Reasons To Believe - Spokane Chapter

May 2005 Newsletter

Table of Contents:

Please Note: In June there will be no meeting or newsletter.

Chapter Meeting: Sunday May 22, 3-5pm.

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.

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: May 22, 2005 (Sunday)
  • Time: 3 - 5 P.M.
  • Hosts: Dan and Cathy Bakken
  • Location: 13003 N. Miami Ct, Mead
  • Phone: 466-2693 (for directions, etc.)

Latest Research by Dr. Jonathan Wells: Article Review

Dr. Jonathan Wells, author of Icons of Evolution, and a speaker at last month's intelligent design conference in Spokane, has just had a fascinating article published in an English-language peer-reviewed journal published in Italy, Rivista di Biologia/Biology Forum, whose editor (Giuseppe Sermonti) is a geneticist critical of Darwinism. The article is entitled, "Do Centrioles Generate a Polar Ejection Force?".

This research is an example of how intelligent design can be used to guide scientific research. Dr. Wells has formulated a testable hypothesis about remarkable organelles in animal cells called centrioles, which look like tiny turbines.

Centriolesmay be central to understanding how cells divide. Centrioles are small motors inside cells that are organization sites for microtubules.

When cells are getting ready to divide, the cell creates a duplicate copy of its own DNA for the daughter cell. The original chromosomes and the copy are attached together. They need to be separated, so that both the parent cell and the daughter cell can have their own copy. In order to pull the chromosomes apart, a system of microtubules attach to each side of the pairs of DNA chromosomes. The other ends of the microtubules are attached to the centrioles at opposite sides of the 'parent' cell. Then a 'tug of war' begins between the two chromosomes, which are pulled on by the microtubules, until the chromosomes are separated. The parent cell's membrane then divides the two cells from each other.

The precise function of centrioles is not well understood, and in fact centrioles have been virtually ignored by Darwinist scientists for years. One of the reasons, Dr. Wells argues, is that "because all centrioles appear to be equally complex, there are no plausible evolutionary intermediates from which to reconstruct phylogenies [family trees or lineages of centrioles that go from simpler to complex], so centrioles have attracted little interest from neo-Darwinian biologists."

According to Wells, "Various authors… have noted that the triplet microtubules have a turbine-like disposition. What if centrioles really are tiny turbines? This is much easier to conceive if we adopt a holistic rather than reductionistic approach, and if we regard centrioles as designed structures rather than accidental by-products of neo-Darwinian evolution."

Dr. Wells suggests that inside each centriole there is an 'Archimedes Screw", a pump that would draw fluid from the cell, and force it through the centriole's 'turbine blades', causing it to rotate to pull on the microtubules attached to the centriole.

According to Wells, "Within one minute of starting their turbines the centriole pair

would be revolving hundreds of times per second. Ten minutes after start-up the pair would be revolving thousands of times per second, and twenty minutes after start-up it would be revolving more than ten thousand times per second."

Centriolesare controlled by calcium, and a link between low levels of calcium and poor operation of centrioles is known. Centrioles may not 'shut down' their turbines in time if calcium doesn't play its part, and this may cause damage to the chromosomes. Or if there are too many centrioles in the cell, this may over stress the chromosomes and damage them. This research may have vital importance to the understanding of cancer, and how it spreads in the body.

Psalm 104 and a Global Flood?

Psalm 104 is generally known by theologians and commentators as a meditation on Genesis 1.

In verse 2, light is created, paralleling day one of Genesis. Verses 2-4 refer to the creation of the firmament (day 2). The creation of the dry land with its separation from the waters is described in verses 5-9, paralleling day three. (This passage also likely describes the creation of the water cycle, which has a vital part to play in allowing life to exist on earth.) Vegetation is also created on day 3, and is described in verses 14-16. The appearance of the sun and the moon in verse 19 parallel day four. The creation of the birds and fish (verses 17 and 25), parallel day five. And the creation of beasts and man (verses 18 and 23), parallel day six.

However, young-earth creationists often point to Psalm 104 as evidence for a global flood along with extraordinary geologic activity.

Let's look at Psalm 104, verses 5-9.

5He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

6You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.

9You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.

On first reading, these verses can indeed sound like they refer to the flood described in Genesis 6ff. However, as stated already, most bible commentators agree that these verses refer to the creation of the dry land and ocean beds in Genesis 1: 9-10. The few that disagree tend to say either that they contain a secondary reference to the flood, or that there is a 1600 year gap between verses 5 and 6. This "gap theory" was picked up in the 1950's and 1960's by advocates of young-earth creationism. Young-earth creationists also like the fact that these verses, if they refer to Noah's flood, make it out to be a global flood, rather than a local one.

Not only that, young-earth creationists believe these verses refer to geologic activity that would fit an enormous amount of continent shifting and mountain creation into the few months of the flood. However, from a scientific basis, it is impossible to get the kind of geologic activity that young-earth creationists demand from this verse without such energy release that the earth's crust would be in danger of melting.

And from a biblical basis, it is very difficult to make Psalm 104:6-9 be about Noah's flood. Not only would it throw the rest of the psalm off kilter by demanding that all the later verses refer to a time almost two thousand years later in history, but it would influence the interpretation of other bible passages as well.

Psalm 104:2-9 has strong parallels to Job 38:4-30 and Proverbs 8:22-31. Scholars are unanimous that these passages refer to Genesis 1, not to the flood. All three of these passages mention the laying of the foundations of the earth (Ps. 104:5, Job 38:4, Proverbs 8:29). All three also refer to the establishment of a decree resulting in the setting of boundaries beyond which the ocean waters could not pass (Ps. 104:9, Job 38:10-11, Proverbs 8:29). If this decree was stated at the time of Noah's flood, and not creation, then we would be forced to make Job 38 and Proverbs 8 be about the flood, and this just doesn't work. Psalm 104 cannot refer to Noah's flood without dragging these other biblical passages out of their appropriate meanings as well.

We must agree with most commentators that Psalm 104 is a creation hymn. In that case, young-earth creationists can't really use Psalm 104 to argue for a global flood and the geologic activity they desire. We must conclude that, indeed, the entire Earth was never flooded except during the Creation Week. The flood must have been universal - affecting all mankind - but not global.

Intelligent Design in the News

In the past few weeks, Intelligent Design and the Discovery Institute have been in the news a fair amount.

The recent hearings in Kansas about the teaching of the weaknesses as well as the strengths of evolution have been the focus of the debate. Interestingly, evolutionary scientists boycotted the debate. The only defender of the Darwinian point of view at the hearings was a lawyer!

An interesting debate took place on Nightline about a week ago, between William Dembski, representing intelligent design, and Michael Ruse, a Canadian educator currently teaching in Florida. Interestingly, Ruse did not engage at all on the scientific evidences for Darwinism and against intelligent design. Instead, he focused on what he believes to be a right wing conspiracy fueled by the election of President Bush to get young-earth creationism taught in every classroom. When asked whether he thought intelligent design would become more mainstream 10 years in the future, he said, yes. He actually suggested during the debate that Darwinists such as himself would be sent to retraining camps.

Interestingly, William Dembski came out in the open and said that the young-earth creationist movement had rejected intelligent design. Ruse's response was that the intelligent design movement was STILL being used by the young-earth creationist movement to fulfill their agenda of getting a 6,000 year old earth and global flood geology taught in public schools!

It's obvious that the Darwinist camp is changing their tune. They are no longer bringing up pro-evolution arguments that have been battered by ID, or are too complicated to explain to the general public. They are now going for the emotional appeal - keep evolution, or be forced into accepting young-earth creationism!

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.

  • We offer trained apologists and bring in national speakers to speak at local churches and other events to share these exciting discoveries.
  • 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.

Contact Information:

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

  • Phone: Dan Bakken (509) 466-2693
  • Email:

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

  • Newsletter Editor: Cathy Bakken, cgbakken@yahoo.com

Resources To Know About:

www.reasons.org: Many useful documents are available, as well as their daily new "reason to believe" from the latest scientific research.

Reasons' Web Store: Buy the books you read about here! http://store.reasons.org/

Reasons Institute: RTB's online distance learning program. Take college-level apologetics courses. Contact RTB for information at 626-335-1480.

Reasons To Believe television show: Thursday mornings, 3:00 A.M. Pacific time on TBN. An archive of recent shows is at www.reasons.org.

Creation Update Web Radio Show: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/creation_update/Archives.asp.