RE: [asa] Predestination, free-will, and 10+ dimensions

James wrote:

>>And that is one thing I like about RTB's Testable Creation Model. They
don't insist it is the one true solution. It's a model. Subject to
revisions.

And so far, it seems to be a pretty good model. I think the
anti-evolutionist impression is based on the fact that evolution has
some pretty big gaps. You can have faith in God that there will come a
"natural" explanation for those gaps, meanwhile, I'm going with the
model that best explains the data. :)<<

James, obviously you have no allergic reaction to smoke and mirrors.
The following is lifted from their web site.

http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/testablecreationsummary.sht
ml

    --------------------------------------

Many factors work to limit large animals' capacity for natural-process
change. These same factors make large animals especially vulnerable to
rapid extinction. The seven most significant factors are these:

1. their relatively small population levels

2. their long generation spans (the time between birth and the
ability to give birth)

3. their low numbers of progeny produced per adult

4. their high complexity of morphology and biochemistry

5. their enormous body sizes

6. their specialized food supplies

7. their relatively advanced cultural and social structures

These factors limit the capacity of animals not only to change through
natural selection and mutations but also to adapt to environmental
changes. A fundamental problem biologists observe is that deleterious
mutations vastly outnumber beneficial mutations (by anywhere from 10,000
to 1 up to 10,000,000 to 1). Thus, a species needs an enormous
population, a short generation time, and a small body size if it's to
survive long enough to benefit from mutations. Deleterious mutations and
environmental stresses drive most animal species to extinction.

Crude mathematical models indicate that a species capable of significant
evolutionary advance rather than doomed to eventual extinction, must
have a population of one quadrillion individuals, a generation time of
three months, and a body size of one centimeter. These conclusions are
confirmed by field observations.

        (What about sharks, alligators, whales?)

Genesis offers this explanation for the survival of large animals: God
repeatedly replaced extinct species with new ones. In most cases, the
new species were different from the previous ones because God was
changing Earth's geology, biodeposits, and biology, step by step, in
preparation for His ultimate creation on Earth-the human race.

    (I missed that chapter in Genesis on repeated animal extinction.
Can anybody cite it?)

The many "transitional" forms seen in the fossil record suggest that God
performed more than just a few creative acts here and there, letting
natural evolution fill in the rest. Rather, God was involved and active
in creation of new species.

    (Note that YECs declare the lack of transitional fossils as proof of
creation. Here we see that "many transitional forms" prove creation.
It is obvious that to a creationist anything proves creation.)

    --------------------------------

This argument has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese! Deleterious
mutations can be inconsequential or in the vast majority of instances
render a single individual unsuitable for reproduction and it is
eliminated from the gene pool. Ross seems to think that mutations
infect the entire population. Some can, most do not. Plus, what he
calls a "creation model" is no such thing. What happened between man
and ape, for example? Specifically, how did God create man with many of
the same genetic markers found in our brachiating cousins? What's the
model? Then after positing no model at all he "tests" it?

    -------------------------------

The unique beauty of this biblical creation model is its ability to
predict with accuracy advancing scientific discovery. This ability to
predict is the hallmark of any reliable theory. By contrast, Darwinian
evolution, chaos theory, and six-consecutive-24-hour-creation-day
creationism fail to predict and instead contradict the growing body of
data. This summary lists just 20 of the numerous successful predictions
made by the Reasons To Believe model.

1. transcendent creation event

2. cosmic fine-tuning

3. fine-tuning of the earth's, solar system's, and Milky Way
Galaxy's characteristics

4. rapidity of life's origin

5. lack of inorganic kerogen

6. extreme biomolecular complexity

7. Cambrian explosion

8. missing horizontal branches in the fossil record

9. placement and frequency of "transitional forms" in the fossil
record

10. fossil record reversal

11. frequency and extent of mass extinctions

12. recovery from mass extinctions

13. duration of time windows for different species

14. frequency, extent, and repetition of symbiosis

15. frequency, extent, and repetition of altruism

16. speciation and extinction rates

17. recent origin of humanity

18. huge biodeposits

19. Genesis' perfect fit with the fossil record

20. molecular clock rates

    ------------------------------------------

What kind of tests are these? Take any of them. How does his "model,"
which is based upon Genesis, predict the "frequency and extent of mass
extinctions," or "molecular clock rates"? What's the chapter and verse
on those items?

Dick Fischer, GPA president
Genesis Proclaimed Association
"Finding Harmony in Bible, Science and History"
www.genesisproclaimed.org\

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Received on Wed Oct 22 21:03:09 2008