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Greg Neyman Profile and Articles
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1). The Fossil Record And Creation Science
Young earth creationists commonly point to the fossil record in order to support their position. In one instance, the article "The Fossil Record: Becoming More Random All the Time" by John Woodmorappe, has some very good points to it (Footnote 1). Read it if you like, (its a long one), but you don't have to much farther than the abstract to see problems.
2). Psalm 104: The Creation Psalm
The 104th Psalm has long been known as the "Creation Psalm." This psalm presents a poem about the creation of the world, and it contains several key passages that contains clues about key topics related to the creation, such as the flood, death before the fall of man, and the age of the earth.
First, let us establish a basis for the fundamentalist, young earth view of this passage.
3). Creation Science Issues - Fossil Footprints
In an article by Leonard Brand and James Florence, titled Stratigraphic Distribution of Vertebrate Fossil Footprints Compared with Body Fossils (Footnote 1), the authors do a fascinating study of fossil footprint sites, and correlate them with the distribution of actual fossils. Fossil footprints are not true fossils, and are more correctly identified by the term "trace fossil.
4). Dinosaurs In The Bible? - Interpreting Job 40-41
For many years young-earth creationists have pointed to the book of Job, chapters 40-41, as evidence that dinosaurs lived recently. In order to set the record straight, let’s examine this passage of scripture, and see what the possibilities are. I may surprise a few old-earth creationists by my conclusions with this one. First, let’s read the portion of Job 40 that is in question, in the King James Version.
5). Dating Biblical Events In An Old Earth Framework
As Christians who believe in the Bible, of course we think the events of the Bible happened just as the Bible records them. But when did they happen? This article will examine this question.
The Last Common Denominator
Young earth creationists say that the world is 6,000 years old, therefore they would say the events in Genesis happened less than 6,000 years ago.
6). Romans 1:20: Clear Support For An Old Earth
One of the often-quoted verses about creation is Romans 1:20. This verse is presented below in three translations.
KJV – For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
NASB – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
7). Word Study: Yom
The Hebrew word for “day” is the word “Yom.” Young earth creationists have always argued that the word used for the days of creation can only mean a 24-hour day. In this article, we will examine the uses of Yom in the Old Testament, and show that it can mean a wide variety of time periods.
First, one must understand that the Hebrew language is not nearly is diverse as our English language.
8). God's Broken Promise
One of the common claims by young earth creationists is that if Noah's Flood were a local flood, then God has broken his promise many times. According to The Answers Book, chapter 10,
"If the Flood were local, God would have repeatedly broken His promise never to send such a Flood again. There have been huge 'local' floods in recent times: in Bangladesh, for example, where 80% of that country has been inundated, or Europe in 2002.
9). Church Fathers And Creationism
One of the many things that I observe in the debate between young-earth and old-earth creationists, is the constant appeal to the works of past theologians. People are constantly appealing to this church father, or that medieval theologian, in the hopes that they will justify their belief in an old or young earth.
Old-earth creationists have pointed to Justin Martyr, Origin, Augustine, and others from the first four centuries after Christ, as believing in an old earth.
10). Death Before The Fall Of Man
Young-earth creationists have long argued against the occurrence of death before the fall of man. This mistaken doctrine stems from two verses in the Bible. The first is Genesis 1:29-30, which states, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
11). Neanderthal Species Distinct From Humans
For many years young earth ministries have claimed that Neanderthals were modern humans. However, new evidence shows that they should in fact be a separate species, which died out, and did not contribute to the gene pool of present-day humanity.
In a story reported in late January 2004, scientists did a detailed computer analysis of human and Neanderthal skulls, comparing the variations with the variations of sub-species of apes.
12). Living Fossils
No doubt you have heard the claims from young earth creationists about living fossils. A "living fossil" is an organism that is thought to have been extinct, and then it shows up alive on planet earth.
The claim by young earth creationists is that these living fossils are proof that the earth is young. The reasoning is that since all organisms were alive only 4,300 years ago, before the time that they date the Flood of Noah, then it is reasonable to assume that they are still alive today.
13). Bishop Ussher's Dates: No Proof Of A Young Earth
For hundreds of years Christians have appealed to the dates formulated by the 17th century bishop, James Ussher. Using biblical genealogies from Genesis 5 and 11, and other supporting Biblical passages, he pieced together a timeline for Biblical events. Many Bibles have this timeline in the margins, indicating the estimated year that the events on that page occurred.
14). Transitional Fossils
Transitional fossils, or the supposed lack thereof, has been used for many years by anti-evolutionists to argue against evolution. Here, I will explain what a transitional fossil is, and why it is not valid as an argument against evolution.
A transitional fossil shows the evolutionary development from one species to another. For example, if organism.
15). Desert Problem For Young Earth Creation Science
Young-earth creationists have a problem. According to their creation model, all the fossil-bearing rock layers in the world need to be created during the Flood of Noah. Fossils, in ancient rock layers, imply that death occurred before the Fall of man, which is contrary to their interpretation of Scripture.
The most visible rock layers in the world are those in the Grand Canyon.
16). The Floating Forest Theory Sinks
One explanation used by young-earth proponents to explain that all coal seams formed during the Flood is the concept of the floating forest, which can be found on the Answers in Genesis website, written by Carl Wieland. There are actually four articles on the web that we will consider when discussing the floating forest. The other three are:
“Too Much.
17). Chalk And Noah's Flood
Young earth creation science advocate Andrew Snelling proposes in his article "Can Flood Geology Explain Thick Chalk Layers?" that it is possible to lay down massive layers of chalk in a short amount of time (Footnote 1). It is necessary for him to prove this can happen, because the chalk layers must be laid down during the Flood of Noah for him to prove that the earth is young, and that the days of creation were literal twenty-four hour days.
18). T-rex Soft Tissue
The recent discovery of soft tissue inside a fossilized T-rex femur has the young earth creationist world buzzing. They claim this startling evidence clearly supports a young earth. However, as usual, young earth creation science is “grasping at straws” while ignoring the whole haystack (for links to the Answers in Genesis article, see below). Even more interesting is what Answers in Genesis omits from the original article, as they "pick and choose," as is their style, only those portions that supports their position.
19). Noah's Flood
The Flood of Noah is one of the centerpiece arguments for young-earth theology. Because of this, I have been asked what I believe the Flood of Noah was like.
To answer this question, let us first look at what the Flood is not…it is not the event that has been described by the young-earth theorists. There is no possible way the Flood could produce the rock record we see, nor could the flood produce all the coal layers, oil reserves, or chalk layers that we see in the rocks.
20). Old Earth Belief
Have you ever been to a church that claimed that the earth is young? Have you ever felt pressured into believing in a young earth, even though you felt the scientific evidence was contrary to a young earth? Have you ever thought that in order to be a Christian, you had to deny science, and believe in a young earth? You are not alone. Many churches preach that the earth is young, and many require you to profess this belief through their statement of faith, which includes a world that was created in six 24-hour days.
21). Old Earth Creationist Relationships
As old-earth creationists, what should our relationship be with the young-earth creationist? Can we get along together, in the same churches, without arguing?
As you can imagine, a lot of the email that Answers In Creation receives is from the young-earth person who takes issue with our position. They range from sincere to hostile; some “agreeing to disagree,” others flat out demanding that we delete the website.
22). Can I Be A Christian And Believe In An Old Earth?
Yes, you can! There is no verse in the Bible which causes you to accept a young earth as the only answer. The Bible does not say, "Thou shalt believe in a young earth." The fact is, no verse in the Bible makes any claims as to the age of the earth. All the so-called verses that young earth proponents point to can be interpreted by the reader to mean old or young.
23). God Doesn't Care About Creation Science
How could such a statement be true? How could the creator of all things not really care about His creation?
As a blanket, catch-all statement, it is only partially true. God cares that you recognize Him as the creator. What I’m referring to is the “how” of creation.
As Christians, we all have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us, convicting us of sin.
24). The Doctrine Of Creation
According to many today, the doctrine of creation is one of those critical doctrines that one must believe in. In many churches, it is required belief before a person becomes a member of the church. However, it has not always been that way. As you will see, this is a relatively new doctrine, invented by twentieth-century young-earth believers and their ministries.
25). Creation Scientist?
What is a young-earth “creation scientist?” Is there such a thing. Organizations such as Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research claim that their scientists are true scientists. They list a long list of scientists from the past who were creationists. Do these lists of scientists prove that creation science is true "science?" Let’s look at the definition of the scientific method.
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