Part 1: What is Science?

A Creation
Seminar by
Mark Woodson
Mark Woodson
P.O. Box 226
Terra Ceia, FL. 34520
(941)737-0279

e-mail:
Godsnomonkey@gmail.com

•To offer authentic scientific
information.
•To point out Biblical possibilities
concerning “origins”, based on
scientific method.
•To point out “bad science” and
scientific impossibilities of modern
evolutionary teaching.

What is Science?
Science 'si-en(t)s n
1. The state of knowing : i.e. - knowledge as distinguished
from ignorance or misunderstanding.
3. a : Knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general
truths or the operation of general laws esp. as obtained
and tested through scientific method.
b : Such knowledge or such a system of knowledge
concerned with the physical world and its phenomena :
natural science.
4. A system or method reconciling practical ends with
scientific laws.
- Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition.

Science is the process used
to gain knowledge of observable occurrences.
This knowledge is obtained and tested
through scientific method, which attempts to unite
end results with scientific laws.

When dry sulfur (like on the end of a
match) is agitated by dry friction
(like when struck on the fine sand paper
on a match box) within an environment
where there is oxygen (like in this room) it
will ignite.

This is a scientific fact, because given the
above criteria it will never fail to work!

Then science is . . .
the study of any
observable occurrence
by way of
Scientific Method.

It is important to know that
the NAS and other leading
corporations have actively
been redefining “science”
for decades now.
They are seeking to
eliminate ANY causal
power beyond naturalism.

The following is a
website referencing
“per state” definitions
for science.

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2005/11/kansas_definition_of_science_c001603.html

In brief the following is
still generally accepted
and represents what most
people (scientist or not)
believe is the definition
of science.

Science is . . .
the study of any
observable occurrence
by way of
Scientific Method.

This does not imply
that the „cause‟
of an occurrence
must be observable,
but only the event
being studied!

The only place
where this consideration
must be made
is concerning
‘first causes’.
Meaning the God or thing
which „caused‟
the universe.

For example:
Evolutionists claim specific ideas
about the Big Bang.
The origin of the universe
pre-dates direct observation,
so no one expects them to produce
“observable causes” for their claim –
only scientific proof that what they claim
could have happened.

The same should be true
for creationists.

Creationists claim specific ideas
which pre-date direct observation,
and they should not be expected
to produce “God” for observation –
only scientific proofs that
Biblical claims for creation
could have happened.

How do we prove that
something could have
happened scientifically?

What is Scientific Method?
Scientific Method - n (1854) : principles
and procedures for the systematic pursuit of
knowledge involving: the recognition and
formulation of a problem, the collection of
data through observation and experiment, and
the formulation and testing of hypotheses.
1. Identify and define the question.
2. Collect intel on the question.
3. Create a preliminary explanation for testing.

- Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition.

1. Observation
All true science must go
through these steps,
in order to establish a law.
2. Hypothesis
The goal is to use scientific
data to identify
a set of conditions,
3. Theories which can explain
principles we observe
operating in nature.
4. Facts or Laws

Observed Occurrences

When yellow powder is
agitated by friction
it will ignite.

This seems true,
but is based on
limited “observation”.

What is a Hypothesis?
Hypothesis hi-'pae-the-ses n,
1. a. An assumption or concession made for the sake of
argument .
2. A tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test
its logical or empirical consequences.
3. Hypothesis implies insufficient evidence to provide more
than a tentative explanation.
Theory implies a greater range of evidence and greater
likelihood of truth.
Law implies a statement of order and relation in nature
that has been found to be invariable under the same
conditions.
- Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary 10th Edition.

Then a Hypothesis is . . .
A guess based on limited
evidence providing a
possible explanation for
testing – in order
to verify it‟s logical &
empirical truthfulness.

If the assumptions
of a hypothesis
are already disproved
by scientific laws, further
testing is unnecessary.
The hypothesis is no longer
able to be considered
as legitimate science.

For example:
If any hypothesis requires a heated gas to
contract, without any identifiable cause,
which would be consistent with known laws,
it is not a valid hypothesis.

Because scientific laws say this can‟t happen.
Charles‟ Law & Pressure Law state that
gases repel from one another when hot –
even when they are put under pressure.

For example:
Why?
Because scientific laws say this can‟t happen.
Charles‟ Law & Pressure Law state that
gases repel from one another when hot –
even when they are put under pressure.

For example:
Why?

Hypothesis

When dry yellow powder
is agitated by dry
friction it will ignite.

This is a hypothesis, based on limited
observation, research and evidence.
It seems true under all currently
tested conditions.

Theory 'the-e-re, n, (1592)
1. The analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another.
2. Abstract thought : speculation.
4. a : A belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the
basis of action.
5. A plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or
body of principles offered to explain phenomena.
6. a. A hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or
investigation.
b. An unproved assumption : conjecture.
c. A body of theorems presenting a concise
systematic view of a subject.
- Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition. 1

Then a Theory is . . .
A general principle
which breaks
no known laws,
and is used to demonstrate
how a hypothesis might
accurately explain
an occurrence.

If the principles of a theory
are already disprove
by scientific laws, further testing
is unnecessary.
The theory is no longer
able to be considered
as legitimate science.

Theory

When dry Sulfur is
agitated by dry
friction it will ignite.

This is a theory, based on
considerable observation, research
and evidence and is true under all
currently tested conditions.

Fact 'fakt n.
1. A thing done.
3. The quality of being actual : actuality <a
question of ~ hinges on evidence>.
4. a : Something that has actual existence.
b : an actual occurrence.
5. A piece of information presented as having objective
reality - in fact : in truth.

- Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition. 1

Then a Scientific Fact is . . .
a theory, which has
been proven to be
an objective truth ,
by repeated testing ,
producing the same results,
every time without fail .

Scientific Fact [Law]
When dry Sulfur is
agitated by dry friction
in the presence of Oxygen
it will ignite.

This is a fact, based on observed
responses to repeated, identical testing.
The evidence proves this is always true,
with no variation, when conducted
under these conditions.

Even though the 4 steps
of Scientific Method are thorough,
there are many times when these
steps alone cannot arrive at a
single conclusive answer.
In these cases, additional helps
are available to narrow down
the remaining choices to discover
the single most likely cause
for an event witnessed in nature.

These three steps are among the most
used and useful.
1. Deductive reasoning.
2. Occam‟s Razor.
3. Mathematical modeling.

These are used as tools to help
scientific investigation progress from an
hypothesis to a scientific law.

This is also called
„inference to the best explanation‟
and is the same logic used
in everyday decision making.
It is used by detectives, lawyers,
judges, scientists . . . even you!
More than one hypothesis may explain
the same piece of evidence.
One way to decide between competing
hypotheses, is to look at their
“explanatory power”.

By “explanatory power”, we mean the ability
of a hypothesis to explain an occurrence.
The hypothesis, which more clearly and
accurately explains the occurrence, is said to
have greater “explanatory power”.
This is what Deductive Reasoning
is used to determine.

Deductive reasoning says,
“If we want to explain an event, we must
consider the whole range of available
hypotheses and follow the one which would
provide the best explanation - if it is true.”
In other words, we do an in-depth analysis
of the possible explanations and keep adding
information until only one explanation is left
which can explain the whole range of data.
This hypothesis is the one with
the greatest “explanatory power”.

This is a time tested method
of separating fact from fiction.
Repeatedly, the conclusions we draw
from Deductive Reasoning result in the
establishment of proven scientific facts.
We may use this method of reasoning
with a high degree of confidence.

Two systems of reasoning are used
in conformity with this method -
even though technically
only one of them strictly fits
the definition of
Deductive Reasoning.

A priori

A posteriori

A priori
Though not strictly a scientific
term this Latin word represents
a method generally used in the Early usage
includes Plato

pursuit of knowledge
It means: “Proceeding from a known or assumed
cause to a necessarily related effect; deductive.”

This directly applies to the
systematic pursuit of knowledge
by scientific method.

A posteriori
Though, also, not strictly a
Developed
by Francis
scientific term this Latin word
Bacon
represents a method generally
used in the pursuit of knowledge
It means: “Something known by way of empirical
evidences; inductive.”
This seems to be more of a
“result of” scientific method,
rather than a “tool of” scientific method.

A priori vs. A posteriori
Both are perfectly legitimate methods,
they simply approach a problem from
opposite vantage points.

Examples of a priori reasoning:
"all bachelors are male“.
This is deduced from inferences.
-----------
Examples of a posteriori reasoning:
"Hitler died in 1945".
This is known from history.

1. Deductive reasoning.
2. Occam’s Razor.
3. Mathematical Modeling.

What if deductive reasoning
points evenly
to more than one hypothesis?

What if two or more hypotheses
have equal explanatory power?

Occum‟s Razor is attributed to the
14th century English logician,
Franciscan Friar and scholastic
philosopher William of Ockham,
and can be paraphrased as saying,
"All things being equal, the simplest solution
tends to be the best one."
In Science - when competing theories are
equal in other respects, selecting the theory
that introduces the fewest assumptions
most often proves to be correct.

The actual law reads like this:

“Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.”

Programmers have adapted
this law into an acronym:

K.I.S.S.
Keep it simple stupid!

This is the use of applied mathematics
as abstract mathematical tools
for solving concrete problems in science.
Observing and collecting measurements
often requires the constructing
of mathematical models.
Calculus and Statistics are two branches
of mathematics most often used
to model a theory.

Scientists use mathematical formulas
to illustrate hypothetical ideas,
much like letters (variables) are used
to represent unknown numbers in Algebra.
By allowing a letter or symbol
to represent the various parts
of a hypothesis, a scientist can determine
if the idea has empirical qualities.

Take the all familiar mass-energy
equivalence formula of Einstein

E= mc 2

In this formula:
is used for the speed rest
is used to rest mass in kg. in a
represent of light
energy, measured in joules.
vacuum.

E= mc 2

For example:
This equation uses math to demonstrate
that energy (joules) is equal to the amount
of mass (kilograms) multiplied by the
square of the velocity of light in a vacuum
(miles per second).

In simpler terms: 2
If you have 1 kilogram of E= mc
mass (about the amount in a pie).
E = 1 kilogram x [(300,000,000 meters per
second) x (300,000,000 meters per second)].
E = 90,000,000,000,000,000 joules.
That is also 24.9 million kilowatt hours.
The “average” American home uses 2251.83 KwH
a month. It would take 921.47 years for the average
American home to use the energy of 1 kg of mass.

m= E/c 2

The formula works backwards as well.
It is used to demonstrate that matter
and energy are simply two
(the mass of)
different forms of the same thing.
It shows the exchange rate
of converting mass to energy
or energy into mass.

E= mc 2

This formula gave scientists greater
security that Einstein's theory was factual,
many years before they were actually able
to prove it by experimentation.

Can Creation or Evolution
be Proven Scientifically?
To date, neither Creation, I.D. nor Evolution can
be proven to be 100% scientific in ALL of their
ideas. However, both views do state some
possible scientific hypotheses, theories and facts
in their “models”.
We MUST recognize that just because something
has not been proven by science, does not make it
wrong!
However, if something has been disproved by
true science, then that does prove it to be wrong,
scientifically.

Another foundational issue in
scientific study is the recognition of
Uniformity in the Laws of Nature.
This is assumed by scientists to be
true - otherwise the pursuit of
knowing how and why things work
the way they do would be futile!
If uniformity in natural law isn‟t true
the reasons for why things happen
would be constantly changing and
science would be impossible.

Science makes these assumptions
because, without believing that
every effect witnessed in nature,
has a rational, unchanging cause,
the pursuit of knowledge
would be pointless!
Even today, science assumes
a rational, intelligent answer
can be found for everything
witnessed in nature.

Ironically, this assumption is not
consistent with an ad hoc universe.
The Christian has to ask scientists –
On what basis can you assume
anything about a future that has not
been experienced?
Why should tomorrow be anything like
today - especially when the universe
is constantly changing and decaying?

Only the Christian,
has a well-argued answer.
You can only expect laws to exist
consistently without change
if the laws were put in motion
by an intelligence which also
has the power to maintain them.
The scientist must unwittingly borrow
concepts like the uniformity of nature
from the Christian worldview
in order to do science.

The contradiction is,
that though modern science
assumes an intelligent answer
can and will be found
for every occurrence in nature,
they also assume the answer
cannot have intelligence itself.
In effect it denies the existence
of God as Creator
without investigation.

Science was not
founded on that
assumption,
nor can it be objectively
and genuinely
sustained by it today!

“The philosophy of experimental
science . . . began its discoveries
and made use of its methods
in the faith, (not the knowledge)
that it was dealing with a rational
universe controlled by a creator,
who did not act upon whim,
nor interfere, with the forces
He had set in operation . . .”

“. . . It is surely one of the curious
paradoxes of history that science,
which professionally has little to
do with faith, owes its origins to an
act of faith that the universe can
be rationally interpreted, and that
science today is sustained by that
assumption.”
- L. Eiseley: Darwin’s Century: Evolution and the Men who Discovered It (Anchor, NY: Doubleday, 1961).

The field of simple science has existed as
far back as we can trace human civilization.
The “modern” methods of science were
first developed in written form by the
Judeo-Christians in Europe.
While the rest of the world was still living in
the “dark ages”, Christian Europe was
flourishing with scientific discoveries which
were new to that generation.

This brief list is of some of the founders of various
fields of science who believed that faith in a Creator
was essential to understanding science.

Physics - Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Kelvin, Einstein.
Chemistry - Boyle, Dalton, Ramsay.
Biology - Ray, Linnaeus, Mendel, Pasteur, Virchow, Agassiz.
Geology - Steno, Woodward, Brewster, Buckland, Cuvier.
Astronomy - Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Herschel,
Maunder.

Mathematics - Pascal, Leibniz, Euler.

Some of the GREATEST minds Science has ever known!

Nicolaus Copernicus 1473 -1543
Copernicus was a Polish astronomer
who is famous for developing the theory
that the earth spins on an axis and that it
travels around the sun, instead of the sun revolving
around the earth. This “theory” later became known
as the Copernican Theory.

“God, without Whom, we can do nothing.”
“For who, after applying himself to things which he sees
established in the best order and directed by Divine ruling,
would not through contemplation . . . be awakened to that
which is best and would not admire the Artificer of all things,
in Whom is all happiness and every good.” ~ Nicolaus Copernicus

Francis Bacon 1561-1626
Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon, an English
philosopher, essayist and statesman was a
foremost representative of British empirical
philosophy. He wrote, The Advancement of Learning and
Novum Organum, both of which inspired and led to the
development of modern science. It was Francis Bacon who
stressed the importance of OBSERVATION while conducting
scientific enquiry.
“God has this attribute, that He is a jealous God; and
therefore His worship will endure no mixture nor partner. . .
They that deny a God destroy man‟s nobility; for certainly
man is of kin to the beasts in his body; and, if he be not kin to
God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature.”
~ Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon 1561-1626

“There are two books laid before
us to study, to prevent our falling into
error; first, the volume of the
Scriptures, which reveal the will of
God; then the volume of the
Creatures, which expresses His
power.” ~ Francis Bacon

Galileo Galilei 1564 - 1642
Galileo Galilei was an Italian
mathematician, astronomer, philosopher
and physicist.
He is the founder of the experimental method.
He effectively supported, The Copernican Theory.
He proposed the first two laws of motion (which
includes the law of uniform acceleration for falling
objects), developed the astronomical telescope,
discovered craters on the moon & demonstrated
that the „Milky Way‟ was composed of stars.

He has been referred to as the “father
of modern astronomy," as the "father of
modern physics," and as "father of science."
His experimental work is widely considered
complementary to the writings of Francis Bacon in
establishing the modern scientific method.
His career coincided with that of Kepler. The work of
Galileo is considered to be a significant break from
that of Aristotle.

“ I trust the infinite goodness of God
may direct toward the purity of my mind a
small amount of His grace that I may understand the
meaning of His words.”
“ When I reflect on so many profoundly marvellous
things that persons have grasped, sought, and done
I recognize even more clearly that human
intelligence is a work of God, and one of the most
excellent.”
“To the Lord; Whom I worship and thank; That
governs the heavens with His eyelid, to Him I return
tired, but full of living.” ~ Galileo Galilei

Johann Kepler 1571 - 1630
Johann Kepler was a German
astronomer, natural philosopher and self
proclaimed Christian. He is best known
for his formulating and verifying the three
laws of planetary motion, known as “Kepler‟s Laws”.
He discovered the elliptical orbits of the earth and
other planets in our solar system. During the rule of
the Holy Roman Emperor Ruldolf II, he became both
court astronomer and imperial mathematician.
“ Geometry . . . Co-eternal with God . . . and reflecting in the
Divine mind has supplied God with the examples . . . for the
furnishing of the world so that it became the best and most
beautiful, and even also the most similar to the Creator.”
~ Johann Kepler

Johann Kepler 1571 - 1630
“Great is our Lord and great is His strength and
there is no number to His wisdom.”
“. . . but we Christians . . . know that the eternal
and uncreated Logos (Jesus) Who was with God and Who is
contained by no abode . . . has occupied the heavens as His
royal abode.”
“Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in
regard to the book of nature, it befits us to be thoughtful,
not of the glory of our minds, but rather above all else,
of the glory of God.”
He stated concerning his astronomical observations and
studies that he was merely, “thinking God‟s thoughts after
Him.” ~ Johann Kepler

Blaise Pascal 1623 -1662
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician,
physicist, religious philosopher and
writer, is considered to have had one of
the greatest minds, in all of Western intellectual
history. He was founder of the modern theory of
probabilities (a complex mathematical science).
He also influenced other thinkers such as Rousseau,
Bergson and the existentialists.
“All things have sprung from nothing and are borne forward to infinity.
Who can follow out such an astonishing career? The Author of these
wonders, and He alone, can comprehend them.”
“Everything in the world shows either the unhappy condition of man, or
the mercy of God; either the weakness of man without God, or the power
of man assisted by God.” ~ Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal 1623 -1662
“Instead of complaining that God is so
concealed, it is the duty of men to bless
Him, that He has so far revealed Himself,
and also, that He has not discovered Himself to the
worldly wise, or to the proud, who are unworthy to
know so holy a God.”

“. . . I see plainly, that there is in nature, a necessary,
eternal, and infinite Being.”

“. . . Happiness can be found neither in ourselves
nor in external things, but in God and in ourselves
as united to Him.” ~ Blaise Pascal

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz 1646 - 1716
Leibniz was a German philosopher and
mathematician. He invented both
differential and integral Calculus.
He was a metaphysician and logician who
conceived a system in which substance consists of
atoms that form a pre-established, perfect harmony
with God as Creator.
“With absolute certainty, there is nothing more true than this [God
exists]”
“God . . . has no need for matter; He not only arranges it, He also makes it
. . . whether He shapes it or breaks it He is wise and He does what He
wants, and what He wants is always good. He has the right to make it; . . .
He is all, and matter is nothing for Him.”
“Power and knowledge are perfections and insofar as they belong to God,
have no limits.” ~ Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz

Michael Faraday 1791-1867
Michael Faraday, an English scientist
is considered to be the founder of the
scientific field of Electrodynamics.
He discovered some basic laws of Electrolysis and
discovered benzene.
Two electrical units are named in honor of him - the
faraday & the farad.

“ . . . I believe that the invisible things of Him from
the creation of the worlds are clearly seen, being
understood by the things which are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead.” ~ Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday 1791-1867
“The Christian . . . is taught of God (by
His Word and the Holy Spirit) to trust in the
promise of salvation through the work of
Jesus Christ. He finds his guide in the Word of God,
and commits the keeping of his soul in the hands of
God. He looks for no assurance beyond what the
Word can give him . . .”
“ I bow before Him Who is Lord of all, and hope
to be kept waiting patiently for His time and mode of
releasing me according to His Divine Word, and the
great and precious promises whereby His people are
made partakers of the Divine nature.” ~ Michael Faraday

Louis Pasteur 1822 - 1895
Louis Pasteur was a world renown
chemist and biologist who, by the time of his
death in 1895, had become a national hero.
Pasteur was founder of the scientific field of
Microbiology, proved the germ theory of disease,
developed the process of pasteurization and
produced vaccines for several diseases, including
rabies.
“. . . In good philosophy, the word „cause‟ ought to be reserved to the
single Divine impulse that has formed the universe.”
“. . . If God had not so arranged . . . the laws governing the changes in
tissues and fluids of animals‟ bodies . . . (to) impede the proliferation of
these microscopic creatures, we should always be vulnerable to their
inroads.” ~ Louis Pasteur

Albert Einstein 1879-1955
Albert Einstein was a German-American
physicist most famous for conceiving the General
Theory of Relativity. He also developed a mathematical
description of Brownian Movement & the Quantum Theory.
His work had a significant influence on the 20th century.

“The scientist‟s religious feeling takes the form of a
rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law,
which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that,
compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting
of human beings is utterly insignificant reflection.”
~ Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein 1879-1955
“ I want to know how God created this
world. I‟m not interested in this or that
phenomenon in the spectrum of this or that element.
I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.”

“You believe in God playing dice, and I in perfect
laws in the world of things existing as real objects,
which I try to grasp in a wildly speculative way.”

“. . . I defend the good God against the idea of a
continuous game of dice.”

“I believe in . . . God, Who reveals Himself in the
harmony of all being.” ~ Albert Einstein

As we‟ve just witnessed,
most branches of modern science
were founded by those who based
their research on the idea that there
is a rational and orderly Creator.
They concluded that those who
did not recognize this obvious truth,
could never hope to grasp the nature
and functions of the universe.

The History of Modern Science:
Until about 400 years ago science was
subjective and open to the bias of the observer.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) a secular Greek
biologist, for example, believed that all honey
bees were males because “nature” (not God)
would never have given a stinging weapon to a
female.

Among the first Greek scholars to seek the
fundamental causes of natural phenomena
was the philosopher Thales. In the 6th century
B.C., he introduced the concept that the earth
was a flat disk, floating on the universal
element, water.
Notice, it was secular scientists and
philosophers who believed that the world was
flat, not Bible believing scientists!

Ever since about 700 B.C. the Bible has
contained clear statements of the
spherical shape of the Earth.
In other words, Bible believing people have
known the earth is round for over 2,700 years!
Which demonstrates that the Bible taught
this truth nearly 350 years before it became
standard teaching by the secular world.
`
“It is He Who sits above the circle of the earth. . .” Isaiah 40:22

Just to clarify, the word “circle”
here in scripture is the word
Chuwg (khoog); it is a masculine
noun and means “circuit” or a
curved course that finishes at the
point at which it began.
In other words, it is a sphere.
“It is He Who sits above the circle of the earth. . .” Isaiah 40:22

Now some people like to claim that the
Bible thought the earth was a flat square
because of Isaiah 11:12 & Revelation 7:1.
In the King James version of the Bible,
these are translated as saying,
“. . . the four corners of the earth”.

The term “corners” is the Hebrew
word (Kaw-nawf) and means the
extremities of or outermost parts of . . .
and in all 109 times this Hebrew word
is used, it is only translated
by the word “corners” twice.
It likely meant the farthest
you could go in any direction –
North, South, East or West.

The Bible mentions North, South, East
& West from the beginning

“And the LORD God planted a garden
in Eden, in the east, and there he put
the man whom he had formed.”
~ Genesis 2:8

Where is the only place that North,
South, East and West have any
meaning?

On a planetary sphere!

The first specific reference in the Bible for
man understanding these directions is in
Genesis 28:14. This is about 2,158 years
after creation and Jacob was about 40.
God said to him,
“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the
earth, and you shall spread abroad to the
west and to the east and to the north and to
the south, and in you and your offspring shall
all the families of the earth be blessed.”
~ Genesis 28:14

Now, 2,158 years from creation is about
1986 B.C. which would be at least 1,636
years before the secular world
recorded that knowledge.

It is most likely that people knew this
from the beginning or at least following
Noah‟s flood, because there is no reference
to fear that they might fall off
the end of the earth.

Noah lived 492 years before Jacob‟s
fortieth birthday, making the knowledge of
the spherical shape of the earth
about 2,128 years more advanced
than the secular world.
Again, it is most likely that everyone knew
the earth was round from the beginning.
Secular history just doesn‟t record it
until about 350 B.C., making Biblical history
far more accurate!

Flat Earth Myth
The idea that Columbus was told
the Earth was flat while he thought
it was round is simply not true!
“David Lindberg, former professor of the
history of science and director of the Institute
for Research in the Humanities at the
University of Wisconsin, said,
“One obvious [myth] is that before Columbus,
Europeans believed nearly unanimously
in a flat Earth - a belief allegedly drawn
from certain biblical statements
and enforced by the medieval church.”

Flat Earth myth
“This myth seems to have had an
eighteenth century origin, elaborated and popularized
by Washington Irving, who flagrantly fabricated
evidence for it in his four-volume history of Columbus...
The truth is that it‟s almost impossible to find
an educated person after Aristotle who doubts
that the Earth is a sphere.
In the Middle Ages, you couldn‟t emerge
from any kind of education, cathedral school or
university, without being perfectly clear about the
Earth‟s sphericity and even its approximate
circumference.”*
*“Natural Adversaries?” Christian History, 76 (Volume XXI, No. 4), 44.

This belief is still in some
widely read textbooks today,
which supports the idea that
the “church” was holding
back progress.
The common misconception that people
before the age of exploration believed that
Earth was flat entered the popular
imagination after Washington
Irving's publication of, The Life and
Voyages of Christopher Columbus,
in 1828.

Columbus is furthermore
depicted as rebelling
against the established
Catholic church in Spain by
attempting the voyage.
Excerpts from a letter Columbus wrote
to the King & Queen of Spain, clearly
show that he not only supported
the church but was definitely a
Bible-believing Christian as well.

LETTER OF COLUMBUS TO LUIS DE SANT ANGEL
ANNOUNCING HIS DISCOVERY (1493)
Sir:
As I know you will be rejoiced at the glorious success that
our Lord has given me in my voyage, . . . The eternal and almighty
God, our Lord, it is Who gives to all who walk in His way, victory
over things apparently impossible, . . . But our Redeemer has given
victory to our most illustrious King and Queen, and to their
kingdoms rendered famous by this glorious
event, at which all Christendom should rejoice,
celebrating it with great festivities and solemn
Thanksgivings to the Holy Trinity, with fervent
prayers for . . . turning so many peoples to our
holy faith; . . . Thus I record what has
happened in a brief note written on board the
Caravel, off the Canary Isles, on the 15th of
February, 1493.
Copyright (c) 1997 Grolier Interactive Inc.

At this time I have seen and put in study to look into
all the Scriptures, cosmography, histories, chronicles
and philosophy and other arts, which our Lord
opened to my understanding (I could sense His hand
upon me), so that it became clear to me that it was
feasible to navigate from here to the Indies; and He unlocked
within me the determination to execute the idea. And I came to
your Highnesses with this ardor. All those who heard about my
enterprise rejected it with laughter, scoffing at me. Neither the
sciences which I mentioned above, nor the authoritative
citations from them, were of any avail. In only your Highnesses
remained faith and constancy. Who doubts that this
illumination was from the Holy Spirit? I attest that He (the
Spirit), with marvelous rays of light, consoled me through the
holy and sacred Scriptures . . . encouraging me to proceed, and,
continually, without ceasing for a moment, they inflame me
with a sense of great urgency . . .

I am the worst of sinners. The pity and mercy of our Lord
have completely covered me whenever I have called
(on Him) for them. I have found the sweetest
consolation in casting away all my anxiety, so as to
contemplate His marvelous presence.
I have already said that for the execution of the enterprise of
the Indies, neither reason, nor mathematics, nor world maps
were profitable to me; rather the prophecy of Isaiah was
completely fulfilled . . . .
Your Highnesses, remember the Gospel texts and the many
promises which our Savior made to us, and how all this has
been put to a test: (for example) St. Peter, when he leapt into
the sea, walked upon (the water) as long as his faith remained
firm. The mountains will obey anyone who has faith the size of
a kernel of Indian corn. All that is requested by anyone who
has faith will be granted.

Knock and it will be opened to you.
No one should be afraid to take on any
enterprise in the name of our Savior, if it is right and if
the purpose is purely for His holy service . . . .
The working out of all things was entrusted by our Lord
to each person, (but it happens) in conformity with His
sovereign will, even though He gives advice to many. He
lacks nothing that it may be in the power of men to give
Him. O, how good is the Lord who wishes people to
perform that for which he holds himself responsible!
Day and night, and at every moment, everyone should
give Him their most devoted thanks.“1
1. Kay Brigham, Christopher Columbus - His life and discovery in the light
of his prophecies (Terrassa, Barcelona: CLIE Publishers, 1990),
pp. 53, 61, 82, 85, 86, 115, 124, 125, 127, 129, 131, 167.

The march towards a God-less science
began around 350 B.C. in Greece, as a
Plato mentored Aristotle in his youth.
Plato practiced a philosophy which
separated science and faith.
Towards the end of the 1600s, in Europe,
the idea of the separation of science
and faith was incorrectly connected
to the Catholic church in the
„Age of Enlightenment‟.

The Copernican Principle
This led to the development of the
Copernican Principle,
also known as
„The Principle of Mediocrity‟.
The “story line” is that the ancients -
Aristotle, Ptolemy, medieval Christians -
all believed that we were at the center of
the universe, a sort of privileged spot of
primary important around which
everything “revolved”.


Later Copernicus and Kepler came
along and said they could explain
the movement of the planets better
by assuming that the sun is at the
“center” and that the planets
revolve around it, thus removing us
from our “privileged position”.


You can see how this trend
helped us to see ourselves
as less and less significant.
So the Copernican Revolution
became a way of representing a
fundamental conflict
between science and religion.

According to the
“Copernican Principle”
when science is done right
it demotes mankind, making us
insignificant and unimportant,
while religious doctrine,
arrogantly maintains mankind‟s
position of prominence,
uniqueness and importance.

The Copernican Principle -
Setting the Record Straight
The problem is that
this historical description
incorrect!
If you read Aristotle, Ptolemy, Dante,
Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler-
Their view of the universe
was entirely different than
than what is typically taught today.


The idea that the earth was at the
center of all things DID NOT
originate with any religious group.
It was the secular views of Aristotle
and Ptolemy which introduced
these false beliefs.

Aristotle 384 BC - 322 BC
Aristotle was a student of Plato,
a Greek philosopher and a teacher
of Alexander the Great. He was among
the first to develop a geocentric view of
the Universe. This is the belief that the
earth is the center of the Universe.
By “universe”, they were describing our
solar system. The sun, the stars and the
few planets they could see, were all they
knew of the universe.

Ptolemy born after 83–161
AD
Ptolemy's was born in the Roman
Province of Egypt.
His occupations where mathematician,
geographer, astronomer and astrologer. He
modeled a geocentric view of the universe,
similar to those of his predecessors.
His model was almost universally accepted
until the presentation of the heliocentric
model of Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543.

Dante Alighieri 1265-1321
Dante, was a statesman,
language theorist and poet from
Florence.
His central work, the Commedia
(The Divine Comedy), is considered the
greatest literary work composed in the
Italian language and a masterpiece of
world literature.
In Italy he‟s known as "the Supreme
Poet".

Dante’s Divine Comedy
Dante‟s “comedy” depicted the
commonly held belief of his
day, that the center of the
universe was also the place of lowest
esteem, and that the earth occupied that
location.
To ascend above the earth was to
progress closer and closer to the
perfection of heaven.


“. . . in Dante‟s Divine Comedy, the surface of
the Earth is an intermediate place.
This was true in Aristotelian cosmology,
which was Christianized in the Middle Ages.
For Aristotle, the world was made of air,
earth, fire, and water.
Earth is heaviest, so it naturally
falls to the bottom.”

“So the Earth was not so much at the center
as it was at the bottom of the universe.
It was sort of the cosmic sump.
It was the place where things decay and die.
Everything above the moon was made
of a different type of matter – quintessence -
and God dwelled in the heavenly sphere
outside the celestial sphere of the stars.”*

*“Chapter 7: The Evidence of Astronomy, Setting the Record
Straight in: Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 161.

Dante‟ showed nine levels
going up toward God, getting closer
to perfection, with nine other levels
getting closer to complete
corruption, down to hell.
So, in medieval cosmology,
what we would call
the “center of the universe”
was actually seen as Satan‟s throne.

Dante‟s Divine Comedy
Heaven

Hell

Geocentric World View Heliocentric World
View of Galileo,
Kepler & Newton.

With the sun at
The further you the center,
get from earth, earth was
the further you elevated from
are from it’s original
corruption. position.

That‟s a very important point!
If you imagine the center of the
universe is Satan‟s throne and that
the Earth itself is the cosmic sump,
then clearly this is not the
stereotype that we‟ve been given
that the center of the universe
prior to Copernicus
was the most important spot.

The Copernicus Principle -

“…if you‟re going to advance
the Copernican Principle . . .
you [have to] make it look like it‟s grounded
in the historical march of science.
But when you actually look at the data,
it‟s just not true.
Writers of astronomy text books just keep
recycling the myth . . .”


So in the transformation
from medieval cosmology
to the Renaissance view,
this new perspective
elevated man in some ways.”
Other historical researchers
have come to the same conclusion.


One said, “The Copernican system,
far from demoting man,
destroyed Aristotle‟s vision of the earth
as a kind of cosmic sink,
and if it did anything, it elevated humanity.
In making the earth a planet,
a heavenly body,
Copernicus infinitely ennobled its status.”*
* Philip J. Sampson, Six Modern Myths (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2000), 33 (emphasis added).

The Copernicus Principle or
the Principle of Mediocrity
It was through this general
misunderstanding and blatant
misrepresentation of the facts
that modern science has “preached” a
need for the separation of church and
science – which led Gould to develop the
NOMA concept proudly adopted by the
universities of the 21st century.


In „The Divine Comedy‟,
the actual sense of us being in the
center was merely a bias.
In fact, everything was arranged
so that God was at the spiritual
center - that is,
the place of supreme importance.

Nicholus Copernicus
1473 - 1543

Copernicus was a Polish astro-
nomer born in Toruń (Thorn), Royal
Prussia, Poland. He was a mathem-atician,
astronomer, jurist, physician, classical
scholar, Catholic cleric, governor,
administrator, military commander, diplomat
& economist.

He is best remembered for his
heliocentric theory.
Copernicus was the first to succeed in
describing the movements of the planets
using an astronomical theory which placed
the sun at the center of the “universe”.

Geocentric World View Heliocentric World
View of Galileo,
Kepler & Newton.

The earth is the The sun is at
center of the the center,
universe while while earth
the Sun orbit’s. orbits.

His theory began to be
circulated in his book, On the
revolutions of the heavenly
bodies, published in 1543, which was
also the year of his death.
It is believed that Copernicus delayed
the publication of his book, from fear of
criticism. This fear was expressed in a
Dedication of his masterpiece to Pope
Paul III.

David Lindberg and Ronald
Numbers, historians of science
wrote,
“If Copernicus had any genuine fear of
publication, it was the reaction of scientists, not clerics,
that worried him. Other churchmen before him - Nicole
Oresme (a French bishop) in the fourteenth century and
Nicolaus Cusanus (a German cardinal) in the fifteenth —
had freely discussed the possible motion of the earth,
and there was no reason to suppose that the
reappearance of this idea in the sixteenth century would
cause a religious stir.”*
*Beyond War and Peace: A Reappraisal of the Encounter between Christianity and
Science. American Scientific Affiliation article. Retrieved on 2007-04-22. - Paper
originally published in Church History (Vol. 55, No. 3, Sept. 1986).

The Copernicus Principle
On November 1, 1536, Archbishop
of Capua Nicholas Schönberg
wrote a letter to Copernicus.

“. . . you had not merely mastered the discoveries of the ancient
astronomers uncommonly well but had also formulated a new
cosmology. In it you maintain that the earth moves; that the sun
occupies the lowest, and thus the central, place in the
universe…Therefore . . . I entreat you, most learned sir, . . . to
communicate this discovery of yours to scholars, and . . . send me
your writings on the sphere of the universe together with the
tables and whatever else you have that is relevant to this
subject...”*
*Referenced website- http://webexhibits.org/calendars/year-text-Copernicus.html

The Copernicus Principle or the
Principle of Mediocrity
“The problem is that the Copernican Principle
has taken a meta-physically bloated form,
which essentially says our metaphysical
status is as insignificant
as our astronomical location.
In other words, we‟re not here for a purpose,
we‟re not special in any way, and we don‟t
occupy a privileged place in the cosmos.”
“Chapter 7: The Evidence of Astronomy, INTERVIEW #5: GUILLERMO GONZALEZ, PHD, AND JAY WESLEY RICHARDS,
PHD in: Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 160.

The Copernicus Principle
Religious superstition Modern science
“Humans have been
stripped of their false
sense of uniqueness
The Earth and and importance. The Earth holds no
humankind are the
While religious folk
privileged position in
center of the universe, the universe – either
both physically andcontinued to insist there physically or
is something unique,
spiritually. spiritually.

special, intentional, and purposeful about our existence,
scientists maintain that the material world is all there is,
and that chance and impersonal natural law alone
explain its existence.”
“Chapter 7: The Evidence of Astronomy, The Copernican Principle in
Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 161.

In order to strengthen their case, scientists,
since the enlightenment of the 1800‟s, have
blamed organized religion for set backs
to scientific advancement.
They criminalize the Roman Catholic church
(and all churches) by suggesting that the
church persecuted Copernicus, Galileo, and
Giordano Bruno for their view that the Earth
revolved around the sun,
but this is an oversimplification of the facts.


They claim that because Copernicus
and Galileo‟s theories removed mankind
from the center of the universe,
that the church attacked them
for demoting mankind
from its privileged position
of importance.
This simply IS NOT TRUE!


History very clearly shows
that none of the supporters
of heliocentrism were punished
directly as a result
of their views.

Let‟s begin with Copernicus - it is a matter
of fact which history supports, that he died
of natural causes the same year his ideas
were published.
As for Galileo, historian William R. Shea said,
“Galileo‟s condemnation was the result of the
complex interplay of untoward political
circumstances, political ambitions, and wounded
prides.”*
*William R. Shea, “Galileo and the Church” in: David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers,
editors, God and Nature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), 132.

Historical researcher Philip J. Sampson noted
that Galileo himself was convinced that
the “major cause” of his troubles was
that he had made “fun of his Holiness” - that
is, Pope Urban VIII - in a 1632 treatise.*
As for his punishment, Alfred North
Whitehead put it this way:
“Galileo suffered an honorable detention and a mild reproof,
before dying peacefully in his bed.”**
*Philip J. Sampson, Six Modern Myths, 38, citing Jerome J. Langford, Galileo, Science and the Church
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1971), 134.
**A. N. Whitehead, Science and the Modern World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946), 2,
quoted in Philip J. Sampson, Six Modern Myths, 38.

“Instead of demeaning Earth,
Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler
actually saw their discovery
as exalting it.
Galileo even writes poetically
about how the Earth,
like the other planets,
reflects the glory of the sun
and is no longer just
a cosmic sump.*
*Galileo Galilei, Sidereus Nuncius, quoted in Dennis Danielson,
The Book of the Cosmos (Cambridge: Perseus, Helix, 2000), 150.


Kepler experienced
some difficulties
with the church
but they were not related
to his theories.


Bruno was executed in Rome in 1600.
In his case, the views he shared with
Copernicus were merely incidental.
His real “crimes” were that he defended
Pantheism and was actually executed for his
beliefs concerning the Trinity,
the Incarnation, and other doctrines
which had nothing to do with Copernicanism.

To the Roman Catholic church heliocentrism
was a type of heresy for two reasons.
The first and most important reason is that it
seemed to contradicted certain poetic
segments of scripture.
Secondly, in their current view of the
universe, this was elevating man from a lowly
position at the bottom of creation to a place of
honor and majesty. This was likely seen as a
prideful and arrogant point of view.

This is an important issue which is often
taught incorrectly so it is important that
we take the time to look closely at this
first objection:
In Psalm 93:1,“The LORD rules as king! He is clothed with majesty. The
LORD has clothed Himself; He has armed Himself with power. The world
was set in place; it cannot be moved.”

The earth being set in place does not mean
that it wasn‟t in motion, just that it was put
where it belonged by God. The word “moved”
is the Hebrew word ( which means to
be in safety and secure from harm.

Psalm 96:10 is virtually identical to
Psalm 93.

I Chron. 16:30-31,
“Tremble in His presence, all the earth! „The earth stands
firm; it cannot be moved.‟ Let the heavens rejoice and the
earth be glad. Say to the nations, „The LORD rules as king!‟”

In this passage the word earth is used to
mean the people or inhabitants of the earth,
much like we might say, “the whole world was
afraid of war”.
This is the meaning in Psalm 104:5 as well.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 states,
“The sun still rises, and it still goes down, going wearily
back to where it must start all over again.”
In Jewish writing, much like in English, poetic verse
had the right to set aside technical specifics in favor
of rhythm, meter & rhyme - so long as the point of
the message was not lost. Job, Psalm, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes & Song of Solomon are poetic books,
and as such, contain several statements which were
never intended to be taken literally – such as God
hiding us under His wings – this phrase is directly
related to the English phrase – to take someone
“under your wing”. Both paint a verbal picture of
concern, protection and care, but are obviously
NOT literal.

Galileo defended heliocentrism,
and claimed it was not contrary
to those Scripture passages.
He took the position of Augustine
on Scripture:
When the scripture in question is a book
of poetry or songs and not a book
of instructions or history,
do not take every word literally.

It is also very important to recognize
that the Bible NEVER claims
that every word it recorded of what
people spoke was 100% true,
only that it was 100% true
THAT the person spoke those words.
For example, Job said of God,
Job 34:9 “. . . It profits a man nothing that he
should delight himself with God and consent
to Him.”

However, God says in Malachi
that statements like this are not true.

Malachi 3:13-14, “Your words have been strong and
harsh against Me, says the Lord. . . You have said, It
is useless to serve God, and what profit is it if we
keep His ordinances. . .”

You have to pay attention to who is doing the
speaking. The first example was Job‟s
statement about God, the second example
was God‟s testimony about Himself
through Malachi the prophet.

Joshua‟s prayer to God:
Joshua 10:12 “. . . Joshua prayed to the LORD loud
enough for the Israelites to hear: “Our LORD, make the
sun stop in the sky over Gibeon, . . .” So the sun and the
moon stopped and stood still until Israel defeated its
enemies. This poem can be found in The Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a
day the sun was in no hurry to set . . .”

The book of Joshua was most likely written by
Joshua and from the ground looking up, the
sun stopped moving in the sky.
Furthermore, this passage is poetic
as is mentioned in the verse itself.

The writers of the Scripture
wrote from the perspective
of the terrestrial world,
and from that vantage point
the sun does rise and set.
In fact, even meteorologists
and modern technical literature
use the phrase “sunrise” & “sunset”
– and nobody takes them literally!

True Bible based, Christian theology
never places man at the literal center
of the physical universe, only at the center
of what God is doing in the universe.
According to II Peter 3:12,13, our role
is so „central‟ to God‟s plan,
that the universe will be destroyed
and replaced with new heavens and
a new earth following Jesus‟ return.
This clearly makes earth the most important
planet and most likely the only
inhabited one in the universe.

“The Copernican system,
far from demoting man,
destroyed Aristotle‟s vision
of the earth as a kind of cosmic sink,
and if it did anything,
it elevated humanity.
In making the earth a planet,
a heavenly body, Copernicus infinitely
ennobled its status.”*
* Philip J. Sampson, Six Modern Myths (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2000), 33 (emphasis added).

In all fairness, the Catholic church
did hinder the progress of heliocentrism.
An accurate and thorough search
into the history of the conflict does not,
however, show that the church itself
presented any strong or hostile
opposition to its teaching, only some
mild rebukes and censoring.
The largest reason behind their
objections was that church officials
saw these views as inherently
anti-Biblical and arrogant.

The Copernican Principle or
the Principle of Mediocrity
It has been through this
general misunderstanding and
blatant misrepresentation of
the facts that modern science has
“preached” a need for the separation of
science and faith – which led to the
development of other concepts proudly
adopted by the universities of the
21st century.

About 200 years after the death
of Galileo, the enlightenment retold this
story saying the church, in its arrogance,
put humans at the center of the universe.
The irony of this is that
in reality it was the enlightenment
that made man the “center” of all things
through their humanistic views
and it was secular Greek philosophy
which invented Geocentrism.

Young Earth Creationist, Galileo greatly
advanced modern Astronomy

Eighty years after Copernicus introduced
Helocentrism, Galileo challenged the secular
& Catholic “Geocentric” world view.
He “brought together the ideas of other great
thinkers of his time and began to analyze motion in
terms of distance traveled from some starting
position and the time that it took.
He showed that the speed of falling objects
increases steadily during the time of their fall.
This acceleration is the same for heavy objects
as for light ones, provided air friction
(air resistance) is discounted.”~* Funk & Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia 1995.

Up until these courageous men
recognized and publicized heliocentrism,
motion had been explained in the
mythical terms:

Example - “a cannonball falls down because
its natural position is in the earth; the sun,
the moon, and the stars travel in circles
around the earth because it is the nature of
heavenly bodies to travel in perfect circles.”
- Funk & Wagnall‟s New Encyclopedia 1995

For 2000 years it was taught that heavy
Weights falling from Pisa
objects fall faster than light ones.
Tower
Galileo proved all objects fall at the
same speed in a vacuum.

NEWTON, Sir Isaac (1643-1727)
“English mathematician and physicist, who
brought the scientific revolution of the 17th century to its
climax and established the principal outlines of the system
of natural science that has since dominated Western thought.

In mathematics, he was the first person to develop calculus just shortly
before Leibniz (who invented differential & integral calculus).
In optics, he established the heterogeneity of light .
In mechanics, his three laws of motion became the foundation of modern
dynamics, and from them he derived the law of universal gravitation.
Newton was the Physicist who discovered that gravity and acceleration
were one and the same. The English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac
Newton improved this analysis by defining force and mass and relating
these to acceleration.” - Funk & Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia 1995.

What Changed Legitimate Science?

Newton died in 1727, but his
laws of motion, universal gravitation
& acceleration dominated and
guided scientific thought accurately,
. . . until the advent of General
Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
in the early 1900‟s.

These new sciences began to call into
question many of Newton‟s laws.
“Scientists” all but abandoned
Newton‟s laws in favor of these newly
discovered sciences, and Newton‟s
laws began to be arrogantly mocked
as “Newtonian Science”.

This was a pivotal time in science and
philosophy, because “modern thinking”
began to reject the Bible & embrace
humanism on a large scale.
This only served to hasten scientists‟ rejection
of Newton‟s Laws, because the basis for all
his contributions to science was build upon a
firmly held belief in the Bible and God,
as the creator of all things.

NEWTON, Sir Isaac (1643-1727)

“The supreme God exists necessarily, and by the
same necessity He exists always and everywhere.
From His true dominion it follows that the true God is a living,
intelligent and powerful being; and from His other perfections,
that He is supreme, or most perfect.
He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, His
duration reaches from eternity to eternity; His presence from infinity to
infinity; He governs all things, and knows all things that are or can be
done.”
“We know Him only by His most wise and excellent contrivances of
things and final causes; we admire Him for His perfections, but we
reverence and adore Him on account of His dominion, for we adore Him
as His servants.” ~ Sir Isaac Newton

What Changed Legitimate Science?
Later, further scientific investigation showed
that “for objects traveling at speeds close to the
speed of light, and for atomic and subatomic
particles, Newton's laws are now superseded by
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity (q.v.) and
by the quantum theory(q.v.). For everyday
phenomena, however, Newton's three laws of
motion remain the cornerstone of Dynamics,
the study of what causes motion.”*
{*Funk & Wagnall‟s New Encyclopedia 1995.}

However, by the time they discovered
that both laws were scientific and accurate,
the damage had been done!
Einstein began to be credited with
the discovery that gravity & acceleration
were one and the same force.
This was something suggested by Galileo
in the 1600‟s and was actually validated
by Newton‟s discoveries, nearly 200 years
before Einstein was even born.

Sadly, many secular textbooks and
scientific articles today still make this
erroneous claim. It was Newton‟s Laws
of Dynamics, especially those including
gravity, which made the calculations for
space flight possible.
In fact, without Newton‟s Laws of
motion, landing on the moon would
never have been possible!

Today, many falsely consider Galileo,
a trailblazer of the modern
“Western school of thought”
- that religion and science
are mutually exclusive
and that religion will always hinder
scientific advancement and discovery.
This is largely due to
the misconceptions mentioned earlier.

Galileo was actually strongly committed
in mind to the Bible and to Christ.
Additionally, he believed
in special creation.
Galileo, believed that the Bible
supported his views and so was not in
opposition to Biblical teachings !

Galileo Galilei

“I recognize . . . clearly that
human intelligence is a work
of God, and one of the most
excellent.” ~ Galileo Galilei

Isaac Newton
“The supreme God exists
necessarily . . . God is a living,
intelligent and powerful being; . . .
He is eternal and infinite,
omnipotent and omniscient; . . .
He governs all things, and knows
all things that are or can be done.”
“. . . we admire Him for His
perfections, but we reverence and
adore Him on account of His
dominion, for we adore Him as His
servants.”
~ Sir Isaac Newton

Johann Kepler

“. . . but we Christians . .
. know that the eternal
and uncreated Logos
(Jesus) . . . has occupied
the heavens as His royal
abode.” ~ Johann Kepler

Leonardo DaVinci

“I obey Thee, Lord,
first for the love I, in
all reason, owe
Thee; secondly,
because Thou can
shorten or prolong
the lives of men.”
~ Leonardo DaVinci

Leonardo DaVinci

“You think the body is
a wonderful work.
In reality this is nothing
compared to the soul
that inhabits in that
structure . . . It is the
work of God.”
~ Leonardo DaVinci

Leonardo DaVinci

“A lie is a terrible thing.
Even if it spoke great
things about God, it
would take away from
God’s grace.” ~ Leonardo DaVinci

Leonardo DaVinci

“The works of God are appreciated
best by other creators.” ~ Leonardo DaVinci

Albert Einstein
“ I want to know how God created this
world. I‟m not interested in this or that
phenomenon in the spectrum of this or that
element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest
are details.”

“I believe in . . . God, Who reveals Himself
in the harmony of all being.” ~ Albert Einstein

Does it sound like these men
didn‟t believe in God as Creator?

Albert Einstien

Leonardo DaVinci

Galileo Galilei

Johann Kepler Isaac Newton

Science has been marching
towards independence from
a creator for hundreds of years.
In the 21st century,
science is no longer pure!
Today, science begins its pursuit
of knowledge with roadblocks
already in place, which limit
a free pursuit of knowledge,
by ruling out any possibilities
which could point towards God.

Even if the evidence would
naturally point to a
Creator/Designer,
this conclusion is not allowed
to be considered!
Any scientist who crosses
this imaginary line, risks losing
all credibility, tenure, grants,
position. . . not to mention
the ridicule of other scientists –
which translates into a mediocre
career, with little pay.

“Science ought to be a search for the
truth about the world, now we shouldn‟t
pre-judge what might be true.
We shouldn‟t say,
„I don‟t like that explanation
so I‟m going to put it to one side‟.
Rather, when we come to a puzzle in
nature we ought to bring to that puzzle,
every possible cause
that might explain it.”

“One of the problems I
have with evolutionary
theory is, it artificially
rules out a kind of cause
Paul Nelson is Philosopher
even before the evidence of Biology specializing in
evolutionary development
has a chance to speak- & developmental biology.
He is also a fellow of the
and the cause that is International Society for
Complexity, Information
and Design.
ruled out is intelligence.” Dr. Nelson received his
Ph.D. from the University
- Paul Nelson, Philosopher of Biology of Chicago Department of
Philosophy.

Unlocking the Mysteries of Life Script, p37 #176.
See: www.illustramedia.com/scripts/ UnlockingtheMysteryofLifeScript.pdf

This stands for „nonoverlapping magisteria‟
and is a term coined by Steven J. Gould.
It means that science and religion are
separate „magisteria‟ or domains and they
should never intersect with each other.
Gould said,
“The net of science covers the empirical universe . . . [while] the net of
religion extends over questions of moral meaning and value.”*

*Stephen Jay Gould, “Nonoverlapping Magisteria,”
Natural History 106 (March 1997).
See also: Stephen Jay Gould, Rocks of Ages
(New York:Ballantine, 1999).

The very fact that Gould desired to create
NOMA proves that NOMA does not work!
If science and faith never intersected,
then NOMA becomes unnecessary.
His statement that they never should,
does NOT change the fact that they often do!
It is wishful and biased thinking which has
been promoted as scientific
integrity!

NOMA states that “the net of religion extends
over questions of moral meaning and value”
While this may be true of other religions
it is NOT true of Christianity!
Christianity makes specific claims
about the real world, while offering
real dates and real places which have never
been proven false!
So God, through the Christian
Bible does not limit His statements
to issues of morality & values!

What Gould has successfully done
is create a rule in science, which silences
the Bible by claiming that its statements
are NOT concerning the real world.
In his book, Rocks of Ages, Gould reduces
the Bible‟s account of Jesus‟ appearance to
Thomas, following His resurrection,
to simply being a moral tale.*

*Stephen Jay Gould, Rocks of Ages, 14.

This was necessary for Gould to do under the
rules of NOMA, because most accounts of
Jesus‟ resurrection appearances come from
the Bible - and NOMA says religion must
confine its claims to matters of morality and
values.
Again, there might be some religions that can
fit comfortably with NOMA, but Biblical
Christianity simply cannot!
It is not just built on faith,
but on actual historic events.

Law professor Phillip Johnson has also been
strongly critical of the NOMA concept.

“Stephen Jay Gould condescendingly offers to allow religious people
to express their subjective opinions about morals, provided they
don‟t interfere with the authority of scientists to determine the „facts‟
- one of the facts being that God is merely a comforting myth,” *

*Phillip E. Johnson, “The Church of Darwin,”
Wall Street Journal (August16, 1999).

What does all of this have
to do with Evolution?
Everything!!!!
It is due to this original departure from
‘True Science’ that evolutionary thinking
found a foothold in all other fields of science.
In the same way that no true grasp of science
can be obtained without acknowledging
that there is a rational Creator / Designer,
you cannot understand the falsehoods of
Evolution without grasping
its origins in science.
It was founded upon humanism
and a departure from God’s Word.

So,
What is True
Science again?

Part 1: What is Science?

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Part 1: What is Science?