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Amazing Facts

Photo: Earthrise 2007
November 15, 2007
The Japanese Kaguya spacecraft has taken a series of “Earthrise” photos from lunar orbit, including this sequence.  The complete set of new hi-resolution photos is available at Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.  (Due to the orbital path of the spacecraft, Antarctica is at the top.)     “Earth-rise is a phenomenon seen only from satellites that […]
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Education

Judgment Day:  Will it Be the New Inherit the Wind?
November 14, 2007
The PBS-Vulcan film Judgment Day just aired on national TV (see 10/12/2007) and is sure to represent a new rallying point for both sides of the ongoing controversy over Darwinian evolution that has raged for 148 years.  For material on both sides, see the PBS website, which put Intelligent Design on trial, and the responses […]
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Marine Biology

Gone Fishing: Can Humans Counteract Evolution?
November 12, 2007
Darwinists insist that human beings are part and parcel of the evolutionary process, but once in awhile, they criticize their fellow hominids for getting in Darwin’s way.  A recent example in Nature1 took aim at fishermen: People like to catch big fish, sometimes so much so that fish sizes overall become greatly diminished.  According to […]
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Bible and Theology

Modern Nazi Killer Bears Darwin’s Standard
November 8, 2007
Another terrible school shooting imitating the Columbine rampage has occurred, this time in Finland (see CNN).  Before killing eight students and himself, the 18-year-old murderer stated in a rambling note, “I am prepared to fight and die for my cause.  I, as a natural selector, will eliminate all who I see unfit, disgraces of human […]
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Bible and Theology

Science Journals Rally Anti-ID Army
November 8, 2007
Language in science journals is typically restrained, genteel and erudite.  Editorials value diversity and inclusion, rarely painting any issue black or white.  There are two issues, though, that let loose the raging bull: (1) policies that jeopardize funding, and (2) creationism.  As illustrations of reactions to the latter, consider two articles this week that snort […]
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Cell Biology

Month-End Close-Out
October 31, 2007
Sometimes the creation-evolution news comes in too fast.  Here’s a baker’s dozen from the October shelf, lest they go stale; time to start a new batch for November. Charity begins at worldview:  David Cyranoski in Nature (450, 24-25, 10/31/2007) investigated why the level of charitable giving in prosperous Japan is a tenth of that in […]
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Intelligent Design

When Bad Religion Confronts Good Science, and Vice Versa
October 31, 2007
A spooky Halloween thought: there are still witch doctors in the world today.  If they were harmless spooks, they could be dismissed as kooks, but they can have a devastating impact on the ecology as well as the souls of men.  National Geographic had a disturbing story this month about the witch doctors of Uganda, […]
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Bible and Theology

Book: Intelligent Design Argument Turns Leading Atheist to God
October 29, 2007
“There is a God,” announces a former leading atheist on the cover of his new book.  Antony Flew changed his mind a few years ago partly because of the design argument: the fine-tuning of the universe, according to the blurb on Amazon.com.  New arguments by philosophical theists like Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne also played […]
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Bible and Theology

Jewish First Temple Period Uncovered
October 23, 2007
Artifacts dating from the First Temple period have been found in trenches illegally dug by Muslims on the Temple Mount: for the story, see the Jerusalem Post, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Bible Places.  Dr. Leen Ritmeyer has diagrams of where the artifacts relate to the Temple position in his Ritmeyer Blog.   […]
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Bible and Theology

Sweden Bans Creationism
October 16, 2007
Creationism and intelligent design are being banned in Swedish schools, reported the English version of the Swedish news source, The Local.  Intelligent design (ID) makes no claim about the Creator, but only the detectability of design; nevertheless, both were banned equally.     This may not be unexpected after the Council of Europe resolution last […]
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Education

Microsoft Billionaire Puts His Money Where His Darwinism Is
October 12, 2007
Paul Allen is spending millions on humanitarian causes: not the cure of disease or the end of poverty, but on helping humans recognize that they evolved from space dust (see next entry).  This, presumably, brings enlightenment.     Shortly after 9/11, the PBS series Evolution made its debut, thanks to a large endowment from Allen, […]
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Dinosaurs

The Daily Dinosaur Media
October 9, 2007
Dinosaur discoveries continue to make news.  Here are some recent findings by those who dig getting out and digging for what they can get out: Giant Ascending the Grand Staircase:  A new species of duck-billed dinosaur was found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, reported Science Daily, EurekAlert, Live Science and National Geographic.  High school […]
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Education

European and American Politicians Attack Creationism
October 6, 2007
Actions of political bodies on both sides of the Atlantic have revived questions about the roles of science, politics and religion in public discourse and policy.     The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly voted 48 to 25 to accept a resolution denouncing creationism and intelligent design, according to European Observer and Reuters.  The non-binding […]
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Bible and Theology

Inca Priests Fattened Children for Slaughter
October 5, 2007
National Geographic News had a disturbing story from archaeological studies of Inca rituals in what is now Peru.  Studies of hair samples and other features in mummies indicate that the Inca warlords fattened up children for up to a year before slaughtering them.  A team that analyzed the mummies believes that captured children were then […]
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Politics and Ethics

When Myth Turns Genocidal, Who’s to Blame?
October 2, 2007
Aryan mythology was the subject of a book review by Michael Witzel (Harvard linguist) in Science last week.1  He was reviewing Stefan Arvidsson’s book Aryan Idols about the mischief done in the quasi-scientific, quasi-historical investigation of the alleged noble race behind the primitive Indo-European language.     The atrocities of Nazi Germany can be traced […]
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