X-Nilo Files, 2(2), October 1999

The Middle of the Story

How many of us pick up an interesting book and start in the middle? While this may seem absurd, that’s what most Christians do when witnessing to friends or family. We begin with the fact that Jesus died for sin, without even explaining what sin is or why Jesus needed to die. Rather than start with the 'middle of the story,' witnessing needs to start at the beginning of history, using the Bible as the history book.

The following model should help in understanding the creation/gospel message — we call it the 'Seven C’s of History.'

1. Creation — 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,' and all things were 'very good' (Genesis 1,2).
2. Corruption — Adam disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man’s first sin brought death into God’ perfect creation (Genesis 3). We are all sinners because our forefather Adam, as the head of the human race, sinned, and we all sin individually. But Genesis 3:15 points toward the coming of Jesus Christ!
3. Catastrophe — God judged the wickedness of man, sending a world-wide Flood to destroy the entire human population, and saving only Noah, his family, and representatives of the animal kingdom on the Ark (Genesis 6–9).
4. Confusion — At Babel, Noah’s descendants were split up because God confused their language. This division was the origin of the various people groups found throughout the world today. Note that this means we are all (no matter the skin color or language) part of the human race and thus all need salvation (Genesis 10,11).
5. Christ — Jesus Christ, as God in human flesh, came to fulfill the prophecy uttered in Genesis 3:15 (and many other Biblical prophecies). The Creator of all things came to be our Savior!
6. Cross — Jesus Christ took upon Himself the curse of death, that we might be saved from it. The good news is that those believe on Jesus and what He did for us on the Cross have had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8, 17:8, 21:27).
7. Consummation — God has promised an end to sin and suffering. He will restore His creation to the way it was in the beginning (Revelation 21:4). We look forward to the new heavens and the new Earth and to eternity with our Creator!
   
   — Stacia Byers

Creation Scientist of the Month

Danny Faulkner, Ph.D.

(check out information on other Creation Scientists, past and present)

Dr Danny Faulkner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 30, 1954. His education includes: BS Math Bob Jones University 1976 MS Physics Clemson University 1979 MA Astronomy Indiana University 1983 Ph.D. Astronomy Indiana University 1989.

Since 1986 he has been on the faculty of the University of South Carolina-Lancaster, where he holds the rank of professor. His teaching duties include astronomy and physics. Dr Faulkner’s non-creation research interests include eclipsing binary stars, variable stars, and red giant stars. Over the last two years he’s gone on several research trips with another creationist, Ron Samec. They’ve gone to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, five times. This winter they are planning a trip to Cerra Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.

Dr Faulkner is married and has a son. He labels himself a 'stellar astronomer'!

Tidbits

What were your favorite subjects in high school?

I enjoyed math and science, particularly physics. I also liked history and a few shop classes that I took. I was the only honor roll student in the shop classes. The teachers must have wondered what I was doing there, but they never mentioned it.

What are your favorite 'extracurricular' activities?

I run several miles most days for exercise. I used to do a lot of spelunking (caving) when I lived in Indiana where there are many caves, but now that I’ m in South Carolina (where there are no caves) I don’t get to do that anymore.

What does the term 'creation scientist' mean to you?

A creation scientist is a scientist who believes that we and our world were recently created by the God of the Bible. We attempt through our work to demonstrate that truth.

Do you like being labeled a 'creation scientist'?

I’ve not given much thought to whether I like (or dislike) being labeled a creation scientist. I have encountered little opposition, so it hasn’t been very uncomfortable. I guess the best that I can answer is that it means that I march to the tune of a different drummer.

What is your advice to young people who want to pursue a career in 'creation science'?

My advice is to study science very seriously. Associate yourself with other people and mentors who can strengthen your belief. Carefully choose where you go to college, because I’ve seen young people lose their zeal for this at that level. When did you decide to become an astronomer? I decided to become an astronomer while a sophomore in HS. About that time I became aware that there were such things as creation scientists. As a freshman in college my resolve to become a creation astronomer was confirmed, largely through the late George Mulfinger, a professor that I had.

Evangelism for the new millennium

Do we need a different style of evangelism because of our new millennium? Actually, as we start another millennium, it’s a good time for people to reflect about the culture they live in and how successful they really are in reaching people with the gospel.

Our evangelistic methods have needed changing for some time. You see, our once very Christianized nations have become increasingly secular and anti-Christian. As a result, we now have generations who have no — or very little — Christian foundation.

They’ve been thoroughly indoctrinated in evolution and humanism … and the Bible has been taught against. Thus these people don’t understand about sin and the message of Jesus Christ. They think the Bible is an outdated religious book disproved by science.

The trouble is, most Christians still approach the culture as if people understand Christian jargon and accept the basics of Christianity from the Bible.

In presenting the gospel today, we need to remove the stumbling block of evolution and teach people about the true origin of man and the entrance of sin. Then they WILL understand the gospel. In other words, we have to start right back at the beginning.

— excerpt from Answers with Ken Ham radio broadcast aired May 31, 1999.

Science in the News

Creation kicked out of Kansas – NOT!

The State Board of Education in Kansas (KSBE) did NOT remove evolution as a topic to be taught to students (as was widely reported by the media). In essence, the KSBE did not accept the heavy-handed version the writing committee wanted, which would have made evolution the central focus of science in Kansas. The board did nothing to limit the teaching of evolution. It simply decided that evolution will not be tested at the state level. Local school districts can decide how much or little evolution they want to teach. The media got it very wrong, but it surely did cause a stir!

Did You Know?

Evolutionists don’t have a monopoly on natural selection. In fact, creationist Edward Blyth thought of the concept 25 years before Darwin wrote Origin of Species. Blyth regarded it as a conservative process that would remove defective organisms which would conserve the health of the population as a whole. (Sarfati, J., Refuting Evolution, p. 34)

Refuting Evolution

Continuing series of summaries of the chapters of Dr Jonathan Sarfati’s book Refuting Evolution

Continuing in this series of summaries of the chapters of Dr Jonathan Sarfati’s book Refuting Evolution, we come to the chapter on variation and natural selection vs. evolution. In this segment Dr Sarfati contrasts the evolution and creation models and refutes faulty understandings of both.

Trading Terms

Excerpt from Refuting Evolution, Chapter 2 – Variation and Natural Selection vs. Evolution.

Many science books call all change in organisms 'evolution.' This enables those who teach that notion to claim that evolution is happening today. Creationists have never disputed that organisms change; the difference is the type of change. A key difference between evolutionism and the creationist point of view is whether observed changes are the type to turn 'particles into people.'

Evolution teaches that all types of life allegedly descended [by natural, ongoing processes] from a 'simple' life form. Evolutionists believe that the source of new genetic information is mutations sorted by natural selection.

Creationists, on the other hand, start from the Bible, believing that God created different kinds of organisms which reproduced 'after their kinds' (Gen. 1:11–12, 21, 24–25). Each of these 'kinds' was created with a vast amount of information – enough information so their descendants could adapt to a wide variety of environments.

An important aspect of the creationist model is often overlooked. The aspect of deterioration — death and destruction — came into the world because the first human couple sinned.

Many evolutionists point to imperfect structures as 'proof' of evolution. This is really an argument against perfect design rather than for evolution. Once-perfect environments have deteriorated into harsher ones. Creatures have adapted to these new environments, and some genetic information has been weeded out. This is natural selection. Evolutionists don’t have a monopoly on this.

Many more logical arguments are made in Chapter 2 for a creationist view of natural selection and variation. Here is a complete study guide to Refuting Evolution.

— Jonathan Sarfati, Ph.D.