Dear Steven,
What would the age of the wine be according to your scientific test? Mind
you, wine connoisseurs and wine tasters do not use scientific methods but
only their taste buds to determine not only what good wine is but that
something that looks like wine is indeed wine. It seems there is no doubt,
from Scripture, that that liquid was wine.
> You might as well ask "Do those who believe in evolution as a scientific
>theory also believe that Christ was resurrected?" (bad phrasing, by the way,
>since it obviously is a "scientific" theory). Of course, for Christians,
>even those who accept the theory of evolution, the answer is yes. We believe
>that God does sometimes interact in miraculous ways with the physical world
>and that Jesus Christ performed miraculous acts while He was on this earth.
It seems that you choose what to consider a miracle and what not to consider
a miracle. How do you know that God is not constantly performing miracles to
sustain the physical universe? How can we, in view of the example of the
vine, be so certain about the age of things we co-exist with?
> When looking at the measurable, observable world, however, we see clear
>evidence that life changed through time in a manner consistent with
>evolutionary theory and we do not see convincing evidence that life
>originated in a manner outlined in the creation story of Genesis 1-2.
That is your assumption. It is all inferences and suppositions. There is no
convincing (scientific) evidence after the fact that the wine was the result
of a miracle. How can you be so sure that what you observe now is not
analogous to the testing of the wine by scientific means in order to
establish its age.
> Asking someone like me to accept YEC views is asking me to be dishonest.
>Forgive me for turning to this topic, I am a geologist after all, but
>demanding that I believe that the earth is only 6,000 or so years old is
>telling me to deny evidence in front of my eyes when I'm out in the field
>looking at real rocks. That would be a lie and I can't in good conscience
>do that. Believe me, as a Christian I would wholeheartedly embrace YEC
>views if my fieldwork in geology supported that view. It would make my
>life much easier :).
I am not asking anyone to accept anything. I am just trying to raise issues
that expose our assumptions. That is all. Perhaps it is a question of
humility and faith that is an unknown stumbling block.
> That's why I think most (I know there are some exceptions but they're few
>and far between) YEC supporters have had no scientific training. Because
>it's easier for them to believe YEC when they are ignorant of the evidence.
>That's also why virtually all YEC supporters are conservative Christians -
>they believe in YEC because it supports their interpretation of Scripture.
>I simply don't believe anyone was led to YEC by looking at rocks.
>
>- Steve.
I am not a YEC but have a multitude of doubts. I just want people to be
consistent and be directly confronted with their implicit or explicit
assumptions.
Take care,
Moorad
> Steven H. Schimmrich Assistant Professor of Geology
>
> Physical Sciences Department schimmri@kutztown.edu (office)
> Kutztown University schimmrich@earthlink.net (home)
> 217 Grim Science Building 610-683-4437, 610-683-1352 (fax)
> Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530 http://home.earthlink.net/~schimmrich/
>
>