Louie Bishop Testifies, Again, about His Experience at La Sierra University
Dinosaur fossils are real, no trick, but there is good evidence that they aren’t millions of years old. Extremely well preserved elastic soft tissues with largely intact sequencable immunogenic proteins strongly argue that these bones are of recent origin. Kinetic chemistry theories of protein degeneration have long argued that it would be effectively impossible for such proteins to remain intact longer than 100,000 years or so – certainly not tens of millions of years.

As far as the Big Bang theory, why would SDAs have a problem with that? The argument that the universe has a beginning actually favors the concept that the universe was designed – according to many well-known physicists. You see, the argument isn’t that the entire universe is young, but that life on this planet is young.

And, talk about turning your brain off when you try to imagine a random explosion producing our finely tuned universe or any mindless mechanism producing the most simple living thing – or even one of the biomachines within the most simple living thing that requires more than 1000 specifically arranged amino acid building blocks. Such just-so story telling for how the Darwinian mechanism of random mutations and natural selection produced such complex biomachines simply isn’t rationally tenable nor is it scientific – not even given trillions of years of time…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com

Louie Bishop Testifies, Again, about His Experience at La Sierra University
Configuration or conformation entropy of macroscopic systems is based on a similar concept to thermodynamic entropy, to be sure – i.e., where entropy is defined as the amount of additional information needed to specify the exact physical state of a system among all possible states the system could take.

In other words, there is a very large but finite number of different possible arrangements that a protein molecule (different possible “rotametric states”) or pool balls on a pool table, for example, could take. The amount of “additional information” it takes to specify the exact physical state of such a molecule or pool balls on a table would be equivalent to its “conformation entropy” – the same as if we were dealing with a collection of gas molecules in a box – which also have conformational entropy.

However, there is a distinct difference here. The conformation entropy of macroscopic systems within a thermodynamic system need not be related to the heat distribution or thermodynamics of a system. Add heat to a pool table and what do you get? A bunch of hot pool balls. That’s it. Also, does a difference in arrangement of non-moving pool balls make one more or less able to obtain “useful work” from them? The same would be true for a fan in a system – a hot fan vs. a cold fan, it still works the same in a thermodynamic system. Also, the arrangement of a protein molecule or pool balls on a table isn’t related to if the thermodynamic system within which it exists is open or closed or in a state of maximum entropy or not. The same could be said for the “conformation entropy” of a room crowded with a bunch of people. The people in the room are not governed by the 2LoT with regard to how they decide to arrange themselves. Yet, their collective arrangement does have “conformation entropy” that can be increased or decreased at will without violating the 2LoT. In this respect, conformation entropy is equivalent to Shannon entropy or Kolmogorov/Chaitin complexity.

You see, the 2LoT only deals with the thermodynamic aspects of a system, not with the conformational entropy of the system outside of the thermodynamic properties of the system. That is why the 2LoT does not govern the other various kinds of entropy that may exist within a thermodynamic system. This is why humans can create various forms of “order” from “disorder” within our thermodynamic system. We can create cars and airplanes and computers, etc. Theoretically, we could even repair our own DNA and cure all genetic diseases and genetic deterioration. Yet, we would not violate the 2LoT by doing so because the 2LoT is distinctly about the thermodynamic potential of a system – not about what conformational order or disorder is produced via this thermodynamic potential.

Again, these various entropy concepts are certainly related, but they are not the same. The 2LoT only deals with a very limited type of entropy – with a particular type of conformational entropy that is based on heat distribution within a system and the ability or potential of this heat distribution to give rise to “useful work”.

So, please, do try to keep these concepts separate and do not continue to argue that evolution violates the 2LoT – a law which does not deal with the structural or functional order or disorder or conformational entropy of macrosystems.

Louie Bishop Testifies, Again, about His Experience at La Sierra University
Not all types of “entropy” are about the 2LoT. The 2LoT only deals with thermodynamic entropy.

The paper you reference is about “conformational entropy”, not thermodynamic entropy. These are different types of entropy. Conformational entropy is associated with the physical arrangement of a polymer chain that assumes a compact or globular state in solution. This concept is most commonly applied to biological macromolecules such as proteins and RNA, but can also be used for polysaccharides and other polymeric organic compounds.

In short, conformational entropy isn’t about the thermodynamic potential of a system. Therefore, conformational entropy isn’t about the 2LoT just like the functional or non-functional states of machines within a thermodynamic system have nothing to do with the 2LoT either.

Again, thermodynamics is an entirely separate topic. Don’t confuse things that are not related to the thermodynamic potential of a system with the 2LoT.

Conrad Vine Continues to Attack Church Leadership
I think that there can be a reasonable combination of the best of modern medicine as well as the best of healthful living and natural remedies such as exercise, sunlight, vitamin D, “forest bathing”, good sleep, vegan or at least a vegetarian diet, etc…

Conrad Vine Continues to Attack Church Leadership
You opted not to get vaccinated during the pandemic, for whatever reason, but did not advise others to do the same. That’s fine. I think you probably increased your own risk a bit, but that’s far better than giving medical advice to others when you don’t know for sure that you’re right – especially for those who were at higher risk than you. It’s also good that you supported others who did choose to get vaccinated.

As far as SDA hospitals and organizations, I agree that there has been some drift from the ideal. I’m not happy that so many non-SDAs are hired to work in and to be leaders. I’m also disappointed that there isn’t a lot more emphasis, direction, and teaching with regard to healthful living. There are some who are doing this, like Dr. Roger Seheult. However, there does seem to be a lack of an organized or official emphasis on how to living healthful so as to avoid having to use so many medications for chronic conditions that are largely self-inflicted. Now, I do sympathize that quick fixed and pills are what most patients want. Most doesn’t want to give up their back health habits, so doctors often just give up and give their patients what they want. Still, this does not excuse the lack of effort along these lines in our hospitals and medical schools. Also, more should be done to spread the Gospel Message in our hospitals as well…

Conrad Vine Continues to Attack Church Leadership
Thank you for your kind words and support. I really appreciate it very much!

Conrad Vine Continues to Attack Church Leadership
I’m fine with open dialogue, but that includes presenting and at least understanding things from the GC’s perspective and why the significant majority of SDAs and GC delegates believe that the GC did the right thing during the pandemic and with the original 2015 statement on vaccines.

Conrad Vine Continues to Attack Church Leadership
So, it’s impossible to be a doctor who promotes the best of modern medicine as well as the best natural remedies and still be a follower of Jesus? Really? Not even Ellen White could be saved then…