Press

Proclaiming the truth of God's Creation

Saturday March 9, 2002 - We Made the News!

When we started Creation Matters North East I expected to use this page to comment on creation vs. evolution items in the news. I did not expect we would be making the news.

As it turned out our one day mini-conference with Ken Ham and others held at Emmanuel College in Gateshead was hijacked by evolutionists as a propaganda weapon in their opposition to faith schools. When we all gathered on the Saturday morning we were surprised to see that our even had triggered a major article in the Guardian.

Top school's creationists preach value of biblical story over evolution

State-funded secondary teachers do not accept findings of Darwin

Tania Branigan Saturday March 9, 2002 The Guardian

According to Tania Branigan:

'Fundamentalist Christians who do not believe in evolution have taken control of a state-funded secondary school in England. In a development which will astonish many British parents, creationist teachers at the city technology college in Gateshead are undermining the scientific teaching of biology in favour of persuading pupils of the literal truth of the Bible.'

In fact, all we had done was to hire the school hall! In spite of the numerous inaccuracies in this article it proved impossible to persuade the Guardian to print a correction. They even had a photograph of Gateshead College rather than Emmanuel! Numerous letters to the press went unpublished although Prof Andy McIntosh, one of the speakers that Saturday, did have an excellent letter published in The Telegraph. Here is the text of my unpublished letter to The Telegraph:

Sir

I am writing this letter in response to the current creation / evolution debate in the media which was apparently initiated by the Creation Matters NE conference on Saturday 9 March and to record our support for the position expressed by Professor Andrew McIntosh in Saturday’s Telegraph. Prof McIntosh was a speaker at our conference and, although he and I both wrote to The Guardian following their coverage, neither of our letters were published.

I am in touch with a number of academics who wish to place on record their belief in creation as a scientifically valid and entirely satisfactory explanation of origins. Furthermore we are convinced that the evidence for evolution is far from ‘unassailable’ as is claimed by Professor Dawkins. It is clear to us that evolution cannot offer a satisfactory mechanism to explain the origin of species. Among those who support this position are; Dr. Stuart C Burgess Reader in Mechanical Engineering University of Bristol, Dr. Stephen Taylor Reader in Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Dr. David Back University of Liverpool, and Prof. Thomas Wells University of Cardiff.

Can I add my personal appreciation to the Editor for maintaining the tradition of free and open debate.

Yours faithfully

... and a letter from several scientists (unpublished) to The Times

Sir

We are writing this letter in response to the current creation / evolution debate in the media which was apparently initiated by the Creation matters NE conference on Saturday 9 March and to record our support for the position expressed by Professor Andrew McIntosh in Saturday’s Telegraph.

We wish to place on record our belief in creation as a scientifically valid and entirely satisfactory explanation of origins. Furthermore as scientists we are convinced that the evidence for evolution is far from ‘unassailable’ as is claimed by Professor Dawkins. It is clear to us that evolution cannot offer a satisfactory mechanism to explain the origin of species.

It is in fact a component of an atheistic philosophy; a kind of evolutionist fundamentalism. We suggest it is this religious belief, rather than the scientific data, which underlies the allegedly scientific views of Professor Dawkins.

Yours faithfully Etc

Dr. Stuart C Burgess Reader in Mechanical Engineering University of Bristol

Dr. Stephen Taylor Reader in Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool

Dr. David Back University of Liverpool

Prof. Thomas Wells University of Cardiff

Articles by Richard Dawkins and Steve Thomas followed, but still no opportunity to reply.

Here is a quote from one of Dawkins' articles:

'Any science teacher who denies that the world is billions (or even millions!) of years old is teaching children a preposterous, mind-shrinking falsehood.'

Clearly Dawkins' concept of the scientific method is very different from mine. I would say that, 'Anyone who presents the age of the earth as billions of years as a scientific fact is going well beyond what can be established scientifically.'

At last space was given in the Daily Mail to an excellent article by Melanie Phillips. Here is a short quote:

This row should cause intense concern to anyone who cares about liberal values and freedom of thought in our schools. For this is a direct attempt by secularists to force schools to teach only what they deem to be an approved set of beliefs. Emmanuel is a non-denominational Christian school run by evangelical Christians. .... The attack on Emmanuel reveals an alarming intolerance. For what exactly has the school done to attract such opprobrium? It merely teaches creationism, the Biblical story that the world was created in six days - which some evangelicals interpret metaphorically - in its religious education classes. In science classes at the school, teachers and pupils discuss the gaps that Darwin himself acknowledged in his theory of evolution. ... It is being said that taxpayers' money should not be spent on teaching creationism because this runs contrary to scientific fact. But evolution is not a fact. It is a theory with holes in it. What Emmanuel questions in its religion classes, and may question in its science classes, is scientism, the doctrine that says the only questions worth asking are the ones that science can answer.

Well said!

Here is the BBC's version of the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1872331.stm

The story even made it to Prime Minister's questions. Here is the quote from Hansard:

Q5. [40149] Dr. Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park): Is the Prime Minister happy-[Hon. Members: "Yes."] Is the Prime Minister happy to allow the teaching of creationism alongside Darwin's theory of evolution in state schools? The Prime Minister: First, I am very happy. Secondly, I know that the hon. Lady is referring to a school in the north-east, and I think that certain reports about what it has been teaching are somewhat exaggerated. It would be very unfortunate if concerns about that issue were seen to remove the very strong incentive to ensure that we get as diverse a school system as we properly can. In the end, a 13 Mar 2002 : Column 887 more diverse school system will deliver better results for our children. If she looks at the school's results, I think she will find that they are very good.

Melanie Phillips ahs written an excellent article Intolerance against religion which appeared in the Daily Mirror. As she says:

..... 'And evolution certainly does not have all the answers. It does not explain human self-consciousness; it does not explain altruism; it does not explain how existence began. Scientists like Dawkins say such questions are unanswerable and therefore should not be asked. But this attitude is not only the height of arrogance – when it translates into telling faith schools what they cannot teach and what pupils are not allowed to think, it becomes totalitarian.' .....

David S Walton

Here are some links to other stories about creation which have appeared in the news. Most of these stories come from the Science / Technology page at BBC Online.

1999

New 'living fossil' identified "The first living coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) was discovered in 1938 when marine biologists hailed the fish as a "living fossil" - an animal that has existed virtually unchanged since it first appeared over 400 million years ago. Since the 1930s, fishermen have pulled in about 200 other coelacanths. The catches have been so few and in such a restricted area that scientists assumed they were dealing with a small an isolated population living only in the Mozambique Strait, or even around just one or two of the Comoros islands (Grand Comoros and Anjouan)."

Comment. Stasis - the apparent fixity of species in the fossil record - is a gigantic problem for the evolutionist. Why did the coelacanth remain unchanged for 100s of Millions of years when, according to evolutionary dogma, everything around it was changing? Quite an achievement. Perhaps Kipling might have written something like, 'If you can keep your morphology whilst all around are losing theirs ...? I am interested to note the way 'living fossil' is almost always put in quotes. Evolutionists need a new name - perhaps 'living' would do? It is very inconsiderate for creatures to be alive when they should have died out aeons ago. I guess some creatures are just plain stubborn.

More Coelancath Information Here

Secrets of super zip revealed Researchers have created the first atomic-resolution image of a donut-shaped enzyme that unwinds the DNA double helix.

Comment. Look at the illustration then tell me that this amazing molecular machine wasn't designed.

January 2000

Neanderthals not human ancestors Modern humans do not have Neanderthal ancestors in their family tree, a new DNA study concludes.

Heart gets turbo boost The heart's irregular shape gives the organ a turbo-like boost when it needs to work hard, scientists say.

.... the uneven curve of the heart means the flow of blood is bounced in exactly the right direction. This allows the incoming and outgoing streams of blood to pass each other in three-dimensional space without colliding. Research team member Dr Phillip Kilner told BBC News Online: "The vertebrate heart with it's special shape has less turbulence and therefore wastes less energy than a snail's for example.

Dinosaur heart found The first ever fossilised dinosaur heart has been discovered by scientists in the US. Dr Michael Stoskopf is an expert on the comparative anatomy of mammals, reptiles and birds, and helped to produce the 3-D composite images of Willo's chest cavity. "Willo's ventricles and aorta indicate it had completely separate pulmonary and body circulation systems, which suggests it had a metabolic rate higher than we generally see in living reptiles," he said.

See also www.dinoheart.org What are the odds of finding a fossilized dinosaur heart? Until recently, most specialists would have said slim to none. But the seemingly impossible has occurred within the 66-million-year-old skeleton of a small, plant-eating Thescelosaurus, nicknamed 'Willo'-- and the structure of the heart is surprisingly advanced.

Comment. The evolutionist may be 'surprised' at the advanced heart, but the Christian is not. It is what we would expect of a Creator who leaves His evidence of perfect design on every creature He has made.

June 2000

P-p-p-pick out a penguin "Penguins may all look the same but French scientists have discovered that each and every Emperor and King penguin has a unique call signal. They use this signal to find their mates and offspring amid the crowds of penguins huddled together for warmth in the dark Antarctic winter. The researchers say this beat pattern can best be described as a bar-code."

Comment. This is a new and interesting challenge for evolutionists. A coding scheme like this requires both design of the code and a system to ensure that codes are issued in a unique way. It is pretty hard to see how this could have evolved, since it benefits the whole community rather than individuals.

Gecko's amazing sticky feet The mystery of how geckos manage to scurry up walls and stick to ceilings may have been solved by scientists. It seems the little lizards have a network of tiny hairs and pads on their feet which produce electrical attractions that literally glue the animals down. With millions of the hairs on each foot, the combined attraction of the weak electrical forces allow the gecko to stick to virtually any surface - even polished glass.

....... without any glands on their feet, it would be hard for geckos to produce their own natural glue. But a team of researchers, led by Professor Robert Full, now think it may all come down to van der Waals forces - the weak attraction that molecules have for one another when they are brought very, very close together.

Comment. So the Gecko is exploiting induced dipole - induced dipole forces which are very short range and require intimate surface contact. These Van der Waals forces have been known to scientists for less than 100 years.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore Why secular scientists and media can't admit that Darwinism might be wrong. The current issue of Christianity Today is devoted to the Intelligent Design debate.

Comment: This is an excellent review article with some useful links.

Earliest feathers fan controversy "A small, lizard-like creature that lived 220 million years ago has re-ignited the debate about the evolution of birds by seriously questioning whether they evolved from dinosaurs. This suggests an evolutionary link between the two. .....

But Longisquama, the scientists say, was not a dinosaur, and in any case was around when the great reptiles had only just begun to walk the Earth. And they argue that it is unlikely that features as complex and specialised as feathers evolved more than once."

Comment: It is 'Unlikely that ... feathers evolved more than once'; you could call this an understatement. The picture of the fossil imprint of the feathers is superb.

March, 2002

Warning of confusion over CreationismScientists want tighter controls on science lessons Scientists say schoolchildren are being confused by conflicting teaching about the creation of the world. They are stepping up their campaign against the teaching of Creationism in schools. A total of 36 scientists and philosophers have written to the government, the chief scientific officer and the exam body the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) expressing alarm that creationism theory is being taught in schools.

Comment: Note 'Scientists'; as though there was unanimity on the issue. We can expect many more challenges like this to our freedom.

May 2002

Creation scientists answer back A group of 27 creationist scientists has written to the education secretary arguing against any narrowing of England's school science curriculum to focus on Darwinian evolution. Their letter is in response to a previous letter from 36 academics, expressing alarm that creationism theory - the Biblical account of the origins of life - was being taught in schools.

Comment: This time we were able to reply.

Nature's medicine maker decoded British scientists have decoded the genetic make-up of the bacterium that makes most of the world's antibiotics. The information will be used to develop more powerful medicines to fight superbugs and even cancer. The bacterium, known as Streptomyces coelicolor, is found in the soil. .... Eight and a half million DNA "letters"; 20 clusters of genes. An estimated 8,700 genes. In comparison, the E. coli bug has 4,000 genes, yeast 6,000, the fruit fly 13,000, the nematode worm 18,000, and a human being about 30,000.

Question for Evolutionists. How come this organism has an unexpressed DNA library. Did it just collect this information in the 'hope' that it would be useful one day? Or was it put there by a wise Ctreator for our good?

October 2002

Scientists clash over skull The war of words over the significance of an ancient skull known as Toumai resurfaced on Wednesday. The fossil specimen was described as possibly the most important find of its kind in living memory when it was first presented to the media in July. ... Brigette Senut, Milford Wolpoff, Martin Pickford and others argue in the journal Nature that the skull is not on the human branch of the evolutionary tree at all. Different interpretations are put on the teeth Image: MPFT Instead, they say, the specimen (formally classified as Sahelanthropus tchadensis) is probably that of an early gorilla or a chimpanzee, or a species that has since become extinct.

Tourmai is a typical example of the 'New Discovery Means Entire Histor of Human Evolution will have to be Rewritten' type of story. Tourmai is the latest casualty.

December 2002

Sea creature offers clearer vision Researchers in the US are studying a relative of the starfish, known as a brittlestar, whose arms are covered with perfect lenses. The lenses provide the brittlestar with all- round vision. Scientists say they are better than any optical devices developed in the lab. "Instead of trying to come up with new ideas and technology, we can learn from this marine creature," said Joanna Aizenberg of Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs. ... "These creatures are able to focus light about 20 times better than any manufactured lenses that we have now," said Dr Aizenberg. "So we can learn how to make lenses to concentrate light 10 or 20 times better for use in optical communications."

Presumably evolutionists would have us believe that these lenses developed without design input but are 20x better than our best optical technology.

January 2003

Flap over dino origins 'According to a US scientist, flight may have evolved in two- legged dinosaurs that flapped their feathered fore-limbs to climb slopes.'

I give up. Do evolutionists really believe this stuff?

Four-winged dinos from China According to the Chinese team that found the specimens - led by Xing Xu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing - this may be the first confirmation. "Although the dinosaurian hypothesis of bird origins is widely accepted, debate remains about how the ancestor of birds first learned to fly," the scientists report in the journal Nature. "Here we provide new evidence suggesting that basal dromaeosaurid dinosaurs [a sub- group of theropod dinosaurs] were four-winged animals and probably could glide, representing an intermediate stage towards the active, flapping-flight stage." The suggestion is that dinosaurs went through a gliding stage before learning to fly with two fore-limbs, says Dr Angela Milner of London's Natural History Museum.

They have found the lizard equivalent of a flying fox. What does this prove? If the fossil is genuine, it proves that there were gliding lizards in the past. Does it tell us anything at all about evolution? No.

Great uncle aardvark? 'The ancient ancestor of all mammals that give birth to live young - including humans - probably had genetic similarities with the aardvark. ................ Professor Terence Robinson of the University of Stellenbosch in Matieland, South Africa, is author of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He told BBC News Online: "All mammals essentially had one common ancestor if you go back in distant time." '

More evolutionary speculation. What does this have to do with the Scientific Method?

Odds against Earth-like planets 'Earth-like worlds circling stars in orbital zones suitable for life may be few and far between in the cosmos, according to new research. In the first comprehensive study of extrasolar planetary systems, astronomers have shown that in most of them it would not be possible to keep an Earth-like world in orbit around a star so that it was neither too hot nor too cold for life.'