----------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1996 by the CREATION RESEARCH SOCIETY (CRS), Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------- *Creation Research Society Quarterly*, Volume 33, Number 2 (September, 1996) ARTICLES: ^^^^^^^^ 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: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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. ----------------------------------------------- file :/pub/resources/text/crs/crsq: sum33_2.txt .