by Conti, Gene;
“You’re right, Jude. I didn’t personally observe the formation of the Grand Canyon.”
“Damn straight, I’m right.” His mouth almost dropped open immediately.
Nate reflexively whipped around. “That’ll be one dollar for the kitty, Jude.”
“I don’t have it on me,” he smugly replied, and sat down.
“Oh, big man doesn’t have a dollar. Daddy not send you your allowance this month?”
Jude just sat silent, his dead eyes staring full of animus at Nate.
“Okay, then,” Nate said as he got up and walked to the front of the room. “That’ll be one greenback you owe me.” He dropped a dollar into the cussin’ jar.
As Nate walked back to his seat, I remarked, “Let’s get back on track. You guys will have to work out your finances on your own time. Philip, what is the proper and correct definition of science?”
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
EVIDENCE VS. OPINION
Philip, who had been leaning back in his chair, sat up straight to address the class. “Science must be observable, repeatable, and verifiable or falsifiable.” He then resumed his usual position.
“Thank you, Philip. From now on, most of what we will be covering is not under the realm of the pure definition of science. Anything that has occurred in the past cannot be observed, nor repeated directly.”
“Tom, you are our legal counselor here. In a murder trial, does the state really prove that John Doe committed the murder, or do they try to present overwhelming evidence to convict him?”
“Doc’s right. We can’t observe the murder directly; the dude is dead. All that CSI testing provides is evidence, not proof that John Doe committed murder. Even a videotape can be tampered with. Hopefully, it will be the weight of the evidence that convicts the murderer.”
Some in the class still had deadpanned looks, and Maggie picked up on it. She turned to address the class. “If I claim that I have discovered the formula to turn lead into gold, any scientist worth his salt should be able to attempt to duplicate the process; and therefore verify my formula, or falsify it and call me a charlatan.”
The class nodded in agreement. I thought they were starting to understand the difference between proof—which is repeatable observable science, versus evidence—which is historic past events.
Pete was still focused on the geological argument. “So, getting back to the Grand Canyon, you can’t prove your position either; so, you’re going to provide evidence. Am I correct?”
“Correct a mundo, Pete. We creationists who believe in a young earth, can’t prove what happened in the past, any more than the evolutionists can.”
Pete’s eyes lit up. “So, Doc, are you saying that you are going to present a weight of evidence that outweighs the evolutionary evidence?”
“Correct again, Pete. Anything that has happened in the past, like the John Doe murder, cannot be proved using the correct definition of science. Only by the weight of evidence will the jury, or our class, decide who wins. Hopefully, my worldview that God did it, will outweigh the evolutionary millions of years worldview that Mother Gaia did it.”
“Ding, ding … round one,” exclaimed Nate. “God versus Mother Gaia! Which worldview will win?” The class erupted in loud clapping and hooting.
After they quiet down, Pete asked, “So, Doc, what’s your evidence for the worldview that God created that 270-mile-long, one-mile deep canyon?”
“Pete,” I said as I panned the entire class, “could the fact be that perhaps a lot of water, over a short period of time, excavated that gorge in a matter of a couple of weeks, at most?”
“What!?” Pete practically yelled almost leaving his seat. Others joined the chorus as well. “That’s impossible! There is no geologic process which could have accomplished that massive a result in such a short span of time.” Many in the class nodded their heads in agreement.
I electronically dropped the Insta-Screen down in front of the whiteboard, and with my tablet, I integrated with the screen, bringing up a canyon with a river at the bottom.
“So Pete, tell me what you see?”
“A standard run-of-the-mill canyon with multiple rock layers, and a river at the bottom. Obviously similar to the Grand Canyon. So what?”
Photo of a canyon with a river at the bottom Photo credit: Dr. Steve Austin
“Any idea how old that canyon may be, Pete?”
“I’d have to send rock samples off for analysis, but it should be several million years old—at the very least.”
“The North Fork of the Toutle River carved out that canyon only forty plus years ago, in one day.”
“What? No way!”
“Really, Pete? Ever hear of Mount St. Helens which erupted in 1980? A mudflow on March 19, 1982, carved out that 150-footdeep sucker, in one day. Go ahead and transfer it to your own tablets for a closer look, if you wish.”
Photo of man standing at the bottom of canyon with layers of rock behind him. Photo credit: Dr. Steve Austin
The entire class is rapidly scrambling to investigate Mount St. Helens, and the subsequent lahars or mudflows that created the canyon.
“Now, I can’t prove that it was created in one day, as I was not there to observe it. However, after the smoke cleared, pun intended, a canyon was formed that was not there prior to the event, which is pretty strong evidence.”
I then added, “Check out Burlingame Canyon in Washington State. It’s another rapidly formed canyon; made in six days.”
“We studied a little about Mount St. Helen’s in geology,” Pete responded, “but not from your point of view. Why not?”
Maria had her hand up; she turned to address the group. “Why not? Why not?” She exclaimed, raising her voice each time. “Give me a break. What has Doc been trying to get us to do?” she asked looking directly at Pete.
“He wants us to think, not just memorize,” Pete replied.
“Didn’t Doc just present us with the first chink in the armor of the millions of years scenario we are constantly bombarded with? Can’t have people thinking and challenging Mother Gaia’s millions of years—heavens, no! The Matrix, which controls our education and our thinking, may not like us analyzing independently from the slop they are feeding us.”
Jim put his hand up. “Doc, I’m getting ticked somewhat. I decided to major in ecology because I thought science was the search for the truth. Why haven’t we been at least exposed to this different point of view?”
“Jim, science is a search for the truth. What you are just beginning to realize is that evolution and its millions of years is a philosophy, not a science. Remember the definition of science - it must be able to be observed and duplicated.”
Jude was pumping his hand in the air. I waved my hand for him to speak. “Well, your young earth creationism is a philosophy, also! Correct?”
“Absolutely, Jude. What you have just discovered is that this is not religion versus science; it’s one philosophy versus another philosophy, because evolution, or creation, took place in the unobserved past. This is not ironclad proof versus alchemy. This is weight of evidence versus weight of evidence.”
I recognized Thad. “I get it now. Science is duplicable stuff that can be directly tested, then verified or falsified. Things like what Maggie said. Lead to gold. Or snake oil. Or rockets, computers, antibiotics—or even toasters.” Which got the class laughing.
“Philip,” I said, acknowledging his raised hand.
“I’ve been analyzing this, and evolution doesn’t even meet the definition of a theory—of course, neither does creation. It more properly should be the evolution model versus the creation model.”
“Excellent deduction, Philip. You are absolutely correct.”
Jude jumped out of his seat and almost screamed at Philip. “It’s called the theory of evolution, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s still a fact!”
Philip, still lazily reclined in his chair, barely looked at Jude. “You can call it anything you want, buddy; i
t’s your opinion. And we all know what an opinion is.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
PROFOUND REALIZATION
Jude’s mouth hung open, but nothing came out. He realized his mental acumen was no match for Philip. He sat down in a huff.
The class was quiet for a moment. Pete broke the silence. “Doc, you never did tell us what process or event could possibly have sculpted the Grand Canyon so quickly.” His eyebrows narrowed with a big question mark on his face.
“As I said, a lot of water over a short period of time.” I noticed Maria anxious to give Pete his answer. “Maria, why don’t you tell the class?” She looked at me with her Mona Lisa smile.
“Noah’s Flood, of course. Remember the correlation with the Mount St. Helen’s event?” she stated, as she had turned in her seat to face the class.
The class was all chattering. Some pro, some con, some mystified, and some totally disconcerted.
Pete raised his hand. “But what about that—”
“Geologic column?” I completed his question.
“Yeah, Doc, that’s suppose to prove that those layers in the Grand Canyon and strata around the world, for that matter, are millions of years old.”
Andy, his brother looked across at Pete and tapped him on the shoulder. “Prove? Are you sure? It did happen in the unobserved past.”
“Alright, alright—provides evidence that those sedimentary layers were laid down slowly over millions of years rather than quickly by Noah’s Flood?”
“Pete,” I said, really addressing the group, “who was responsible for the concept of the geologic column?”
“A geologist named Lyell came up with the idea in the early 1800s,” he states immediately with confidence.
“Does anyone know who Charles Lyell was?” I looked back at Pete and the rest of the class.
Maria’s hand went up again. “Yes, Maria.”
Maria again turned in her seat toward the class. “Lyell was Charles Darwin’s mentor.” She let that point resonate with the class before continuing. “He personally gave Darwin a copy of his book Principles of Geology prior to Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle. Darwin was then prepped and brainwashed in long earth ages, way before he arrived at the Galapagos Islands, where he did his finch studies and developed his evolution theory, excuse me … evolution model.”
Maria momentarily turned back to me. “I’d like to add another point, if that’s okay?”
“Sure, Maria. Go ahead.”
She turned again to the students. “Lyell hated Christianity … all those stifling rules and regulations you know. He schemed to deceive the church into accepting his millions of years. And being Darwin’s mentor and confidant, Lyell had tremendous influence on Darwin, similar to the Matrix with us. May I quote Lyell from my tablet, Doc?”
“Go on.”
“In a letter to like-minded George Scrope, a fellow geologist, he wrote, ‘I am sure you get the Q.R.,’ he’s talking about a journal called the Quarterly Review, ‘what will free the science from Moses, for if treated seriously, the party,’ talking about the church, ‘are quite prepared for it… . It is just the time to strike, so rejoice that, sinner as you are; the Q.R. is open to you.’ Lyell was also an accomplished lawyer, by the way.”
Pete was aghast. “Are you saying that he made up the whole thing? The entire concept of the geologic column with all its epochs of the Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, Jurassic, and … and claiming each lasted tens of millions of years just … just came out of his head?”
Maggie then turned to the class. “Yes, Pete, the whole thing was just a crock to destroy the Noahic Flood, which Moses wrote about in Genesis. Up until then, the church, and many scientists, believed the Deluge laid down the fossil layers around the world, including the Grand Canyon!”
Maggie then turned back around, as Maria held up her hand to give her a high five. “You go, girl!” Maria praised. She then gave her another high five, as they laughed together.
I had a big puzzled look on my face. Maggie explained, “Doc, Maria and I started to figure out where you were going with much of the material and we decided to get a jump on it. Together we began to read a number of books and websites on these subjects, from, how should I say it, a non-conventional approach.”
Matt was waving both hands in the air. “Yes, Matt.”
“Even if all the names of the layers and the time frames between them were made up, they do show the evolutionary progression of fossils from the early period of earth up to the present.” He then integrated an illustration of the geologic column on the Insta-Screen.
“Yeah, Doc,” Tom joined in. “The deepest layer the … a …”
“Cambrian,” Pete leaned over to inform him.
“Yeah, the Cambrian shows the basic primitive life-forms. Then as we move up the strata, or layers, the organisms become more complex. What gives?”
“So, Tom, what you are saying is that the bottom layers of strata are the oldest and contain the more primitive life-forms, and as we move up the geologic column through the millennia, the layers are younger and contain more advanced organisms. Is that right?” I asked.
Illustration of the Geologic column time scale with animals and plants. Credit : UK Apologetics
“Ah … yeah. Doesn’t that show proof … ah … evidence of some kinda evolution going on?”
“Tom, what type of organisms do we find in that bottom Cambrian layer?”
Tom turned around to Pete. “Hey, man, help me out on this.”
Pete, happy to help out, stated with certitude, “It’s called the Cambrian Explosion because we find all kind of basic sea life like jellyfish, corals, brachiopods, sponges, worm tubes, and more.” He smiled; proud he knew his geologic time scales.
“Pete, tell me—and the class—what is found in the pre-Cambrian layer underneath, or below the Cambrian.”
“Nothing really, just single-celled microscopic protozoa and bacteria, where life began.”
“That’s right, Doc, I’ve learned the same in my ecology class lectures,” Jim interjected.
“Okay guys, now follow me on this. The basement layer, the pre-Cambrian, has only microscopic, single-celled life and the very next layer above it contains fairly complex multi-cellular life-forms, such as the worms, corals, and jellies, which Pete alluded to. Does anyone see a problem with this?”
Several of the students consulted with one another; finally, Matt raised his hand. Apparently he had come to some conclusion.
“Doc, where are all the in-between life-forms? The bottom layer is micro single-celled and the next above it is complex gazillioncelled life. Where are all the … the …”
“Transitional one hundred or one thousand or ten thousand-celled organisms,” Pete added with much consternation, as he had never questioned what his professors and books told him.
“Matt! Excellent! You have ascertained a critical point that many PhDs have failed to grasp,” I exclaimed, giving Matt some well-earned kudos.
“I have?” He replied, somewhat astonished. He turned around to Pete, who had perceived the significance of what Matt had said and was staring at Matt in disbelief.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
ROUND ONE
Philip sat straight up in his chair putting all its legs on the floor. This did not go un-noticed by others in the class.
“Okay, Philip,” I said, “I see you’ve discovered something very crucial. Why don’t you share it with us?”
From his expression, he was not happy to have been called on. But I knew I was about to count on this atheist to again be honest.
“The significance of what Matt stated regarding the lack of evidence for transitional organisms carries with it the same weight as the failed Miller-Urey experiments.”
Philip fidgeted as he talked, obviously very uncomfortable with this.
“Philip, please proceed.”
“First, I must concede that I myself never paid much attention— no, not any attention to this extremely pivota
l aspect of the pre-Cambrian and Cambrian portion of the geologic column.”
“How so, refine your thoughts for us.”
“Okay, we are all familiar with the rubric we have been taught to accept, that life started out as unicellular microscopic organisms which evolved to the invertebrates—those corals, brachiopods, worms and jellies Pete mentioned—then advanced to the vertebrate fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and finally to man.”
Jim, impatient and short-tempered as usual, boldly inserted himself. “Philip, what the H-E double hockey sticks are you talking about? Speak English, man!”
Philip responded in kind, looking at Jim. “Where in the H-E double hockey sticks are the missing links between the single-celled microscopic organisms and the gazillion-celled ones Matt mentioned? Over those millions upon millions of years, there should be at least some organisms that advanced and grew bigger, transitioning from a microscopic single cell to an intermediate-sized organism, before reaching the ginormous size—relatively speaking—of a jelly fish or worm. They are not there, which means they don’t exist. Got it?”
Jim’s eyes grew big as he began to realize the impact of this line of reasoning. There were still others in the class unsure of the implications.
Maggie came to the rescue. She stood up and turned to face the group. “C’mon guys, think, for heaven’s sake; use your brains. Can anyone name one, just one example of a multi-cellular organism in between a one-celled bacterium or amoeba and the gazillion-celled coral or jellyfish or worm or clam?”
Nate stood up to answer Maggie. “OMG, there are none. I can’t think of even one example.” He then turned around looking for any feedback. “Does anyone know of any organism between the one-celled protozoa and the invertebrates? Anyone?” he asked, still petitioning his classmates.
“That’s why it’s called the Cambrian Explosion! I get it now,” Tom exclaimed. “But the missing links—all the transitional fossils and organisms—are still missing between those two layers of the pre-Cam and Cambrian, even to this very day. Holy crap! But … but that alone is enough to destroy evolution and possibly the millions of years theory.”