The Case for a Biblical Worldview Part 2 TCF Sunday School Sunday, April 17, 2011

Agenda Defining Terms Theories vs. Facts Big Bang Cosmology Evolutionary Theory Dating Techniques Evidences for a Young Earth

Definitions Naturalism - a philosophical viewpoint according to which everything arises from natural properties and causes. Supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted. Evolution - The idea that all life has come from a common ancestor through a process of modification over time.

Definitions Cont’d Macro-evolution: Large hypothetical changes which occur in an individual or in a population of organisms which produce an entirely new category or novel trait Micro-evolution: Small adaptations within a population of organisms which allow a certain trait to be expressed to a greater or lesser degree than before; variation within a given category

Definitions Cont’d Operational or Empirical Science - deals with the present by testing and verifying ideas in the observable present and leads to useful products and/or conclusions Historical (Origins) Science - deals with the unobservable past and involves interpreting evidence from the past

Theories vs. Facts Miasma and Dyscrasia Theories ‘Big Bang’ Thoery Evolutionary Theory Summary

Dating the Past Uniformitarianism - In the philosophy of naturalism, uniformitarianism assumes that the same natural laws and processes that operate and are observed in the universe now, have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. Uniformitarianism, like naturalism, is a philosophical assumption, not a fact.

How Dating Methods Work - The Potato Peeling Example Basket of Peeled Potatoes Sack of Unpeeled Potatoes Waste-basket full of Peelings Clock is on the Wall

Potato Peeling Example What were the three (3) assumptions made in this example? 1) The rate at which the potatoes were peeled before the observer came into the room 2) The number of unpeeled potatoes before the observer came into the room 3) The number of peeled potatoes before the observer came into the room

Radio Carbon Dating Technique Radio carbon (Carbon-12/Carbon-14) dating is limited to things that were once living Keep in mind that the upper date limit (factored with typical assumptions) using this method is approximately 60,000 years What factors can affect the production rate of carbon-14 in the atmosphere? The Earth’s Magnetic Field, The Genesis Flood

Radiometric Dating Techniques Radioisotope dating techniques are limited to igneous and metamorphic type rocks Measures radioactive decay within the sample Uranium decays into Lead

Radiometric Dating Techniques What are the assumptions? 1) Constant Decay Rate (uniformitarian assumption) 2) Parent and daughter elements have not changed 3) The amount of daughter elements are known at the start Modern isochron dating techniques address items 2 and 3 above Evidence is now pointing to decay rates being higher in the past

Evidence for a Young Earth Gravitational Time Dilation Theory Radiohalos in Granite Helium Retention in Zircon Crystals Carbon-14 in Coal and Diamond Samples

Application & Summary When interpreting the World around us we must always start with the Word of God We must discern the difference between what is fact and what is theory There is plenty of evidence for a young Earth that’s consistent with what the Bible teaches