@David Read: I agree with you David. And due …

Comment on Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit by Bob Helm.

@David Read: I agree with you David. And due to the fact that bodily remains are usually found higher than tracks, we may not find the bodies of birds in the Triassic. Still, it would be nice to find an actual Triassic bird, and perhaps Chatterjee’s Protoavis is one. However, I have heard that this fossil is badly mangled, so that its identification is somewhat uncertain. Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but I’d rather be extra slow to jump on someone’s bandwagon, instead of making the mistakes Darwinists have made with Piltdown Man and Archaeoraptor.

Bob Helm Also Commented

Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit
@David Read: Dear David,
I agree with everything you have stated. The reason I said it works both ways is that the Biblical account, while true, is only a sketch. In fact, Genesis moves very fast through its first 11 chapters and then slows down when it arrives at Abraham. Furthermore, Genesis is not written in scientific jargon; it is written in language that even children can understand, which is as it should be, because the Holy Spirit has wanted to communicate with all people in all ages, not just modern scientists. So scientific concepts like ecological zonation, catastrophic plate tectonics, and post-flood glacial theory are not touched on in Genesis, but they give us a broader picture of how the events described in Genesis probably took place.

I do have to agree with Sean on one thing. The Phanerozoic fossil record looks very catastrophic to me, and I would have a hard time keeping an open mind and applying the principles of uniformitarianism to it. With what we know today, it can only be interpreted that way if we are already committed to the philosophical presuppositions of Lyellism and are trying to force nature to conform to that model. An objective interpretation of the fossil data yields catastrophism of some sort, and the Genesis account of the flood helps us to be more specific in identifying the catastrophic process that was involved.


Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit
@Professor Kent: Dear Professor Kent,

I have been thinking more about your question as to why dinosaurs did not climb into the higher elevations inhabited by mammals during the early stages of the flood, and it occurred to me that this question does not merely pertain to the months when dinosaurs were alive, but seeking shelter from the oncoming flood. The same question also pertains to the extended period of time when dinosaurs and mammals lived in the antediluvian world. What kept them separate then?

Again, I don’t know the fine details of antediluvian geomorphology, but as I think about this issue, I suspect that there were natural barriers that kept dinosaurs and most mammals separate.

Let’s consider an example from our modern world. Modern lion populations occur in Africa and a few places in southern Asia, while modern tiger populations occur strictly in Asia. Why are there no lions in northern or central Asia? Why are there no tigers in Africa? I think the answer is that natural barriers keep the populations of these large cats separate.

Now lion and especially tiger populations have dwindled in recent years, but let’s go back to a time when there were more of these cats in the world – say the year 1800. Suppose a progressive, year long catastrophe had occurred in 1800 and had wiped out all the world’s lions and tigers. Would we find lion fossils in Siberia today? Would we find tiger fossils in Africa today? I doubt it. If lions and tigers had lived for several months in the oncoming catastrophe before perishing, I suspect that they would have sought higher ground. But I doubt that they would have crossed the formidable natural barriers that separate Siberia and Africa.

As I have already stated, I cannot speak with certainty in answering your question, but I suspect that a similar situation prevented the dinosaurs and mammals from mixing, both in the antediluvian world and in the early stages of the flood.


Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit
@Professor Kent: We dont know the fine details of geomorphology in the antediluvian world. Perhaps there were natural barriers that prevented dinosaurs from mixing with many of the mammals. Or perhaps there is some other explanation. Or maybe I am wrong and Sean is right about the KT boundary being the upper limit of the flood. I’m open to different ideas.


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@Carlos: Far from being outdated, I would say that Sean’s arguments are cutting edge. As for the assertion that scientists don’t use Darwin’s model for evolution, that is correct – because Darwin had no knowledge of Mendelian genetics. The original Darwinian model was replaced by the Neo-darwinian Synthesis about 1940, which claims that evolution takes place as natural selection acts on random mutations. Although this model still dominates biology today, it is facing increasingly serious problems, which Sean has touched on.


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@Sean Pitman: OK, I see it now. Sorry – I missed it earlier.


Complex Organisms are Degenerating – Rapidly
Sean, Dr. John Sanford, who was an important contributor to the development of GMOs, has written a book on this issue entitled, “Genetic Entropy.” I don’t see him quoted anywhere in your article, and I’m wondering if you are familiar with his work. It is noteworthy that Dr. Sanford has abandoned Darwinism and adopted creationism/intelligent design, not originally for religious reasons, but because of this problem.


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Sean, once again I urge you to publish your material in book form, preferably with a non-Adventist publisher. You have such wonderful material, but the Educate Truth audience is so small.