Intelligent Origins · P.O. Box 681151 · Indianapolis, IN 46268
A Brief History of Time
Steven Hawking
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the
modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions
being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it
begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions
(and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the
topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time,
and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these
concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't
help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not
used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth
taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse
of "the mind of God."
Can Man Live Without God?
Ravi Zacharias
"Can Man Live without God" by Ravi Zacharias contains in depth discussions of
origins, existence and destiny, the meaning of life and morality. He goes on to concur
with the conclusion of many logical minds, i.e., that what exists in nature is the
result of purposeful design. He concurs with even more of us, that the designer is the
God of the Bible.
Evolution: Challenge of the Fossil Record
Duane Gish
In "Evolution: The Challenge of the Fossil Record", Duane Gish points out that
Darwin ("The Origin of the Species") himself claimed that the fossils (then
only a few existed) would confirm his theories. Today, millions have been found, but none
of those have been of the missing link (inter–species) variety. Thus, converse to
Darwin's hope (faith), the fossil record actually contradicts Darwin's hypothesis !
Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds
Philip E. Johnston
Johnson feels his successful antievolution books,
Darwin on Trial (1991)
and
Reason in the Balance (1995), are more complicated
than parents and teachers need to prepare students to take on the evolutionists. Hence,
this shorter version of his overall thesis that also advises how to debate evolution.
Johnson first makes clear what he perceives the real adversary to be: a dogma
that insists life arose solely by chance and that denies contrary evidence a
hearing. He then counsels believers to avoid such common mistakes as retreating
from theism to deism (and so transforming a continuously creative God into an
uninvolved First Cause), to learn to spot faulty analogies and other forms of
poor logic, to know the soundest scientific data casting doubt on classical
evolution, and to persist--for, he says, the days of Darwinian hegemony are
numbered. He firmly believes and seeks to persuade readers that his ultimate
causes, aside from religious faith, are freedom of inquiry and the opening of
now closed minds.
The F.A.C.E. that Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution
Hank Hanegraaff
This book contains a very useful acronym, F.A.C.E.:
F = Fossil Record from which no missing link fossils have been
found and thus, there is no evidence for macroevolution
A = Ape man frauds such as Lucy, Nebraska Man, and Peking Man,
which ranged from wishful thinking to bad science to outright fraud
C = the Chance that atoms, even under very favorable reaction
conditions, could produce even a simple protein molecule is zero. That
is, various estimates of the length of time this type of reaction would
take are on the order of 10260 years, which is beyond astronomical. To put
this number in perspective, estimates of the number of atoms in the known
universe are on the order of 1080 and ten billion years would be 1010.
E = the Entropy of the universe is increasing (the second law of
thermodynamics) i.e., it is proceeding from a state of greater order to
lesser order, getting cold, running down, etc.. This is the opposite of what
evolution requires, that is the progression from a state of lower to greater complexity.
Hanegraaff goes on to chronicle such renowned scientists as Issac Newton,
Robert Boyle, Louis Pasteur, Michael Faraday, Samuel Morse, Johannes Kepler,
Blaise Pascal, Werner Von Braun, Carolus Linneaus, William Ramsay and A.E.
Wilder-Smith as all being Christians and thus contrary to the proposal that
Christians must have "…checked their brains in the narthex of the church"
The Genesis Flood
John Whitcomb & Henry Morris
This book is a classic, early work in support of the Creation model of origins.
Four points of interest are recounted here:
-
The uniformitarian hypothesis, particularly as it relates to radioisotopic dating methods, can be neither proved nor disproved by science.
-
On the fossil record, they point out that fossil formation requires catastrophic events such as occurred in the hydrodynamics associated with the great flood described in Gen 6-9, i.e., high pressure over short time periods. (A contrary example would be the death of your pet cat buried in the back yard. Years later, that place may be better fertilized, but it will not contain a cat fossil.)
-
The geological clock "can't tell time" (it's broken).
Specifically, the fossils found in sedimentary layers in one region of the
earth have been used to sequence the relative, evolutionary appearance of
various species. Prehistoric time frames are assigned to these groupings
by both circular
reasoning and radiometric methods . Unfortunately, in another region of the earth, the sequence is
not the same – inconsistent with the concept of a geological clock, but very consistent with the
turbulence and chaos of the great flood, followed by the recession of those floodwaters !
-
Finally, one of the criticisms of the preservation of land animals on the ark, during
the great flood, was the size of the largest reptiles, i.e., the large dinosaurs. The
argument is the observation that the size of reptiles is directly proportional to their
age. Thus, younger pairs of the larger, reptilian species would have readily fit on the ark.
Miracles
C.S. Lewis
An impeccable inquiry into the proposition that supernatural events
can happen in this world. C. S. Lewis uses his remarkable logic to
build a solid argument for the existence of divine intervention.
That Their Words May be used Against Them
Henry M. Morris
The theory currently in vogue on the origin of the universe
is the so-called "Big Bang" theory, according to which the
cosmos suddenly came to existence, sometime between 8 and
20 billion years ago by a primordial explosion of an
infinitesimal particle of "space/time," which then evolved
into everything else.
The Universe in a Nutshell
Steven Hawking
Stephen Hawking, science's first real rock star, may be the least-read bestselling author
in history--it's no secret that many people who own A Brief History of Time have never
finished it. Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell aims to remedy the situation, with a
plethora of friendly illustrations to help readers grasp some of the most brain-bending
ideas ever conceived.
Does it succeed? Yes and no. While Hawking offers genuinely accessible context for such
complexities as string theory and the nature of time, it's when he must translate
equations to sentences that the limits of language get in the way. But Hawking has
simplified the origin of the universe, the nature of space and time, and what holds it
all together to an unprecedented degree, inviting nonscientists to share his obvious awe and
love of the unseen forces that shape it all.
Yes, it's difficult reading, but it's worth it. Hawking is one of the great geniuses of our time,
a man whose life has been devoted to thinking in the abstract about the universe. With his help,
and pictures--lots of pictures--we can seek to understand a bit more of the cosmos.
All Images and Content © Intelligent Origins · Use by Permission Only
Website Design & Development by
Internet DesignWorks Design for a Global Generation
