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Is this Noah's Ark?
Click the image for the full-sized picture. Read the supporting article here. Read a longer analysis on a linked website here.
Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson and the Intelligent Design MovementEdited by William A. Dembski
18 powerful essays by today's leading critics of
Darwinism
In honor of their mentor, Phillip Johnson
Not long ago, it was unthinkable for a respected scientist or academic to publicly challenge the dogma of Darwinian evolution. That all changed in 1991, when UC Berkeley law professor Phillip Johnson published Darwin on Trial. For many young intellectuals, Johnson's critique of Darwinism on both scientific and philosophical grounds was a revelation -- spurring some of them to launch their own assaults from within their scientific or academic specialties. Now, in honor of their mentor, 18 of Johnson's most eminent "disciples" review and celebrate the man and the movement he founded. Read Charles Colson on this book Is there life on Mars?—latestNot according to the tests—latest But read on.
The last lander did not find any life. The current lander is at this moment digging into Mars' soil to look for life. We don't think they will find any. Read the latest below: The Phoenix mission landed a telerobot in the polar region of Mars on May 25, 2008. One of the mission's two primary objectives is to search for a 'habitable zone' in the Martian regolith where microbial life could exist, the other goal being to study the geological history of the water on Mars. The lander has a 2.5 meter robotic arm that is capable of digging a 0.5 meter trench in the regolith. The arm is fitted with an arm camera able to verify that there is material in the scoop when returning samples to the lander for analysis – this overcomes an important design flaw in the Viking landers. The craft has a mass spectrometer capable of detecting organic volatiles up to 10ppb, an optical microscope and an atomic force microscope. There is an electrochemistry experiment which will tell scientists about ions in the regolith and show the amount and type of antioxidants on Mars, if the device works. NASA scientist Carol Stoker reports that oxidants on Mars vary with latitude, noting that Viking 2 saw fewer oxidants than Viking 1 because of its more northerly position. Phoenix has landed further north still. Rates of sediment-ation at the Phoenix landing site are hoped to allow the probe to sample layers that date back at least 50,000 years, and maybe up to a million years. [They say!]. This is important because the climate of Mars has been much warmer in the past and any life could have been more active and widespread, says Stoker. Unlike the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner rover and the Mars
Exploration Rovers, which used airbag-cushioned capsules to land on Mars, the
Phoenix lander landed the same way that the Viking landers did, despite the
claims that rocket exhaust may have contaminated the Viking landing sites. Although more data collecting needs to be done, trace
levels of nutrients have already been detected. This, with the recent
discovery of water ice, has amazed mission scientists, likening these new
results to "winning the lottery." Taken from a scoop of top-soil, the robotic digger managed to excavate a 2 cm deep ditch, delivering the sample to the MECA where analysis could be carried out. The first results from the two-day wet-lab experiment are flooding in and mission scientists are excited by the results. "We are awash in chemistry data," said Michael Hecht of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and lead scientist for the MECA. Sources: Wikipedia and Universetoday.com |
The Asia Legacy project has been completed Inspiring stories of a former generation of Navigators This month, August 2008, the 20th life story of the pioneers of the Navigator ministry to Asia was published, completing the project. The second book is expected to be published by Christmas 2008. In 2002 I was commissioned by the Asia Navigator leadership team to visit the pioneers and interview them. The aim was to produce inspiring stories of another generation, and to commit the facts to writing—all for the benefit of future generations. I visited Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Canada and North America in search of the pioneers, whom I interviewed at length, sometimes renewing a friendship, sometimes meeting my subject for the first time. I returned after the two-month circumnavigation of the world and began immediately to write. As I began it became obvious that I should devote considerable space to each pioneer or couple. It was just not possible to condense their rich lives into a few pages, so the project was extended beyond expectations. Two years into the project I had a health crisis, was diagnosed with cancer, underwent an operation, followed by five months' aggressive chemotherapy. Although I did some writing that year, 2004, the project was delayed even more. But the commissioners and supporters of the project were understanding and generous. During these six years—a long haul—I was constantly concerned that I properly portray the life and works of the pioneers. I "lived" with each one of them in turn. Asian Navigator leader David Bok brought his Navigator ministry experience, expertise in English, and his understanding of Asian sensibilities to bear on the text as Editor, further enabling good communication with Asians, for whom the stories are primarily written. During the term of the project, five people whose stories are told died, and two became seriously unwell. Today, the 20 stories are circulating in two forms: a book of the first ten biographies, one chapter per pioneer, and all as electronic pdf files. One story about Waldron Scott was written by my friend and colleague, Paul Hensley, a former Navigator missionary in Malaysia and Indonesia. Paul knows Scott very well, and circumstances also pointed to his writing the chapter. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). —Sandy Fairservice, Christchurch New Zealand To the right is a facsimile of the cover of the book, which was designed by the talented Navigator designer and communicator, Angeline Koh. Chapters in Book One Chapters in Book Two: New Zealand Navigator history Sandy's next task Sandy has been asked to write a history of The Navigators of New Zealand. One of the spiritual grandchildren of the founder of the New Zealand work, Joe Simmons, Sandy has a long memory, and accurate records and a store of photographs of much of the period from 1953, the year that Joe and Marie Simmons emigrated to New Zealand, encouraged by their mentor, Dawson Trotman himself. You can read the Simmons story in the Asia Legacy book. Birthdays Judy celebrated her 70th birthday and Sandy his 66th on April 4 in a combined event at home. The party was attended by about 25 close and available friends. Health Apart from having a bad shoulder, which may need yet another operation, Judy is very well. Sandy is very well too, with his oncologist smiling broadly. Read our latest newsletter here. What is God doing in the world? A recent Ipsos MORI, conducted for the BBC, and published on 26 January 2006, shows that evolution is believed by only 48% of the British public. Of the rest, 17% believe Intelligent Design and 22% say they believe creationism. These results are startling. The figure of 22% believing creationism is remarkable, when you consider that only 8.5% of the population are evangelical Christians—and many evangelical Christians say they do not believe in creationism. That only 48% believe
evolution is staggering, especially since that schools have taught exclusively
evolution for decades, and the media bombard the British public continually
with pro-evolution propaganda. This blanket evolutionism has clearly not
worked.—Answers in Genesis (UK) Christian conversions at a maximum Be encouraged. More people are coming to Christ today than at any time in human history. Popular media in New Zealand may not have recognised it, but the world is experiencing an extraordinary explosion of divine initiative—on a scale that has never been seen before. According to the respected Christian scholar and teacher, Dr Alistair Petrie, people around the world were coming to Christ at the rate of around 900 a day in 1900. By the mid-1980s the figure had leaped to 50,000-60,000 a day. By 2000, it had reached 200,000 a day. That's 140 people per minute.
It is broadly estimated that around a third of all people in recorded history who have made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ have done so in the past 10 years. Prayer is the key, said Dr Petrie. Around the world, people are praying as never before, and the world is witnessing an extraordinary harvest. Praise God! From Christian Resource Centre International News, July 2001 The gospel in Europe For some missionaries in Europe it is a time of reaping and expansion, while for others it is a time of patient sowing and cultivating. People are reported to be coming to faith in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. Norway, another country with a solid Christian heritage, is said to face many challenges to getting the gospel into the lives of non-believing students. The gospel is not being heard in Southern Europe, but Central and Eastern Europeans are responding, after having been dominated for over 40 years by communism. Miscellaneous New Zealand society is becoming more conservative, attaching increased importance to marriage and family, according to researchers. In a study conducted by the University of Otago's consumer research group, New Zealanders were split into segments including Educated Liberals, Young Pleasure Seekers and Conservative Quiet-Lifers. Conservative Quiet-Lifers have taken over from Accepting Mid-Lifers as a major segment, indicating the country's ageing population, said the researchers.
Darwin and “damnable doctrine”—ours or his? February 12, 1809 was the birthday of the man who caused the greatest havoc in Christendom and beyond. Charles Darwin gave many rebels the opportunity to believe in chance rather than God the Creator, and upset the sincere faith of others. This is what he said about the Bible and Jesus Christ: “I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God” — in a letter to Frederick McDermott, November 24, 1880. This is what he said about hell: “Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a single second that my conclusion was correct. I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother, and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine”—the autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809-1882, with original omissions restored, New York, W.W. Norton, 1969, p 87, extract from Nora Barlow. This message should give theistic evolutionists something to think about. Evolution was Darwin’s view of the rise of life from non-life and variety from simplicity. But you can’t have it both ways. Either God created, or evolution happened. The Bible says God created. Evolution, according to the Bible, is not how God created. And evolution does not hold up, scientifically.
Bad news for the Big Bang theory Evidence is mounting that the cosmic microwaves which have been thought to
be remnants of the Big Bang are not necessarily from far away. The 'Lucy Child' —another ape
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