science Archives

June 10, 2022June 8, 2022

Earth Is a Complex Living Planet

In 1883, an Indonesian volcano named Krakatoa, or Krakatau, erupted. In August of that year, the volcano exploded with such fury that 70% of the island collapsed into the caldera. The explosion was so violent that people heard it thousands of miles away. On January 15, 2022, Tonga’s Hunga volcano exploded. That island nation was devastated, and people heard the booms in Alaska, 6,200 miles (almost 10,000 km) away. Events such as those remind us that Earth is a complex living planet.

On January 14, 2022, the Hunga volcano erupted, apparently sinking the volcano’s main vent below sea level. That set up conditions for the volcano to explode the next day. Because of the capabilities of modern science, a team of 76 scientists in 17 nations studied the atmospheric waves created by the explosion, concluding that they were the strongest since the Krakatau explosion nearly 140 years ago. David Fee of the University of Alaska Fairbanks said, “Our hope is that we will be better able to monitor volcanic eruptions and tsunamis by understanding the atmospheric waves from this eruption.”

Earth is a complex living planet with massive forces at work, constantly changing its surface. The North American land mass is unusually stable, allowing us to build huge buildings and large cities, but much of the world is not that stable. In recent years, we have learned that the continents move, bringing to the surface new minerals and nutrients needed for life. In addition, in the ocean trenches, material is taken back into Earth’s core to be reworked and brought back to Earth’s crust.

The more we learn about our planet and the forces that have molded and shaped it to make life possible, the more apparent it becomes that life is extraordinary and the habitat that supports it is unique. Therefore, taking care of this beautiful creation of God is essential, and part of that is understanding that Earth is a complex living planet.

Reference: National Science Foundation and the journal Science.

June 7, 2022June 6, 2022

Planet-Moon Size Ratio

What is the optimum size for a planet to form a just-right moon? According to a new study, the short answer to that question is, “Just about the size of planet Earth.” Is that another coincidence or a matter of design? First, let’s consider the planet-moon size ratio.

The radius of the Moon is a little more than one-fourth of Earth’s radius. That four-to-one ratio is unlike any other planet-moon size ratio in our solar system. The solar system’s largest moon is Ganymede which orbits Jupiter. It is one-third larger than our Moon, but Jupiter is more than 11 times the diameter of Earth. The essential factor is that our Moon is larger in relation to the size of the planet it orbits than any other moon in the solar system.

Scientists believe that our Moon was formed when a planet the size of Mars collided with the early Earth. The heat caused by the collision vaporized the material, which eventually congealed to form the Moon and planet Earth. (See Genesis 1:1-2.) The angle of that collision was precisely fine-tuned to result in a planet and moon with the exact size ratio for the Moon to control Earth’s tilt, rotation speed, and ocean tides, as well as perfectly covering the Sun during a total solar eclipse.

To suggest that the creation of a planet perfect for advanced life could have been an accident requires that you have a lot of faith in chance. But a new study by researchers from the University of Rochester in New York adds even more evidence for design. They found that a planet more than 1.3 to 1.6 times Earth’s size could not form a moon that would have the “life-enabling effects” that our Moon has.

Computer modeling shows that if larger planets collided, the energy of the impact would vaporize the material, but a stabilizing moon could not form. The vaporized material would cause drag on the planet, slowing it down so much that gravity would cause any material that congealed to crash into the planet. Not only is the planet-moon size ratio essential, but so also is the size of the colliding bodies.

Numerous factors beyond the planet-moon size ratio must be just right for a functional, life-supporting planet to form. Our planet meets every one of those requirements, and so far, astronomers have not found any other planet that does. The Bible does not tell us whether God chose to create life on another suitable planet anywhere in the universe. However, scientists will never stop looking for it. In the meantime, they keep finding factors that show evidence of intelligent design everywhere in the universe.

References: Space.com and Nature Communications

June 2, 2022June 2, 2022

Climate Change Is Not New

The author of Ecclesiastes wrote a great deal about the futility of life and the failing of human knowledge. In the first chapter, Solomon writes, “What has been will be again, … is there anything of which one can say ‘look this is something new’? It was here already long ago. It was here before our time.” With that in mind, climate change is not new and should not be a cause for religious fervor.

Many historical passages in the Bible tell about drought, famine, and changes in the weather. Why did the brothers of Joseph go to Egypt? (See Genesis 41:56-57.) Why did the ancient prophet pray for rain? (See 1 Kings 18:41-44 and James 5:17-18.)

Those of us trained in geology who know how to read the rock layers and understand what environment produced them can clearly see that Earth’s climate has changed throughout time. For example, in Zion National Park, petrified sand dunes tell us that area at one time experienced warming far greater than what we see today. Where we live in Michigan, glacial moraines, eskers, and lakes abound, giving solid evidence that the climate was very cold at one time in the past.

Earth’s design is amazing. Because our area experienced glaciers, we have no shortage of water. There is no bedrock visible because sand and gravel make up the terrain, and water seeps into the ground rather than running off. Climate change melted the glaciers, leaving an ideal environment for human habitation. Thus climate change is not new, and God’s design of Earth is alive and active, allowing a constantly changing environment to support life.

In 2022, we find climate modifying Earth again. The polar caps are melting, and the sea level is rising, resulting in wind and ocean current changes. As in the past, God’s design is bringing water to places that have previously been desserts, allowing crops to grow in areas that could not support them. Climate change is not new but has always been part of our planet’s design.

Will we need to make adjustments to these climate changes? Yes, of course, but God has given humans the ability to do that. We can change crops, adjust waterways, control wildfires, and even move populations when necessary. Let us not wring our hands and treat God’s design for replenishing the planet as if it were something evil. Today, our major problems are human problems of immorality and a refusal to live as God has called us to. By our actions, we can reduce the severity of global warming and use its change to our benefit.

June 1, 2022May 31, 2022

Where Do We Find Dinosaurs Mentioned in the Bible?

Yesterday, we pointed out that words like “behemoth” in the original language of Genesis 1 would not have included animals like dinosaurs but referred to animals the ancient Israelites knew. So the next logical question would be, “Where do we find dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?” The answer to that question is “nowhere.”

Why would the Bible mention dinosaurs? Consider how you would explain bacteria to a man with no microscope, or how could a person living in the jungle make sense of an octopus? When an explorer brought a stuffed platypus back to England for the first time, people thought it was a fake. Millions of different plants and animals have lived on Earth, and many of those still exist today. The purpose of the Genesis account is to say that God created everything, not to identify the millions of species that have lived on Earth. Genesis mentions only the animals the Israelites could identify and name.

So from today’s perspective, when did those animals exist? Some fundamentalists have suggested that we don’t find dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible because they didn’t exist. They say that God miraculously created dinosaur fossils to give the appearance that the animals lived when they did not. That explanation makes God a liar trying to fool us into a false conclusion.

Others suggest that dinosaurs were there but simply weren’t mentioned in the Bible. There is no evidence that animals like T-rex lived at the time of Adam and Eve. In reality, the atmosphere and temperatures necessary for such an animal to survive would be detrimental to humans.

Since we don’t find dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible, what was God’s reason for creating these huge animals? God knew that humans would need an environment optimized for their survival. In Alaska today, the survival of various life forms depends on salmon bringing nutrients into an environment lacking those essentials to support life. Like the salmon, the dinosaurs were the vehicles that provided resources needed for humans to exist and flourish later. The plant-eating dinosaurs consumed massive amounts of vegetation and excreted processed plant materials and seeds. They spread the vegetation and produced topsoil and critical elements necessary for human life. No animal living today could accomplish that task.

When Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created the heavens and the earth, the result would be a functioning universe and a dynamic planet where humans could eventually live. Earth was not a blob of molten rock or hydrocarbons but a functional planet, and dinosaurs were one of the tools God used to prepare it for humans. The big animals and plants helped create topsoil, coal, and a variety of trace elements human life would need. The oceans nurtured diatoms that produced the massive amounts of hydrocarbons humans would need for oil and gas. We don’t find bacteria, diatoms, or dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible because they are included in Genesis 1:1.

God could have zapped the hydrocarbons into existence, but if He had done it that way, humans could never have located them. God not only created the resources we would need, but He did it in a way that we could find them. He gave us the intelligence to study His methods to find the resources and obtain them for our use.

The wisdom of God in designing Earth to sustain human life is incredible. Every day, science finds new clues about how the planet was designed and how things we might consider insignificant are critical to our existence.

For more information about Barosaurus click HERE.

May 31, 2022May 30, 2022

Interpret the Bible Literally

We hear from both skeptics and biblical fundamentalists about taking the Bible literally. However, even those who claim to interpret the Bible literally often don’t, resulting in some ridiculous errors. Furthermore, those misinterpretations cause faith challenges for better educated young people because they realize that some things people ascribe to the Bible are not logically or scientifically possible.

To interpret the Bible literally, you must take the whole Bible and not cherry-pick individual passages to support what you already believe. It also means looking at the original language and asking how those to whom it was written would have understood it. Let’s take a modern example. What does the Spanish phrase “Juan tiene frio” mean? Translated literally, the words would mean “John has cold.” It could either mean John is cold or John has a cold – he is sick. How would you know what the writer intended?

Sometimes the wording looks like it is unrelated to what it actually means. For example, what does “Juan me cae bien gordo” mean? The words are “John me falls well fat.” So is this a comment about my waistline? My Spanish-speaking associates tell me it means “John really bugs me.” You would know that by understanding the culture and how those who speak the language would understand it.

This is also true of Hebrew and Greek. When the first chapter of Genesis lists the animals God created, the Hebrew words refer to creatures the readers knew. “Behemah” in verses 24 and 25 did not include dinosaurs, platypuses, giraffes, or elephants. People would have understood it to refer to the cattle the readers knew. “Remes” in the same verses would not have meant snakes and komodo dragons but rather the smaller examples of livestock like goats and sheep the readers knew. In Genesis 9:1-3, “remes” is included as an animal that God said would be food for the Israelites. We know that the Jews had food restrictions that would not have included snakes, worms, and komodos, so the meaning of “remes” is clear.

Those who attempt to include dinosaurs on Noah’s ark are not taking the Bible literally. When they do that, they provide fuel for those who say the Bible is a book of myths. We must understand what it means to interpret the Bible literally. We will deal with more on the dinosaurs tomorrow.

May 25, 2022May 24, 2022

Carrion Beetles – Carcass Recyclers

American burying beetles (Nicrophorus americanus) are among nature’s most efficient and fascinating carcass recyclers. These largest carrion beetles in North America can be up to 1.77 inches (45 mm) long. Unfortunately, they are “critically threatened.”

American burying beetles have a unique appearance, with two bright orange patches on the covers of each of their shiny black wings. Their pronotum, a shield-like area just behind the head covering the thorax, also has an orange patch. In addition, an orange patch between their eyes is rounded on males but smaller and more triangular on females.

Carrion beetles such as American burying beetles play a vital role in returning valuable nutrients to the soil. Dead things would accumulate if tiny insects and microorganisms didn’t do that job. These carcass recyclers fly at night and use chemical receptors on their antennae to detect dead or decaying flesh.

It is unusual in the insect world for both the males and females to participate in raising the young, but American carrion beetles are involved parents. The male will find a carcass about the size of a small bird or chipmunk and attract a female. The two beetles bury the carcass, and the female will lay up to 30 eggs. When the larvae hatch, both parents feed the young from the decaying carcass while keeping them safe underground. After about a week, the larvae go into a pupal stage and eventually emerge as adults that live for about 12 months. When the temperature drops, they bury themselves for the winter and re-emerge in the spring.

We seldom think about the importance of carrion beetles as carcass recyclers, but they play an essential ecological role. Each living species is designed to serve a function in nature, and every loss destabilizes the fragile balance God gave us to enjoy and protect. We can know there is a God by the things He has made (Romans 1:20).

May 23, 2022May 21, 2022

Disease Spillback from Humans to Animals

Many times animals pass diseases on to humans. However, recent research by scientists at Georgetown University shows disease spillback from humans to animals. In nearly 100 documented cases, humans have given wild animals a disease.

This discovery has implications for the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This virus has shown up in wild white-tailed deer populations in the United States and Canada. Medical researchers are concerned that the virus may mutate in these animal populations providing a reservoir of variants that can spread back to humans.

In addition to the deer, researchers have found the SARS-CoV-2 virus in mink farms, lions and tigers in zoos, and various primates. The “cute” animals seem to be the primary source of viruses because of their proximity to humans. Taking care of the creation involves allowing wild animals to be wild. When animals are domesticated, they can bring their pathogens with them into human homes.

We cannot blame God when a disease occurs in humans that was contracted by improper management of the animals that live around us. The exotic animal business has brought with it some extreme risks to humans. Not only can animals pass diseases to us, but disease spillback from humans to animals is possible and dangerous.

As our knowledge of disease and genetics increases, we learn to prevent ailments in the human population. Understanding the uniqueness of the human genome has become increasingly important in the medical field. Limiting contact with wild animals may help to avoid possible future pandemics.

References: National Science Foundation posting for April 7, 2022, and the National Laboratory of Medicine

May 20, 2022May 19, 2022

Pyramid Power Mystery

I have many interesting stories from my years as a public school science teacher. One of my favorites involves a pyramid power mystery. A student in my physics class maintained that the Great Pyramid in Egypt was a creation of aliens who used methods unknown to modern science. He claimed that the pyramid had mystic forces that could benefit humans if we only understood it.

This young man claimed that one property of the Great Pyramid was that anything contained within it would not deteriorate. He had a “Great Pyramid” model that he said he could use to prove it. I had some apples in my classroom refrigerator, so I offered him a challenge. He would put one apple in his “Great Pyramid” model, and I would keep mine in the fridge. Then, in 14 days, we would both eat our apples in front of the class. He agreed, and the contest was on.

My classroom had windows on the east side of the building and no air conditioning. Not only was the classroom frequently hot, but sunlight bathed the room because there were no window shades. Every day, I would bring my apple out of the refrigerator, and the kids would join me in challenging the Great Pyramid promoter. About a week into the contest, the pyramid apple changed color, and dark spots appeared. Some fluid seeped onto the floor of the “Great Pyramid,” and the kids in the class started kidding my challenger about how bad that apple was going to taste. After the weekend, I came into my classroom, and the “Great Pyramid” was gone, and the apple that was in it had also disappeared. You could call this a pyramid power mystery because the pyramid and the apple were nowhere to be seen.

That was only a minor case of pyramid power mystery claims. For example, over the years, authors have written books and articles making unsupported alien claims about the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. In truth, it is an amazing demonstration of human engineering talent and shows that ancient people knew how to build structures on a colossal scale. According to World Archaeology magazine, discoveries in the last ten years leave no doubt that the Great Pyramid was not an alien creation. It was the product of humans who understood how to make massive structures. We see a connection to the biblical account of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.

In 2013, researchers found fragments of papyri documents near the Red Sea containing logbooks and records. The documents detailed the activities of teams building the Great Pyramid, known to the locals as Akhet Khufu for the 4th Dynasty king who reigned from 2633 BC to 2605 BC. Dubbed “The Red Sea Scrolls,” they show the planning and construction logistics, from mining copper to make tools to cutting the stones to the housing arrangements for the workers.

Humans often attempt to extend their physical lives in costly ways, and the pyramids of Giza are a classic example. Unfortunately, the reality is that this physical body will return to the dust from which it came, and nothing humans can do can change that. However, we can preserve the real “us,” our spiritual bodies, for eternity. In 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, Paul describes “a mystery,” which is the resurrection to incorruptible spiritual bodies. The pyramid power mystery is no longer, but the promise that God will preserve our soul for eternity will remain a mystery to those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ until that great day of the resurrection.

Reference: World Archaeology magazine March 24, 2022

May 17, 2022May 16, 2022

Alcohol Is a More Destructive Drug

The media and medical profession pay a great deal of attention to the damaging effects of methamphetamine, cocaine, and opioids, but alcohol is a more destructive drug. In 2019, alcohol directly caused the deaths of almost 79,000 people in the United States from illnesses and car crashes. In 2020, the first full year of the COVID pandemic, more than 99,000 people under age 65 died directly from the use of alcohol. That was a 25.5% increase and more lives than COVID claimed that year for those under 65.

There is a widespread belief among many college students that you can’t have fun unless you drink. At the University of Notre Dame, Ted Mandell teaches a class called “Drunk on Film.” The subtitle of the course is “The Psychology of Storytelling with Alcohol and Its Effects on Alcohol Consumption.” Using film clips from movies and alcohol commercials, he helps students understand the problems with drinking and how advertisers and filmmakers seduce them into thinking that excessive alcohol consumption is normal and desirable.

One film that Mandell uses is a 20-minute clip from a documentary by Sut Jhally titled “Advertising at the Edge of Apocalypse.” It shows how alcohol advertising weds drinking to the sports industry and portrays alcohol as an alluring lifestyle. You would think that bright college students could see the indoctrination by the alcohol industry and its role in destructive sex and health issues. However, that is simply not the case. Stress is a part of the problem students face, but peer pressure is a more powerful motivator to drink.

From a Christian perspective, if you believe that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) and should be cared for both physically and mentally, that should lead you to avoid alcohol. Seeing the results for people who drink alcohol and use other recreational drugs should be a motivator to avoid them. Our culture condemns the use of meth and crack but sanctions the use of alcohol and marijuana. Looking at the evidence should convince thinking people that alcohol is a more destructive drug.

References: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported in The Week, April 8, 2022, and “Under the Influence” in Notre Dame Magazine, spring 2022.

May 16, 2022May 14, 2022

Why Does the Moon Look Larger Near the Horizon?

Perhaps you saw the total lunar eclipse last night, or maybe it was only umbral (partial) in your area. Either way, it reminds us of God’s intricate design that allows advanced life on this planet. As you watched the Moon, you may have seen it close to the horizon or high in the sky. Why does the Moon look larger near the horizon? Is it really larger, or are your senses being fooled?

Here is a simple experiment you can do with a camera or smartphone. Take a picture of the Moon when it rises and then take another picture of it high in the sky on the same night. Now compare the Moon’s size in the two pictures. You will see that the Moon is the same size. Better yet, stretch out your arm and compare the Moon’s size to your thumb at the two positions on the same night.

If you are thinking that the Moon looks larger at the horizon because it is farther away at that time, that is clearly not the case. The Moon’s distance, and therefore apparent size, does vary somewhat throughout the year, but not on the same night. The difference in apparent size when the Moon is closest to Earth and farthest away is only about 7%. The human eye can barely detect that difference.

So why does the Moon look larger near the horizon? First, realize that it is not our eyes but the human brain that does the seeing. When the Moon is near the horizon, we compare it to distant trees and buildings that we know are large, so we think the Moon looks larger. However, when it is in the middle of the vast, open sky, the Moon seems small by comparison.

We interpret what we see based on previous experiences and prejudices. That means our brain interprets new information filtered through those prejudices. That brings up another question. How does the human mind interpret other areas of understanding, such as the existence of God? Are there filters in your line of sight that can block you from seeing the truth?

Reference: Discover Magazine