Picture of the Month

6 Problems With an Old Universe

1. Less than 300 supernova fragments have been found.  At the rate that stars explode, there would be much more if the universe was billions of years old.

2. The moon gets farther from us a few inches every year.  This is no problem for a young earth, but for those who believe in an earth about 4.5 billion years old, this creates a problem; because only 1.2 billion years ago the moon would have been almost touching the earth!

3. Because comets loose material over time, the longest they can last is about 10,000 years.  If the universe is billions of years old, why do we still have comets?*


4. Earth's magnetic field is slowly decreasing.  According to the rate it is decreasing, the oldest it can be is 25,000 years. 


5. The oil under the ground is under pressure, and it could only be under that pressure for about 10,000 years before it would shoot out of the ground!


6. The speed of the earth's spin is also gradually decreasing.  In fact, a "leap second" has to be added to the calendar every year, to every other year.  Obviously, at one time the earth was spinning faster.  This is no problem for an earth about 6,000 years old, but it is a big problem for an earth billions of years old!




Source:  Dr. Kent Hovind, "The Age of the Earth", Creation Science Evangelism, 2007, Tennessee.

*Note:  To counter this argument, evolutionists have come up with the theory that comets are being constantly created in some sort of comet cloud, way out in space.  However, until they actually find this amazing cloud, the question remains unanswered. 

America's Crash: The Prediction of the Great Gatsby

Warning: For those who have not read The Great Gatsby, this post contains nasty spoilers!!

During the 1920s, the United States was experiencing a high of thrills, prosperity, and immorality. With the “war to end all wars” behind them, and wealth and material pleasures plenty for the taking, Americans lived in an artificial bubble of happiness and comfort. Wasteful spending, illegal alcoholism, and partying became the common pastimes of many people. In the middle of these “Roaring Twenties”, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a novel, The Great Gatsby, which created an accurate portrayal of the lifestyles prevalent in his day. He also revealed that behind all the fun, Americans were experiencing inward loneliness and emptiness; and he warned the country what could happen if their wasteful lifestyles continued. His prediction bore an eerie similarity to what actually happened four years later. 

 

The first time loneliness is revealed is in the namesake of the book, Jay Gatsby; a character well-known in his community of West Egg, New York for hosting huge routine parties. Yet despite the frequent presence of guests at his house, rarely do any of the guests come to see him personally. Many are not even invited, and most of them come just as a thing to do, a place to go; not because of any real connection to Gatsby. When the teller of the story, Nick, is at one of Gatsby's parties, he notices Gatsby “standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes” (Fitzgerald 56). Fitzgerald's usage of the word “alone” emphasizes Gatsby's reserved nature. The fact that he stands all by himself, merely observing his party instead of participating in it, indicates how much he is apart from the crowd. 

As Nick leaves the party, and after most of the guests are gone, he looks back at Gatsby. “A sudden emptiness seemed to flow now from the windows and the great doors, endowing with complete isolation the figure of the host, who stood on the porch, his hand up in a formal gesture of farewell” (Fitzgerald 62). By applying the words “emptiness” and “isolation”, Fitzgerald reminds us yet again that Gatsby is distant from his own parties. Although Gatsby is wealthy and continually having company, it appears that he feels isolated, lonely, and empty. 

Gatsby's loneliness is pronounced the most after his death, at the end of chapter nine. The man who hosted parties with countless guests has a funeral with less than ten people. Even some of his alleged closest friends seem to abandon him. None of them show up except for Nick. 

Nick himself experiences loneliness as he walks through the busy, fast-paced streets of New York City: “At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others” (Fitzgerald 63). The comparison Fitzgerald uses here is interesting: the people of New York City are surrounded by other people, yet they experience “a haunting loneliness” (Fitzgerald 63). The reason they feel this way is because everyone around them, for the most part, are strangers. When Nick hears “laughter from unheard jokes” (Fitzgerald 64) from other people on the street, he “[feels] a sinking in [his] heart” (Fitzgerald 63) because he knows he cannot join in with the joy being shared by these strangers. These quotes show how even people in a big, crowded city can feel lonely: because the presence of so many strangers is intimidating, and only strengthens any preexisting feelings of isolation. 

In addition to uncovering society's loneliness and emptiness, Fitzgerald gives a grave warning of what could be ahead. It is foreshadowed in chapter three when at the end of Gatsby's party, a drunk driver trying to leave crashes in a ditch. Just as this crash followed the indiscriminate wealth and immorality of Gatsby's party, a series of successive crashes follow the excessive and immoral lifestyles of each major character. Some crashes are literal, and other are figurative; but each leave the characters changed. 

The first crash comes for Tom, the husband of Nick's cousin Daisy, who is having an affair with another married woman. At the same time, Gatsby is pursuing a romantic relationship with Daisy, who he had once fallen in love with. Despite the fact that Daisy is married, Gatsby still desires her. In fact, the entire purpose of his huge parties is to get her attention. When the immoral ambitions of these two men bump heads, it causes heated conflict between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby. There is a temporary crash of Tom and Daisy's relationship.

The second crash is a literal one: while Daisy and Gatsby are in a car together, a woman runs out into the street, and is hit and killed by their car. Later, they discover it had been the woman Tom was having an affair with. She had thought it was Tom in the car and was coming to tell him something. The woman's husband, informed by an angry Tom that Gatsby was responsible for the death, sneaks to Gatsby's house and murders him. He then commits suicide. Gatsby's terrible decisions literally led to the death of three people, including himself. 

Nick also has a minor crash of his own. After getting caught in the middle of the messy situation with Tom, Daisy and Gatsby, and actually aiding Tom and Gatsby's sins instead of trying to stop them, he looses some of his reputation. Jordan, a woman he is half in love with, ends her relationship with him because she is convinced that he is no longer honest or trustworthy.

Four years after The Great Gatsby was published, the Stock Market crashed. America's decade of excessive spending and wastefulness brought the exact consequences that Fitzgerald had predicted. The “Jazz Age” had ended; the Great Depression began. The American people would have benefited from heeding Fitzgerald's warning, but they would have benefited even more if they heeded the Bible's warning: “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” (Proverbs 11:4). If more people in America had turned their lives to God, they would have found true contentment and happiness, and they would never feel alone again: “For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' ” (Hebrews 13:5). 

In The Great Gatsby, lifestyles of materialism, extravagance, and immorality were coupled with loneliness and emptiness, and eventually led to a variety of devastating crashes. Just as in this novel, the way Americans lived in the 1920s was unsustainable, and it caused a literal economic crash that would leave them shaken until World War II. Today, there are lessons that can be learned from the events after the Roaring Twenties: indiscriminate wealth will never lead to prosperity; no peace is eternal unless it comes from God; and only when people turn their lives to God will they find real meaning and fulfillment that lasts forever.

FDR's Progressivism: A Warning for Today

On Easter Sunday last month, I went to Washington D.C. with my family to see the cherry blossoms. While we were walking around, we found a new area dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt. It had a bunch of his quotes on the walls. Read this one, for an example:

FDR was a progressive, and it's easy to pick up his progressive-speech in these quotes. Scroll down to see what I mean... (Here's the quote again, with key words boxed in.)

Progressives often use the phrase "social justice" (see the red box), and when you hear them use that phrase, watch out. The true meaning of "social justice" is something very good; it's when you, your church, or any individual or private organization does something good in the community... e.g. helping the poor, giving people money, providing children's educations, etc.

When progressives say "social justice", they mean something very bad: it is when the government forcibly causes people to do these things, A.K.A. takes huge sums of your money to spread around as they see fit, A.K.A.: redistribution of wealth, A.K.A. socialism.

In order to appease to a moral society, progressives dress up "social justice" (their code word for a form of "socialism") to sound like a moral thing: using words like faith, hope, and love (see the blue boxes). There are progressives in our government today who would love to see our country become socialist. So, watch out! Listen to their words and don't let their code talk fool you... if they ever talk about "social justice", "economic justice", or any other kind of "justice", they're really talking about socialism.

Here's another quote from FDR: (Click on the image if you want to make it bigger.)

Again, FDR uses the word "MORAL" to appease to a morally concerned people. When politicians say their policies are matters of "morality", it should be a red flag. They could be progressives trying to convince you, a moral person, to buy into their socialist ideas.

Before believing any politician's claims about morality, we should pause and compare what they're saying to the Bible. Does it really match what the Scriptures teach us? Does God ever support the idea of a government that forcibly spreads wealth around? God does say we should give our money to the poor - willingly - but He never says that a government should take our money and give it to someone else. That doesn't sound like charity... that sounds like theft. (Don't the Ten Commandments say something about theft?)

More of the same... "MORAL" and "SPIRITUAL"... beware of those words coming from politicians! Double-check to make sure they're not speaking "progressive-ese"!

Now, read the following quote carefully... can you detect any "progressive-ese"? 
 

Here's my altered version of the photo.

I thought the most interesting thing here was the phrase "any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization". Those are strong words! Any hatred against other people is unbiblical, but hatred against evil (AKA hatred of the sin, not the sinner) is completely supported by scripture. (Proverbs 24:24, Isaiah 5:20; there are also passages that say God hates sin.)

According to FDR, if someone were to hate evil (keep in mind - not hating the person who commits evil!), they would be "attacking" the civilization of America! And I'm sure any amount of righteous anger someone might have could be easily labeled by FDR (and other progressives) as hate... even if that's not what is truly in their heart.

Now it's your turn to translate "progressive-ese". Take a look at the phrases "civil rights" and "civil liberties" in the picture above. Why do you think FDR used those phrases in that context, and what do you think he meant by them? Please comment your answers below!

In conclusion, remember to keep an eye out for progressive speech by today's politicians... don't be fooled when they speak their socialist language!

Picture of the Month

Did Dragons Really Exist? Part 3

In the last two posts, we covered the historical evidence that dragons lived beside humans, and the historical and archeological evidence that dinosaurs did as well. Now, three main questions remain: is there archeological evidence for dragons? What do dinosaurs have to do with dragons? And, most importantly, what does it all mean for Christians... and for Evolutionists? Well, I propose a theory, which is accepted by many leading Creationists, that answers all of these questions: Dinosaurs and dragons were one the same. Here is the evidence that supports it. The word “dinosaur” (“terrible lizard”) didn't even exist until a couple centuries ago. It was coined in 1841 by a famous British scientist – and Creationist – named Dr. Richard Owen, around the time dinosaur fossils were first being dug up and recognized as a completely new group of reptiles (Ham www.answersingenesis.org). Before then, all throughout history, any creature relatively similar to a dinosaur was called a “dragon”. In fact, if the word “dragon” in many ancient documents and stories was replaced with “dinosaur”, it would work quite nicely.

(Cartoon from www.answersingenesis.org)

For an example, returning to the essay by John of Damascus, he described dragons as having a goat-like beard and a horn at the back of their head. Some fossils of dinosaurs have horns on the head and spikes on the back and/or tail, just like many depictions of dragons. We cannot know for sure if dinosaurs had a “beard” (similar to the bearded dragon lizard) because soft tissue generally isn't fossilized; however, some dinosaurs may have had such a “beard” (Alferov www.answersingenesis.org). There are numerous dinosaur fossils that resemble dragons. The fossil dracorex hogwartsia, uncovered in North America, surprised scientists because of how similar its features were to the dragons of ancient China and Medieval Europe. It had a long muzzle and spiky horns, just like a dragon (Thomas www.icr.org).

Skull of the dracorex hogwartsia

(Picture from www.icr.org)

There is another type of dinosaur called the baryonyx walkeri (“heavy claw”), which also looks a lot like a dragon. It was discovered in 1983 in Sussex, England by William Walker, and can be found today at the Natural History Museum in London (Ham 35). It has an interesting skull shaped a lot like a modern crocodile. It is easy to see how this dinosaur could have inspired the English dragon stories such as Saint George and the Dragon, as over the years the dinosaur's features were exaggerated and fancified until it became the classic dragon.

Artist's conception of the baryonyx walkeri

Another artist's conception from National Geographic

Skeleton in the Natural History Museum, London

John Calvin wrote a commentary on Genesis, and in the original translation of his commentary from Latin to English, some of the artwork included animals from creation: birds, pigs... and two dragons. Although the artwork was finished in 1578, about three centuries before the word “dinosaur” existed, these dragons had remarkable resemblance to dinosaurs. This confirms yet again that dragons and dinosaurs were the same, and that they lived at the same time as humans; maybe as recent as a few centuries ago (Hodge www.answersingenesis.org). Throughout dragon “mythology”, there are generally three types of dragons: land dragons, flying dragons, and sea dragons. Even the Bible gives reference to all of these types (see Jeremiah 14:6, Isaiah 30:6, and Psalm 74:13). This is easily explained with the fossil record. There were many types of land-dwelling dinosaurs that could have inspired dragon myths (e.g. dracorex hogwartsia, baryonyx walkeri, and even tyrannosaurus rex). Also, the flying dragon myths could have based off of the Pterodactyl, a type of flying dinosaur. As for sea dragons, there were many types of huge, sea-dwelling reptiles that could have easily inspired such myths; all of which are extinct now, but exist in the fossil record. A few include the terrible Kronosaurus, which grew up to thirty-three feet long and weighed eight to ten tons; the huge Styxosaurus, with a neck as long as twenty feet; and the fierce Mosasaurus, which could be fifty feet long (Wieland 14, 34, 6).

The Kronosaurus

The Styxosaurus

The Mosasaurus

The Kronosaurus and Styxosaurus are both very likely candidates of the Leviathan from Job 41. In fact, it may have been a sea monster in the Styxosaurus's family that was responsible for the Loch Ness monster sightings (Wieland 35). If the Loch Ness sightings are grounded in truth, than they could be evidence of a still-living “dragon” that did not become extinct after all. Only one thing remains: fire breathing. Most dragons were known to have breathed fire. Well, it is possible that some dinosaurs had this ability as well. There have been dinosaur fossils that were excavated with a strange bump on the top of the head, containing an internal cavity. No one knows for sure what the cavity is for; but it could have been used to mix gases that would ignite when breathed into the oxygen-filled air (www.bibleinsong.com). From all these facts, it is clear that dragons and dinosaurs were the same, and that they lived alongside humans. Stories of dragons are recorded throughout the world in myths, legends, and historical records; and there is evidence that dinosaurs lived beside people in ancient art, stories, and even archeology. By comparing the depictions of dragons with dinosaur fossils, one can see that the similarities are striking. Now, why is this important to Christians, you may wonder? According to many leading evolutionists, if it was proven that dinosaurs and humans coexisted, than the whole theory of Evolution would fall apart. Richard Dawkins spoke about “alleged” human bones found in the Carboniferous coal deposits, that if they were to “authenticated as human, these bones would blow the theory of evolution out of the water” (www.bible.ca). Another leading evolutionist, Louis Jacobs said, “Such an association [co-occurrence of men and dinosaurs] would dispel an Earth with vast antiquity. The entire history of creation, including the first day of rest, could be accommodated in the seven biblical days of the Genesis myth. Evolution would be vanquished” (ibid). On a NOVA TV Special, “Darwin and the Dinosaurs”, it was said that “finding them [dinosaur footprints, side by side with humans] would counter evidence that humans evolved long after the dinosaurs became extinct and back up... [the] claim that all species, including man, were created at one time” (ibid).  If it can be proven that dinosaurs lived at the same time as humans, than by the very words spoken by evolutionists, the theory of evolution will be completely overturned. And if Evolution is wrong, than Creationism is right; and there is a Creator that deserves our worship.

Bibliography

“Evolutionary Theory Obliterated!” The Interactive Bible. http://www.bible.ca/tracks/dino- human-coexistence-implications.htm (accessed 6 March 2010)

“Dragons; Evidence of Recent Dinosaurs.” Northwest Creation Network. http://www.nwcreation.net/dinosdragons.html (accessed 2 February 2010)

Ham, Ken. “The Bible Explains Dinosaurs: The Real History of Dinosaurs.” Answers in Genesis. Lynchburg, VA. 2002.

Ham, Ken. “Dinosaurs and the Bible.” Answers in Genesis. 5 November 1999. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1999/11/05/dinosaurs-and-the-bible (accessed 2 February 2010)

Ham, Ken. The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved! Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., 1998

Hodge, Bodie. “Calvin's Dragons!” Answers in Genesis. 1 July 2008. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/07/01/calvins-dragons (accessed 30 Jan. 2010)

The Holy Bible, NKJV

“Job 41: Was Leviathan a crocodile, whale or dinosaur?” Bible in Song. 2006. http://www.bibleinsong.com/Song_Pages/Job/Job41/Job41.htm (accessed 11 February 2010)

Thomas, Brian, M.S. “Is There Some Truth to Dragon Myths?” Institute For Creation Research. 2 July 2009. http://www.icr.org/article/there-some-truth-dragon-myths/ (accessed 2 February 2010)

Weiland, Carl. Dragons of the Deep. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., 2005

Did Dragons Really Exist? Part 2

In Part 1, we explored lots of evidence that dragons existed. Now it's time to go slightly off-topic: we're going to look at the evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and people. You may be wondering: what do dinosaurs and people have to do with dragons? Well, keep reading, because you'll find out soon!

There is too much evidence that dinosaurs lived beside humans for this article to cover all of it; so it will only cover some. All over the world, there have been paintings, carvings, stories, and fossils that suggest the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans. For an example, natives in some countries have described creatures that sound like dinosaurs (Ham www.answersingenesis.org). Also, there have been carvings done by Native Americans that resemble the Bracciosaurus and Pterodactyl. Interestingly, Pterodactyl fossils have been found in the same area of the carvings (Ham 2002). Here are some more amazing facts:

* In the 1920s, archaeologist Dr. Samuel Hubbard found Native American pictures in the Grand Canyon. Along with detailed drawings of cattle, sheep, oxen, and buffalo, there were drawings of dinosaurs; just as realistic as the rest (www.bibleinsong.com)!

* About a decade later, an amazing discovery was made in the Paluxy Riverbed near Glen Rose, Texas: dinosaur tracks along with what appeared to be human footprints. When it was reported in the May 1939 issue of National History, it caused a heat of controversy. Recently, a computer programmer from Ohio named Glen Kuban found chemical discolorations on some of the human-like footprints, and people soon claimed that the prints weren't human at all. They said they were merely parts of the dinosaur tracks that had been distorted by mud-fill. Some people, however, have suspected that the footprints were altered by scientists to make them look less “human” (www.bibleinsong.com).

* In 1970, newspapers reported a fascinating find: cave paintings in Zimbabwe done by Bushmen that showed accurate pictures of an elephant, giraffe, and a Brontosaurus! Scientists have been greatly confused, because Bushmen were known to paint from real life (www.bibleinsong.com).

* In Utah, a picture was found drawn by Anasazi Indians who had lived there from approximately 150 BC to 1200 AD. Even evolutionists agree that it looks like a dinosaur, and that the age given to it is correct. One evolutionist wrote, “There is a petroglyph in Natural Bridges National Monument that bears a startling resemblance to a dinosaur, specifically a Brontosaurus, with a long tail and neck, small head and all” (www.genesispark.org). The fact that even an evolutionist admitted the picture's resemblance to a dinosaur only confirms that it could not be anything else.

Picture by Anasazi Indians

(To see more examples of dinosaurs depicted in ancient art, click here: http://www.genesispark.org/genpark/ancient/ancient.htm)

Another source of evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans is in the Bible. Job 40:15-24 describes another “mysterious” creature called the “Behemoth”. Just as with the Leviathan, there has been a lot of controversy over what type of creature the Behemoth is. Many people claim that it is a hippopotamus or an elephant. However, it isn't hard to see that it more closely resembles a Brachiosaurus.

The Behemoth had powerful hips and muscles (Job 40:16), and had bones like bronze and ribs like iron (verse 18). These descriptions certainly fit an elephant more than a hippopotamus, but they fit a Brachiosaurus more than anything. At seventy-five feet long, forty-one feet high and weighing eighty-nine tons, the Brachiosaurus weighed twelve times as much as the adult African bull elephant (Ham 70)! If there was any creature that had bones like bronze and ribs like iron, it was the Brachiosaurus. However, the one thing that truly proves the Behemoth was not an elephant or hippopotamus is verse 17, which states that the Behemoth “moves his tail like a cedar [tree]”. The tiny tails of both elephants and hippopotamuses are about as far away from looking like a broad, thick cedar tree as tails can get!

A cedar tree

Do these tails look like cedar trees to you?

If elephants and hippos DID have tails like cedar trees...

(Cartoon from www.answersingenesis.org)

Finally, verse 19 says that the Behemoth is “chief in the ways of God”, which means that it was the biggest animal God created. While the elephant is the largest living land animal in creation, it is still dwarfed by the mighty blue whale of the ocean. The Brachiosaurus, however, is suspected to have been the largest animal of its day.

Brachiosaurus - the real Behemoth

Now that we have peeked at the evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and people, you say: what does all this have to do with dragons? Find out soon... in part 3! (Hahaha, you actually thought you'd find out in this article, didn't you?)

Bibliography

“Ancient Dinosaur Depictions.” Genesis Park. http://www.genesispark.org/genpark/ancient/ancient.htm (accessed 6 March 2010)

Ham, Ken. “The Bible Explains Dinosaurs: The Real History of Dinosaurs.” Answers in Genesis. Lynchburg, VA. 2002.

Ham, Ken. “Dinosaurs and the Bible.” Answers in Genesis. 5 November 1999. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1999/11/05/dinosaurs-and-the-bible(accessed 2 February 2010)

Ham, Ken. The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved! Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., 1998

The Holy Bible, NKJV