Re: Ross article

Keith,
I thought you had a geological hammer and not a wooden spoon! I have to
admit that the only thing different between this and YEC is that Ross
accepts cosmological and geological time. That is of course an enormous step
in the right direction. I also think Rossism (as aIG calls it) provides a
good stepping stone for those escaping from YEC and for that reason is of
great practical worth.
I first read Ross's books over 10 years ago and as an ignorant Englishman
(tautologous?) did not consider him significant as he hadn't travelled far
down the road from the bastions of YEC and Rimmer type OE/YE creationism.

I also think that Ross can reach and persuade YECs who will dismiss thee and
me as totally beyond the pale. Contrary to NCSE I reckon that the most
important thing is to convince people of an Old Earth, and not to bother
about evolution too much.

Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Miller" <kbmill@ksu.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 7:03 PM
Subject: 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 17:41:13 2005