Ham Vs Han

(Not So) Biblical Limericks: #KenHam Is No Scientist

Ken Ham cannot make a good defense
of the name “scientists.” It’s pretense;
he’s e’en now concluded
new data’s excluded.
True science changes with the ev’dence.


News reports are coming in that a human species has been found – Homo naledi – in an African cave.

But new evidence changes nothing for Ken Ham and his young earth creationist ilk. “…we can say with confidence that this discovery changes nothing about our understanding of human history.”

An Interpretation of Salvation Army Doctrines: #2 Not a Rejection of the Creator

We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.

I don’t think that there will be much disagreement here between my ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ Salvationist comrades. One God? Check. Infinitely perfect? Check. But when we come to “Creator” – I think there may be some friction between us.

Many (though not all) of my Salvationists comrades understand the description of God as “Creator” as a rejection of the theory of evolution. And this rejection of evolution is grounded in the particular way that they read certain portions of the scripture. So this issue is related back to the issues addressed in my response to Doctrine #1.

Noted Young-Earth Creationism proponent, Ken Ham has written, “As people accept evolution, and relegate Genesis to myth or allegory, they start to question the rest of Scripture. A rejection of the foundations of all doctrine contained in the book of Genesis logically leads one to a denial of the entire bible. Liberal theology becomes rampant (Ham, 120 -121).”[i] And this, he says, leads to all manner of evil.

But an acceptance of the theory of evolution is not an automatic rejection of God as the creator of the universe. And questioning scripture is not necessarily a rejection of the authority of scripture. As I wrote in the previous article, the laws and codes of Bronze and Iron Age cultures are not applicable to modern people, people – not at least, without interpretation, and neither are their scientific concepts (or lack thereof) suitable for the 21st century. It would be better for us to read some parts of scripture as myth (like the biblical creation stories (yes. plural.)) and to interpret them through the lens of scientific discovery. This is not a rejection or repudiation of scripture, and is not a denial of God as the Creator. It is valid application of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral with its reliance on reason and experience as well as scripture and tradition. 

Ken Ham (and others who make similar statements) are wrong to say that acceptance of the theory of evolution is a rejection of the Creator God. It is merely a rejection of one interpretation of the bible and one understanding of the Creator God. It is the rejection of a hermeneutic that refuses to acknowledge the value of interpreting scripture with the input of scientific advancement – not a rejection of God or of scripture.

(And I wouldn’t think it necessarily such a bad thing if liberal theology was a bit more rampant…)

An Interpretation of Salvation Army Doctrines: #1 Inspiration and Interpretation

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[i] Ham, Ken The Lie: Evolution, Master Books, El Cajon, CA 1987.

A Limerick for Dihydrogen Monoxide

It is time for us all to decide,
we will no longer like sheep abide
while a deadly toxin’s
pumped into our systems:
NO MORE DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE!

Did you know that Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)-also known as hydric acid, or hydroxyl acid-is used as a coolant in nuclear power-plants?  It is a powerful solvent and the major component of “acid rain.”  The accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in very small amounts, can cause death. Increased amounts of DHMO were found in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.

And yet this dangerous substance is used in the making and manufacture of many beverages and snack foods and is transported across the country without regulation.  This is dangerous stuff, people.

(grin)

In the Lab

In the Lab by Jeff Carter on 500px

Environmental Science / Creation Story Survey - Results

A few weeks ago I shared a brief, 6 question survey that I created as part of my Environmental Science Lab class.  I received 70 (usable) responses and from that I was able to complete the final project and presentation for my class.

The results are below:

Environmental Science Lab Final Project -Creation Story Survey

Another Controlled Burn

My Environmental Science class took a field trip this afternoon to the Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa.  While we were there we watched a little bit of a controlled burn.  A regular burning is part of good prairie maintenance.   I've been able to photograph these controlled burns a couple of times.

Controlled Burn by Jeff Carter on 500px

Environmental Science / Creation Story Survey

Friends, I need your help.   I am currently enrolled in an environmental science class at my local community college.  As part of a project for this class I have designed the following survey.  If you have a few moments would you consider answer the six brief questions?  Thank you.


If, for whatever reason, the embedded version of the survey below is not working for you click here.

Again, thank you very much. When I have the results collected, analysed and graphed, I'll post my report. Thanks.


EDIT:

after collecting responses and analyzing the data I completed my project and presented the results to the class.  You can find it here.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Neuroscience After Lunch

I arrived a few minutes early to my Environmental Science class - the classroom also serves as the biology / chemistry / anatomy classroom at the local community college - so I took a few pictures.

Ken Ham Is not a Scientist

Ken Ham doesn’t believe in the existence of aliens.  He is firmly convinced that there is no life (intelligent or otherwise) anywhere else in the universe.

“You know, so far no one has discovered life on other planets.  Secular scientists can’t even find evidence of radio signals from intelligent aliens.  So if aliens exist, then where are they? Well there isn’t any intelligent life out there; scientists won’t discover evidence of it.  And that’s just what Biblical Creationists expectYou see, scripture is clear that God designed the universe with the Earth as his focus.  We don’t live in an evolutionary universe that’s full of creatures that evolved by chance. The Earth is clearly designed for life with lots of water and just the right distance from the sun. No other planet in the universe is designed for life. And there aren’t any aliens on them. Intelligent life is unique to earth.”

But this is not science. Science begins with observations (something Ham thinks he understands when he repeatedly challenges evolutionists with the question, "were you there?"). Ham has made a conclusion on the basis of his peculiar reading of an ancient text and refuses to change it on the basis of observational evidence.

He says that “no other planet is designed for life,” being just the right distance from a star to provide heat and light, and containing an abundant source of water.  But this is ridiculous statement in light of the fact that astronomers have already located many planets outside of our solar system that are within that “habitable zone” around a star and may contain water and potentially life.

We don’t know yet whether there is life (intelligent or otherwise) on these exoplanets; to determine that will require more observation and more evidence.  But Ken Ham – who is not a scientist – already has made up his mind on the issue and no amount of evidence will ever be enough to make him change.

Answers with Ken Ham: Aliens - Where Are They? http://t.co/MrZnMUuRvO
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) January 29, 2015

Partial Solar Eclipse

There was a partial solar eclipse this afternoon.  I went out with my camera and attempted to get some decent photos of it.  It's tricky to photograph the sun, as tricky as trying to look directly at the sun.  I used a couple of filters to limit the amount of light coming into the lens and set the shutter speed really high.

Partial Solar Eclipse - October 23, 2014 by Jeff Carter on 500px

The Tensions in "Surface Tension"

 This is an essay I wrote for my LIT 166 (Science Fiction) class.  We were to take one of the short stories assigned in our reading and research what was going on in the world at the time of its publication - what scientific advancements were being made, what cultural events were occurring - and to "reflect" on these in light of the story.  I chose to write about James Blish's short story "Surface Tension." 

The science and technology represented in the sci-fi short story “Surface Tension” by James Blish, first published in the August 1952 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction, was well ahead of the scientific realities of the world outside of the pages of that science fiction digest.  And though Blish may have outreached the science of his time (and ours still today) his extrapolations of the various tensions between science and faith are fantastic. 

Blish wrote of great interstellar crafts carrying men and women to far distant parts of the universe carrying human colonists as well along with all that they would need to “seed” the new planet with life. 

In 1952 however, the exploration of space had only just begun.  Building upon the technologies developed by German scientists during World War II for the V-2 rockets, The United States (as well as the Soviet Union) developed and launched a number of sub-orbital “sounding rockets” – research rockets like the Aerobee and the Viking rockets, designed to reach a height of 50 – 1,500 kilometers above the earth’s surface and carrying recording instruments, scientific tests, a various kinds of animals – including chimps, mice and dogs (Gray 1).

When Blish published his story of interstellar travel, mankind hadn’t yet travelled into space. Indeed, no Earth based life form would reach orbit until 1957 – with the Soviet launch of the canine cosmonaut, Laika into orbit around the planet. 

If the space travel of his story far exceed the abilities of his time, the panspermic / evolutionary / genetic manipulation program of his interstellar colonists must have seemed like an impossible dream.  And still seems so 62 years later. 

But “Surface Tension” isn’t really about the science and technology necessary for interstellar travel or the transfer and modification of “human germ cells…toward creatures who can live in any reasonable environment” (Blish 8). Perhaps this is why Blish gives no details about the technology or process, but only describes the results.  “Surface Tension” is not about the science, but the effects of science, and the tensions created between scientific exploration and religious faith. 

The microscopic humanoid creatures created by the panotrope adaptions of human genetic material to the indigenous life found on the watery planet Hydrot are given a record of scientific information, micro-engraved on corrosion proof metal leaves.  In the course of their development these creatures credit the records with religious significance and there is division among them as to whether these documents are myths to be discarded or science to be trusted.

Religious faith (Christianity and Judaism in particular) in America during the 1950s tended toward the fundamentalist.  This trend had been developing since the 1920s and the publication of “The Doctrinal Statement of the World Conference on Christian Fundamentals” (Moody 382). The fundamentalism so prevalent then held a firm belief that the sacred scriptures were authoritative, and infallible and inerrant. The tension between this kind of belief and scientific exploration is described somewhat in Blish’s story.

There was also a strong backlash from Fundamentalists against the theory of Evolution.  The idea that biological life-forms could engineered and modified according to some sort of evolutionary pattern would have been provocative and very controversial in that time.

One tension that is not addressed in Blish’s short story is that of the problems of colonialism.  The human characters met in the first pages of “Surface Tension” are presented as noble explorers, valiantly adapting human life to strange conditions of faraway planets in a program establish human colonies throughout the galaxy. 

During the 1950s the last vestiges of the European colonial empires began to crumble – often violently and painfully.  From Algiers in North Africa to Vietnam is South East Asia, colonized people began to call and agitate for their independence from European nations.  The transition from colony to free nation often resulted in open warfare, but even where it didn’t there was much political corruption and violence and turmoil.

Blish may have been a visionary in some regards, dreaming of interstellar travel and genetic panatropes capable of transferring some quintessential essence of human life to other alien life forms, but if Blish could have been as forward thinking in the political spheres as he was in the scientific, “Surface Tension” would have been a very different story.  Perhaps the human colonists of the far distant planets would have been presented as being less cavalier about imposing human adaptions to the newly discovered life forms.

Blish, James “Surface Tension,” Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 4. No. 5. New York. 1952.

Gray, Tara. "Animals in Space." Animals in Space. NASA, 2 Aug. 2004. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

Moody Bible Institute, “The Doctrinal Statement of the World Conference on Christian

Fundamentals.” The Christian Workers Magazine Vol. 20 Chicago, IL, 1920.

A Limerick for Kirk Cameron

Kirk says Darwin’s theory’s run amok
and if you believe it you’re a schmuck,
but perhaps he’ll amend
the words he has penned
now that we’ve found his famed crock-o-duck.

What I’m Reading: Destination Void

I like the works of author, Frank Herbert.  I really do (heck, I named my son after one of Herbert's books).  The worlds he created for his books were rich and lively. His ideas were brilliant.  And his science fiction was as heavy on the science as it was the fiction. 

But Destination: Void was not one of Herbert’s better works. 

Don’t get me wrong.  It has a terrific premise – the crew of a spacecraft must develop (and quickly) an artificial intelligence that can help bring their ship, and its three thousand cryogenically sleeping passengers, safely to a planet in the Tau Ceti solar system.  And it has lengthy discussions on the meaning and nature of consciousness and what it means to think, what it is to be… It’s Ontology among the stars.

And it has one of the greatest endings, and just about the best final line I’ve ever read …

…but it’s a lot of work to get there.  Even though it’s a short book, only 190 pages, it feels much longer.  Mostly because there’s no action.  Nothing – happens- in the book (or very little, really, and it's all right at the beginning or right at the end).  Destination:Void is filled with a lot of talk and discussion, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but… (and I hate to say this. I really do) it’s drudgery to read.

Still, Destination: Void is the initial book in a series that includes three more titles – The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor, and they are much better.  (I mean, come on, how could I, as a pastor, not be inclined to such titles?) 

(Not So) Biblical Limericks: Try Keeping Your Mouth Shut, Ray Comfort

Someone should put you back in your place,
mister Comfort, ‘cause you’re way off base;
try keeping your mouth shut.
You won’t believe me, but
it’s true, there is gravity in space.

Post by Ray Comfort.

*His original, unedited post, declared there is no gravity in space - though I'm not sure how this edited update is any better. Gravity functions in space exactly the same way that it does on earth.

Biblical Limericks: Fish Gastric Juices

Your literal reading produces
many interpretive abuses,
but still you will contrive
to show Jonah survive
three full days in fish gastric juices.

Jonah 1: 17

Biblical Limericks: From the Ostrich Anti-Defamation League

Though its message is splendid and rich,
the Bible’s unfair to the ostrich.
It describes them as cruel,
as no better than fools,
and that’s libel, you son-of-a-bitch!

Job 39: 13 – 18 / Lamentations 4:3

Seriously though, the ostrich is not the careless and inattentive parent described in Job.  They are, in fact, careful about their eggs and their young; the female incubates the eggs during the day, and the male during the night.  After they've hatched the mother ostrich cares for the chicks and shades them beneath her wings.  The chicks are defended from predators by the father (even lions!).  

A Limerick for Ken Ham

Ken Ham’s museum may have pious
displays about its full reliance
on the authority
and the priority
of scripture, but it has no science. 

The Camelopardalids

Did you stay up for it? The brand new meteor shower - the Camelopardalids  - the result of the Earth's passing through the debris cast off by comet 209P/LINEAR back in the 1800s.  This is the first time that we've passed through this debris.

My daughter and I went out to watch. We drove out about half an hour out of town so as to get away from the light pollution.  And we weren't disappointed.  In the hour and a half that we were out, we saw several.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took. (The first two have some meteor streaks.  The second two do not, but I like the way they turned out. )

Bloodmoon

Late last night / very early this morning you could have (if you lived in the western hemisphere- and your skies weren't clouded) watched a not quite rare occurrence - a full lunar eclipse.  This can only occur when the Sun, the earth, and its moon are in syzygy.  (I love that word - and it gives me a chance to link back to this limerick - from the Greek word for "yoked together")

The red coloring is the result of the sun's light passing through the earth's atmosphere and being partially refracted toward the moon - only the reddish hues get through, the rest is scattered.

There will be another couple of lunar eclipses like this in the near future (a fact that scaremongers  like John Hagee have unscrupulously exploited...).  If you missed last night's eclipse you can try again October 8, 2014, April 8 2015, and September 28, 2015.

And for those who appreciate a subtle mockery of scaremongers like John Hagee and the rest of his eschatological ilk here is some eschatonophobia: