Re: great creationists of the past

Hi, Merv,

Others can speak to your list query. Let me comment on your last paragraph.
Good Friday is "good" because it is the day when the work of salvation was
completed ("It is finished": John 19:30--the Greek verb "tetelestai" means
"it has been completed, or, accomplished"). The "telos" (Greek: "goal,
end") of Christ's ministry was to die a death that would reconcile "all
things" (the whole creation: Greek, "ta panta") to God by "making peace
through the blood of his cross" (Col. 1:20). So, one of the paradoxes of
Christian faith, Christ's death, horrible as it was, was a good thing. We
could use that old phrase (which I love), "He died a good death." It may
not have seemed so to his disciples, both the women who stood by him at the
cross and the men who fled in grief and guiilt; but it was. For by his
death, he overcame death and opened to us the gates of everlasting life.

In my tradition today is called Holy Saturday. It is a day of quiet and
reflective waiting, lying with Christ in the tomb, so to speak, and
listening for the cry that will make our hearts glad, "He is risen!"

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mervin Bitikofer" <mrb22667@kansas.net>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2006 7:04 AM
Subject: great creationists of the past

>I would like some help and feedback as I get ready to teach a section on
>'Earth history and the fossil record' to my 9th grade physical science
>class. The text we use is published by Abeka (A Christian publisher out of
>Pensacola). So as you will guess, a chapter like this one is pretty much
>entirely devoted to debunking anything smacking of evolution including
>anything of old-earth timescales. (definitely a YEC text).
>
>
> But anyway, there is a part of this chapter that seeks to dispel the myth
> that science is not / was not an inherently 'anti-Christian' thing and
> that the Biblical faith of a Christian, far from being preclusive of
> scientific achievement, is in fact (and has been) an asset. No problems
> here – I agree, though probably not in the same sense the publisher
> desires. (The book's version of what constitutes 'real science' means
> 'non-evolutionary science' – in a diametrically opposed mirror image of
> what, most of you, perhaps, would believe).
>
>
> To this end, our text presents a list of 'fields of study established by
> creationist scientists' which includes many big names of science –
> granted – most of them, but not all are Pre-Darwin. The cited reference
> for it is from (a creationist periodical?) 'Vision' March/April of 1982
> with vol. # and p. #s etc. Here are some of the names/fields included
> (there are over 40 including some repetitions of names for different
> fields). I do already know of some problems here, so check my comments
> below before you get too excited about some of these names.
>
>
> Bacteriology -- Louis Pasteur
> Calculus, dynamics, … Isaac Newton
> Celestial Mechanics -- Johannes Kepler
> Chemistry – Robert Boyle
> Computer Science – Charles Babbage
> Dimensional Analysis – Lord Rayleigh
> Electrodynamics – James C. Maxwell
> Electromagnetics – Michael Faraday
> Thermodynamics – Lord Kelvin
> Entomology – Henri Fabre
> Fluid Mechanics – George Stokes
> Galactic Astronomy – William Herschel
> Genetics – Gregor Mendel
> Glacial geology & ichthyology – Louis Agassiz
> Hydraulics – Leonardo da Vinci
> Hydrostatics – Blaise Pascal
> Isotopic chemistry – William Ramsay
> Natural History – John Ray
> Reversible thermodynamics – James Joule
> Stratigraphy – Nicholas Steno
> Systematic biology – Carolus Linnaeus
>
>
> While I have passing familiarity with some of these, and know about some
> of the more prominent ones quite well, there are others I know nothing
> about. The implication, of course, that the publisher of this list intends
> is that this is a homogenously YEC body of people – which would have
> Leonardo spinning in his grave. I also like to use Lord Kelvin to show the
> more interesting depth of texture to some of these supposedly
> 'young-earth' people. He settled on the distressingly young age of … 24
> million years, before the radioactive contributions had been discovered.
> And I've discovered a wonderful work about Nicholas Steno. "The Seashell
> on the Mountaintop" by Alan Cutler, 2003. It is subtitled: A story of
> science, sainthood, and the humble genius who discovered a new history of
> the earth. Have any of you read it? It would be a great book to recommend
> to anybody who thinks only in YEC veins as well as anybody whose thoughts
> are trapped in only anti-Christian ruts.
>
>
> But I digress from my original request: Of the other names in the list
> above, some of which I know nothing about, are there others that I should
> delve into in order to impress upon these students that not all Christian
> thinkers always thought alike and that 'creationist' doesn't always mean
> 'young-earth creationist'?
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Just having had a 'Good Friday' (curious label), what are we in now? Black
> Saturday? In anticipation of the better day, Happy Easter!
>
> --merv
>
>
>
>
Received on Sat Apr 15 07:59:24 2006