[asa] Re: [ACG] Back to the topic of making a statement...

Paul
You are as bolshy as I am! I also agree we should not pander to the YEC mindset and cease to be so accommodating.
We should simply say that there is evidence ONLY for an ancient earth and that there is none for a young earth.

Meanwhile YECs continue to blind people with their "science" as does Woodmorappe in his latest AIG offering

Michael
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Paul Hoskin
  To: acg ; asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2006 8:13 PM
  Subject: [ACG] Back to the topic of making a statement...

  Hi again,

  Let's return to the topic of making an Association-level ACG statement on the age of Earth. Perhaps this can be discussed at a meeting at the Geological Society of America meeting this October. Here's an equivalent statement from the ASA on creation-evolution:

  http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/Evolution/commission_on_creation.html#Commission%20on%20Creation

  I apologize, but I find this rambling statement to be rather impotent. Why not just say at the top of the page: "Our members believe just about anything whether or not there is evidence to support their positions or not. We don't let scientific evidence get in the way of our unfounded beliefs."

  Look, while the scientific community is vigorously debating how the early Earth looked over 4 billion years ago, when life first appeared on Earth, when modern-style plate tectonics was first initiated, where to best locate a landing site on Mars and why, etc., we Christian geologists are completely sidelined as a sub-set of the community because we refuse to even publicly acknowledge that we accept the evidence that Earth is ~4.5 billion years old. It bothers me that we as a group can't even enter into the scientific, sometimes metaphysical, discussions on early Earth and the emergence of life because we tip-tie around the age of Earth issue afraid to offend anyone's sensibilities.

  In good conscience I'm afraid that I cannot remain a member of an association that holds to be equally valid the scientific evidence on the timing of Earth formation and Earth history and an unsupportable interpretation of Genesis 1-11 that holds that Earth is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old and that it was created with the appearance of antiquity or that a single global flood did the work 4,000 years ago.

  I'm sorry if this offends some of you reading this, but perhaps you need to take a few more geologic field trips to help you get things sorted out. And perhaps you ought to re-think your trust in our understanding of physics the next time you get in an aeroplane or turn on your computer (chances are that your power is nuclear -- the same physics that demands an old age for Earth).

  The longer we humor the unsupported superstition that Earth is young, the longer the ACG tacitly acknowledges that science and the Bible are in conflict. I personally don't acknowledge that to be the case.

  Regards,
  Paul

  ___________________________________

  On a mission to restore wonder and mystery in Christendom by reminding people that Earth is really really old (4.5 Ga), that God is really really grand, and that He never changes. He has been at work and watching over His creation for a really really long time. That's awesome.
  ___________________________________

  Posted views are held personally and
  do not necessarily represent those of
  any other individual or institution.

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Received on Sat Aug 12 16:14:29 2006