Hi Folks,
I’m taking a break from the “God’s Law” series (which I do intend to continue in the near future) to get settled in at my new position here at the Institute for Creation Research. ICR is the leading biblical creation research organization, and I have recently been granted the role of director of research. I’m really excited about what is happening here, and you can expect to see some new resources coming from ICR very shortly.
The research taking place here is just so encouraging to those of us who hold to a biblical creation worldview. I have seen some preliminary results of one project in particular that so compellingly confirm a “young earth,” that I honestly don’t know how secularists could deny it. (Of course, I’m sure they will). After this has been peer-reviewed and published, I will provide more details.
It is a great time to be a Christian! And I am honored to be part of ICR and to work with such fine Christians. Keep us in prayer. And for more information about ICR, check us out at www.icr.org. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up on the website for our *free* monthly magazine “Acts and Facts.”
About Dr. Lisle
Dr. Jason Lisle is a Christian astrophysicist who writes and speaks on various topics relating to science and the defense of the Christian faith. He graduated summa cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University where he double-majored in physics and astronomy and minored in mathematics. He then earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Dr. Lisle specialized in solar astrophysics and has made a number of scientific discoveries regarding the solar photosphere, including the detection of giant cell boundaries using the SOHO spacecraft. He also does theoretical research and has contributed to the field of general relativity.
Since completion of his research at the University of Colorado, Dr. Lisle began working in full-time apologetics ministry, specializing in the defense of Genesis. He has written a number of articles and books on the topic. His most well-known book, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, demonstrates that biblical creation is the only logical possibility for origins. Dr. Lisle wrote and directed the popular planetarium shows at the Creation Museum, including “The Created Cosmos.” He now works as director of research at the Institute for Creation Research.
Thanks for the update. God bless!
Congratulations on your new post!!
It is indeed a great time to be a Christian. Like TV and the internet, all of the new info we have about the world is an amazing tool to find out about how God works and share it with others.
Just stick close to God and He’ll guide you.
Hello sir! Congrats and many blessings to you. I was fortunate to stumble across a video on the AiG site of you giving the Ultimate Proof talk, and now I’m working through your book of the same title. Thanks for all that you do, and be encouraged that folks like me try to keep you covered in prayer! These are indeed exciting times for me… Thanks for helping others to see how exciting and relevant to everything God’s Word is, and that it’s OK to be intellectual (fearing God first–Prov 9:10) and a thinker.
As a Christian and someone studying astrophysics, it makes me sad to see that such otherwise brilliant minds succumb to the lies of Creationism.
Jesus’ message of love and salvation does not disappear if the universe is 13.6 billion years old.
Hi Jacob,
Swap “Creationism” with “Evolutionism” and I totally agree with your first sentence. Most otherwise brilliant scientists have not considered how an evolutionary worldview cannot justify the necessary preconditions for logic and science. If evolution were true, science would be impossible (as I have demonstrated in my book “The Ultimate Proof of Creation”). Yet most people just haven’t bothered to actually think about it.
As to your second sentence, Jesus’ message of love and salvation would indeed disappear if the universe were billions of years old. If fossils are hundreds of millions of years old, then death existed before Adam sinned. In that case death cannot be the wages of sin, making Christ’s death on the cross utterly pointless. Salvation is meaningless apart from Genesis.
An “old” universe would also make Jesus a liar, since Jesus affirmed the literal history of Genesis (e.g. Matthew 19). I would encourage you to read up on these issues and give them some thought. Don’t just blindly accept everything a professor says. Learn to be discerning.
Dr. Lisle,
I don’t think this is the proper medium for any debate of remark. I’m also certain that’s not what either of us want. But I would still like to say a few things.
1. I mentioned nothing of evolution. I study physics, not biology, and I try not to venture into the fields where I can be outmaneuvered due to my ignorance. If you wish to speak of the stellar process/cycle, that’s more like it. And the fact that stars exist refute every premise you have.
I have thought about these things. The difference is that I do not struggle to reconcile objective, observable fact with a book written by iron-age goat herders.
2. Your entire doctrine of sin and death is on shaky theological grounds. And that’s how you base your conduct of “science”?
3. “The Starlight Problem” is your biggest problem. I’ve looked into it, and you claim to propose a solution. You infer a *changing* speed of light over time.
I’m not much of a physicist as of yet and even I can see the problems with such a baseless assertion. Just by googling this, I found quite the eloquent response:
http://quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com/2010/10/answers-in-genesis-screw-up-again.html
Your paper wouldn’t survive submission in journals like Nature and Science, which is where I think your awesome research in grad school went. If you’re so certain you’re right, why not allow it to be examined in a *true* peer review process?
I try not to accept everything anyone tells me without justification, just like I don’t accept everything the Bible tells me without justification. I don’t like executing girls who become prostitutes via burning at the stake, but that’s just me.
Jacob,
With all due respect, I disagree with several of your assertions in your conversation with Dr. Lisle. You stated “the fact that stars exist refute [sic] every premise you have.” Actually, such is not the case. If you’ve read Dr. Lisle’s book, you’re well aware that the reliability of our senses (such as our eyesight when looking up at the stars) depends on a literal interpretation of Genesis.
You also stated that the difference between you and young-earth creationists “is that [you] do not struggle to reconcile objective, observable fact with a book written by iron-age goat herders.” Putting the gross mischaracterizations aside, young-earth creationists do not struggle at all to reconcile empirical evidence with the Bible. On the contrary, the evidence actually fits marvelously with the historical accounts of the Bible. Also, even if your premise were true and there were contradictions between the Bible and the observable world, why would that be an issue for you? Where, outside of a literal Genesis, do you base the requirement of non-contradiction?
Thirdly, the ‘shaky theological ground’ actually belongs to those who try to reconcile death before sin with Christ’s redemptive work on Calvary. Those who accept this doctrine are forced to reconcile the existence of thorns several million years old with God’s clear introduction of thorns following the Fall. They are also forced to try to account for the significance of shed blood, without which there is no remission of sins, if blood has been shed since the dawn of existence.
The supposed problem involving distant starlight is really not the ‘problem’ it is often presented to be by secular scientists. You said that you’ve researched Dr. Lisle’s stance on this subject, but you mistakenly attribute to him the theory of a change in the speed of light. If you’re interested in a more plausible explanation that Dr. Lisle has written on in depth, I recommend looking up his article on Anisotropic Synchrony Convention in the Answers Research Journal. I think you will find the ARJ more instructive on this particular point than Google.
You also stated you “try not to accept everything anyone tells [you] without justification, just like [you] don’t accept everything the Bible tells [you] without justification.” If you are not willing to accept everything the Bible tells you without justification, what is your ultimate standard for reality? Is it your own empirical experiences? This is really all you are left with once you discard Scripture as an ultimate standard, but empiricism is an untenable philosophy. It holds that the only truth is that which can be directly observed, but this concept itself cannot be directly observed. The fundamental qualifier for truth in an empirical worldview thus fails its own standard! Like relativism, empiricism is self-refuting.
Nick L.
Nick – that was an excellent reply. Thanks for chiming in. Jacob apparently hasn’t read much on this issue or given it much thought, and you gave some great starting points for him to begin to study it.
“Putting the gross mischaracterizations aside”
This is referring to “iron-age goat herders” I presume. I cannot put that aside because it happens A LOT. I don’t know where this originated but evolutionists thrive on saying the Bible was written by goat-herders for goat-herders. So let’s talk about that. Moses is attributed to writing the book of Genesis. Moses was raised in the house of the Pharaoh. Moses was one of the most educated men in Egypt. Hardly an iron-age goat-herder.
I’m looking forward to hearing more!
Dr. Lisle,
I have a Master’s in Physics from Purdue University. I teach high school physics and college physics at two local colleges when needed. I would like to pursue a PhD, but I would rather it be in service to our King. Do you know of any opportunities to work on a PhD in physics, or in the philosophy of science, under Christian professors, with the purpose of defending a young earth Christian worldview?
Congratulations on your change to ICR. I pray God reveals to you many wonderful insights about His creation.
Thank you,
Tony Dunn
aldunn77@gmail.com
At present, there are several solutions to the light time problem by John Hartnett (1+), Russ Humphreys (2) and Jason Lisle. These are all my friends. I still prefer Russ’s original white hole cosmology. I have added at few “perks” to this model in my stars and galaxies course to help complete the model. This includes the light time problem, redshifts (and so called ‘blue shift problems’), and the creation of the CBR. The model could address cosmic element abundances with nuclear physics computations. Acceleration is still an area of inquirey.
Here at Bob Jones University, we offer a strong background and a heavy research emphasis for students wanting to go into Astronomy and Astrophysics. Please visit our facebook page for ongoing activities. http://www.facebook.com/#!/BJU.Physics
Any updates on the OP? Just wondering how things are going.
Exciting stuff!
Bryan
Thanks for the update. I just discovered your blog today, and love it! I am so grateful to you and others who work to teach the truth of God’s word. I agree with you that it is a great time to be a Christian!
Just a side note, could you explain (in a condensed version if it is too long for a blog comment) your theory on the starlight issue? I have heard it discussed before, but would be interested in hearing your take on the issue.
Thanks, and God bless.