Tag Archives: When I Consider!

When I Consider! – Fossils

by

1

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

“Evidence From The Fossil Record”

For over 200 years paleontologists and geologists have been digging in the hills, valleys, and plains of the earth. During this time they have uncovered and cataloged over a billion fossils. Thousands of fascinating plant and animal fossils from extinct organisms have been found. Fossils, like living organisms, are found fully formed and distinctly different in structure. Evolutionists claim to have found animal bones having features intermediate between similar creatures, proving that evolution has occurred (e.g., small horses to big horses). Yet there are no examples in the fossil record of one animal slowly changing into a different kind of animal. Diagrams have been made which show variations within the same type of animal in an effort to organize them into a supposed evolutionary order. Textbooks promote this type of evidence because no transitional evidence showing one animal slowly changing into another has been found.

It is astounding that over a billion fossils have been found, yet there is no undisputed transitional form between very different types of animals or even animal features (such as reptile’s scale turning into a bird’s feather). How can we say that evolution-the idea that man is the result of slow changes over time from earlier creatures-is a reasonable theory in light of evidence?

All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (I Corinthians 15:39 KJV)

Letting God Create Your Day, Vol 3, p 213

A Closer Look At The Evidence, by Richard and Tina Kleiss, January 20

Typed by Phyllis

See: Texas Fishapod fry!

When I Consider! – Petrified Tree Trunks

by

3

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

“Evidence From Geology”

Buried in an eroded hillside at Yellowstone National Park are petrified tree trunks protruding through multiple layers of earth. For many years a geological marker at this site (Specimen Ridge) stated that the trees were buried and petrified in place. The parallel layers were interpreted as successive forests buried by volcanic activity. It was claimed that after each volcanic eruption, the volcanic-ash layer slowly weathered into suitable topsoil and hundreds of years passed as subsequent forests grew to maturity. This pattern supposedly happened 27 times spanning 30,000 years. This interpretation seemed to present a problem to biblical accuracy, which indicates there has been less than 10,000 years of Earth history.

Polystrate lycopod in Tennessee showing VISS and crossbedding, both caused by flows from right to left in photo

Polystrate lycopod in Tennessee showing VISS and crossbedding, both caused by flows from right to left in photo

However, this interpretation ignores several important observations. The roots of the tree stumps are broken off with only the root balls left. The stump size, tree ring pattern, and number of tree rings throughout all 27 layers are remarkably similar. What the evidence really supports is the rapid burial of a single massive forest by a flood of worldwide proportions. Trees are buried at different levels because they sank into the sediment at different times. Apparently the majority opinion has moved toward this better interpretation because the “multiple-forest” interpretive sign has been removed. Unfortunately, the reality of a worldwide Flood is still not mentioned. It is because the Bible can be trusted when it speaks on physical matters (such as reality of a worldwide Flood) that we can trust what the Bible has to say about spiritual matters (such as morality and eternity).

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2

A Closer Look At The Evidence, by Richard and Tina Kleiss, January 17

Typed by Phyllis

When I Consider! – Uniformitarianism

by

6

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

“Evidence From Biblical Accuracy”

The belief in uniformitarianism (that the past history of our planet can be explained by slow processes over long periods of time) is not a new scientific revelation. Belief in evolution is built upon this foundation of uniformitarianism by denying that there have been major interventions by God in the past. God knew and forewarned mankind of this errant viewpoint thousands of years ago in 2 Peter 3.

1. Evolution denies the instantaneous creation of very different forms of life.
2. Evolution ignores that there was ever a curse on man and nature as a result of mankind’s rebellion.
3. Evolution suppresses the evidence for the worldwide Flood in spite of enormous geological evidence supporting the reality of this event. This global Flood explains the fossil record without the need for evolutionary concepts or time scales and must be denied in order to accept evolution.
4. Evolution undermines Christianity by assuming that death has always been around is the natural order of things. If this is true, then Christ did not die as a final payment for Adam’s (and our) sin because death is normal and not a specific penalty for our rebellion.

Once evolution is accepted as a fact, is it any surprise that Christianity rapidly becomes irrelevant? Is it any surprise that Europe became almost devoid of true Christian faith in the same time frame in which it totally embraced evolutionary theory as fact?

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scuffing and following their own evil desires. They will say “Where is the ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4 KJV)

A Closer Look At The Evidence, by Richard and Tina Kleiss, January 12

Typed by Phyllis

When I Consider! – Mabbul (Flood)

by

0

Rainbow by Mike Bader

Rainbow by Mike Bader

Evidence From the Worldwide Flood

Mabbul

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Many people claim that Noah’s Flood was just a relatively small local event. Yet God clearly stated in Genesis 6:17 that the coming judgment would be a mighty flood of waters (mabbul mayim). The word for flood (mabbul), used in Genesis 6:17 for the first time, is only used for Noah’s Flood; other floods are denoted by different words in the Bible. The Genesis Flood was the “mabbul,” unique in all history. God not only used a unique and exact word for the worldwide Flood, but also made it clear that the waters covered the highest mountains.

God promised to never send another flood upon the earth. Yet there have been countless local floods throughout history. Either the Genesis Flood was something different, unique, and worldwide–or God is a liar.

Enormous and widespread geologic features around the planet also testify to the global extent of the Flood. From the rapid formation of the Grand Canyon as backed-up waters rushed off the continents…to widespread coal deposits…to over-sized river valleys around the world-it is apparent that this planet was once covered with water.

(The Genesis Record, p 183) – From A Closer Look at the Evidence by Kleiss, November 8.

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (Genesis 8:21 KJV)

When I Consider! – Amazing Stick Insects

by

0

Stick Insect - Ctenomorpha chronus (by Wiki)

Stick Insect - Ctenomorpha chronus (by Wiki)

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Biology

“One of nature’s masters of disguise is the stick insect. Stick insects are leaf eaters designed to look like little twigs. One tropical stick insect is as thick as a finger and the same color as the bamboo on which it is found. It even has swollen ridges just like bamboo! Other types have leafy flaps that match the leaves of the plants which they like to eat. Some stick insects even lay eggs that look exactly like the seeds of the plant on which they feed. A stick insect that’s found in New Mexico glues its eggs to grass stems. The position and shape of their pointed eggs exactly imitate the seeds of the grass!

New Zealand Stick Insect - (Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua)

New Zealand Stick Insect - (Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua)

Although stick insects don’t fly, some of them have brightly colored wings that can fold quickly to scare away nervous birds who want to investigate them for lunch. Some stick insects will often sway with the breeze to make their illusion even more effective. Others will sit motionless for hours as if they are just another piece of dead wood.

Stick insects are even geniuses at using their predator’s weakness for their own protection. Birds understand this and will closely examine non-moving twigs in search of a meal. Stick insects will not even move when being carried away by a bird, thus fooling many birds into dropping them. Although these defense mechanisms were likely designed after the Fall, stick insects are clearly not the result of random mutations, but the intelligent design of a Creator.”

(Letting God Create Your Day, Vol 3, p194) – From A Closer Look at the Evidence by Kleiss, February 17.

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Psalms 29:2 KJV)

When I Consider! – Woodpecker

by

2

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker (Dendrocopos hyperythrus) by Nikhil Devasar

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker (Dendrocopos hyperythrus) by Nikhil Devasar

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Biology

Consider the probability of all of the following characteristics evolving simultaneously into an effectively functioning system in the woodpecker:

1. Its beak is connected to its skull with a resilient shock-absorbing tissue that is not found in any other bird.

2. The beak is much harder than the beaks of other birds, enabling it to bang away a hundred times a minute without hurting itself.

3. The tongue is barbed in most of the 200+ species and is about four times longer than the beak. In certain species the tongue wraps around the back of the bird’s skull, enabling it to reach deep into tree trunks and remove insects.

4. A sticky coating on some woodpecker tongues helps them grab insects.

5. Its tail feathers are constructed so that they are stiff enough to help brace against trees as it climbs.

6. Its keen senses of smell and hearing help detect insects crawling around under the bark of the trees.

7. It short legs and powerful claws are uniquely designed to help it climb tree trunks.

The engineering behind such a technological wonder as the woodpecker boggles our minds. Try to imagine the obstacles the first bird, which was trying to turn into a woodpecker, would have had to overcome!

The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. (Psalms 145:15-17 KJV)

From A Closer Look at the Evidence by Kleiss, November 6.

“The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas such as rocky hillsides and deserts.

The Picidae are just one of the eight living families in the order Piciformes. Members of the order Piciformes, such as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, (also Asian and African barbets), toucans and honeyguides, have traditionally been thought to be very closely related to the woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks. More recently, DNA sequence analyzes have confirmed this view.[1]”

“Members of the family Picidae have strong bills for drilling and drumming on trees and long sticky tongues for extracting food.[2] Woodpecker bills are typically longer, sharper and stronger than the bills of piculets and wrynecks; however their morphology is very similar. The bill’s chisel-like tip is kept sharp by the pecking action in birds that regularly use it on wood. Species of woodpecker and flicker that use their bills in soil or for probing as opposed to regular hammering tend to have longer and more decurved bills. Due to their smaller bill size, many piculets and wrynecks will forage in decaying wood more often than woodpeckers. The long sticky tongues, which possess bristles, aid these birds in grabbing and extracting insects deep within a hole of a tree. It had been reported that the tongue was used to spear grubs, but more detailed studies published in 2004 have shown that the tongue instead wraps around the prey before being pulled out.[3]

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) by Reinier Munguia

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) by Reinier Munguia

“The diet of woodpeckers consists mainly of insects and their grubs taken from living and dead trees, and other arthropods, along with fruit from live trees, nuts and sap both from live trees. Their role ecologically is thereby keeping trees healthy by keeping them from suffering mass infestations.The family is noted for its ability to acquire wood-boring grubs using their bills for hammering, but overall the family is characterized by its dietary flexibility, with many species being both highly omnivorous and opportunistic. The insect prey most commonly taken are insects found inside tree trunks, whether they are alive or rotten wood and in crevices in bark on trees. These include beetles and their grubs, ants, termites, spiders,and caterpillars. These may be obtained either by gleaning or more famously by excavating wood. Having hammered a hole into the wood the prey is excavated by a long barbed tongue. The ability to excavate allows woodpeckers to obtain tree sap, an important source of food for some species. Most famously the sapsuckers, (genus Sphyrapicus ) feed in this fashion, but the technique is not restricted to these and others such as the Acorn Woodpecker also feed in this way. It was once thought that the technique was restricted to the New World, but Old World species such as the Arabian Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker also feed in this way.[2]”Wikipedia”

See Also:
When I Consider! – Woodpecker and Bones

When I Consider! – Salt Concentration

by

2

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

“Evidence From Geology”

Salt concentration in seawater can be used as a chronometer, because the oceans are getting saltier each year as rivers dump dissolved salts from the continents into the sea.  Traditionally, evolutionists have assumed that life evolved in a salty sea, some two to four billion years ago.  It is even taught that the mineral composition of our blood is similar to ancient seawater, because this is where the first living cell developed.  This belief is wrong, because the composition of our blood is not even remotely similar to the concentrations or types of the various salts in the oceans.   Furthermore, by measuring the rate at which salt is flowing from rivers into the ocean, scientists can estimate the maximum possible age of the current oceans.

Salt Fills The Sea Too Fast from AIG

Salt Fills The Sea Too Fast from AIG

Drs. Steven Austin and Russell Humphreys have done just that in a research paper called “The Sea’s Missing Salt:  A Dilemma For Evolutionists.”  In their research they systematically identified all known mechanisms and rates for the addition and removal of salt from the oceans.  This work has shown that there is nowhere near enough salt in the oceans if they are really thousands of millions of years old.  This is true even the oceans started as pure distilled water!  The oceans could not possibly be old enough for evolution to have taken place.

The Young Earth, p.85-87

Creation Magazine, Sept. 2000

In the beginning You  laid the foundations of the earth…   Psalm 102:25

(Typed by Phyllis)

Some more articles on this subject:
Reiterating: ok to use sea sodium as evidence for a young world
When I Hear… by Dr. Frank DeRemer
*
*

When I Consider! – Capillary flow, Osmosis and Vacuum pressure

by

1

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Botany – January 4

On a hot summer day, one large tree can pump over a thousand gallons—that’s four ton—of water from the ground to it leaves. The water is collected from the soil through the roots. But the real work of pumping four tons of water, often 100 feet in the air, occurs at the top of the tree. The water is suctioned toward the treetop by three remarkably efficient mechanisms—capillary flow, osmosis and vacuum pressure. Osmosis and capillary action act in concert to move the water partway to the top of the tree, but the real driving force is a pressure differential created by the leaves within the vessels of the tree. The pressure differential is a result of water evaporating from the leaves of the tree, creating a suction throughout the vessels. This suction (measured as low as 1/20 of atmospheric pressure) helps to draw water from the roots all the way to the top of the tree. If you were to cut one of these vessels, you could actually hear a hissing sound as air rushed back in.

Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) by Daves BirdingPix

Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) by Daves BirdingPix up in a tree

The engineering excellence of this silent pumping system which efficiently delivers moisture to the very top of trees, is a not-so-silent witness against the idea that chance evolutionary processes (such as mutations) could have developed it.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28

From A Closer Look at the Evidence, by the Kleiss’

(Typed by Phyllis)

When I Consider! – Couch’s Spadefoot Toad

by

0

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Biology – January 6

The Couch’s spadefoot toad of the Sonoran Desert is an example of how God takes care of creatures under extreme conditions. This toad lies dormant in the hot desert eleven out of twelve months each year. It has built-in sensors that tell it when a violent desert rainstorm occurs. The toad can detect vibrations of pounding rain miles away. It somehow knows to emerge from the sand when it rains so that the male toads can call for females as soon as pools of water form. Shortly afterwards the egg-laying is completed and the toads return to the sand, safe from the heat of the burning daytime sun. Most of the time the desert pools rapidly dry up, killing the eggs. Only under ideal conditions will some of the eggs hatch nine days later. The young toads have at most a few weeks to eat enough food to survive before burying themselves in the sand for the next eleven months while awaiting the another rainstorm.

Couch's Spadefoot Toad

Couch's Spadefoot Toad

Such survival instincts and mechanisms were probably not required before the Fall, when the world was designed as a paradise. In the current world, with its severe climates, such instincts and abilities seem to have been specifically designed for animals such as the spadefoot toad. How could this ability to adjust to such harsh weather conditions have evolved? Unless all of the abilities, instincts, and timing of the toads’ reproductive cycle were in place, the toads could never have survived the first severe season.

The wild animals honor me…because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland… (Isaiah 43:20)

From A Closer Look at the Evidence, by the Kleiss’

(Typed by Phyllis)

From Wikipedia:
The Couch’s Spadefoot Toad, (Scaphiopus couchii) is a species of North American spadefoot toad native to the southwestern United States and the Baja region of Mexico. The epithet couchii is in honor of American naturalist Darius Nash Couch, who collected the first specimen while on a personal expedition to northern Mexico to collect plant, mineral and animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institution.[1]

These toads can be found throughout the Sonoran Desert, including Arizona. How can you tell the species? True toads have horizontal pupils but the spadefoots have vertical pupils (like cats). Look at the sole of a hind foot. There you’ll find the hard, dark “spade” that gives a spadefoot its name. There are only two spadefoot species in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and California. If the space is sickleshaped, it’s Couch’s spadefoot, Scaphiopus couchi. If the spade is rounded, it’s the western spadefoot, Scaphiopus hammondii(called the southern spadefoot, Scaphiopus multiplicatus, in some field guides).

Spadefoot Foot by Thomas Eimermacher

Spadefoot Foot by Thomas Eimermacher

Incidentally, the spades really are digging tools–spadefoots use them to burrow backward into the soil.

Once you’ve finished checking the animal, gently put it down where you caught it–it has important things to do–then wash your hands thoroughly in the water. Amphibian skin secretions can be quite toxic; they probably won’t affect your hands, but you won’t want to get them in your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Spadefoots live for the monsoon. They spend the rest of the year underground awaiting their wake-up call: the drumming of raindrops on the soil during a summer thunderstorm. As soon as the males dig out they go looking for rain pools, and when they find them they broadcast the news loudly as they can. The chorus draws silent female spadefoots from far and wide.

Mating is an urgent matter for spadefoots. Their tadpoles must hatch, grow, and change into toadlets before the pool evaporates in the summer sun. That’s why they do most of their mating the first night the pool forms. Couch’s spadefoot toadlets sometimes leave the puddle only nine days after the eggs are laid! Western spadefoots take longer–at least three weeks.

The warmth of the water speeds up the tadpoles’ growth. Meanwhile they devour everything even remotely edible. They scrape algae off rocks. They filter microorganisms from the water as they pump it over their gills. They gather in wriggling masses, stir up the muck on the bottom of the pond, and filter that. And unlike most tadpoles, which are exclusively herbivores and filter-feeders, spadefoot tadpoles are omnivores. They also eat dead insects and tadpoles, and” more.

See Also:

Couch’s Spadefoot

Couch’s Spadefoot Toad by LA Zoo

When I Consider! – Snowshoe Rabbit

by

0

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Biology – January 2

Although the original world was created perfect and without death, our fallen world requires creatures to adapt to difficult situations in order to survive. Even in the current world full of death and competition, the smallest of creatures exhibit amazing capabilities for survival in harsh environments. The female snowshoe rabbit is one such creature. During extreme drought or harsh winters, the stress of finding food triggers a chemical process in the pregnant female that stops and embryo’s growth. Her body then responds to this condition of physical weakness with a process called resorption. In this process, the mother completely reabsorbs the growing embryo. This mechanism allows the rabbit to survive by replenishing her own strength. She can later become pregnant during more favorable conditions.

Snowshoe Hare or Rabbit

Snowshoe Hare or Rabbit

The number of chemical and physical changes required for a rabbit to reverse a pregnancy is mind-boggling. There is no scientific evidence which explains how this remarkable resorption process could have evolved. The creativity of God to have provided for the common rabbit in this way is truly amazing!

The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116:5

From A Closer Look at the Evidence, by the Kleiss’

(Typed by Phyllis)

When I Consider! – Dinosaur and Bee DNA

by

0

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Microbiology – October 17

Science News, Nov. 18, 1994, reported that dinosaur DNA had been identified within unfossilized dinosaur bones found 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth in a Utah coal mine. The DNA did not match any known creature currently alive on Earth. The find was disputed on the grounds that dinosaur DNA should not have survived the supposed 80 million years. The DNA fragments also had no similarity to bird DNA (from whom the dinosaurs supposedly evolved). Therefore, this evidence has been largely ignored.

Oldest Bee (in Amber)

Oldest Bee (in Amber)

Science News, May 20, 1995, reported that scientists have extracted and revived live bacteria from the stomach of a bee which was encased in amber “over 25 million years ago.” Although the work was done with the greatest of efforts to prevent any “modern” bacteria from contaminating the results, many biochemists refute the find because, “DNA spontaneously degenerates to short fragments over a period of several thousand years at moderate temperatures.” Thus, this work has also been ignored because it does not fit the old-earth model.

These are just two examples showing how the assumption of evolution hinders the progress of knowledge. Evidence which does not fit into the “evolutionary mold” is ignored on the basis that it shows evolution—with its requirement of an ancient earth-to be wrong. The evidence fits perfectly into the biblical model of Earth history with a relatively recent worldwide burial of organisms. DNA fragments can still be found, because the earth is relatively young.

World By Design Newsletter,
Vol 2, no 6; Vol 3, no.3

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  Proverbs 9:10

From A Closer Look at the Evidence, by Richard and Tina Kleiss

Some Interesting Links to Articles:
Dinosaur DNA Research: Is the tale wagging the evidence?
Dinosaur Protein Sequences and the Dino-to-Bird Model
Common DNA Sequences: Evidence of Evolution or Efficient Design?
Evolution Wilts in Light of Flowering Plants
Ancient Amber Discovery Contradicts Geologic Timescale

 

When I Consider! – Complexity

by

0

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

Evidence From Biology – October 15

The more we learn about life, the greater the complexity we find. There were no sophisticated microscopes 150 years ago. Consequently, the leap of complexity from single-to-multiple-call organisms was greatly underestimated. The development of the computer has given us an even greater appreciation for the enormous complexity, extreme miniaturization, and vast storage capabilities of the brain. Consider a few other giant leaps that evolutionists must accept in order to hold onto their faith in evolution:

Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

1. Flight somehow evolved on at least four different occasions (birds, insects, reptiles, mammals).

2. Photosynthesis somehow developed.

3. Cold-blooded animals somehow turned into warm-blooded animals.

4. Floating marine plants somehow changed into complex plants with roots, stems, and leaf systems.

5. Placental animals (the off-spring develop inside of their mother) somehow turned into marsupial animals (their off-spring develop within a pouch).

6. Egg-laying animals somehow developed the ability to give live births.

7. Insects somehow learned to totally rearrange themselves and change form in a process called metamorphosis (such as a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly).

8. Land mammals and reptiles such as whales, seals, dolphins, ichthyosaurs, and plesiosaurs somehow crawled back into the sea and developed all of the specialized organs needed for sea survival.

In the Beginning, 7th ED., p.17

Blessed is he…whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them… (Psalm 146:5-6)

(Article typed by Phyllis)

See the following articles at Creation Moments:

25 Reasons to Doubt the Theory of Evolution
The Miracle of Photosynthesis
The Insect with Two Brains
The God of Science