Thousands of bone fragments have now been reported from chambers deep in the same cave system in South Africa. They belong to what has been described as a new hominid species;Â Homo naledi. When the first set of bones and the context in which they were recovered were revealed, young-earth creationists (YECs) scrambled to set the... Continue Reading →
The documentary-style film, Is Genesis History, (IGH) lays out clearly and concisely the implications of a literal-six-day and global flood interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis.  While providing only a bare-bones defense of the biblical case for a literal-day interpretation, the film uses most of the screen time to explore how young earth and global... Continue Reading →
A central tenet of young earth creationism is the belief that the entire world before Adam’s transgression experienced no animal death.  What would such a world have looked like? Examining YEC depictions of Eden you would think that the animals looked like those alive today except that all extinct things, eg. dinosaurs, were also alive... Continue Reading →
So how long can DNA or even cells survive in the environment once an organism dies?  This has been a topic of considerable debate in the scientific literature since the advent of high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques.  This growing field of scientific inquiry is fascinating to me and promises to shed new light on old questions.  I have... Continue Reading →
News is starting to leak out about what appears to be the imminent announcement of new discoveries and analyses of the perplexing bones found deep in a cave in South Africa. In addition to providing a much younger date for the fossils than expected and the revelation that there is a second chamber with additional specimens,... Continue Reading →
Billions of footprints are preserved in the rock record. While bones get all the attention, fossil footprints likely outnumber bones. How can we make sense of this observation?  Surely, preserving a bone must be far more likely than preserving a footprint? I have written about how paleontologists use information from footprints and bones to reconstruct... Continue Reading →
Dinosaur tracks and eggshells are abundant findings within the geological column, capturing the attention of numerous dedicated paleontologists. Their relentless pursuit involves uncovering, studying, and interpreting these remnants of long-extinct creatures. However, is all this painstaking effort merely an illusion when considering the young-earth perspective? Could the majority of paleontological work be seen as fabricating... Continue Reading →
Nine hundred feet below a Mexican desert hundreds of giant white crystals, some more than 90 feet long and 13 feet wide, fill a hot (137 F) and humid cavern.  Pictures of people exploring this crystal palace look as if Rick Moranis had shrunk them down to the size of an ant and then put them into... Continue Reading →
Three years ago Ken Ham very publicly promoted what he believes is a biblical model of biological evolution to explain the diversity of life on Earth.  However, I have a book before me that provides compelling evidence that his model of evolution is wrong. That book is the Bible. For those that follow young earth creation literature nothing... Continue Reading →
Answers and Genesis finds itself at the epicenter of an evangelical surge, but despite calls by Ken Ham for a modern reformation - including a return to taking the authority of the Bible seriously - it is possible that the calls for reformation are not to a serious exegesis of God’s Word but rather to a trite and superficial saccharine form of evangelicalism. It is a movement that claims to be true to God’s word while suffering the very problems that Luther and the other reformers were so worried about. Acknowledging biblical authority without understanding that authority will not result in true reformation. To make followers of Christ, the foundation must not be only a respect for Biblical authority but a right understanding of His Word.
Ken Ham would have us believe that the modern reincarnation of the young-earth creationist movement, which he claims began only 55 years ago, is the real deal this time.  Unlike previous attempts over the past 300 years to create a history of the Earth with a recent global flood as a centerpiece, this time his para-church apologetics... Continue Reading →
Every month seems to bring a report of a new fossil from the Jurassic or Cretaceous period rocks that show evidence of feathers. This deluge of new fossil finds will not end because there are as many fossils under preparation for publication as have already been published.  Just considering the fossils already revealed to the public... Continue Reading →
For many pastors and their congregations, questions about the intersection of science and faith are difficult because of their unfamiliarity with the scientific evidence and the extensive theological literature on Genesis. Hence, they turn to experts to provide answers. Â Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis (AiG) seem to provide the answers many Christians wish to... Continue Reading →
What happens when a speaker gives a talk about dinosaurs but doesn't have any training in geology or paleontology? You could get a string of distortions of both of these fields of inquiry and even problems keeping facts straight.  A few weeks ago I witnessed just such a talk when I attended an Answers in Genesis... Continue Reading →
The difference between what young earth creationists like to term "operational" or "observational" science and historical science doesn't have the sharp distinction they like to project to their audience.  I was reminded of this recently when I had an opportunity to hear Tommy Mitchell speak at a local Answers in Genesis conference a few weeks ago.  One particular talk was... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 