CorrectionsAnswers Research Journal, Volume 6, 2013

p1–16Is There a Dominion Mandate?
by Darek Isaacs
This paper discusses the concept of the dominion mandate. It examines the key passages of Scripture in which the dominion mandate has found its origin. It explores the observational evidence of man’s interaction with nature and questions if there is any true dominion that can be observed. It then proceeds to examine the Bible for evidence of the original dominion of Adam being extant and offers a rebuttal to the idea of a dominion mandate with a counter position.

p17–34An Initial Estimate Toward Identifying and Numbering Amphibian Kinds within the Orders Caudata and Gymnophiona
by Tom Hennigan
Biosystematics is in great flux today because of the plethora of genetic research continually shedding light on organism relationships. Despite the large amount of data being published, the challenge is having enough knowledge about genetics to draw conclusions regarding the biological history of organisms and their taxonomy. Despite these uncertainties, an initial attempt to count and identify biblical kinds in amphibian orders Caudata and Gymnophiona were estimated using current information and several key assumptions and guidelines. They include focusing on monophyly based on morphological and genetic characters, maintaining taxonomic stability, relying on authors who demonstrate expertise in systematics, considering the usefulness and general acceptance of nomenclature, using hybridization data as evidence that organisms are of the same kind, identifying the cognitum, and using statistical baraminology as a tool to assess holistic continuity and discontinuity amongst and between organisms. With the above parameters, and current systematics data from extant amphibians, the initial conclusions suggest that Noah had 53 extant Caudate kinds and one extant Gymnophionan kind on the Ark.

p35–62A Further Examination of the Gospel in the Stars
by Danny Faulkner
The gospel in the stars is a popular topic with many recent creationists. In an earlier paper, I examined some problems with this thesis. Since that earlier publication, the primary source on the subject has become available, allowing this much more detailed examination. In this current study, I identify many problems with the assumptions, methodologies, and conclusions made with the gospel in the stars thesis. The etymologies of terms and names are questionable at best and most likely are simply wrong. The biblical arguments are poor, and some conclusions are contrary to biblical principles. While well intended, the gospel in the stars is fraught with problems, and Christians are discouraged from using it.

p63–69Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%
by Jeffrey P. Tomkins
Since the original 2005 report for the chimpanzee (chimp) genome assembly (5X rough draft), an additional one-fold redundant coverage has been added. Using the new 6X chimpanzee assembly, a sequential comparison to the human genome was performed on an individual chromosome basis. The chimpanzee chromosomes, were sliced into new individual query files of varying string lengths and then queried against their human chromosome homolog using the BLASTN algorithm. Using this approach, queries could be optimized for each chromosome irrespective of gene/feature linear order. Non-DNA letters (gap filling ‘N’s) were stripped from the query data and excluded from the analyses. The definition of similarity for each chromosome was the amount (percent) of optimally aligned chimp DNA. This definition was considered to be conservative because it did not include the amount of human DNA absent in chimp nor did it include chimp DNA that was not aligned to the human genome assembly (unanchored sequence contigs).

For the chimp autosomes, the amount of optimally aligned DNA sequence provided similarities between 66 and 76%, depending on the chromosome. In general, the smaller and more gene-dense the chromosomes, the higher the DNA similarity—although there were several notable exceptions defying this trend. Only 69% of the chimpanzee X chromosome was similar to human and only 43% of the Y chromosome. Genome-wide, only 70% of the chimpanzee DNA was similar to human under the most optimal sequence-slice conditions. While, chimpanzees and humans share many localized protein-coding regions of high similarity, the overall extreme discontinuity between the two genomes defies evolutionary timescales and dogmatic presuppositions about a common ancestor.

p71–77German and American Eugenics in the Pre-World War 1 Era
by Danae M. McGregor
Before the traumatic devastation of the Nazi genocides, eugenics theory was widely accepted by both German and American scientists, especially in the pre-World War 1 era. Modern eugenics originated in the work and theories of Francis Galton in the late nineteenth century. Its later policy implementation was determined by both the amount of private wealth and the degree of governmental centrality in America, Germany, and other nations. As American eugenics experienced a rapid rate of development and implementation, German “hygienists” soon began to promote their own eugenics programs.

Although intellectual and practical connections existed between the ideas discussed in both United States of America and Germany, differences in cultural circumstances, including political, journalistic, and education-related opportunities, impacted eugenic progress. Ultimately, while there is not sufficient justification to fault one nation alone, the extent to which American eugenics was successfully implemented heavily influenced the German interest and experimentation in their emerging theory of eugenics.

p79–98Evangelical Commentaries on the Days of Creation in Genesis One
by Simon Turpin
The length of the days of creation in Genesis 1 is a question today that generates much controversy. Both inside and outside the church, people mock the idea of God creating the world in six 24-hour days. Over the last 200 years Christian scholars have gone out of their way to try to find ways to fit the idea of millions of years of evolution into the text of Genesis 1 and today the majority of evangelical commentators on Genesis follow suit in their interpretation of the text. This paper will evaluate and critique six commentaries and the reasons they give for not taking the days of creation literally. While these commentaries are a great help in many ways, their stance on the days of creation is hindering the church’s witness in a world dominated by evolutionary thinking.

p99–116Did Death of any Kind Exist Before the Fall?
by Simon Turpin
Death is a sad reality that is ever present in our world, leaving behind tremendous pain and suffering. Tragically, many people shake a fist at God when faced with the loss of a loved one and are left without adequate answers from the church as to death’s existence. Unfortunately, an assumption has crept into the church which sees death as a natural part of our existence and as something that we have to put up with as opposed to it being an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) that came into God’s very good creation.

This paper will argue that the biblical understanding of death, whether animal or human, physical or spiritual, views it to be a consequence of man’s disobedience towards his Creator and an intrusion into His “very good” creation.

p117–135A Response to Peter Enns’s Attack on Biblical Creationism
by Lee Anderson, Jr., AiG–U.S.
This paper overviews the recent work of Peter Enns, The Evolution of Adam, examining the implications of Enns’s conclusions for the topics of biblical inspiration and inerrancy, human origins, and the exegesis of the biblical text. Included in this overview is a discussion of Enns’s theological and philosophical assumptions that impinge upon his conclusions, as well as the published concerns that prominent biblical scholars have expressed relating to those conclusions. This paper contends that the views expounded in The Evolution of Adam are flawed at a foundational level, and aims to show that Enns’s incarnational model of Scripture is theologically unsound, that his presupposed view of the origin of humanity is scientifically unwarranted, and that his understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Creation account in both Genesis and Paul’s interpretation of Genesis is biblically unsubstantiated.

p137–138Is There a Dominion Mandate? Discussion: A Response to Darek Isaacs
by Thomas D. Hennigan
Thomas D. Hennigan responds to Darek Isaacs’ paper, Is There a Dominion Mandate?

p139–143Is There a Dominion Mandate? Discussion: In Defense of Human Dominion
by Andrew S. Kulikovsky
This paper offers a detailed rebuttal of Darek Isaacs’s criticisms of my recently published paper “Human Dominion and Reproduction” (Kulikovsky 2012). The paper demonstrates that Isaacs has confused concepts and mischaracterized my position to the point that his critique amounts to a straw man argument.

p145–155Is There a Dominion Mandate? Discussion: The Dominion Mandate: Yesterday, Today, and Forever
by Joel McDurmon
The dominion mandate was established by God both as the appointment of mankind to a position of authority in the earth and as a direct imperative actively to exercise that dominion. This status and project were both marred and rendered difficult by the dominion of sin and death after Adam’s fall, but they were not eradicated. The mandate is restored and renewed in the dominion of Christ, believers in Christ share in that dominion, and that dominion shall be accomplished while Christ reigns from His throne in heaven.

p157–177Is There a Dominion Mandate? Reply: A Response to Hennigan, Kulikovsky, and McDurmon
by Darek Isaacs
Darek Isaacs responds to the challenges to his paper, “Is there a dominion mandate?” This discussion explores the differences between blessings and commandments in light of how their distinctions would impact the understanding of the so-called dominion mandate. This discussion explores the nature of reproduction and how the outcome of reproduction is a result of the blessing of the womb, and not a result of obeying a command to multiply. Isaacs presents views that reject the idea that modern medicines, buildings, and technologies are a demonstration of the Adamic dominion, but rather such responses to an adverse environment are signs that man’s rule and authority is not being recognized and defense mechanisms need to be built as a result. Ultimately, Isaacs argues that the Adamic dominion is defunct, and dominion has been given to the Messiah.

p179–191An Analysis of the Dodwell Hypothesis
by Danny R. Faulkner, AiG–U.S.
I examine the Dodwell hypothesis, that the earth underwent a catastrophic impact in 2345 BC that altered its axial tilt and then gradually recovered by about 1850. I identify problems with the selection and handling of certain ancient and medieval data. With the elimination of questionable data, a discrepancy may remain between ancient measurements of the earth’s tilt and our modern understanding of how the tilt has varied over time. This discrepancy, if real, does not demand the sort of catastrophe suggested by Dodwell, so there is doubt that this event occurred. If there were some abrupt change in the earth’s tilt in the past, the available data are not sufficient to fix the date of that event with any precision.

p193Bibliography of Creationist Astronomy
by Danny R. Faulkner, AiG–U.S.
This is an introduction to, and announcement of, a new compilation of articles, papers and letters to the editor on creationist astronomy which has been placed on this journal’s website. An explanation of the selection criteria is given.

- Abstract
p195–209The Importance of an Historical Adam
by Simon Turpin
The question of whether man was specially created directly from the hand of God or whether he evolved from an ape-like creature has long been a controversial issue. In today’s secular culture it is common to view the biblical history of Adam as a story, myth, or a parable but this is now also becoming the standard interpretation for many within the evangelical community.

In order to understand Genesis this way we have to sacrifice the clear teaching of the Bible to fit with a particular evolutionary view of earth’s history.

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