God's beautiful creation

[Joseph G]

Description

"An amazing video with stunning soundtrack, showing the awesome, beautiful creation of God. How can anyone believe in evolution after watching this?! May it inspire you to draw closer to Christ Jesus. The video is supplied by thebranch.org and the music is called Creation Calls by Brian Doerksen."

Psalm 95:1-7 NIV

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

"For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care."

 

[RileyG]

Glory to God!

Thanks for sharing

 

[roman2819]

Why then is there a case for creation? On earth today, so far, about 2,000,000 species of living creatures have been identified (which is only a conservative estimate), each with their own forms, functionality, instinct and intelligence. A spectrum of these would include 300,000 species of plants, 30,000 species of fishes, and 6,000 species of mammals. There are more species of invertebrates such as ground insects which live on land, as well as life forms that exist deep in the oceans. Could all these have emerged from “simple cells” that evolve entirely by themselves over millions of years? As we consider how trillions of living creatures live in a symbiosis manner in the ecosystems, one cannot help feeling that it would be mightily impossible for all these to have happened by themselves. When we look at the amazing diversity of life on earth, at the planets revolving around the sun along their set paths, and the regularity and rhythm in the universe, we have to wonder if there is more to it than meets the eyes. Can all these really happen without a Designer who planned out the precise and intricate details?

I was not a believer by birth. One day, I asked a school friend, Lo Sovan, why he believed that God existed, and he said, “Look at the creation. How come all these happen by itself without God?” At that time, I found it difficult to deny that there was a ring of truth in what he said. In school, we were told about the theories of creation and evolution. However, looking at the millions of species of living creatures on earth, one could not help feeling that it was just too far-fetched to believe that they could have evolved all by themselves into such a highly sophisticated state: It is simply impossible – and this is the most common implicit opinion of most people, even if they are not Christians. Ancient civilizations burned incense and offerings to please the deities that they believed created the earth and all living things – and this belief still continues now, in the form of worship at pagan temples, mosques and churches. Amid our age of technology today, most people still cannot bring themselves to see how countless elements and living things on earth could really happen all by themselves.

The above is adapted from 'Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's will' by Roman Ri

 

[River Jordan]

Why then is there a case for creation? On earth today, so far, about 2,000,000 species of living creatures have been identified (which is only a conservative estimate), each with their own forms, functionality, instinct and intelligence. A spectrum of these would include 300,000 species of plants, 30,000 species of fishes, and 6,000 species of mammals. There are more species of invertebrates such as ground insects which live on land, as well as life forms that exist deep in the oceans. Could all these have emerged from “simple cells” that evolve entirely by themselves over millions of years? As we consider how trillions of living creatures live in a symbiosis manner in the ecosystems, one cannot help feeling that it would be mightily impossible for all these to have happened by themselves. When we look at the amazing diversity of life on earth, at the planets revolving around the sun along their set paths, and the regularity and rhythm in the universe, we have to wonder if there is more to it than meets the eyes. Can all these really happen without a Designer who planned out the precise and intricate details?

I was not a believer by birth. One day, I asked a school friend, Lo Sovan, why he believed that God existed, and he said, “Look at the creation. How come all these happen by itself without God?” At that time, I found it difficult to deny that there was a ring of truth in what he said. In school, we were told about the theories of creation and evolution. However, looking at the millions of species of living creatures on earth, one could not help feeling that it was just too far-fetched to believe that they could have evolved all by themselves into such a highly sophisticated state: It is simply impossible – and this is the most common implicit opinion of most people, even if they are not Christians. Ancient civilizations burned incense and offerings to please the deities that they believed created the earth and all living things – and this belief still continues now, in the form of worship at pagan temples, mosques and churches. Amid our age of technology today, most people still cannot bring themselves to see how countless elements and living things on earth could really happen all by themselves.

The above is adapted from 'Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's will' by Roman Ri

Isn't that just "I can't imagine how all that could have happened, therefore it didn't"? Kind of an appeal to god of the gaps?

It wasn't that long ago that a lot of people could never imagine huge plates moving around the earth's crust, or the number of galaxies in just the parts of the universe we can see. But their inability to imagine those things didn't make them untrue.

 

[Shemjaza]

Why then is there a case for creation? On earth today, so far, about 2,000,000 species of living creatures have been identified (which is only a conservative estimate), each with their own forms, functionality, instinct and intelligence. A spectrum of these would include 300,000 species of plants, 30,000 species of fishes, and 6,000 species of mammals. There are more species of invertebrates such as ground insects which live on land, as well as life forms that exist deep in the oceans. Could all these have emerged from “simple cells” that evolve entirely by themselves over millions of years? As we consider how trillions of living creatures live in a symbiosis manner in the ecosystems, one cannot help feeling that it would be mightily impossible for all these to have happened by themselves. When we look at the amazing diversity of life on earth, at the planets revolving around the sun along their set paths, and the regularity and rhythm in the universe, we have to wonder if there is more to it than meets the eyes. Can all these really happen without a Designer who planned out the precise and intricate details?

I was not a believer by birth. One day, I asked a school friend, Lo Sovan, why he believed that God existed, and he said, “Look at the creation. How come all these happen by itself without God?” At that time, I found it difficult to deny that there was a ring of truth in what he said. In school, we were told about the theories of creation and evolution. However, looking at the millions of species of living creatures on earth, one could not help feeling that it was just too far-fetched to believe that they could have evolved all by themselves into such a highly sophisticated state: It is simply impossible – and this is the most common implicit opinion of most people, even if they are not Christians. Ancient civilizations burned incense and offerings to please the deities that they believed created the earth and all living things – and this belief still continues now, in the form of worship at pagan temples, mosques and churches. Amid our age of technology today, most people still cannot bring themselves to see how countless elements and living things on earth could really happen all by themselves.

The above is adapted from 'Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's will' by Roman Ri

Variation in life is constant and random... it just needs the vagaries of environment to separate them into new species.

Dogs are an excellent example of the power of mutation. Human intellect and will is the source of the separation and selection to maintain the breeds... but the raw changes we work with are completely free of intent and intelligence.


But you really haven't explained how a personal feeling that this needs a designer translates into a reason to believe.

Another thing that aught to give you pause is the way other believers use their personal feelings to deny the very existence of the same marvels that inspire your faith. (Things like the diversity of life, and even the existence of the planets are disputed by some Creationists on this very forum.)

 

[BCP1928]

Why then is there a case for creation? On earth today, so far, about 2,000,000 species of living creatures have been identified (which is only a conservative estimate), each with their own forms, functionality, instinct and intelligence. A spectrum of these would include 300,000 species of plants, 30,000 species of fishes, and 6,000 species of mammals. There are more species of invertebrates such as ground insects which live on land, as well as life forms that exist deep in the oceans. Could all these have emerged from “simple cells” that evolve entirely by themselves over millions of years? As we consider how trillions of living creatures live in a symbiosis manner in the ecosystems, one cannot help feeling that it would be mightily impossible for all these to have happened by themselves. When we look at the amazing diversity of life on earth, at the planets revolving around the sun along their set paths, and the regularity and rhythm in the universe, we have to wonder if there is more to it than meets the eyes. Can all these really happen without a Designer who planned out the precise and intricate details?

I was not a believer by birth. One day, I asked a school friend, Lo Sovan, why he believed that God existed, and he said, “Look at the creation. How come all these happen by itself without God?” At that time, I found it difficult to deny that there was a ring of truth in what he said. In school, we were told about the theories of creation and evolution. However, looking at the millions of species of living creatures on earth, one could not help feeling that it was just too far-fetched to believe that they could have evolved all by themselves into such a highly sophisticated state: It is simply impossible – and this is the most common implicit opinion of most people, even if they are not Christians. Ancient civilizations burned incense and offerings to please the deities that they believed created the earth and all living things – and this belief still continues now, in the form of worship at pagan temples, mosques and churches. Amid our age of technology today, most people still cannot bring themselves to see how countless elements and living things on earth could really happen all by themselves.

The above is adapted from 'Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's will' by Roman Ri

Are you the least bit interested to learn why scientists think it is possible?

 

[roman2819]

Are you the least bit interested to learn why scientists think it is possible?

I am listening

 

[BCP1928]

I am listening

What have you read on the subject? What is your level of formal education in biology? Mathematics? For the layman, I always like What Evolution Is by the late Ernst Mayr. Mayr was an evolutionary biologists of some note who was moved to write the book to clear up misunderstandings of what the theory of evolution claimed and could demonstrate which he encountered when talking to creationists. The booked is dated now, due to more recent scientific work, but none of it is wrong and it sets forth the basic principles in a lucid and accessible fashion. Others here can no doubt lead you to more recent works of the same kind.

 

[roman2819]

I read biology and mathematics at both high school and university. Evolution doesn't explicitly say there is no god, but it imples so. If you know more, I thought you are going to share it. I may not know the deep specifics of evolution but i can make some educated guess about its limitations and assumptions.

Some comments I have about evolutionists today is: One group look at a fossil and estimate it to be 100 milion years old. Another group look at something else and say it was from a 100 billion years ago. I believe both are wildly or vaguely estimating, and there is just no accurate way to measure age of fossils accurately after 100,000 years. Although science has made amazing advancements in technology like chips, communication, space and surgery etc, but there is also limitations in many other areas, namely, it cannot measure fossils that have decayed very very long time ago. It can estimate fairly up to a certain point, which I read is 100,000 years at most, and after that the remnants of fossils have deteriorated too much. No way they can acurately establish a fossil is 100 million years let alone billion. One group of evolutionist would say the earth is millions of years old, but another add more zeros to say billions. I read about someone who used to be evolutionists but later abandoned it because he cannot accept what he was told to assume to be true. They assume something, then they build more assumptions on it.

I also know about a specialist doctor, named Weber (or something like that); and his interests in evolution runs deep and his education and vocation laid a good foundation for him to study evolution. He spent 30 years to examine fossils in three continents (america, europe and australia). He was able to come up with a few salient questions to see if evolution is valid. One was to see if there is any change in measurement of skulls of fossils, be it amphibians or fish. He found there is no change for different species.

 

[BCP1928]

I read biology and mathematics at both high school and university. Evolution doesn't explicitly say there is no god, but it imples so.

That is entirely untrue. The theory of evolution neither affirms or denies the existence of God. Theologically it only causes difficulty with certain beliefs about creation which rest on a literal interpretation of Genesis.

If you know more, I thought you are going to share it. I may not know the deep specifics of evolution but i can make some educated guess about its limitations and assumptions.

Your claim is that evolution is impossible, which is an apriori claim, that is, not that evolution didn't happen, but that it could not have happened.
In that case you need to be specific about the limitations and assumptions you have in mind.

Some comments I have about evolutionists today is: One group look at a fossil and estimate it to be 100 milion years old. Another group look at something else and say it was from a 100 billion years ago. I believe both are wildly or vaguely estimating, and there is just no accurate way to measure age of fossils accurately after 100,000 years. Although science has made amazing advancements in technology like chips, communication, space and surgery etc, but there is also limitations in many other areas, namely, it cannot measure fossils that have decayed very very long time ago. It can estimate fairly up to a certain point, which I read is 100,000 years at most, and after that the remnants of fossils have deteriorated too much. No way they can acurately establish a fossil is 100 million years let alone billion. One group of evolutionist would say the earth is millions of years old, but another add more zeros to say billions. I read about someone who used to be evolutionists but later abandoned it because he cannot accept what he was told to assume to be true. They assume something, then they build more assumptions on it.

That is not a fair description of how fossils are actually dated.

I also know about a specialist doctor, named Weber (or something like that); and his interests in evolution runs deep and his education and vocation laid a good foundation for him to study evolution. He spent 30 years to examine fossils in three continents (america, europe and australia). He was able to come up with a few salient questions to see if evolution is valid. One was to see if there is any change in measurement of skulls of fossils, be it amphibians or fish. He found there is no change for different species.

Too vague. In any case, there is quite a bit more to evolution than fossils. That's just one line of evidence.

 

[Joseph G]

By contrast, God's Word is never dated (going on ~ 6000 years now), needs revising or correcting with "new information", or ever fails. Millions of lives transformed testify to as much, as well as the fact that all efforts to destroy, suppress or distort His Word over the centuries have and will continue to utterly fail.

Isaiah 55:6-11 NIV

"Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

biblegateway.com

God bless us all!

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

By contrast, God's Word is never dated (going on ~ 6000 years now), needs revising or correcting with "new information", or ever fails.

There are 450 English versions of the Bible. In fact, you quote from the New International Version of the Bible, which came out in 1978, given a minor revision in 1984 and then a major revision in 2011.

 

[Joseph G]

There are 450 English versions of the Bible. In fact, you quote from the New International Version of the Bible, which came out in 1978, given a minor revision in 1984 and then a major revision in 2011.

I shouldn't have used the word revise, you are correct. Doesn't mean the revisions or differing versions are or were necessary, however. The Lord is perfectly capable of conveying His meaning to those indwelt and led by His Spirit irregardless.

For example, in my Men's Bible study, we all have various versions - KJV, NIV, NASB, ect. and in our discussions it is rare that we don't come to the same conclusions. God always makes His point to the head and heart of those that are listening.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

I shouldn't have used the word revise, you are correct. Doesn't mean the revisions or differing versions are or were necessary, however. The Lord is perfectly capable of conveying His meaning to those indwelt and led by His Spirit irregardless.

For example, in my Men's Bible study, we all have various versions - KJV, NIV, NASB, ect. and in our discussions it is rare that we don't come to the same conclusions. God always makes His point to the head and heart of those that are listening.

But if they weren't or aren't necessary, then why were revisions needed? Why does the English language need 450 versions of the Bible if it's 'perfect'?

 

[roman2819]

That is entirely untrue. The theory of evolution neither affirms or denies the existence of God.

I said it in different words but it mean almost the same thing. Likewise, science didn't confiirm or deny God either.

Instead of commenting that I am not accurate or wrong, can you explain what evolution is, how they date fossils and how accurate you think they are.

 

[Joseph G]

But if they weren't or aren't necessary, then why were revisions needed? Why does the English language need 450 versions of the Bible if it's 'perfect'?

I just said they aren't needed. Doesn't mean God isn't or can't use them.

For example, how many ways are there to interpret this passage such that it obscures God's point:


Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

As mentioned, He IS accomplishing His purposes, so any reasoning against seeking Him and studying His Word are ineffectual in light of such - and without justifiable merit.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

Instead of commenting that I am not accurate or wrong, can you explain what evolution is, how they date fossils and how accurate you think they are.

I'll take a stab at this.

Evolution is the biological method of populations of organisms changing in response to environmental pressures to allow said populations to continue to thrive, breed and pass on their genetics through offspring.

There are many methods of dating fossils. These include Radiocarbon dating, K-Ar dating, Uranium-Lead dating, Uranium series dating, Fission track dating, Luminescence dating, Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), dating of Cosmogenic Nuclides, Magnetostratigraphy and Tephrochronology.

As for how accurate I think they are, which is a very weird quantifier to since what I or anyone else thinks on them doesn't really matter but oh well, I would say they are definitely in the 90%-95% range. Nothing is perfect.

 

[River Jordan]

Evolution doesn't explicitly say there is no god, but it imples so.

Not at all. The majority of people who have no problem with evolution also believe in God or gods. Atheists only make up less than 10% of the world's population you know.

One group look at a fossil and estimate it to be 100 milion years old. Another group look at something else and say it was from a 100 billion years ago.

That's not how it works. Scientists don't just look at a fossil and throw around guesses about its age.

Here's a basic outline: Radiometric dating

And here's a good article from a Christian perspective: Radiometric Dating

 

[roman2819]

I'll take a stab at this.

Evolution is the biological method of populations of organisms changing in response to environmental pressures to allow said populations to continue to thrive, breed and pass on their genetics through offspring.

There are many methods of dating fossils. These include Radiocarbon dating, K-Ar dating, Uranium-Lead dating, Uranium series dating, Fission track dating, Luminescence dating, Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), dating of Cosmogenic Nuclides, Magnetostratigraphy and Tephrochronology.

As for how accurate I think they are, which is a very weird quantifier to since what I or anyone else thinks on them doesn't really matter but oh well, I would say they are definitely in the 90%-95% range. Nothing is perfect.

Even technical or sophisticated instruments have their limitations. I don't pretend to understand them, but I will go back to what I said earlier:

If Dr Weber spent 30 years studying evolution and examining fossils in person, and conclude that he doesn't believe in evolution, then he must have a very valid point.

I know about a specialist doctor named Weber (or something like that); his interest in evolution runs deep. His education and vocation laid a good foundation for him to study evolution, he spent 30 years examining fossils in three continents (america, europe and australia). With his study of evolution and exploration, he was able to come up with a few salient questions to see if evolution is valid. One was to see if there is any change in measurement of skulls of fossils, be it amphibians or fish. He found there is no change for different species. Evolutionists claim dinosaur' fossils are very very very old but near their bones, Dr Weber found certain floral fossils which were much younger -- which means dinosaurs and floral species exist together, thus contradicting what the evolutionists claimed.

 

[roman2819]

That's not how it works. Scientists don't just look at a fossil and throw around guesses about its age.
Here's a basic outline: Radiometric dating
And here's a good article from a Christian perspective: Radiometric Dating

Not all or even most evolutionsts are scientists. Scientists based their findings on evidence, but from there, their conclusion can vary. Scientists have no definitive conclusion about thow old the earth is, some say 100,000 years but others may say more. How then can evolutionists claim that fossils are 100 million years or billions?

Even technical or sophisticated instruments have their limitations. I don't pretend to understand them, but I will go back to what I said earlier:

If Dr Weber spent 30 years studying evolution and examining fossils in person, and conclude that he doesn't believe in evolution, then he must have a very valid point.

I know about a specialist doctor named Weber (or something like that); his interest in evolution runs deep. His education and vocation laid a good foundation for him to study evolution, he spent 30 years examining fossils in three continents (america, europe and australia). With his study of evolution and exploration, he was able to come up with a few salient questions to see if evolution is valid. One was to see if there is any change in measurement of skulls of fossils, be it amphibians or fish. He found there is no change for different species. Evolutionists claim dinosaur' fossils are very very very old but near their bones, Dr Weber found certain floral fossils which were much younger -- which means dinosaurs and floral species exist together, thus contradicting what the evolutionists claimed.