Feature Articles

Stephen Hawking is Professor of mathematics at Cambridge University where he held the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge for 30 years. He is author of the best-selling book A Brief History of Time. Hawking suffers from ALS. His most recent book, The Grand Design, was published in 2010 by Bantam Books.

“To believe in sola scriptura [‘Scripture alone’] is to allow God to speak without interruption. It is to trust His self-revelation, refusing to mix man’s words with God’s, man’s thoughts with His thoughts. It is to be quiet and to let God speak.” 1

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms

As a monk Martin Luther was tormented by guilt and fear of judgment for his sins. A breakthrough came, however, when he read Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith.” He realized that a man cannot justify himself but instead is justified by God through faith.

• 1. White JR (2004) Scripture Alone, BethanyHouse, Minneapolis, MN, 25

Did the z-pinch effect, above, produce electrical effects that altered radioactive decay rates in earth's past?

Dating methods based on radioactivity have been used to indicate a vast age, in the millions or billions of years, for certain rocks. However, in some cases, other methods yield much younger ages.

The Grand Canyon is probably the most famous geologic formation in the world. It is 216 miles long1,14–18 miles across, and about a mile deep. The first question most visitors express is, “How did this happen?” Many geologists have tried to answer this question and have proposed different theories as to how the canyon was formed.

• 1. The length, 216 miles, of the Grand Canyon should not be confused with the combined length, 277 miles, of the Grand Canyon and Marble Canyon. Both are located in Grand Canyon National Park.

Shifts in the lines of absorption in the spectrum of visible light

When astronomers view distant objects through the telescope, they find that the more distant objects have a larger red shift. This means that their light is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum; in other words, the wavelengths have become longer than for similar objects seen close to us. They interpret this as meaning that these distant objects are receding from us and that objects farther away are receding from us faster. It’s a little like the Doppler effect that makes sound have a lower pitch when the source is traveling away from us. The faster an object travels, the larger the change in pitch. However, some properties of the red shift call this interpretation into question; these are the subject of the article that follows. One such property is the quantization of red shifts. They seem to occur in abrupt steps rather than continuously, which has interesting implications for the study of the universe. This suggests that the red shift may be caused by something other than the expansion of the universe, at least in part.

Scientific research has a tremendous influence on society today, not only in terms of advances in technology, but also in our world view. The conclusions of science are often highly regarded by the public and by scientists themselves, but the limitations of science are not always appreciated. Therefore, it is important to consider these limitations in order to evaluate the impact of science on human health and well-being and its effect on our world view, especially when the conclusions of science may contradict religious beliefs.

The bible states that all the fountains of the great deep burst open on one day. And it describes these events, about 5000 years ago, which we can now tie together scientifically.

Basaltic columns have been a mystery, not just for their appearance of being ancient manmade structures, but for the little known factors involved in their natural formation.

Is apologetics all about saying you’re sorry about something? Of course not; it is derived from the Greek word apologia, which refers to giving a reason. Christian apologetics includes both 1) defending the Christian faith when speaking with non-Christians and 2) encouraging and strengthening the faith of believers. Christians are encouraged, actually commanded, in the scriptures to be able to give the reasons for why they believe and have the hope in them.

The objective of this article is to provide a review of some of the foundations of our beliefs as they apply to Biblical creation and creation science. Also, it is to help people come to faith in God, hold their faith if they have faith, and strengthen their faith to be effective with others in bringing faith in God to them. I first listed these foundations in the February 2005 issue of the TASC newsletter. From time to time it will be helpful to refocus on some of these foundations of our creation beliefs so that we may easily review and keep them in mind as we continue to address these foundations in our TASC newsletter articles and witness to others.