Reasons To Believe, Spokane Chapter

March, 2004 Newsletter

Chapter Meeting: Sunday March 21, 3-5 P.M.

We invite you to attend our monthly meeting. A presentation is offered to the group, followed by discussion and questions, and we conclude with snacks and a little club business. This time we’ll watch the third part of a six-part video, How to Talk to a Skeptic, by Fed Heeren of Daystar Ministries. We always try to start and end our meetings right on time. If you need directions, don’t be afraid to call the phone number below.

Date: Sunday, March 21
Time: 3-5 p.m.
Hosts: Dan and Cathy Bakken
Location: 13003 N. Miami Ct, Mead
Phone: 466-2693 (for directions, etc.)

Jay Richards of Discovery Institute to Speak Thursday A.M. at CLIC!

Please come see our guest speaker, Jay Richards, coauthor of the new book, The Privileged Planet.

We strongly encourage you to come hear about this new book, which Jay co wrote with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, about the many ‘coincidences’ that the same characteristics that make Earth the right place for complex life are also the same ones that allow us complex creatures to understand our world, solar system and universe.

Jay Richards speaks at 9:15 A.M. in Room DTB in the Doubletree Hotel on the third floor.

We’ll have copies of the book for sale (more about book). A video/DVD documentary based on the book is also in the works.

See below for a complete list of all our activities at the CLIC. Drop by booth #300 in the exhibitor’s hall!

Why we Won't be Visited by Aliens, by Dan Bakken, chapter president. 11:45 A.M. on Thursday on. Room YAKA, 2nd floor of the Conference Center.

Five Views on Genesis 1, by Ray Luse, vice president. 4:15 P.M. on Thursday in Room YAKA.

Journey Toward Creation video, to be shown in two parts: 3:00 P.M. on Thursday in Room YAKA, and 8:30 A.M. on Saturday in Room YAKB.

Learn more about the Christian Life Impact Conference (CLIC, formerly the Christian Workers Conference).

Carbon 14 Dating: The Controversy – Part 2

This is the second of a two part series on carbon 14 dating. This article focuses more on the controversies surrounding the possibility that radiometric decay rates could have changed in the past.

As we mentioned at the end of part one, the biggest objection to all forms of radiometric dating is brought forward by Christians holding to a young-earth interpretation of the days in Genesis 1. Their claim is that in the past, the radioactive decay rate was dramatically higher than it is today. At some point in the past, the decay rate slowed to it’s current value, so that rocks, etc. date much older than they really are.

There are several theories within this camp as to when the decay rate slowed to what we see today. Some believe it slowed dramatically at the time of the fall of man, or at the time of Noah’s flood. Some believe it has been gradually slowing down since either the fall of man, or Noah’s flood.

A Rapid Change

These young-earth creationists believe that the decay rate used to be one million times faster – or more - in the past, in order to explain what we see today. They have to explain why an Earth that appears to date as 4,500,000,000 years old could have been created 6,000 years ago or so. If they are correct it shouldn’t be very difficult for anyone to test this hypothesis.

As astronomers look at stars and other objects in space, they are looking back in time. The distances between the Earth and other stars are so vast in space that light takes a long time to reach our eyes and observing instruments.

When a certain kind of star ends its live in a massive explosion, it is called a supernova. Much of the light following a supernova explosion is powered by newly created radioactive elements such as carbon, uranium, etc. Astronomers can measure the amounts of these elements in its light using spectroscopy. Spectroscopy tells us about the electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by matter.

When viewing supernovae at various distances from Earth, astronomers are looking at the light that left those stars years – even thousands of years – ago. And they have not seen any change in decay rates in the supernovae they have examined. The half lives of elements seen in supernovae in the 6 to 10,000 year range agree with half lives measured today.

Since some young-earth Christians propose that these changes in radiometric decay rates happened either at the Fall or during Noah’s flood, we can test this another way. As these events happened within human history, we can search for human impacts.

If radioactive decay rates were significantly higher in the past, the amount of radiation on the earth would also have been much higher. Radiation as it is now already affects humans. People living near granite have a lower life expectancy – by a few months. People that have had high doses of radiation, such as the residents of Hiroshima, have paid a price with their lives, and their children’s lives. If the humans living in those times had lived in high radiation conditions, they would have suffered high rates of death and radiation damage.

But couldn’t God have shielded man from the impact of this dramatic change? Yes, but as we read the Bible, we see that God does not remove or hide the evidence of his miracles. So far a plausible shield has not been suggested that matches what we know about the universe.

A Slow Change?

Some proponents have tried to defend a young earth position by saying that the half-lives of radiometric elements was lowered more slowly, by little-understood interactions with particles such as neutrinos, muons, or cosmic rays. While certain particles can cause nuclear changes, scientists understand them well. They are nearly always very minor in rocks, and they do not change the half-lives of radiometric elements. So these cannot explain a change on the order of a million.

What about the Halos?

Polonium Halos found in certain rocks are commonly held up as evidence that those rocks were created in minutes, rather than by the slow cooling of magma over millions of years. Halos are radiation damaged areas in rock. It is suggested that there would have been no polonium halos if the rock had taken a long time to form.

The halos in question are similar to ones from polonium. Polonium was the first radioactive element to be isolated, by Marie and Pierre Curie. It is a very short-lived element produced from radon, which is produced by the decay of uranium. However, several very plausible natural explanations for these haloes have been offered. One of them is that these haloes are found in uranium-rich rocks, so there are already plenty of raw materials to produce polonium. Radon, since it is a gas, can move around slowly in porous rocks. Radon atoms can be trapped in small cracks in rocks, where they decay to polonium. Where larger numbers of polonium atoms collect, they then decay further leaving spherical damage marks such as haloes in the rock. There are also concerns that the examples shown are not from ancient rock, but infusions of younger rock into them. Another point is that there are halos from other longer lived elements that could be mistaken for Polonium halos. To see more explanations for polonium haloes, visit the Resources listed at the end of the article.

In Conclusion

The issue of radiometric dating in general, and carbon 14 dating in particular, is a problem for those holding the young-earth interpretation of the Bible. All the dating techniques for the age of the Earth, solar system and universe point to an old Earth and universe. However, in the words of Dr. Roger Weins in his paper on radiometric dating mentioned below,

“A disagreement over the age of the earth is relatively minor in the whole scope of Christianity; it is more important to agree on the Rock of Ages than on the age of rocks.”

Resources:

“Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective,” by Dr. Roger C. Wiens. 2002 revision.
Polonium Halo FAQs, from TalkOrigins.org.

New RTB Book Coming Soon! Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off.

For years naturalistic theories have monopolized academia as the only possible scientific explanation for the origin of life. But there's something many people don't know--the facts just don’t support such theories.

In Origins of Life, biochemist Fazale Rana and astronomer Hugh Ross reveal a model that shows how perspectives on first life’s beginnings can be tested--as a creation event--with astounding results. Rana and Ross explode the myth that scientific evidence supports naturalistic theories and show how research corroborates a transcendent Creator who formed and nurtured the initial life forms and more.

Only $12.95 at the RTB's online store. Preorders accepted now!

Resources To Know About:

Reasons To Believe’s Web Site: www.reasons.org. Many useful documents are available, as well as their daily new “reason to believe” from the latest scientific research.

Watch (or record) the "Reasons To Believe" television show. Airs on Thursday mornings, 2:30 A.M. Pacific time on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). An archive of recent shows is also available at www.reasons.org.

Listen to the Creation Update Web Cast on the Internet

Who We Are and What We Do: Your Local Reasons To Believe Chapter

We’re here to answer your questions and help local Christians and churches get more answers about science and the bible issues.

Our monthly meetings enable training and dissemination of new reasons to believe.
We help people access Reasons To Believe resources, including the Apologist Training Program.
We offer trained apologists to speak at local churches and other events to share these exciting discoveries.
We provide a forum for members to discuss the latest scientific discoveries.
We bring national speakers into the area to promote the scientific reliability of the Bible.
We build alliances with churches, ministries, and groups to share the Reasons To Believe message.
We help Christians overcome their fear of science and equip them to use it as an effective tool in spreading the Gospel.
We reach out to skeptics and non-believers with gentleness and respect, encouraging them to evaluate their worldviews.

Local Chapter Contact Information:

For more information about the Reasons To Believe Spokane chapter, contact:

Phone: Ray Luse (509) 465-8562

Email:

Web Page: www.reasons.org/chapters/spokane

Newsletter Questions? Cathy Bakken, editor, cgbakken@yahoo.com