At 03:44 PM 12/22/97 -0700, John W. Burgeson wrote in response to
Walter Hicks:
[...Snip...]
>Tree rings are a "history" of a tree's life.
>They are also necessary to allow a mature tree stand.
>They appear, therefore, to be necessary.
>
>A navel on Adam may, or may not, be necessary for Adam to be completely
>healthy. So Adam's naval may, or may not, have been present. (Gosse talks
>to this in OMPHALOS, of course -- the word "Omphalos" is Greek for
>navel).
>
>My arguments do not include the fossil record, of course; they are
>concerned only with what we, as scientists, would expect to observe and
>measure were we to be present
>a. At Cana.
>b. At the 5,000 man feast.
>c. On day #8 of a fiat creation.
>d. Other Biblical events (your choice)
This discussion on the appearance of age in a new or miraculous
creation, IMO, hinges around those indications of age which are
necessary and perfect for the structure of that creation. However it
is those indications of age which are unnecessary and imperfect which
are most convincing and whould appear to "Make God a Liar". For
example:
>a. At Cana.
I would predict that the wine created in Christ's first recorded
miracle would be perfect and probably contain evidence of those factors
which are necessary for making wine (evidence of the grapes and the
fermenting process). I would not predict that Christ's miraculous wine
would contain unnecessary contamination from the wine making process
(such as insect fragments, pesticide residue, soil, and fragments of
DNA (skin, hair) from those who were involved in that business). If we
could identify the vineyard and the winemaker from contamination found
in that wine at Cana then I would have some justification accusing the
creator (Christ) of deliberate deception.
>b. At the 5,000 man feast.
I wouldn't expect to be able to identify the mill and millstone used to
grind the grain from fragments of stone found in the bread.
>c. On day #8 of a fiat creation.
I wouldn't expect to find unnecessary embellishment and imperfection.
As Brian Harper pointed out, I wouldn't expect to find scars or
evidence of heart disease in Adam. In addition, I wouldn't expect
fossils in the rocks which show evidence of living creatures with
remains of other creatures in their stomach. And I wouldn't expect
that igneous rocks would contain ratios of parent radioactive elements
and daughter decay products that indicate an "apparent age" of 1,040
+/- 13 m.y. for the Pikes Peak Granite here in Colorado when it is in
fact less than 8 days old.
If I ordered a brand new car from the Ford factory, I think that I have
a good case for deception and fraud if that car is delivered with
34,147.3 miles on the odometer, worn out tires, dirty motor oil, worn
piston rings, and mud from the Marquette region in the Upper Pennisula
of Michigan on the undercarriage.
May the Baby of Christmas grow within your heart and life through the
Holiday Season and the New Year!
Steve
[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own
and should not be attributed to my employer]
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