Hi,
I watched the majority of the show on Friday and at times it was
Creationist and at times it was something else. The show was premised on
the idea that when science encounters information that doesn't fit its
current theory (in this case the Theory of Evolution), it tends to ignore
the evidence and banish the scientist who doesn't back off his/her claim.
It seemed to me that the main thesis of Origins was that man might
be more than 100,000 years old. They began with a woman geologist who is
the sixties discovered a site in the U.S. that contained human artifacts.
After several dating methods (including radiometric) the site was determined
to be 250,000 years old. She was shunned from the scientific community and
not allowed to return to her site.
They also discussed the human(?) and dinosaur footprints that are in
Texas. They discussed how one man removed hardened layers of the river bank
and discovered them side by side. They even had one that appeared to be
perfect. It had all the toes and the arch. They sliced it by the toes and
showed how the stress marks indicated that this was indeed real and not
carved. This was to show man living with the dinosaurs.
Another doctor had a fossilized finger that upon imaging (I think
CT), showed what would appear to be bone, joints, and a tiny tendon. I
don't remember what the age of that was supposed to be!
Of course they brought up the famous Java Man mistake. When the top
of an ape skull and a leg bone were found 40 ft. apart and taken as evidence
of a ape-human "link". They discussed how it was later refuted (even by the
original discoverer) and how no "missing link" between man and ape has been
discovered.
Lastly, Origins discussed the similarities between the advanced
civilizations of Africa (Egypt) and South America. And how they used
similar construction techniques and technologies, both built pyramids, both
kings wore similar headdress, and both mummified their dead. I missed most
of this segment, but came back when they started to discuss how this might
have come to be.
They showed how people in the 1500's and 1600's created maps far
more accurate than they should have been able to given their technology and
knowledge. The creator of the maps usually claimed that they received their
knowledge from an advanced civilization. They showed a map which had
accurately depicted the world and another which was pretty accurate for
determining the land underneath the ice on Antarctica.
This lead of course lead into Atlantis and how we might have
"Forgotten" our past. One persons theory was that Atlantis could have
actually been Antarctica. He discussed how woolly mammoths are found
quickly frozen in Siberia and North America with spring vegetation in their
stomachs. He claims that this could be because of a phenomena similar to the
continental shift. He said that much like the continents are moving apart
from one another, the entire crust of the Earth may suddenly shift about
2000 miles every 44,000 years. This would result from the large
accumulations of snow and ice in the polar regions that causes an
unbalance. He said the last shift was about 25,000 years ago. This theory
of shifts in the crust made me think of Hinduism and an oscillatory universe
(or Earth in this case).
That is about it. I know I probably left a lot out, but I wasn't taking
notes.:-)
John Misasi
PS> I suppose this is a good time for me to introduce myself to the group.
I am 22 years old and a senior in Biomedical Engineering at Boston
University(BU) with an interest in molecular biology and medicine. I am
involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at BU and will be graduating
in May. From their I will be working at The Center for Advanced
Biotechnology at BU (CAB) and will begin applying to medical schools.
Currently, I am involved in a senior project at the CAB developing a
technique which will allow spatial detection and amplification of DNA that
has been attached to a solid surface.
I am fascinated by God's creation and I am intrigued by the creation
vs. evolution debate. I have been reading the list for about 3 weeks now
and ,with the exception of this reply, I probably will continue to read
because of a lack of confidence 8-S (I will only have a BS, their are a lot
of Ph.D.'s). I has been great reading so far. Thanks.