced the Evolution Narrative. But you fine
       "scientific" minds here can cling to your "theory" all you want!
       TPTB are BACKING you ALL THE WAY while you bleat and whine about
       the "attack" on civil liberties from (LOL!) Christianity!
       RIGHT! It's Christianity that pushes justification for offing
       the useless eaters, hysterics about carrying capacity,
       justification for wars for oil, game theory, survival of the
       meanest mother F'ing apex predator by any means needed to
       destroy the competition and, last but not least, experimentation
       on living beings, be they humans or not, is A-f u c k ing okay
       for the "good" of science!
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-311013201314.png
       Keep believin', true believers! It's all those whacko Christians
       that are messing up this planet... Just get rid of ALL of us
       superstitious whackos and then everything will be just fine in
       your truly rational, logical. prudent, measured, do the math, f
       u c k your buddy world.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/ugly004.gif
       [/quote]
       #Post#: 2558--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 16, 2015, 2:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=3845.msg64251#msg64251
       date=1421286540]
       [quote] THEORY
       1) The grandest synthesis of a large and important body of
       information about some related group of natural phenomena
       (Moore, 1984)
       2) A body of knowledge and explanatory concepts that seek to
       increase our understanding ("explain") a major phenomenon of
       nature (Moore, 1984).
       3) A scientifically accepted general principle supported by a
       substantial body of evidence offered to provide an explanation
       of observed facts and as a basis for future discussion or
       investigation (Lincoln et al., 1990).
       4) 1. The abstract principles of a science as distinguished
       from basic or applied science. 2. A reasonable explanation or
       assumption advanced to explain a natural phenomenon but lacking
       confirming proof (Steen, 1971). [NB: I don't like this one but I
       include it to show you that even in "Science dictionaries" there
       is variation in definitions which leads to confusion].
       5) A scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an
       explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a
       hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation
       or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for
       the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general
       laws, principles or causes of something known or observed.
       (Oxford English Dictionary, 1961; [emphasis added]).
       6) An explanation for an observation or series of observations
       that is substantiated by a considerable body of evidence
       (Krimsley, 1995).
       [/quote]
       The THEORY of EVOLUTION does not meet "3)", "5)" or "6)". Key
       word = EVIDENCE. It's NOT THERE. I can prove it's not there. You
       just don't want to go there.
       [/quote]
       [color=purple][size=12pt][i][b]JRM said, [quote]
       This could be an interesting conversation if we began with a
       working definition of "evolution".  The evidence for biological
       evolution is, of course, overwhelming -- e.g., the fossil record
       and the fact that biological evolution has been observed in
       current time (say, a single human lifetime -- or even much
       shorter time frames).
       To say "the evidence for evolution is not there" is not so much
       right or wrong as it is an incomplete -- or vague -- statement,
       as there are not one but many theories of biological evolution.
       Which one is the one you think lacks evidence? --
  HTML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_evolutionary_thought
  HTML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_evolutionary_thought
       [/quote]
       Surly said, [quote]He's considering the beatification of Romero.
       Leave Frank alone.
       [/quote]
       I have a nice TRUE story I'm working on about Romero. No, I
       never met him. But I am related to someone who studied him
       EXTENSIVELY.  :icon_mrgreen:
       The story might get you a lot of beady bubbles so I will attempt
       to wordpress it. No guarantees, though. I'm kinda busy right
       now.  ;D
       I'm having to deal with accusations of "vague" statements and
       "incomplete definitions" by people  who are silent as death
       about just about every comment I make here (Hi JRM!) except when
       they want to pop in and do a little "friendly" sniping.
       JRM,
       Before I address your statement about evolution and the "various
       competing definitions", I wish to point out your comment on Ka's
       valid observation.
       Your hairsplitting on Ka's clear statement is known as verbal
       dancing. Ka was clear.
       Although Ka was not talking about complexity per se, that's what
       SET (Standard Evolutionary Theory) refers to when defining
       evolution. COMPLEX life emerging from LESS COMPLEX life is
       evolution.
       Here's a great example of a VAGUE statement: [quote]"there are
       not one but many theories of biological evolution. "
       [/quote]
       As I have, and continue to state in my debate with Eddie (that
       UB has weighed in on as well with his EXTENSIVE knowledge of
       anthropology and human fossils), science does not DO "vague".
       When we are talking about the ORIGIN of species (I. e. NEW
       speciation), we are talking about EVOLUTION. Different
       mechanisms and definitions within that field of study have
       branched out.
       Evolution has been applied to planets, mud, conversations, stars
       and so on. THAT is NOT what we are talking about when we are
       talking about the ORIGIN of species.
       If you REALLY want to talk about what is VAGUE in the above
       thread, it's the incredibly convenient dial a definition of
       "religion" that so many people have. But that is another
       subject. I respect your views on your belief system even though
       I don't agree with them. Same with WHD.
       Ashvin has been quite clear and consistent in stating logically,
       dispassionately and without rancor, why his views are well
       founded. He has made it clear what a CHRISTIAN actually is,
       regardless of those rebrobates out there that hijacked the
       moniker for predatory profit and mayhem. I have not seen anyone
       here but Surly admit that. That too, is another subject.
       I don't mind if you wish to challenge my views on evolution. I
       don't mind because I myself never challenged  Standard Evolution
       Theory (SET) until, as a 40 year old, I went back to college and
       actually STUDIED biology intensively. THEN I realized it was an
       exercise in conjecture, nothing more.
       I did not question SET because of Sunday School or Christian
       beliefs; I questioned it because when I studied Biology 101 and
       102, Botany, Genetics, Zoology, Parasitology and Microbiology I
       discovered THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE for Evolution.
       Scoff all you want. Let's talk natural selection, cell machinery
       and the fossil "record". And while we are at it, let's talk
       about the geological column.
       Did you know that the geological column used to date fossils
       (Carbon 14 and tree rings are USELESS for dating ANYTHING older
       than several thousand years!) has "issues"? No, you didn't.
       It's a construct. It's a pieced together thought exercise. They
       have a bit here and a bit there. There is NO PLACE ON EARTH that
       you can just go from humans to dinosaurs, PERIOD. I can prove
       that. However, I will not even attempt to do so if you scoff at
       that statement. If you do not respect my integrity, there is not
       point, PAL!
       But let us say that I am being too harsh, strident, hysterical
       (and so on) and you do agree to ponder the evidence I present
       objectively.
       Consider these facts:
       1) Modern duck skeletons have been found in exactly the same
       place as Dinosaur skeletons are. What do you suppose that does
       to the current "scientific" BELIEF that birds evolved from
       dinosaurs?
       2) ALL species skeletons (and human artifacts) found in the
       "wrong" strata (BELOW creatures that we supposedly evolved from)
       are NEVER published (but they ARE documented -and I can prove
       that too!). The consensus "scientific" view is that some fissure
       opened from an earthquake and dropped the artifact or the "out
       of place" skeleton into the aged strata. The fact that NO
       EVIDENCE of erosion, rock banding or any other well studied
       geological process having occurred to SAVE a good evolution
       story can be found is "irrelevant".
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/290.gif
       They'll figure it out
       someday, they claim.   ::)
       3) Transitional fossils proving the ORIGIN of new species
       (speciation through evolution) )are not in the fossil record.
       The claim that human (and other) species like cartilaginous fish
       are not preserved n the fossil record because they are fragile
       flies in the face of "1)" above (to put mildly!).
       4) Rock dating techniques for multi-million year fossil dating
       (those fossils CANNOT BE DATED so the rock they are in is what
       is dated) produce multi-million year ages from lava samples
       produced by the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. PLEASE don't
       call bull**** on this. I have SEVERAL articles full of hemming
       and hawing by the scientific community trying to dance around
       that, but still admitting that "erroneous dates" ;D  can be
       produced (as in the CONSISTENT case of new lava rocks - see
       Hawaii lava rocks in the ocean formed within the last 100
       years).
       5) Rock dating ALWAYS produces SEVERAL different dates that vary
       by millions of years. Now you would expect that the published
       dates would be an average or a mean.
  HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2932.gif
       
       But no, this is what they do, JRM. This is SOP (standard
       operating procedure) in rock dating. Research is done in the
       scientific literature of other fossils in this type of rock
       strata (see CONSENSUS VIEW and how to avoid ruining a
       "scientific" career
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/34y5mvr.gif).
       Then, the date is
       chosen from the rock dating data that is AT LEAST as old as that
       stated in the literature.
  HTML http://www.coh2.org/images/Smileys/huhsign.gif
       But that's not
       the BEST PART. LOL! ANY date OLDER than the literature instantly
       becomes the "new" age!
       That new date then goes into the "scientific" literature for
       future rinse and repeats. The other SCIENTIFICALLY DETERMNIED
       DATES ARE DISCARDED despite the fact that no instrument error or
       contamination is documented as the cause. The other dates ARE
       NOT put in the record of observation, as SHOULD be done when
       REAL SCIENCE is being done! Hypothesis, Observation, evidence
       and reproducibility DO NOT APPLY.
       BIAS for longer and longer dates DOES, WHY? Because EVOLUTION
       REQUIRES millions of years.
       [b]How can so many scientists be wrong?[/b]
       [quote]
       Michael Crichton on consensus science
       Editor: This is a good response to someone who says, “But all
       those scientists can’t be wrong!” Crichton was referring to
       science in general, not specifically evolution, but what he says
       is apt for evolution. Dr Crichton had a career in science and
       medicine before he became a famous writer. He wrote some
       well-known science fiction novels such as The Andromeda Strain
       and Jurassic Park, and the long-running TV medical drama ER.
       “I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus,
       and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard
       consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that
       ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim
       of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a
       way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already
       settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on
       something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being
       had.
       “Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do
       with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science,
       on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to
       be right, which means that he or she has results that are
       verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus
       is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The
       greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they
       broke with the consensus.
       “There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus,
       it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.”
       [Crichton gave a number of examples where the scientific
       consensus was completely wrong for many years.][/quote]
       That's we are supposed to believe goes on in the study of
       fossils. But exactly what he states as NOT SCIENCE is what is
       taking place. That's why I am so incensed about it.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/swear1.gif
       And now "millions of years" is NOT ENOUGH for Evolution!  A 14
       billion year old universe CANNOT, according to the REAL science
       of probability and statistics, get the simplest life form (that
       requires a minimum of 250 complex proteins ordered in a specific
       way and ALL AT ONCE) to occur randomly.
       This "evolution" rabbit hole is DEEP, pal.
       Natural Selection has been PROVEN, by modern molecular biology
       research, to whittle away DNA, not add new information in order
       to INCREASE complexity and promote the ORIGIN of a species from
       a more simple one (i.e. evolution).
       Natural selection explains the SURVIVAL of the Fittest, quite
       well. But it DOES NOT explain the ARRIVAL of the fittest AT ALL.
       NON-RANDOM events produced Sentience as well as COMPLEX
       biological life forms. SET FAILS to explain either (see:
       [I][font=times new roman]Chaplin in the Lion cage [/font][/I]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/climate-change/pollution/msg2557/#msg2557).
       #Post#: 2561--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 17, 2015, 3:43 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       RE,
       Your assumption that human life BEGAN MILLIONS of YEARS AGO
       lacks even a shred of scientific evidence. How can you so
       blithely come out with such assumptions?   ???  Spare me the
       "any moron knows we evolved to be humans millions of years ago"
       consensus scientific world view. I'm painfully aware of it. It's
       not science (evidence) based. It's half baked conjecture. Try
       arguing the merits instead of pulling the "everybody knows"
       business on me, godfader.
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183312.bmp
       Darwin is on MY SIDE of this anti-evolution argument!
  HTML http://www.coh2.org/images/Smileys/huhsign.gif
       
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gif
       [move]If Darwin was alive today, he would be arguing AGAINST
       the validity of the Theory of Evolution!  :o[/move]
       [img width=640
       height=480]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-131013011359.png[/img]
       2 minute video on the probability of single celled life occuring
       randomly
  HTML http://viewrz.com/video/single-celled-life-probability
  HTML http://viewrz.com/video/single-celled-life-probability
       4 minute video on cell complexity
  HTML http://viewrz.com/video/cell-complexity
  HTML http://viewrz.com/video/cell-complexity
       For ANYBODY here that thinks SET (Standard Evolutionary Theory)
       does NOT need to be SEVERELY revised, to put it mildly, here's a
       brief review of the scientific method as summarized CORRECTLY by
       Eddie, a scientist in his own right:
       [quote]Observation, hypothesis, proof.
       All else is bullshitting around the campfire.[/quote]
       THAT is how it works. After the EVIDENCE (proof) is INSUFFICIENT
       to confirm the original hypothesis, or CONTRADICTS the original
       hypothesis, THEN a scientist MUST revise or DISCARD the
       hypothesis!
       If you insist on clinging to a good story sans evidence, you are
       not doing science, you are doing consensus groupthink. Have a
       nice day.
       #Post#: 2590--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Darwin
       By: AGelbert Date: January 23, 2015, 8:53 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The boy who’s proud to be a killer
       Will Cornick murders teacher in front of classmates in Leeds,
       England
       by Warren Nunn
       Published: 22 January 2015
       The horrendous stabbing murder1 of an English high school
       teacher and the comments the perpetrator made afterwards are a
       potent reminder of the possible effects of evolutionary thinking
       on impressionable minds.
       Some of the sickening comments the teenage student made after
       the killing included:
       “I wasn’t in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still
       do.
       “I know it’s uncivilised but I know it’s incredibly instinctual
       and human. Past generations of life, killing is a route of
       survival.
       “It’s kill or be killed. I did not have a choice. It was kill
       her or suicide.
       “I know the victim’s family will be upset but I don’t care. In
       my eyes, everything I’ve done is fine and dandy.”1
       He had previously said of the teacher on Facebook that “she
       deserves more than death, more than pain and more than anything
       that we can understand”.1
       Full article here:
  HTML http://creation.com/will-cornick-murders-teacher
       [img width=640
       height=460]
  HTML http://dl0.creation.com/articles/p098/c09872/9872-how-to-3.jpg[/img]
       *****************************************************
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