+quot;EVIDENCE+quot; OF A YOUNG EARTH AIR DATE: September 27, 1994 GUEST: Roger Oakland, f

"EVIDENCE" OF A YOUNG EARTH

AIR DATE:   September 27, 1994

GUEST:   Roger Oakland, former evolutionist biology professor, is
currently a creationist missionary and has written and produced such
materials as the Evidence for Creation book and many creation videos.

FOCUS:   Scientists may sound confident when they claim the earth is
billions of years old, but if you listen carefully, they qualify that claim
with words like believe, suppose, and estimate with startling regularity.
[Note: science has knowledge without certainty: creationists have
certainty without knowledge. -- drice]
No one can claim to know the true age of the earth except the One who was
there_God, the Creator.  The problem is, most textbooks claim an ancient
earth is as factual as gravity.  It has to be, because it is used to
substantiate evolution! [Note: it doesn't. -- drice]
As scientific authorities become more dogmatic
about the ancient age of the earth, they can become just as dogmatic about
the "fact" of evolution.  However, if you look beneath the surface at the
reasons for such dogmatism, you find a "magic factor" that isn't in the
textbooks:  Long periods of time make an impossible, ridiculous idea seem
credible.  Let's face it, if someone claimed they could turn an amoeba into
a man in a matter of hours, he would be rejected immediately because the
claim could be tested and found false.  Yet when a claim is dated billions
of years in the past, that theory helps support evolution.  Since it cannot
be disproved, evolutionists have their "evidence" and the scientific world
is changed forever!  The only answer for Christians is to lay the
groundwork so the Holy Spirit can convict and draw people to an
understanding of the creating and saving work of Christ!

FAST FACTS:   Origins of the Dispute Over Origins.  Eastern and humanist
philosophies paved the way for the "scientific" findings which "prove"
evolution.  Some "experts" claim the roots of the ancient earth theory can
be found in the work of James Hutton, who lived in the mid to late 18th
century.  However, Arthur C. Clark, in an issue of Omni Magazine, claimed
the East had guessed the true age of the universe centuries before the
West.  He suggests Hindu philosophy, which requires eons of time for the
elevation of consciousness, goes hand in hand with an understanding of the
gradual, evolutionary development of earth and mankind.  
		Charles Lyell was responsible for laying out the Geologic
Column.  He was not only a geologist, but also a politician, and British
society held a strong belief in God's influence in life and politics.  In fact,
the king and queen derived much of their power from the belief that they
were appointed and sustained by God.  The Humanist movement, of which
Lyell was a part, wanted to cast doubt on the biblical record of creation
and weaken the political position of the monarchy.
		Erasmus Darwin developed the idea of evolution two
generations before his grandson Charles.  He led the Lunar Society_a group
of Humanists looking for a way to explain away God and earth's origins
without a Creator.  They were strongly influenced by Eastern metaphysics. 
Romans 1:22, 23 records the consequences when men willingly reject the
evidence that God exists.  
			

ACTION:  1. Know the facts that support scientific creationism and
			be able to share them with others.  There are creationist
			ministries with seminars and materials which can help.
		2. Help convince your local public schools to present both
			theories of origins so students will not be indoctrinated
			into evolutionary theory without being exposed to the
			truth.
		3. Pray.  Remember, this is a spiritual issue.  People won't
			be convinced by data alone, but effectively presented,
			facts about creationism can open people's hearts to the
			truth.


THE GEOLOGIC COLUMN

	Every student of geology or biology has seen pictures of the Geologic
Column in their school textbooks.  What they don't realize is that what
they're seeing is not found anywhere in the world_it simply doesn't exist! 
Lyell and Hutton had to come up with a way to explain the uniform
development of the layers or strata of the earth over long periods of time. 
Amazingly, the chart used in today's texts is the same chart developed by
Lyell and Hutton over 150 years ago!  In reality, the chart itself was
formed by the "educated guesses" of these two so-called scientists.  When
a fossil or other find is made, geologists compare it to the chart and
determine its date of origin; but there is no reliable outside standard by
which the ages of fossils and earth strata can be determined.  This is
circular reasoning and has no place in modern science. [Note: the
geologic column was invented by Christians (who happened to be
creationists) long before evolution was posited. -- drice]

RADIOMETRIC DATING

	Another dating method often used to substantiate evolutionary
theory is radiometric dating.  In truth, this should be referred to as
popular dating methods, because a number of procedures fall under this
heading.  potassium-argon or uranium-lead methods are commonly used to
date rocks which have been formed volcanically.  Science journals say
these methods are as accurate as a Swiss watch, but there are several
problems which must be investigated.  

Accuracy.  Scientists have taken rocks of known, fairly recent origin and
dated them using radiometric methods.  The findings reveal dates of
hundreds of millions, even billions of years old, yet they were known to
have formed within the last few hundred years!  It has become apparent to
scientists that they can't date volcanic rock of known origin with this
method; yet they continue to use it to date rocks of unknown origin and
claim it is very accurate.
 Assumptions.  It is clear there are some major problems with the
assumptions upon which these dating methods are based.  All radioactive
dating methods measure the decay of one radioactive element into another. 
But they assume that at the beginning of time, there was 100% of the
mother element used in this procedure and 0% of the daughter element. 
They also have to assume that the amount of radioactive decay has been
constant through time, and that no parent or daughter element was ever
added to or taken away from the subject as it was decaying.  All of these
are unverified assumptions, and no one knows if they are actually true or
not. 

IS EVOLUTION LOGICAL, RATIONAL, OR REASONABLE?

	Most public school students today never hear the alternative to
evolutionary theory.  They feel that to excel in their classes, they must
know and accept the evolutionary theory being taught.  But a true under-
standing of biology reveals beyond question that the complexity of life
cannot be explained by a process of chance events involving mutations and
long periods of time.  Either a cell comes on the scene fully functional and
developed, or it doesn't exist at all!  When the Holy Spirit begins to work
in the hearts of open-minded people and they are presented with the
unbiased facts of biology and geology, they can't help but see the truth! 
Christians must be able to present facts that will make people think and
question the evolution they've been taught!  We must not depend on
emotional appeals and religious pressure.  We should be able to give a
reason for the faith we have in the God of creation.  But no matter how
intelligent and well prepared we are, no one will really be convinced until
the grace of God opens their eyes.  We must be patient, pray, and be ready
to share whenever the opportunity arises.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Call or write TRUTHS[sic] THAT TRANSFORM, P.O. Box 33, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
33308, 
1-800-229-9673.
Roger Oakland, P.O. Box 27239, Santa Ana, CA 92799, 714-979-2304.

Darwin's Enigma, by Luther Sunderland (Available from TRUTHS[sic] THAT
TRANSFORM, 
P. O. Box 33, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308, 1-800-229-9673). Please mention
you saw this in the Christian Interactive Network when you call.