The Geological Column part 3

Unchanged Species
Fossils also give evidence that the species of animals alive today have not changed since their ancestors were frozen in time when they were fossilized. For example, ants found in fossilized tree sap, (called amber), are exactly the same as their relatives that are still alive today. So, given this evidence, it would seem like either the fossils were not formed long enough ago for evolution to have changed certain species, or not even a hint of macro evolution occurred in these species for millions of years. Of course, in some cases we do find creatures that are not alive today. This is not often interpreted as evidence for evolution, even by devout evolutionists, because most extinct species are considered mosaic animals. Mosaic means that the animals are too different from each other to show a transition like we would expect from evolution. So, instead of saying that the animals are the ancestors of modern species, they are widely accepted to simply be extinct, isolated species. This is neither evidence for creation, nor evolution, because both would expect species to eventually go extinct. I will grant that a few fossils have been found from animals that can be fitted into an evolutionary lineage. Evolutionists take this as conclusive evidence for their hypothesis. But I would like to use an analogy to explain the faultiness of this mindset.

“The Evolution of Cars”
Let’s say I wanted to prove that cars evolved. To do this I decided to walk out to the local junkyard, and dig around for a few hours. Let’s say I pull out a wagon wheel, and figuring it is as simple an ancestor as I can find, I decide that the wagon wheel is a distant relative of modern cars. Moving along, I find a rubber tire, followed by a horseless carriage, then a model T, a family car, a SUV, and finally a shiny red sports car. I would have made a pretty convincing case to the public if they didn’t know that cars can’t reproduce. The problem is that when I went to the junkyard, I was already convinced that cars evolved. Instead, if I went to the junkyard with an open mind, I might have arrived at the right conclusion; that each vehicle was designed individually, but the same basic designs, (such as the wheel) were used multiple times by the designer because they worked well. In the end, if we knew that macro evolution is a scientific probability, then interpreting the supposed links we see today as evidence for macro evolution would be plausible, just like if cars could reproduce, the hypothesis I mentioned above would be plausible. However, because of the extreme improbability of macro evolution, I think intelligent design is a much more valid way to interpret these “links”.

The Geological Column part 4

Missing Links
Of course the most famous problem evolutionists have encountered in fossils is the extreme lack of links between supposed ancestors, and their modern offspring. Evolution scientists have claimed to find quite a few ape-men that they claimed was conclusive proof for macro evolution. The problem is every one of these supposed links have been proved to be a true man, a true ape, or a hoax. In one case, the supposed missing link was nothing more than a pig tooth! The genealogy of the modern horse is said to be the most complete and impressive set of links that scientists have found to date. In textbooks the four supposed ancestors of the horse are show in a convincing pattern; from smallest to largest. But there is a catch; you see although they transition smoothly from smallest to largest, the rest of their anatomy is not at all a smooth transition. Instead, the number of ribs, for instance, varies from 15 to 19 with no discernible pattern. The number of toes also ranges from three to none in no discernible pattern. It seems like scientists are more concerned with making their research convincing to the gullible public than they are with accuracy and consistency. You know, we do see animals that can be sorted and categorized to look like they evolved. But if macro evolution was true, we should expect millions of fossils showing very gradual change, instead we see large gaps in the evolutionary tree that have no excuse not to be filled.

Punctuated Equilibrium
Scientists have tried to come up with excuses though, because the latest model of macro evolution, (punctuated equilibrium), claims to virtually eliminate the need for transitionary forms. The ironic thing is that this idea is based on a complete lack of evidence. Scientists must believe punctuated equilibrium to be true because it is the only way to preserve their theory. Punctuated equilibrium is the idea that evolution takes place very rapidly, but with long periods of waiting in between. This would allow minimum transitionary species and generations of fully formed species to leave fossils in between. Scientists are still speculating on what could cause such periodic, and rapid change. Sunspots, Radiation, Chemicals, no one knows for sure, but one thing is similar in all cases, they expect hazardous conditions to improve life. They reason that even though the majority of mutations would kill the creatures, a few would survive and come away with beneficial mutations. This is all pure speculation, and is in my mind way harder to believe then creation.

The Geological Column part 5

Preservation
Fossils all around the world and in every rock layer indicate that they were buried by massive amounts of water. For instance; jelly fish have no hard features, this makes them almost impossible to fossilize. The fact that we have found jelly fish in anywhere is a miracle from the evolutionary perspective. If a jelly fish dies on a beach, or floats around lifeless in the ocean, it will decompose in a matter of days! The best way to explain fossilized jelly fish is that they were buried almost instantly in a huge flood. Also, scientists have found soft dinosaur flesh preserved in glaciers this too is a miracle from the evolutionary perspective. How long do you think flesh could be preserved in ice? 10,000 years maybe, but even a million years is a hundred times longer than that! Even the shear number of fossils found all over the world indicates one huge cataclysmic event, not millions of years of geological gradualism. In addition, we have found soft dinosaur flesh, along with mammoths, and even fruit trees in glaciers. This indicates that dinosaurs were alive not too long ago, (as opposed to millions of years ago).

The Geological Column part 6

Timeline Issues
Fossils also interfere with the evolutionary timeline taught in schools. Take for example the coelacanth this fish was previously thought to be extinct since about 70 million years ago. But in 1938 fishermen pulled one in of the coast Madagascar, and since then over 30 specimens have been found. So how did scientists figure out that the coelacanth went extinct 70 million years ago? Well, coelacanth fossils are found in abundance in rock layers supposedly older than 70 million years, but not in the rock layers above. Since we know that coelacanths are still alive, we must assume that coelacanths avoided being fossilized for 70 million years. Considering the multitude of fossils found in lower layers, the odds of this feat are ridiculous. Another timeline issue is that of the genealogy of the horse. Although textbooks make it clear that this genealogy is conclusive evidence for evolution, the fossils of the different horses are not found in the correct order in the geological column. Instead, the supposedly more primitive horse relatives are often found above, or in the same layer as the more “modern” horse. In fact, in some places, the fossils of horse-like animals are found in reverse order.

Man and Dinosaur
Fossils also show man and dinosaur lived at the same time. Footprints of dinosaurs walking in the same mud as man, and even human footprints inside dinosaur footprints have been found preserved in rock. I was recently at a museum in Texas where hundreds of dinosaur footprints have been found preserved in soft stone. Our tour guide was telling us about how the dinosaurs that left these fossils died millions of years before people. When my brother Noah asked about the human footprints found beside dinosaurs in other places, our tour guide responded, “Well, they THINK they have found human footprints, but you can believe whatever you want”. Of course, she never questioned the fact that the fossil footprints at her museum were genuine. The reason she was hesitant to believe the human footprints were real was that it went against macro evolution, not because the footprints were overly suspect. In one case, I know that extensive testing was done on one human footprint, found in the same sedimentary rock as a dinosaur. Scientists tested the density of the rock, and found that the depression was made by pressure identical to what a human foot would do in mud, and could not be achieved by carving tools.

Prepared for Persecution

This is a Problem!
I found this story on the AIG website and thought it was a great example of how Christian's rights are being neglected in schools. This isn't just a freak thing, it happens all the time. In fact, I'm just going to be blunt and say that Christians are persecuted by peers an teachers more often than others. This can't be excused by saying that the teacher was being religiously neutral by being atheist or agnostic, because even the most devout scientist base their lives on faith assumptions. I'm not saying that people of different faith are never persecuted, or that it's always Christians getting picked on. But the persecution of Christians is an especially big problem that needs to be addressed.

Prepared for Persecution
by Kelsey H., Class of 2008
On the first day of my college philosophy class, the students in the class introduced themselves. Along with telling our names, we had to tell where we were from and the most important thing we have learned in our lives. When everyone finished, our professor told us her name and what was important to her. She ended by saying, “If any of you are Christians, don’t plan on being one when this class is done.” My jaw dropped when I heard this; I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into. I reminded myself that this was a class I needed for my major, so I had to stick with it.
Throughout the year, we talked about all the different religions; it seemed like every day Christianity got thrown into the discussion. There was never anything positive that was said about Christianity. My professor said that the Bible is a cute little story but has no real meaning.
. . . At the end of the semester we had a final project. We had to give a ten-minute presentation and write a four-page paper on our presentation, and these two things were worth 50% of our final grade. I decided to write my paper/presentation on the “Seven C’s of History” by Answers in Genesis. The “Seven C’s of History” is a brief history of the Bible and includes Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation.
The big day came and I had spent hours working on my presentation and paper with my dad. I was the first one to present that day and had everyone’s attention the whole time, which was very unusual. Normally kids are texting or doing other homework. When I was done, I thought I had done well, especially since I had everyone’s attention; but little did I know what was in store for me. For the next forty minutes of class, my professor picked apart my presentation and was furious. She yelled at me for saying that on the last day God will judge all the people and there will be a separation between the believers and the unbelievers. She thought those were my words and didn’t understand that that is what the Bible tells us. She also thought that it was too harsh. She went through every “C” and found something about it to pick apart. I wasn’t even able to stand up for myself or for Christianity, because there was no break in her anger.
I found this class period interesting because two weeks before, I stayed after class talking with her and two other students; and she had told us that it was wrong of us to think that Christians get persecuted. Rather, we (Christians) are the ones persecuting others.
After the class, all the students handed me their evaluation forms. When I went through them, I noticed that I received high marks, and all A’s from the class, except two which gave me B’s. I had one girl come up to me after class and tell me that she was sorry for how the class went and that our professor went overboard. I told her it was okay, and thanks. She then asked me, “What do you mean it was okay?” I told her, “I’m a Christian, and I’m going to get persecuted for standing up for what I believe in (Matthew 5:10–12).” She shook her head, and said, “Wow, I can’t believe you found something positive to take out of this last class.” Hearing her say that really showed me that I did do something right, and even though I had many people against me, I know that God was with me and proud of me, and He was the only one I cared about.
When we got our final grades, I received a “No Grade” on my presentation and paper. My professor said that she was too heartbroken to give me a grade, because I obviously didn’t do any of the readings or take anything from this class. I emailed her and told her that just because I don’t believe everything that was taught in this class, doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything. I did, in fact, learn a huge lesson, and that was to stand up for what I believe in, even if I’m the only one.
I don’t think I have ever dug as deeply into my Bible as I did this past semester. I found so many verses telling me that this would happen, and that there is a reward for those who share God’s Word. Some of the verses I read numerous times were, Matthew 5:10–12, Matthew 28:18–20, Mark 13:13, and John 3:16. Although I didn’t learn the lessons my professor wanted me to, I learned an even bigger lesson that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
As I look back on this event, I’m thankful for the Christian home and high school that helped prepare me for this. It is great to have role models to look back on as I face new situations in my life.