Ken Ham, CEO of Answers in Genesis, often uses poodles to illustrate his "speciation kinds" concept, rooted in his biblical creationist worldview. He recently referred to domestic dogs as "degenerate mutants," attributing their diversity to post-creation mutations. Ham ties these discussions to theological implications, emphasizing the loss of original genetic information.
How many animals did Noah preserve on the Ark? I often see critics of young-earth creationists (YECs) challenge Noah’s Ark with the question, how could Noah have fit all two million species on the ark?  When I see this challenge posed on Facebook or Twitter it is invariably coming from an individual that knows very... Continue Reading →
In my introduction to the origin of horses I suggested that a horse is a horse of course, unless of course it isn’t a horse. But that begs the question, how do we know what the boundaries are of what constitutes a horse? Although I suggested that young-earth creationists (YECs) have diverse views of what... Continue Reading →
I have said before that reading young-earth literature or attending one of their seminars can be a confusing experience. Â Many times they present internally inconsistent arguments seemingly unaware of how one thing they say contradicts something another creationist has said or even what they have said themselves. Â For example, on the November 29th edition of... Continue Reading →
The diversity of birds on earth is remarkable. There are more than twice as many bird species alive today as there are mammal species.  A challenge for literal-day creationists is explaining how such diversity was either preserved during a global catastrophe not more than 4500 years ago or was formed after that event. Did Noah’s Ark hold... Continue Reading →
The ministry of Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis exists, in part, to provide Christians with responses to what they believe are anti-biblical beliefs about the age of the earth and the origin of biological diversity. To provide these answers, AiG has assembled a small group of geologists and biologists. These employees provide answers to questions that... Continue Reading →
What do giraffes, cows, sheep, antelope, pronghorn and deer have in common?  Foremost, they all share a specialized digestive system that includes a four-chambered stomach that allows them to obtain nutrients and energy from vegetation that is inaccessible to most mammals. This ability and other shared morphological traits are used by scientists to classify all... Continue Reading →
As the strict young-earth creationists at Answers in Genesis work to complete their Ark Encounter "theme park," they have expended an impressive amount of energy organizing the millions of species of land animals alive today into a handful of small groups they call "baramins." Creationists insist that while adaptation or speciation within a particular "baramin" is observable (and, indeed, necessary in order to account for the present observed diversity of life), there is never any overlap between separate kinds. Unfortunately for the young-earth model, the push to minimize the number of animals riding on the Ark has exposed a major problem with this view.
Have you even wondered what students at a public university are taught in a general education biology class about the diversity of life?  I can't promise that what I am going to share is typical but it is what over 100 students heard yesterday in my class. Below I share a link to a recording (voice/PPT... Continue Reading →
Can cancer become an infectious disease? Usually with think of cancer as limited to the individual in whom the cancer formed. But what if cancerous cells could infect other individuals. Here is a link to a story on the sad case of what happens when cancer "learns" to infect more than one individual: BBC News... Continue Reading →
There is a very recent form of fossil hunting that I have gotten to partake in to some small extent, and I can do it while sitting in front of a computer screen! With some computer skills and some knowledge of animal genomes it isn't difficult to join this hunt for fossils inside the genome of living organisms.
There are about 10,000 species of birds alive today. Almost 200 additional species have gone extinct since the year 1500 and there are innumerable fossil species of birds in the geological column. One of the persistent challenges for modern young earth creationists is how to fit the diversity of life on the Noah’s ark.  Answers... Continue Reading →
Can cancer become an infectious disease? Usually with think of cancer as limited to the individual in whom the cancer formed. But what if cancerous cells could infect other individuals. Here is a link to a story on the sad case of what happens when cancer "learns" to infect more than one individual: BBC News... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 