Science and Apologetics

Steps of the Scientific Method

Observation, Question, Hypothesis, Experiment/Testing, Analysis, Conclusion, Repeatability

Tenets of science

observable, testable, measurable, repeatable, falsifiable

Tenet of Science: Observable

You can detect or see it in some way

Tenet of Science: Testable

You can check it with an experiment

Tenet of Science: Measurable

You can quantify it with numbers

Tenet of Science: Repeatable

others can get the same results under the same conditions

Tenet of Science: Falsifiable

There’s a possible way to show its wrong

1 Peter 3:15

“ready to give an answer”

Apologia

a defense

Jude 3

Earnestly contend for the faith

Evidence

Available body of facts (information) that is used to indicate whether a belief is true

Presupposition

a thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action

Wolrdview

a network of our most basic beliefs about reality in light of which all observations are interpreted

Biblical worldview

laws of logic, uniformity, moral absolutes, and human rationality are grounded in God

Naturalistic worldview

struggles to justify logic, order, morality, and rational thought

Preconditions of intelligibility are…

the foundational principles or conditions that make knowledge or reality possible, and a true worldview must be able to account for them

Preconditions of Intelligibility (list):

Reliability of Senses, the validity of reasoning, the uniformity of nature, objective morality, freedom of thought, psychophysical harmony, laws of logic

Preconditions of Intelligibility: Reliability of Senses

Our sense must give us generally accurate information about the world

Preconditions of Intelligibility: The Validity of Reasoning

Our minds must be capable of thinking logically and drawing true conclusions

Preconditions of Intelligibility: The Uniformity of Nature (necessary for induction)

Nature must behave consistently so past patterns can help us predict the future

Preconditions of Intelligibility: Objective Morality

Real moral standards must exist so ideas like honesty and fairness make sense

Preconditions of Intelligibility: Freedom of thought

We must be able to think freely, not be controlled by only instinct or chemistry

Preconditions of Intelligibility: Psychophysical Harmony

Our brains must be able to understand the world around us

Preconditions of Intelligibility: Laws of Logic

Basic logical rules must be real, universal, and dependable

Primary literature

peer-reviewed journal articles

Secondary literature

textbooks, review articles

Tertiary/popular communication

news articles, science journalism, museum displays

Keys to science literacy

1. Have scientific knowledge of the natural world

   1. Make decisions based on a biblical foundation and sound scientific evidence/reasoning

Genesis 6-9

main account of the flood

2 Peter 3:3-6

Global flood as judgment

Luke 17:26-27

Jesus affirms the global flood

Evidence for CPT

• Cold subducted slabs deep in the mantle showing rapid subduction

• Magnetic reversals in ocean crust indicating rapid plate motion

• Flood basalt provinces suggesting massive volcanic activity

• Continental fit and matching fossil assemblages

  • Rapidly formed mountain ranges due to runaway subduction

Marine Organisms (layers)

Sauk, Tippecanoe, Kaskaskia

Land Organisms (layers)

Absaroka, Zuni, Tejas

Cambrian explosion

major phyla appear abruptly

polystrate fossils

organisms buried upright through layers

Fossil problems for evolution:

1. lack of transitional forms

2. uneven distribution

3. stasis

Australopithecus

Ape

Afarenis ('“lucy)

Ape

Africanus (“Taung Child”)

Ape

Sediba

Ape

Erectus/Ergaster

Man

Neanderthals

Man

Denisovans

Man

Piltdown man

Hoax/mixed

Homo Habilis

Hoax/mixed

Homo Naledi

Hoax/Mixed

Recent findings: Denisovans

• human remains discovered in Siberia (Denisova cave)

• genetics show they interbred with neanderthals and modern humans

Recent Findins: Homo Naledi

• discovered in 2013 in a South African cave

• proposed to be an ape-man fossil

• evidence of Naledi’s “humanity” disputed by paleoanthropologist

Recent findings: Neanderthal

• Evidence of intellectual advancement

  • tools, jewelry, clothes, artwork

• DNA found of neanderthals

• Several studies reveal inbreeding

• Humans today (neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia)

Waiting time problem

mutations needed for complex new traits require far more

Crete Footprints

Footprints dated by evolutionists at millions of years old yet look anatomically modern, contradicting evolutionary sequencing

Darwin Evolution

natural selection and small changes over long periods of time

Moden Synthesis

Combines Darwin with genetics; evolution driven by mutation plus natural selection

Microevolution

small changes within a kind (variation). Genetic changes (allele frequencies) due to adaptation, natural selection, and variation within lower taxa

Macroevolution

new structures, body plans, or kinds; requires new information. Evolutionary patterns and trends dealing with higher taxa over geological time scales

Information

specified complexity (purposeful pattern)

Teleological argument

design implies a designer

Point mutations

insertion, deletion, substitution

Abiogenesis

the origin of life from non-living matter

The Miller Urey experiment

used a reducing environment. Needed to use a more oxygen-rich environment

4 classes of macromolecules needed for life

Polysaccharides, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Lipids (fats)

Classification levels of Taxonomy

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Biblical “kinds”

Family level

Baraminology

seeks to identify created kinds using morphology and genetics

Genetic Entropy

Mutations accumulate over generations, Human genome is deteriorating

Appendix

lymphatic and immune function

Coccyx (tail bone)

anchor point for muscles and ligaments

Wisdom teeth

normal in larger jaws; reduced chewing needs cause crowding

Pelvic bones in whales

attachment for reproductive organs

Junk DNA

regulatory and structural roles

Cosmological Argument (Logical form)

1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause

2. the universe began to exist

3. therefore the universe has a cause

(cause must be timeless, immaterial, powerful and personal)

Fine-tuning Argument

the constants and laws of nature are finely tuned for life

Horizon problem

opposites sides of the universe have almost the same temperature, but they’re too far apart to have exchanged heat

Flatness Problem

the universe’s geometry is balanced with extreme precision, far more than the Big Bang can explain

Monopole Problem

the Big Bang should have produced magnetic monopoles, yet none have been found

Missing Population III stars

the first stars (supposedly huge and metal-free) have never been observed)

Too Uniform CMB

the cosmic background radiation is smoother than the model predicts

Dark Matter and Dark Energy Unknown

the model relies on unseen substances that have never been detected directly

Galaxy Maturity Too Early

Galaxies in the supposedly young universe look old and fully formed

Problems with the Solar Nebula Hypothesis:

• Angular momentum distribution in the solar system doesn’t match predictions

• Planets with retrograde rotation or extreme tilts

• gas giants contain more heavy elements than predicted

• Magnetic fields decay too quickly to be billions of years old

• Trans-Neptunian objects and short-period comets contradict long ages

• Formation of hot Jupiters and tightly packed exoplanets are unexplained

  • Dust-to-planet formation steps are unstable (bouncing and fragmentation barriers)

Science

the systematic study of the physical universe

Solar Nebula Hypothesis

Secular theory of how the solar system formed

Red Shift

the general expanding of the universe

13.8 billion years

secular age of the universe

inflation

the secular reasoning device for the big bang (its the word for early exponential expansion)