2007.08 Extreme Makeover: Library Edition

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    AUGUST 200718 The Woodside NewsThe Woodside NewsSection ASection A

    Extreme Makeover:Library Edition

    Dozing in the sun last

    week waiting for yourswimsuit to dry, did you ask

    yourself, Hows my Bible-Science bookshelf shapingup? Schools approaching, soheres a Bible-ScienceStarter Library to help youget ready. These dozen booksare rich brain food on Creation,Evolution, Intelligent Design, RockLayers, Fossils, Dinosaurs, andNoahs Flood. Reading them will

    lical convictions, and superbly pre-pare you for some great conversations

    with unbelieving friends or question-ing believers.Authors include a physical

    chemist, hydraulic engineer, bio-chemist, law professor, geneticist,

    molecular biologist, journalist, chesschampion, educator, medical doctor,theologian, and computer consultant.Not all are creationists, Christians, oreven theists. Some accept the BigBang, stellar evolution, a long age forthe universe, and even aspects of bio-logical evolution. Nevertheless, alldistinctly contribute to a Biblicalunderstanding of science. None isinfallible. Always measure everything

    you read by the Bible.These books are high-school level

    and up. For balance and variety, Iselected only one book per author,even though several authored multiplebooks that could be on this list. Mostare available through Woodsidesbookstore or library.

    The Genesis Flood:The Biblical Recordand Its Scientific ImplicationsHenryMorris and John Whitcomb

    Dr. Morris, hydraulic engineeringprofessor and founder of the Institutefor Creation Research, is the father of

    and this book laid the foundation. Dr. Whitcomb is a seminary professor. This book is the best resource forNoahs Flood. First published in 1961,its been reprinted 32 times and is stilla must-read. In 2006 ChristianityToday ranked it #22 among The Top50 Books That Have ShapedEvangelicals in the last half-century.It argues for a worldwide flood andexplains how rock layers, fossils, andIce Age resulted from Noahs Flood. Itaddresses the sources and disposition

    of the flood waters, howNoah fit animals (includingdinosaurs) on the ark, andthe age of the earth.

    The Lie: EvolutionKen HamFounder of Answers in

    Genesis with its newly-builtCreation Museum, Ham saysGenesis is foundational to allChristian doctrine and mustbe interpreted literally.

    Doctrines like sin and salvation,institutions like marriage and govern-ment, the beginnings of culture andindustryall have their foundation inGenesis.

    Ham argues that if God does notreally mean what He says in Genesis,

    why should we trust the rest of theBible? The religion of Evolutionism isa lie from the pit and is the root causeof most of the worlds problemsbecause it denies God the Creator.

    Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!Duane Gish

    Dr. Gish, a biochemist and pre-mier creationist debater, annihilatesthe supposed primary evidence forevolutionthe fossil record. Darwinhimself realized thestrongest objection toevolution was thatfossils did not supportit, asking, If specieshave descended fromother species byinsensibly fine grada-tions, why do we noteverywhere see innu-merable transitionalforms? Gish showsthe fossil record ischaracterized byabrupt appearance oflife forms, absence oftransitional forms,and constancy of lifeforms. Thus fossilssupport creation butundermine macroevo-

    lution.

    The Case for aCreatorLee Strobel

    Strobel, a YaleLaw School graduate,

    journalist, legal editor,and pastor, was a spir-itual skeptic well intohis career. He said,My road to atheism

    was paved by sci-enceBut, ironically,

    so was my later journey to God.Strobel confronts eight eminent scien-tists and philosophers with an atheiststough questions. The cross-examina-tions build a strong scientific case thatthe universe was intelligently designed,and they show the logical and eviden-tial weaknesses of Darwinism. Hisquestions involve cosmology, astrono-my, physics, cellular biology, biochem-istry, and DNA. The story is absorb-ing. The arguments are compelling.Evolutionism is no longer scientificallyor logically tenable. Science and theBible give consistent testimony of aCreator. A student edition is availablefor younger readers.

    Creations Tiny MysteryRobert

    GentryHaving discovered riveting evi-dence for creation, Gentry struggledagainst the scientific establishmentthat strove to suppress it. Originally an

    ardent evolutionist, Gentry foundradioactive polonium halos in earthsbasement rocks. The half-life is soshort (three minutes) that the rockshad to solidify rapidly for halos toform. Molten rock would have taken

    too long to cool, leaving no halos. Thisevidence caused Gentry to abandon hisevolutionary beliefs. Gentry believesthe halos are some of the Creatorsfingerprints. His investigations showevidence for a global flood and earthsage in thousands rather than billions of

    years. Evolutionists call Gentrys halosa tiny mystery but have proposed noother explanation.

    Darwin on TrialPhillip JohnsonJohnson is a law professor at UC

    Berkeley and one of the founders ofthe Intelligent Design movement. Helooked at the evidence for evolutionfrom a lawyers perspectiveanalyz-ing arguments, identifying assump-tions, and seeking proof. His devas-

    tating critique of Darwinism exposesthe lack of evidence and the Swiss-cheese logic patching the theorytogether. It also reveals Darwinism asa philosophical belief system, not a

    scientific theory. Johnson unleashesan argumentative knock-out punch.

    Darwins Black Box: The BiochemicalChallenge to EvolutionMichael Behe

    Biochemistry professor MichaelBehe from LehighUniversity is one of thefathers of the IntelligentDesign movement. Heargues that living cells aretoo complex to have gradual-ly evolved through randomchanges. He gives examplesof irreducibly complex cel-lular subsystems. These aresystems that require multiplecomponents to be function-ing in place for the system to

    workthe removal of anycomponent disables the sys-tem. Such systems cannot beincrementally constructed,

    yet work during construc-tion. Behe believes thesecomplex systems are definiteevidence of an Intelligent

    Designer, because complexi-ty, design and order neverhappen by chance.

    Evolution, A Theory inCrisisMichael Denton

    In 1985 Dr. Denton, anAustralian geneticist andmedical doctor stunned aca-demia with his comprehen-sive critique of evolutionand his solid case for intelli-

    THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE BY WILLIAM T. PELLETIER, PH.D [WOODSIDE NEWS COLUMNIST]

    WILLIAM T. PELLETIER

    PH.D.

    To believe that complex biological systems were

    gradually built up by small random changes is a

    flagrant denial of common sensean entirely unsub-

    stantiated belief for which there is not the slightest

    evidence whatsoever. DR. MICHAEL DENTON, AGNOSTIC AND GENETICIST

    SCIENCE continued on page 19

    modern scientific Biblical creationism,

    boost thinking skills, strengthen Bib-

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    gent design. Although not a creation-ist, he challenged macroevolution with

    logic and scientific evidence from tax-onomy, fossils, embryos, molecularbiology, biochemistry, and probability.Denton, an agnostic, calls it a flagrantdenial of common sense to believethat complex biological systems weregradually built up by small randomchanges. This is an entirely unsub-stantiated belief for which there is notthe slightest evidence whatsoever.

    This book influenced intelligentdesign proponents Phillip Johnsonand Michael Behe to rejectDarwinism.

    Refuting EvolutionJonathan Sarfati

    Dr. Sarfati is a physical chemistand former New Zealand chess cham-pion. This insightful critique of mod-ern evolutionary theory was in

    to schools nationwide by the NationalAcademy of Sciences. Sarfatis sequel,Refuting Evolution 2 , responded to thePBS-TV series: Evolution. Sarfatisbooks constitute an excellent summaryof rational arguments for creationand logical rebuttals to current argu-ments for evolution.

    Icons of Evolution: Why Much of What

    We Teach about Evolution Is Wrong Jonathan Wells

    Textbooks are full of deliberatemisinformation about evolution.Theseinclude the 1953 Miller-Urey origin-of-life experiment, Darwins tree oflife, Haeckels embryos, archaeopteryx,the fossil horse series, peppered moths,Darwins finches, and ape-to-humandrawings. Dr. Wells, a molecular andcell biologist, debunks these infamousproofs of evolution which still littertextbooks. Wells asks, If the icons ofevolution are supposed to be our bestevidence for Darwins theory, and all ofthem are false or misleading,what doesthat tell us about the theory? Is it sci-ence or myth?

    The Collapse of EvolutionScott Huse This book is well-organized,

    interesting and understandable. Dr.Huses three-fold purpose is to exposescientific fallacies of evolution, to

    creation, and to demonstrate thatevolution and creation are contradic-tory and irreconcilable. Huse, an edu-cator and computer consultant buildshis case with examples from geology,paleontology, physics, astronomy,mathematics, biology, and anthropol-ogy. Huse concludes, Evolution is anunreasonable and unfounded hypoth-esis that is riddled with countless sci-entific fallaciesThere is an abun-dance of impressive and convincingscientific evidence which can be usedto justify an intelligent faith in bibli-cal Christianity.

    Of Pandas and People: The CentralQuestion of Biological OriginsPercival Davis and Dean Kenyon

    Davis, author of several biologytextbooks, and Kenyon, biology pro-fessor at San Francisco StateUniversity and ex-evolutionist, have

    written a supplementary biology text-book that presents origins informa-tion from six areas of biology. It dis-cusses pros and cons of two compet-ing interpretations of this biologicaldataevolution and intelligentdesign. The authors distinguishbetween hard data and interpreta-

    tions of data. To develop thinkingskills, they encourage students todraw their own conclusions abouthow well data fits each explanatorymodel. The book is interesting andaccessible with material presented at2 levelsa light overview and an in-depth treatment.

    This starter library documentsthe paucity of evidence forDarwinism and the plethora of evi-dence for Creation. Evolutionism isnot science, but atheistic naturalismmasquerading as science. True sci-ence points to God. BiblicalCreationism is soundly supported by

    scientific evidence, logical reasoning,and Scripture.

    Dr. Pelletier may be contacted by email

    AUGUST 2007 19The Woodside NewsThe Woodside News Section ASection A

    SCIENCE continued from page 18

    200007 William T. Pelletier

    response to " Teaching about Evolutionand the Nature of Science", distributed

    present scientific evidence for Biblical

    at [email protected]