Ross article

See below Ross's "Creation Model" posted without comment.

Keith

> -------
> Summary of Reasons To Believe's Testable Creation Model
> By Hugh Ross, Ph.D.
>
> Those who hold to scientific naturalism have rightly criticized the
> fact that those who promote creationism have put forth no testable
> model of their own for analysis. We either focus all of our attention
> on what is wrong with naturalism or we duck the issue by claiming that
> Genesis presents no specific model. Thus, those who recognize an
> intelligence behind origins are perceived as either negative or
> cowardly.
> This situation stems from Christians' failure to apply the scientific
> method to their interpretation of Genesis. A great irony, here, is
> that the scientific method comes from the Bible and from biblical
> theology. The core of this method is an appeal to the interpreter to
> delay drawing conclusions until both the frame of reference and the
> initial conditions have been established. If we approach Genesis in
> this way, we discover that we can, indeed, discern there a
> scientifically plausible, objectively defensible account of creation.
> Creation Model Overview
> The frame of reference in Genesis 1:1 is the cosmos. God declares that
> He brought into existence the entire physical universematter, energy,
> and all the space-time dimensions associated with matter and energy.
> Einstein's theory of general relativity tells us that the cause of the
> universe creates it independently (i.e. from outside) of matter,
> energy, and the space-time dimensions along which matter and energy
> are distributed. (Observations now securely establish the reliability
> of general relativity.)
> Genesis 1:2 explicitly shifts the frame of reference, the narrator's
> vantage point, to the surface of Earth above the water but below the
> cloud layer. That verse describes the initial conditions of primordial
> Earth: its surface was dark, covered with water, empty of life, and
> unfit for life. With the frame of reference and the initial conditions
> for the six creation days thus established, a straightforward
> chronology for the creation days' events unfolds. That chronology is
> as follows:
> 1. Creation, by fiat miracle, of the entire physical universe
> (space-time dimensions, matter, energy, galaxies, stars, planets, > etc.)
> 2. Planet Earth singled out for a sequence of creation miracles. At
> its beginning, Earth is empty of life and unfit for life;
> interplanetary debris and Earth's primordial atmosphere prevent the
> light of the sun, moon, and stars from reaching the planet's surface
> 3. Clearing of the interplanetary debris and partial transformation of
> the earth's atmosphere so that light from the heavenly bodies now
> penetrates to the surface of Earth's ocean
> 4. Formation of water vapor in the troposphere under conditions that
> establish a stable water cycle
> 5. Formation of continental land masses and ocean basins
> 6. Production of plants on the continental land masses
> 7. Transformation of the atmosphere from translucent to occasionally
> transparent. Sun, Moon, planets, and stars now can be seen from the
> vantage point of Earth's surface
> 8. Production of swarms of small sea animals.
> 9. Creation of sea mammals and birds
> 10. Creation of three specialized kinds of land mammals: a)
> Short-legged land mammals. b) Long-legged land mammals that are easy
> to tame. c) Long-legged land mammals that are difficult to tame.
> (All three specifically designed to cohabit with humans.)
> 11. Creation of the human species
> Many factors work to limit large animals' capacity for natural-process
> change. These same factors make large animals especially vulnerable to
> rapid extinction. The seven most significant factors are these:
> 1. Their relatively small population levels
> 2. Their long generation spans (the time between birth and the ability
> to give birth)
> 3. Their low numbers of progeny produced per adult
> 4. Their high complexity of morphology and biochemistry
> 5. Their enormous body sizes
> 6. Their specialized food supplies
> 7. Their relatively advanced cultural and social structures
> These factors limit the capacity of animals not only to change through
> natural selection and mutations but also to adapt to environmental
> changes. A fundamental problem biologists observe is that deleterious
> mutations vastly outnumber beneficial mutations (by anywhere from
> 10,000 to 1 up to 10,000,000 to 1). Thus, a species needs an enormous
> population, a short generation time, and a small body size if it's to
> survive long enough to benefit from mutations. Deleterious mutations
> and environmental stresses drive most animal species to extinction.
> Crude mathematical models indicate that a species capable of
> significant evolutionary advance rather than doomed to eventual
> extinction, must have a population of one quadrillion individuals, a
> generation time of three months, and a body size of one centimeter.
> These conclusions are confirmed by field observations.
> Genesis offers this explanation for the survival of large animals: God
> repeatedly replaced extinct species with new ones. In most cases, the
> new species were different from the previous ones because God was
> changing Earth's geology, biodeposits, and biology, step by step, in
> preparation for His ultimate creation on Earththe human race.
> The many "transitional" forms seen in the fossil record suggest that
> God performed more than just a few creative acts here and there,
> letting natural evolution fill in the rest. Rather, God was involved
> and active in creation of new species.
> What we can deduce from these and other findings is that God created
> humanity at the precise moment in Earth's history that would provide
> for us the maximum possible resources. He has told us to use these
> rich resources wisely so as to fulfill His purpose before the window
> of life's survival time closes. Because of His provision, humans need
> spend only the briefest possible time in this creation preparing for
> eternity in the far superior new creation to come.
> We can reflect on many more reasons than these few for God's
> step-by-step creation. Some are discussed below. Others may be found
> in my book, The Genesis Question.
> Testing the Creation Model
> The unique beauty of this biblical creation model is its ability to
> predict with accuracy advancing scientific discovery. This ability to
> predict is the hallmark of any reliable theory. By contrast, Darwinian
> evolution, chaos theory, and six-consecutive-24-hour-creation-day
> creationism fail to predict and instead contradict the growing body of
> data. This summary lists just 20 of the numerous successful
> predictions made by the Reasons To Believe model.
> 1. Transcendent creation event
> 2. Cosmic fine-tuning
> 3. Fine-tuning of the earth's, solar system's, and Milky Way Galaxy's
> characteristics
> 4. Rapidity of life's origin
> 5. Lack of inorganic kerogen
> 6. Extreme biomolecular complexity
> 7. Cambrian explosion
> 8. Missing horizontal branches in the fossil record
> 9. Placement and frequency of "transitional forms" in the fossil record
> 10. Fossil record reversal
> 11. Frequency and extent of mass extinctions
> 12. Recovery from mass extinctions
> 13. Duration of time windows for different species
> 14. Frequency, extent, and repetition of symbiosis
> 15. Frequency, extent, and repetition of altruism
> 16. Speciation and extinction rates
> 17. Recent origin of humanity
> 18. Huge biodeposits
> 19. Genesis' perfect fit with the fossil record
> 20. Molecular clock rates
> ) Reasons To Believe, 2000
  
Received on Sun Mar 27 13:09:09 2005