For their November 14, 2014 meeting, Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship hosted noted author Spike Psarris, who has published articles on astronomy in Creation Magazine and CMI's Technical Journal. Spike was previously an engineer in the United States' military space program. He entered that program as an atheist and an evolutionist. He left it as a creationist and a Christian.
Spike now writes and speaks on Biblical creation, and is the author of the DVD series, "What you aren't being told about astronomy," available at http://www.creationastronomy.com. The title of his presentation will be: "Our Created Universe," which will emphasize the fact that secular origins models cannot explain the cosmos. Science textbooks, programs, and other media tell us that we 'know' the Universe formed all by itself billions of years ago in a Big Bang event, with no Creator being involved. Despite these claims, the planets, stars, and galaxies we see contradict secular expectations. According to secular models, many of these objects shouldn't exist at all -- yet there they are. In this presentation, full of beautiful photographs from NASA and other sources, you'll discover that the Universe is consistent with Biblical creation. Rather than supporting secular models, the heavens declare the glory of God!
http://youngearth.org | Aug 9, 2013 - RMCF has invited a return visit from science educator Dave Prentice of New Orleans, LA. He spoke to us back in January 2012 on the subject of "Cavemen." This time he plans a presentation entitled "Using the Origins Controversy as a Teaching Tool in Science Education." Dave Prentice received his B.S. degree in Physics from Loyola University, New Orleans, in 1976. Having been trained to believe in evolution, he continued to do so even after becoming a Christian in 1980.
Part 2
When the Louisiana legislature passed the "Balanced Treatment Act" in 1980 requiring that the evidence for creation be presented alongside that for evolution, his state representative tried to repeal the law. Dave contacted him to say that it was only fair for the "other guys," (the creationists) to have their say. In response to his representative's statement that there was no evidence for creation, Dave began doing research to investigate the claims of the creationists. Within six months of study, he became one of them! Since then he has appeared on radio and television and taught seminars, Sunday school classes, and Bible college classes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Washington, Colorado, Haiti, Peru, China, India, Honduras, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.
For our November meeting, we will be privileged to have Mike Chapa, who has been the Executive Director of Christian Home Educators of Colorado since September of 2009. His formal education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Academy, class of 1989, and a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Mike Chapa retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2009 from the USAF after serving more than 20 years as a fighter pilot and test pilot, which included combat time in the F-15C. His last Air Force assignment was assistant professor at the AF Academy, teaching aeronautical engineering and flying cadets in general aviation aircraft. He is now involved in flight test academics/flight instruction to USI (Unmanned Systems, Inc.) and works as an aerospace defense subcontractor/consultant to Northrop-Grumman.
Mike serves as an elder in his church and is pursuing a Masters of Divinity towards becoming a pastor, with a desire to plant a church before 2013 ends. He and his wife Tonya previously served as the year-round CHEC Volunteer Chairmen from 2007-2009. They homeschool their six children in the eastern Black Forest, having graduated the oldest two. Mike’s topic will be “Standing Firm on a Literal Genesis.”
Part 2
RMCF meetings are free to the public, and refreshments will be served. Please join us for what will be a memorable evening about homeschool education.
At RMCF's September 13 meeting, Dr. John Morris, President of the Institute of Creation Research presented a seminar on the obvious reasons the flood of Genesis had to be global and scientific findings related to its occurrence.
Dr. Morris, perhaps best known for leading expeditions to Mt. Ararat in search of Noah's Ark, received his Doctorate in Geological Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1980.
He taught on the University of Oklahoma faculty before joining the ICR in 1984, serving as Professor of Geology before being appointed President in 1996. He travels widely speaking at churches, conferences, and scientific meetings. Dr. Morris has written numerous books and articles on the scientific evidence that supports the Bible, including The Young Earth, The Fossil Record, and The Global Flood. It is indeed a privilege to have Dr. Morris Come to Denver to speak to us.
On February 8, Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship's speaker
was Pastor Gino Geraci of Calvary Chapel South Denver, who presented a sermon entitled
“A Crash Course in Biblical Interpretation.” His guidance and inspiration were
very helpful, because proper interpretation of the scriptures on origins is at
the heart of the creation/evolution debate in the Church.
Gino began by reading the
passage from Luke 25, which records the encounter of the resurrected Christ with
two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who at first did not recognize Him. The
men were downcast, because they had hoped that Jesus was going to redeem
Israel, but the rulers crucified Him. But on the third day, the women had found
an empty tomb and saw an angel, who testified that He was alive!Then
Jesus reproved them, saying "O foolish ones, you slow of heart to believe
in all that the prophets have spoken, about how it was necessary that the Christ
should suffer these things before entering into his glory.” Then (v.27), beginning
at Moses and the prophets, He “expounded,” [interpreting] to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Jesus was proving from the Scripture
that He was alive. It is so important, not only that we read it and reflect on
it, but also that we understand it's true meaning. The disciples marveled at how
their hearts burned as He led them in this Bible study, and its truth of the Resurrection:
our eternal hope, the sustaining principle upon which we lean in times of trial,
disease, grief and heartbreak. Gino expressed excitement in contemplating what
it would be like to be at that place and that time, and Jesus shows up and
confirms that the promises in the Bible are true! In v. 41, we see how the
apostles could not contain their joy, when they discovered that Jesus was unmistakably
alive, and again He “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” The verb
translated “expounded”, or “explained” is from the Greek, hermeneuo, which means
to “explain the meaning.” Theologians use the word hermeneutics to describe the
art and science of biblical interpretation. Some impose their own meaning on the
text (eisegesis), and some people take meaning from the text (exegesis). How do
we determine the true meaning of the Biblical text? That is a debate, between
two major views:
A. The traditional view, which claims
that the key to understanding any literature is to assume that the author determines
the meaning and the reader's task is to discover the author’s meaning. The
Bible teaches that God the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture, who
use their own language in a historical setting in order to convey meaning. So
the interpreter is to come to a clear understanding of the writer’s meaning. In
order to do that, there is a prerequisite: A necessity to love the Truth. The
fact is, the Holy Spirit in you is bearing witness to the meaning. The hearts
of the two disciples began to burn within them, because they loved the Truth. What
do people do when they don't honor or welcome the Truth? They deny it!
Don't ever let a person say, “Look, talk to me about God, talk to me about life
and death, but don't use the Bible.” It is sharper than any two-edged sword.
The enemies of the Bible would like to disarm you and take away perhaps your
most important tool, which is the Revelation of Truth.
B. The contemporary view. In
this view, the critics maintain that it's the reader, not the author that
determines the meaning. They
argue that meaning only applies as the reader interacts with the text, which excludes
the author. Jesus cites the Torah and Prophets as the credible source for the
information concerning the identity and mission of the Messiah. He takes
Genesis, Torah and the full, collective revelation of God, and says, “This is
the source of information about me.” To bring this point home, Gino gave us a
one-phrase summary of all the books of the OT, which establishes how they each
were a testimonial to the coming Christ. (To view this list, please refer to
the appendix on our website.)
If the Bible isn't true in the
beginning, how in the world can you believe it is true in the end? The Bible
can never mean what it never meant. It's got to have a plan, a purpose and a message.
It says God created the heaven and the earth. Therefore, it can't mean He
didn't create the heavens and the earth. There is a method called the allegorical
method--the idea of bringing novel meaning to the text by spiritualizing, and
looking for secret, hidden meanings, even when the meaning is clearly revealed
by the context of the Scripture. It was dark, it was treacherous, and it is
evil. To the person who loves allegory, Jesus can be seen as teaching billions
and billions of years, or even New Age. But remember, you have to bring that to
the text, you can't derive it from the text. The Bible has an amazingly, clear,
consistent message in spite of the long and destructive history of reading
things into the Bible that don't belong there. The Golden Rule of Bible Interpretation
is: “If the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense.” Gino went
through a list of 15 principles we can apply for proper interpretation; for
example: Interpret each individual verse with regard to the context, evaluating
the unclear by what is clear. (See list below)
So when you open up your
Bible, be seekers of Truth, and allow the Bible and the Holy Spirit to do what
the Bible was intended to do. God says what He means, and means what He says.
Principles of Biblical Interpretation, from Dr. R. A. Torrey’s
The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study (New York: George H. Doran Co.,
1921), pp. 55-90.
1. Get absolutely right with
God yourself by the absolute
surrender of your will to
Him.
2. Be determined to find out
just what God intended to
teach and not what you wish
Him to teach.
3. Get the most accurate
text.
4. Find the most exact and
literal meaning of the text.
5. Note the exact force of
each word used.
6. Interpret the words used
in any verse according to Bible
usage.
7. Interpret the words of each
author in the Bible with a
regard to the particular
usage of that author.
8. Interpret individual
verses with a regard to the context.
9. Interpret individual
passages in the light of parallel or
related passages.
10. Interpret obscure
passages in the light of passages that
are perfectly plain.
11. Interpret any passage in
the Bible as those who were
addressed would have
understood it.
12. Interpret what belongs to
the Christian as belonging to the
Christian; what belongs to
the Jew, as belonging to the
Jew, and what belongs to the
Gentiles, as belonging to the
Gentiles.
13. Interpret each writer
with a view to the opinions the writer
opposed.
14. Interpret poetry as
poetry and interpret prose as prose.
15. The Holy Spirit is the
best interpreter of the Bible.
Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship's speaker on March 8, 2013 was Dr. Charles Jackson, founder of Points of Origins Ministries, the college ministry division of Creation Truth Foundation of Dallas, Texas. “Dr. J” is an educator, a Mensan, debater in creation science, and dynamic speaker. His presentation gave a historical retrospect covering decades of genomic research that has completely reversed evolutionists’ theory, that the non-protein coding sequences of human DNA are the discarded residue of evolution (so-called “Junk DNA”).
Charles gave an inspiring testimony about how he was instantly delivered from the religion of scientism and bondage of evolution when he was saved as a highschooler. He instantly knew that the Bible was true, all of it. “I found and met the Creator, who got me and transf ormed me.” As a young college professor, Dr. J. had to walk a tight rope because of his objections to evolution theory, and was eventually fired because he didn’t agree that DNA had “junk”. This idea about “junk DNA” comes from a long history of misdire cted thinking, a history of wildly rampant egos and arrogance that goes back to the 1920’s, when evolutionists falsely claimed that so - called vestigial organs (appendix, tonsils, tailbone) were proof of evolution. Having unknown functions, these organs we re said to be useless “leftovers” from the days when we were fish and rats and worms, and had all these different organs that natural selection hasn't weeded out of us yet. This myth reflected an attitude : “Since we're so smart, and we can't figure out wha t it does, it must not have any function or be doing anything.” It was arguing from ignorance, providing an ignorant hypothesis to an Unanswered Question.
Evolution thrives in the gray areas and the uncertainties; it is cast into the darkness, and then s aid to answer the questions. The amazing part is that after the truth is found, which rejects the hypothesis, they continue in their erroneous thinking. Vestigial organs are still in the textbooks, even though now they are scientifically indefensible. The same faulty logic used for vestigial organs came into play in the 1970’s to explain why only 2% of the human genome had a known function. Eureka! Evidence for evolution: vestigial DNA, or ‘Junk’, left over from a trial and error genetic system.
The true genetic story began to unfold in the year 2000, when we first got a hint that the junk DNA had a purpose, regarding the function of the double X chromosomes in females. It was discovered that there was a DNA sequence that was controlli ng the entire operation, telling which genes to shut down, which to power up and which genes to pump out extra proteins. And it was all being coordinated by DNA sequences that weren't making proteins; they were in the junk region. It turns out that the jun k genes were not making proteins, but telling all the other genes when to do it. They were the main circuit board for the entire operation. By the year 2006, it was public knowledge that junk DNA was probably not junk. Quote Time , 10/9/06: “The non-coding region of the genome, . . is crucial."
It's a fantastically complex, crisscrossing network of gene communications that we have only scratched the surface on. Many genes overlap one another and share stretches of molecular code. A gene that controls the production of a protein - coded gene was often found on different chromosomes.
Then it was announced in 2007 that the entire genome (including Junk regions) gets transcribed, and that both DNA strands are translated. “There is an interleaved structure of overlapping segments with typically 5, 7, or 9 or more transcripts coming from one gene.” The information coding system is so complex, it means the file management system is way beyond anything we understand. The last nail in Darwin’s coffin came in the Sept. 6, 2012 issue of the NY Times (reported in this newsletter, Vol. 77) as follows: “At least 4 million gene switches turn out to play critical roles in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave.”
There are master control genes that don't produce any proteins, but stimulate other genes that produce proteins. Dr. John Sanford, the brilliant geneticist and a born - again creationist, says that codes are overlaying within codes and nested within other codes, and are read in both directions. What an awesome Creator!
Thanks to Dr. J. for his expertise and faithfulness.
Part II
Dr. Charles Jackson
Talk: Junk DNA
Date:
March 8th, 2013 7:00pm
RMCF's for March 8, 2013 will be Dr. Charles Jackson of the Creation Truth Foundation of Dallas Texas. Dr. Jackson has four degrees in science and education
from U. of Virginia and George Mason University. From 1980 to 2002, he
taught secondary school sciences, college biology and chemistry, and
teacher education classes. In 2003, Dr. Jackson founded Points of
Origins Ministries and began teaching, speaking, and debating in
creation science education. His emphasis has been in making the case
for the literal interpretation of the Scriptural accounts as being both
scientifically and historically true.
As a former youth pastor and schoolteacher, the work of “Dr. J” has been primarily focused toward Christian youth. Dr. J and his wife, Bonnie, are missionaries to American College Students, and have served Creation Truth Foundation in that capacity since January 2009. They are keenly interested in the liberation of Bible-believing college
students, from the delusion that their faith has been refuted by modern scientific understandings. Dr. J has crusaded against evolutionary dogma on college campuses across the mainland United States, and also in Venezuela and Peru, in lecture settings and academic debates.
The secret to the success of Dr. J’s ministry has not merely been the God-given gifts of academic and communication skills, but an ultimate dependence upon the Spirit of God, while debating the issues in
the public forum. [ “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.”James 1:5 ]
Dr. Jackson will speak on the topic of so-called “Junk DNA”, which is definitely not junk. Join us for this edifying evening.
Presented by Rocky Mtn Creation Fellowship President, Dr. Ed Boudreaux, who is a well-known creation scientist and apologist. Edward Boudreaux received his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Chemistry 1959 and 1962 respectively, from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. He joined the U. of New Orleans chemistry faculty in 1962, where he was involved in graduate and undergraduate education and basic research until his coerced retirement 1991 (because of exposure as a creationist). Dr. Boudreaux's fields of expertise are Quantum Chemistry and Chemical Physics, in which he has published numerous papers in various scientific periodicals, a number of reviews and contributed chapters, plus four books. He has delivered countless technical presentations at conferences, symposia and professional meetings, nationally and internationally. Dr Boudreaux has been included in listings published by a number of professional indices (Who's Who in Science, etc.).
Ed became a creation scientist in 1975 and shortly thereafter was an expert witness before the Louisiana Senate and U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Balanced Treatment Law for Louisiana schools. He has given numerous presentations and been in debates before live audiences, on radio and TV. He is one of 50 creation scientists featured in the books In Six Days and The God Factor, by J. F. Ashton, 2001. He has given technical papers at three International Conferences on Creationism, which were published in those proceedings. Most recently, he was co-author with Eric Baxter of the book God Created the Earth.
It may be concluded that from the analysis of the select number of radioisotopes addressed in this study, plus other references cited, it seems evident that decay rates of radioisotopes would have been greatly accelerated during the first couple of days of creation week.
Dr. Edward A. Boudreaux is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from Loyola University, an M.S. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Tulane University. His book, God Created the Earth, is a challenging read, as there are many technical formulas, but it is encouraging to read words like these on page 57: "...radiometric decay rates are accelerated by enormous magnitudes at high plasma temperatures. This is precisely the basis for the model postulated in Part II of this book, from which computed results are derived."
Application? The evolutionary assumption that decay rates are constant is thus challenged, and the here is one scientific explanation for how we could get radiometric dates that seem out-of-accord with biblical chronology.
Ten pages later, we read: "It may be concluded that from the analysis of the select number of radioisotopes addressed in this study, plus other references cited, it seems evident that decay rates of radioisotopes would have been greatly accelerated during the first couple of days of creation week."
In other words, you do not have to reject the Bible because supposedly "science" has disproved the chronology of the Bible. It has not. In fact, there are 50 other reasons for trusting the Bible's chronology by getting the free booklet, Reasons to Affirm a Young Earth. It is available free on the Internet. Let God be found true and every man in rebellion against Him be found lying.
At the January 2012 meeting of Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship, science teacher Dave Prentice gave an update on the current supposed evidence for ape-human evolution. He talked about many hominids and how they are not transitional forms as well as the lies and frauds used to purport human evolution and the "missing link".
Part 2
http://youngearth.org | (Jan 2012) Dave Prentice received his B.S. degree in Physics from Loyola University, New Orleans, in 1976. Having been trained to believe in evolution, he continued to do so even after becoming a Christian in 1980.
When the Louisiana legislature passed the "Balanced Treatment Act" in 1980 requiring that the evidence for creation be presented alongside that for evolution, his state representative tried to repeal the law. Dave contacted him to say that it was only fair for the "other guys," the creationists, to have their say. In response to his representative's statement that there was no evidence for creation, Dave began doing research to investigate the claims of the creationists. Within six months of study, he became one of them! Since then he has appeared on radio and television and taught seminars, Sunday school classes, and Bible college classes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Washington, Colorado, Haiti, Peru, China, India, Honduras, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. As shown below, he is into fossil digging.
After working in the computer industry for over 27 years, Dave went through a midlife career change in 1999 and became a fulltime high school science teacher. He holds a Louisiana lifetime certificate to teach physics, chemistry, biology, general science and mathematics. He has two master's degrees, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction - Secondary Science Education, and Master of Arts in Science Teaching as well as a Masters Plus 30.
Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship was privileged to have as their
December 1, 2006 speaker, Dr. Gary Parker. The title of Dr. Parker's
talk was "Plant Power! Capitalizing on Chaos."
Plants are
stunning evidence of Creation and Dr. Parker will show us why in his
presentation. The random motion of water molecules, under correct
direction and in a properly designed system, can be converted to direct
motion. Hence we get water moving in plants and even up the tall
Redwoods.
Dr. Parker is a Professor of Biology at the Institute for Creation Research and an internationally renowned speaker on creation. He is also a speaker for Answers in Genesis.
Once an atheist who taught evolution to his biology students, he was
very critical of Christians who compromised by denying a literal reading
of Genesis. By doing this he had hoped to convert them to evolution.
But they turned the tables on him. Now as a Christian, he still is
critical of those who compromise the Bible, but he now uses his
knowledge of evolution to show how scientific facts have failed to
support the theories put forth by evolutionists.
Parker was
previously the head of the Science Department at Clearwater Christian
College (CCC) in Florida. He also served for twelve years on the science
faculty of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) in the San Diego
area. Dr. Parker has worked with Ken Ham, founder and Executive Director
of AIG, at some of the well-attended Answers in Genesis seminars. He
has also conducted citywide Understanding Genesis conferences. Gary was
also co-presenter with Ken Ham in the popular video series, Answers in
Genesis. He has appeared in numerous films and television programs and
has lectured worldwide on creation. His most recent books are Exploring
the World Around Us and The Fossils Book. Dr. Parker and his wife Mary
are currently hosting a Creation Adventure Museum near Arcadia, Florida.
They conduct Creation Workshops, fossil hunting and Canoe trips on the
Peace River. The Family Program and Home School credit is provided by
Mrs. Mary Parker, Museum Curator, field paleontologist and Dry Bones
co-author.
Dr. Parker began his teaching career as a
non-Christian and EVOLUTIONIST. The details of his spiritual and
scientific conversion, From Evolution to Creation, include several comic
incidents. For example, he was once a participant in a debate where his
own science department defended the Bible against the Bible department,
which defended evolution! Among his other publishing credits are five
programmed textbooks in biology and six books in Creation Science (the
latter translated into eight foreign languages).
Dr. Holroyd is one of the founding members of RMCF. He has a B.S. in astrophysics, a Ph.D. in atmospheric
science, and continuing education in geology. In 2005 he retired from
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation after 31 years of service as a research
scientist studying weather and remote sensing. For more than 13 years he
has been an adjunct professor at the University of Denver
teaching graduate courses in remote sensing and digital image
processing. Registrations for his popular online classes typically go to
wait list in the first or second day.
Other apologetic topics are also posted on his web site. In recent years he has quietly been doing supportive remote sensing research for other creation teams, including searches for Noah's Ark and for living dinosaurs. He has been to 27 nations on six continents. He is about to return to China for a fourth summer of teaching English to Chinese teachers of English.
Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship celebrated the new year with a return visit from science educator Dave Prentice of New Orleans, LA. Dave received his B.S. degree in Physics from Loyola University, New Orleans, in 1976. Having been trained to believe in evolution, he continued to do so even after becoming a Christian in 1980.
When the Louisiana legislature passed the "Balanced Treatment Act" in 1980 requiring that the evidence for creation be presented alongside that for evolution, his state representative tried to repeal the law. Dave contacted him to say that it was only fair for the "other guys," the creationists, to have their say. In response to his representative's statement that there was no evidence for creation, Dave began doing research to investigate the claims of the creationists. Within six months of study, he became one of them! Since then he has appeared on radio and television and taught seminars, Sunday school classes, and Bible college classes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Washington, Colorado, Haiti, Peru, China, India, Honduras, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. As shown below, he is into fossil digging.
After working in the computer industry for over 27 years, Dave went through a midlife career change in 1999 and became a fulltime high school science teacher. He holds a Louisiana lifetime certificate to teach physics, chemistry, biology, general science and mathematics. He has two master's degrees, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction - Secondary Science Education, and Master of Arts in Science Teaching as well as a Masters Plus 30. He has been a classroom teacher for twelve years and is currently teaching in the Jefferson Parish Public School System.
Dave is married and has four grown children and six grandchildren. He is a member of Faithful Word Assembly in Kenner, Louisiana.
It has been several years that we have had Dave speak at RMCF, so he has consented to come back and give us an update on the latest findings on Cavemen. (Sneak Preview: The bones are all either apes or men. Nothing in between.)
http://denvercreation.org | For their July 13, 2012 meeting, Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship hosted Skip Tilton of From Day One Ministries. A native of New England, Skip became a Christian while in the Navy. He completed a B.A. in Bible with a minor in Pulpit Speech, and later earned a Master of Ministry in 1993 from Bob Jones University. He then became pastor of Finger Lakes Baptist Church in Geneva, NY. The Lord led Skip to join the staff of AiG/Kentucky in 1997, where he served as an evangelistic speaker and supervised the design and construction of the Creation Museum. Following, as an evangelist with CMI-US, Skip continued to minister to Christians providing the understanding needed to strengthen their faith and equipping then with a stronger biblical worldview. In December of 2010, the Lord led Skip to form his own ministry, From Day One Ministries, whose role is to support the local church in proclaiming the total authority and absolute truth of the Bible.
A native of New England, Skip grew up between homes in Essex, CT and
Cuttyhunk Island, MA. During high school, Skip studied at a vocational
technical school to become an electrician. Upon graduation, he enlisted
in the US Navy to serve as a Sonar Technician on board a nuclear
submarine. While in the Navy, however, his whole life changed. He
became a Christian.
After serving six years in the Navy, Skip was honorably discharged
and began attending Baptist University of America with a degree emphasis
in Missions. Two years later the school closed and Skip enrolled at Bob
Jones University. He completed a B.A. in Bible with a minor in Pulpit
Speech and later earned a Master of Ministry degree. During his college
years, he had opportunities to speak and work with missions, including
serving as a foreign mission team leader. He was ordained by Morningside
Baptist Church of Greenville, SC and in 1993 he became pastor of Finger
Lakes Baptist Church in Geneva, NY. During his tenure as pastor he was
called upon to speak at pastors’ conferences, mission conferences,
retreats and other events.
Burdened that many Christians do not see the importance of the
authority of scripture, and seeing firsthand how critical the
understanding of the relevance of the Genesis/Creation message can
change a person’s life, the Lord led Skip to work full time in Creation
Evangelism.
Skip’s love for teaching the creation message, especially in helping
local churches, led him to Creation Ministries International. As a
speaker with CMI–US, Skip continues to minister to Christians, providing
the understanding needed to strengthen their faith and equipping them
with a stronger biblical worldview. His powerful messages have excited
audiences all across the country.
On Friday, Oct 13th, 2006, Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship was
privileged to have as it's monthly speaker. Dr. Randy Guliuzza. Dr.
Guliuzza received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota
and his Masters in Public Health from Harvard University. He holds a
B.S. in engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and a B.A. in
theology from Moody Bible Institute.
Dr. Guliuzza spoke twice
that Friday night, his talk being in two parts. His first topic was The Reproductive System: Fascinating Evidence for Design-Part I (Dad's Role). This presentation will cover rarely discussed details of human
reproduction that form irrefutable arguments for a supernaturally
designed system.
All topics were covered in a tasteful manner
and there was no discussion of external anatomy. Rather, the listener is
put into the seat of a typical medical student taking in the
detailed--though thoroughly explained--process of reproductive
physiology and microscopic anatomy.
Quotations directly from
medical texts guided the lecture through topics such as:
the process
of sperm formation and design features to protect them from
auto-destruction,
how random genetic mutations could never produce
the intricate, coordinated physiology necessary for fertilization and
how the lethal diseases that result when mistakes occur in the
process.
In the second portion of his talk, Dr. Guliuzza spoke
on The Reproductive System: Fascinating Evidence for Design-Part II
(Mom's Role). Topics will include
how mother's immune system is
controlled by the baby to prevent its own rejection,
how random
genetic mutations could never produce the intricate, coordinated
physiology necessary for fertilization and
how baby's hormones
maintain pregnancy, control maternal metabolism and prime the mother for
partuition.
The content of both talks is strictly scientific,
but the inescapable conclusions give God all the glory, showing that we
are truly fearfully and wonderfully made. These two topics by Dr
Guliuzza should interest many of our RMCF members and give us another
chance to study the intricate mechanism of the human reproductive
system.
Dr. Randy Guliuzza is a captivating speaker who presents
well-documented and often humorous scientific and biblical talks to
audiences of all ages. He has represented ICR in several scientific
debates at secular universities and in other forums. Dr. Guliuzza has a
B.S. in Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology, a B.A. in theology from Moody Bible Institute, an M.D. from
the University of Minnesota, and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard
University. Dr. Guliuzza served nine years in the Navy Civil Engineer
Corps and is a registered Professional Engineer. In 2008, he retired as
Lt. Col. from the U.S. Air Force, where he served as Flight Surgeon and
Chief of Aerospace Medicine. He is the author of Made in His Image: Examining the complexities of the human body.
Available books by Randy Guliuzza:
RMCF hosted prolific author Paul Taylor from Creation Today at their March 9, 2012 meeting. Mr. Taylor is a high school science teacher, website programmer and ICT trainer, creation speaker and debater. Paul joined the Creation Today staff on April 25, 2011 as Director of Ministry Development.
He has been speaking and writing on the subject of creation for more than thirty years, most recently serving as the senior speaker and manager of Answers In Genesis ~ UK/Europe, the United Kingdom branch of the creationist organization based in Kentucky. He brings many assets to the Creation Today team by researching, writing, hosting TV and radio interviews, appearing on podcasts, and traveling and speaking. A native of Britain, Paul is a graduate of the universities of Nottingham and Cardiff. Paul has served as teacher of chemistry, physics, math, biology, and music, and also as Head of the Science Depart-ment at assignments in both England and South Wales. While serving as manager of AiG~UK, Paul authored more than eight books. Additionally, he wrote chapters in The New Answers Book series, acclaimed the world's best-selling apologetics book, and called "the essential resource for any believer" by Amazon.com reviewers. Paul's role at AIG also included traveling as an itinerant speaker, appearing on radio and TV programs, and debating with noted atheists such as Steve Jones and Richard Dawkins.
Paul serves as co-host of the growingly popular Creation Today show. His dry, British humor, his scientifically genius mind, and his thorough and solid foundation in Scripture are evident in the weekly show. These may be viewed online at www.creationtoday.org. In addition to his work in the field of apologetics, Paul writes and performs classical, popular, and sacred music. Several churches of which he has been a member have been blessed to have Paul serve as their worship leader. Paul and his wife Geri reside in Pensacola, Florida with three of their five children. http://youngearth.org
RMCF members enjoyed a unique experience at the July 8, 2011 meeting, where James Nickel of Wenatchee, WA spoke on his specialty, mathematics and creation. James Nickel is a mathematics teacher at the Potter’s School, which partners with families to provide a wide range of training and resources for family discipleship and home education. His book, “Mathematics: Is God Silent” is available at his website, biblicalchristianworldview.net
This book revolutionizes the prevailing understanding and teaching of math. The addition of this book is a must for all upper-level Christian school curricula and for college students and adults interested in math or related fields of science and religion. It will serve as a solid refutation for the claim, often made in court, that mathematics is one subject, which cannot be taught from a distinctively Biblical perspective.
Part 2
James spoke about a Grand Mystery of science, which is a conundrum to many mathematicians and
philosophers: the fact that the physical world can be comprehended. A. Einstein wrote: “The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.”—there appears to be no reason to justify its comprehension. Mathematics is a key player in this whole situation. Mathematician Richard Courant said, “That mathematics, an emanation of the human mind, should serve so effectively for the description and understanding of the physical world is a challenging fact,” a mystery of mysteries. Naturalists admit they have no clue as to the reason why the universe is intelligible; it is not at all “natural” that laws of nature exist, much less that man is able to discern them. Amazingly, many aspects of empirical reality seem to fit themselves into established mathematical forms, as if through a kind of pre-adaptation.
Many scientists say there is no rational explanation for the enormous usefulness of mathematics in the natural sciences. In a naturalist context, that is true: Given only TIME plus MATTER and RANDOM processes, nothing should be comprehensible! There should, therefore, be no coherence between thought and the physical world, given this premise of naturalism. But, since this coherence does exist, naturalists must embrace blind faith. John Polkinghorne, theoretical physicist says, “Science does not explain the mathematical intelligibility of the physical world because it is a part of scientists’ founding faith that it is so!”
So, is there justification for why the universe is “user friendly,” and is there a reason why mathematics works so effectively in the application and discovery of science? The answer lies in the CREATION. The
universe points beyond itself to an intelligent source thatis non-physical. The universe does not generate
rationality; it only reveals it! Therefore, there must be a transcendent source for this rationality.
Nickel asserts that the physical world has been ordered in such a way as to be accessible by mathematics.
There is a connection between the mathematical thinking of the human mind and the workings of the physical
world. According to Oxford mathematician John Lennox, “The intelligibility of the universe is grounded
in the intelligence of God who created both it and the human mind. Hence, it is not surprising that mathematical theories spun by creative human minds, themselves created in the image of God, find ready
application in a universe whose architect was that same Creator God.”
Nickel also asserts that mathematical concepts always arise from an impulse for beauty. The universe is built on a plan of profound symmetry, which is evident throughout the whole creation: the solar system, human body, particle physics, etc., and this beautiful symmetry is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect. It is unreasonable to expect, on purely naturalistic grounds, that what arises from the impulse for beauty should be effective in physics. But a significant number of these concepts, born out of a desire for beauty, are significantly effective in physics. We are talking about a paradox of the utility of beauty, and we are dealing with a miracle of the second order of magnitude.
Newton’s inverse-square Law of Gravitation, elegantly simple and accurate, and the similar Coulomb law of
electrostatic repulsion are examples of the highly ordered physical laws that yield to a mathematical description of profound beauty and tractability. Mathematicians look at Maxwell’s equations of the
electromagnetic theory and say, “This is beautiful.” The equations predicted the existence of electromagnetic
waves before they were discovered. A devout Christian and creationist, Maxwell had the words of Psalm 111 engraved over his laboratory in Cambridge: “Great are the works of the Lord, pondered by those who delight in them,” That’s what Creation Science is: Investigating
the works of the Lord [and seeing His attributes there].
The reason that math works in science, ie., the way we account for the suitability of mathematical theory to the laws of the physical world, is by turning to scripture: Biblical Christianity, as opposed to a “nature-first”
impersonal philosophy, is a “Logos-first” personal worldview (meaning, the Word of John Chapter 1). We
read in Col 1:15, that Christ is the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of Creation. The Logos is a personal God-man, “In Whom and by Whom all things are created, by Whom all things consist and cohere.” (Phillips). Christ is the true source of rationality in the universe, the rationality outside of man and the rationality inside. In the Biblical Christian worldview, God designed a “user friendly” Creation where the world of human thought mirrors the deep structure of the world. This is THE challenge to naturalism. The answer is in embracing the Biblical Christian doctrine of Creation. The mind of man, with its mathematical capabilities, and the physical world with its observable mathematical order, cohere (connect, correlate) because of a common Creator. Einstein’s eternal mystery has a solution: the Biblical revelation of the Creator God is the unifying factor that reconciles what is irreconcilable in a naturalistic context. Amen.
Thanks to James Nickel for a fascinating presentation.
For their November 14, 2014 meeting, Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship hosted noted author Spike Psarris, who has published articles on astronomy in Creation Magazine and CMI's Technical Journal. Spike was previously an engineer in the United States' military space program. He entered that program as an atheist and an evolutionist. He left it as a creationist and a Christian.
