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   Copyright 1996 by the CREATION RESEARCH SOCIETY (CRS), Inc.
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   *Creation Research Society Quarterly*, Volume 33, Number 2
                        (September, 1996)
 
ARTICLES:
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note: Article titles are in quotes. 
      Abstracts are enclosed by [[ ]].
 
"The Fine-tuned Watch Revealed in the Delicate Balance of the 
Earth's Forces." by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D., pp. 80-88.
 
[[ A review of several energy-matter cycles reveals that the 
Earth can be compared to a finely tuned watch, adjusted to the 
degree that minor mistuning can have critical adverse 
repercussions for life here.  Paley's watch design argument thus 
applies not only to living organisms, but also to the complex 
entity called the Earth.  We are only beginning to understand the 
workings of its complex balance and recycling mechanisms.  In 
this paper I briefly review a few of the many mechanisms that 
exist illustrating Earth's complexity. ]]
 
"The Formation of Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park: 
Origin Speculations." by Emmett L. Williams, Ph.D. and George F. 
Howe, Ph.D., pp. 89-96.
 
[[ The formation of Santa Elena Canyon located in Big Bend 
National Park, Trans-Pecos Texas is discussed.  Al speculations 
are developed within a young-earth Flood model.  Two phases of 
canyon formation are suggested.  One period of extensive erosion 
occurred during the time of exiting Flood water and another 
period of considerable erosion occurred during a post-Flood warm 
ice age to form the canyon. ]]
 
"The Role of Geologic Energy in Interpreting the Stratigraphic 
Record." by John K. Reed, Ph.D., Carl R. Froede, Jr., B.S., P.G., 
and Chris B. Bennett, pp. 97-101.
 
[[ A creationist "geologic column" has a place in Earth history 
interpretation.  None has been widely accepted and applied, 
although preliminary constructs have been proposed.  We suggest 
that a graph of geological energy vs. time, keyed primarily to 
events, can form a basis for future correlation and 
interpretation.  Although creationist field synthesis is limited, 
recognition of the role of extrascientific information in Earth 
history validates the present graph as constrained by the Bible's 
historical accounts.  Complete development of this graph awaits 
extensive field research. ]]
 
"A Sufficient Reason for False Rb-Sr Isochrons" by G. Herbert 
Gill, B.S., pp. 105-108.
 
[[ A mathematical answer is presented for the frequent occurrence 
of false or "fictitious" Rb-Sr isochrons.  The reason for these 
inconsistencies is that a simple linear regression procedure is 
mathematically invalid if two or more independent variables 
influence a single dependent variable.  In many data sets for the 
"isochron" procedure, there are two independent variables 
involved.  First, there is the desired radioactive relation 
between the amount of the rubidium parent and the strontium 
daughter.  Second, since the atomic strontium concentration in 
the samples is a variable, then the isotopic Sr-87 content of the 
atom is also a variable. In such a situation, the "Isochron" 
regression is mathematically invalid, so both its slope and 
intercept are erroneous. ]]
 
"It's Just a Matter of Time." by Michael A. Maiuzzo, M.S., pp. 
109-112.
 
[[ Many people accept what they read as the clear message of 
Genesis:  That the Earth was formed about 10 thousand years ago, 
on the first day, and that the stars were formed on the fourth 
day.  This has led to disagreement with others who see the 
hugeness of the perceived distances to most stars and their 
apparent ages as a compelling argument against this reading.  
From discussions in which this writer has participated, the 
argument seems to be based on the required travel time of the 
light arriving from the distant stars and the estimated ages of 
stars.
    However, there is a solution.  This paper used the Theory of 
Relativity to illustrate the observed phenomenon that the 
measurement of travel time is a function of the time keeper.  
Furthermore, this allows for billions-of-years-old stars that 
were created after the creation of the few-thousand-year old 
Earth.  The preceding statement is not self-contradicting.  One 
could take the viewpoint that time-keeping processes, such as 
radioactive decay rates, occurring out in the universe proceeded 
at a rapid rate as measured by Earth time.  Thus, old Earthers 
should recognize that the perceived size and age of the universe 
is no bar to a young Earth and universe, at least from the view 
of Earth time. ]]
 
"Evidences of Catastrophic Subaqueous Processes at Goat Mountain, 
in Big Bend National Park." by Carl R. Froede, Jr., B.S., P.G., 
pp. 115-126.
 
[[ Today many geologists are more willing to consider 
catastrophic physical processes than in the past.  However, these 
catastrophic events are postulated as having occurred over the 
millions of years necessary to validate the uniformitarian model.  
One such site where catastrophic physical processes have been 
proposed is at Goat Mountain in Big Bend National Park, Texas.  
This site has undergone significant volcanic deposition and 
erosion.  All the volcanic sedimentation is viewed as having 
occurred rapidly and subaerially, with the intervening erosion 
being slow and uniformitarian.  Tentatively, it appears that the 
evidence from the stratigraphic section exposed at Goat Mountain 
fails to support the present uniformitarian interpretation.  
Rather it appears to better fit subaqueous emplacement and 
subsequent massive erosion within a short timeframe.  The author 
interprets the Goat Mountain exposure as having formed 
predominantly during the Flood (i.e., Middle to Upper Flood Event 
Timeframe). ]]
 
"Opportunities for Creationist Studies at the Hanson Ranch, 
Roxson, Wyoming." by Edmond W. Holroyd, III, Ph.D., Michael J. 
Oard, M.S., and Dennis Petersen, M.A., p. 136-140.
 
[[ The Hanson ranch at Roxson, Wyoming, has been made available 
to a limited number of investigators interested in documenting 
its deposit of Late Cretaceous dinosaur bones in the Lance 
Formation.  A preliminary description of the site and some 
possible research topics are suggested. ]]
 
"Confirmation from a Debris Flow at a Forest Fire Site." by 
Edmond W. Holroyd, III, Ph.D., pp. 141-151.
 
[[ The previously reported plant fossils at Dinosaur Ridge, 
Morrison, Colorado, are a mixture of broken charcoal pieces and 
their impressions, silt and sand.  Normal sedimentation processes 
at a forest fire site indicated that buoyancy differences should 
strongly limit the mixing of sand and charcoal.  Catastrophic mud 
or debris flows were suggested as the appropriate mechanism for 
much of the Dinosaur Ridge plant fossil deposit.
   The contents of a catastrophic debris flow from the Storm King 
Mountain forest fire site at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, were 
examined to determine any similarities with the Dinosaur Ridge 
site.  Charcoal fragments were found mixed throughout two cores 
taken from the mud flow component of the deposit.  Two cores from 
other areas which experienced normal sedimentation conditions 
showed no mixing of sand and charcoal.  These differing 
depositional frameworks are suggested as a basis for distin-
guishing between slow and catastrophic sedimentation rates. ]]
 
OTHER SELECTED ITEMS:
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PANORAMA NOTES
--------------
= "Creation Law Debated in Tennessee."  by Eugene F. Chaffin, 
Ph.D., p. 126.
= "Socrates Meets Darwin: A Study in Question Begging." by Gary 
Colwell, pp. 127-135.
 
 
OTHER FEATURES
--------------
= "Editors' Comments." by Eugene F. Chaffin, Ph.D., and George F. 
Howe, Ph.D., p. 77.
= "Personalities in Creationism: Jerry Bergman." by Emmett L. 
Williams, Ph.D., p. 78.
= "In Memoriam: Walter E. Lammerts." by Emmett L. Williams, 
Ph.D., p. 79.
= "Photo Essay: Hubble Space Telescope Photographs Distant 
Galaxies." by Eugene F. Chaffin, Ph.D., p. 88.
= "Lab Director's Report: The Road Ahead." by John R. Meyer, 
Ph.D., p. 102.
= "Minutes of the 1996 Creation Research Society Board of 
Director's Meeting." by David A. Kaufmann, Ph.D., p. 102.
= "Photo Essay: Plateau Basalt Overlying Spokane Flood Deposits." 
by Carl R. Froede, Jr., B.S., P.G., p. 108.
 
 
BOOK, VIDEO, AND CONFERENCE REVIEWS (reviewer)
-----------------------------------
= Show Me God, by Fred Heeren. 1995. (Don B. DeYoung), p.103.
= In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the 
Flood, by Walter T. Brown. (Carl R. Froede), p. 103.
  (Douglas V. Hulstedt), 113.
= Creation or Evolution [video], Ambassador Television 
Production. 1995. (Robert E. Gentet), p. 104.
= Foundation, Fall and Flood: A Harmonization of Genesis and 
Science, by Glenn R. Morton. 1995. (R.H. Brown), p. 112-113.
= Dinotopia a Land Apart from Time, by James Gurney, 1992. 
(Clifford L. Lillo), p. 114.
= After the Flood, by Bill Cooper. 1995. (John Kaplan), p. 135.
= Genesis and the Big Bang, by Gerald R. Shroeder. 1990. (Eugene 
F. Chaffin), p. 151.
 
EDITORS' COMMENTS (p. 77)
-----------------
    Earth is where we live and is the only planet we know of
that has life.  Jerry Bergman reviews various facts about the
Earth that point to a Designer.  The Creator must have had man in
mind when He formed the solar system.  The size of Earth, the
size of its orbit, the composition of Earth and its atmosphere,
the size and composition of our sun, all point to a design
argument similar to that put forward by William Paley in the
1700's.  Paley compared the intricacies of a fine tuned watch to
the various delicately adjusted factors involved in making life
possible.
    Emmett Williams and George Howe continue an interesting
series of papers of papers on the geology of Big Bend National
Park, Texas.  They have also shown an ongoing interest in the
implications of canyons.  Canyons demonstrate catastrophism in
the geologic record, and this paper examines Santa Elena Canyon.
     John Reed and Carl Froede contribute an article connecting
energy requirements to quantity of sedimentary deposition. 
Recently, within creationist circles, a controversy has been
developing.  Some young-earth creationists wish to assign large
parts of the geologic record to events other than the Genesis
Flood.  Can the entire Mesozoic and Cenozoic be assigned to
post-Flood deposition?  Reed and Froede's discussion of the
energy required to deposit thousands of feet of strata is a
critical issue in these considerations.
     Creationists need to understand the significance or
nonsignificance of radioactive dating results within the context
of the Young Earth model.  In this issue Herbert Gill examines
the concept of an isochron to determine whether the isochron
method is statistically sound.  This question is important in
deciding whether trends exist in radiometric ages of properly
chosen rock samples, as one moves from top to bottom in the rock
record.  We hope that readers will appreciate the mathematical
insights offered by this paper.
     In recent years a cosmological model has been offered by D.
Russell Humphreys, consistent with a young age for the universe. 
This model proposes time dilation formula from general relativity
as an explanation for why the Earth, modeling the universe as an
expanding white hole, with the Earth located near an event
horizon during the early stages.  Since the Earth is located at
this special position, this led to a model where, from an earth-
centered point of view, only thousands of years would pass while
millions of years would elapse in distant galaxies.  Whether this
model proves to be viable remains to be seen, but Mike Maiuzzo
offers, in this issue, some parables illustrating what the time
dilation schemes involve.
     The Big Bend National Park in Texas is a huge playground for
geologists.  Carl Froede examines the question of subaqueous
(under water) versus subaerial (under air) deposition for strata
in and near Goat Mountain.  Plenty of evidence exists for
volcanic activity, and also for catastrophism.
     At the Hanson ranch in Wyoming, interesting fossils abound,
which are being offered for study by teams of creationist
scientists.  Read the article in this issue to see what promises
to develop.
     In Colorado and Wyoming a catastrophic and brief deposition
occurred in prehistoric times, including the deposition of
charcoal fragments and plant fossils.  Edmond Holroyd examines
the mixing of the charcoal fragments with the surrounding silt
and sand, compares this to a modern forest fire site, and
presents the consequent evidence for a catastrophic, energetic
debris flow.  Since the formations correspond to the Mesozoic
Era of conventional geology, the reconstruction of this scenario
has interesting implications for Flood geology.
     Also in this issue, some Panorama Notes, book reviews, and
letters which we hope the readers will enjoy.  We will not take
the space to mention all of them, but please notice this dialogue
between Socrates and Darwin which Dr. Gary Colwell offers as an
example of important points in the creation-evolution debate. 
 
                   Eugene Chaffin, Ph.D. and George Howe, Ph.D.
 
 
 
 
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