Another Testimony from an Engineer
Art Bulla
First published in
In Six Days
Religion and origins testimony #10
Edited by John F. Ashton
Dr. Taylor is senior lecturer in electrical engineering at the University of
Liverpool. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and electronics from
the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, United
Kingdom, and an M.Eng. and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the
University of Liverpool. Dr. Taylor has written over 80 scientific articles,
and is a reviewer for the journals IEE Electronic Letters, Solid State
Electronics, Journal of Applied Physics and Applied Physics Letters.
The purpose of this article is to state reasons for my belief as a scientist
and engineer in an eternal, all-powerful, all-wise Creator God, a God who
can be known and trusted, One who has spoken in the Bible to reveal His will
and ultimately, through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal His person.
I would also like to highlight some of the problems scientifically with the
naturalistic (evolutionary) view of origins and say why, in my opinion, the
scientific facts support the biblical framework rather than the evolutionary
belief system.
A design demands a designer
On the table in front of me is a reproduction of a beautiful landscape
painting of a country scene, dating from about 1770, by Paul Sandby. In the
foreground, the artist has captured the sunlight falling on a tree in a
meadow. Nearby there is a horse and some children, and in the background, we
see a river making its way past green hill and dale toward the sea. Far in
the distance, gray clouds give way to a light blue sky. You ask me how the
painting came to be. If I were to insist to you that suddenly and for no
apparent reason, oil paints began to arrive upon a canvas, in such a way and
in just such proportions that the result was a work of art, you would think
me to be mad. It is an impossible scenario. My difficulties in convincing
you would be made worse if I were unable to give an explanation for the
existence of the canvas and the paints in the first place!
Evolutionary naturalism is asking us to believe in just such a scenario: a
picture without a painter, art without an artist. Let us remember, also,
that however good it is, the painting is only a dead, two-dimensional
representation of a far more wonderful three-dimensional living reality: the
landscape itself, trees, horses, children, sky, sun, and clouds! How wrong
and how foolish to praise the work of a human hand and eye yet deny the work
of the divine artist who put all things in place and gave existence and
skill to that same human hand and eye!
Not only does a design imply a designer, a design says something about its
designer. As we consider the vastness of deep space, the intricacies of the
human brain, the powerful forces holding the nucleus of each atom together,
we may conclude that God is indeed immense, great in intelligence and in
power. If God is thus, why shouldn't creation take six 24-hour days? He
could have done it in six hours or six seconds if He had chosen to. Such a
God can do whatever He chooses, whenever He likes, consistent with His own
nature.
A man who claimed to be God
The second and perhaps most convincing reason for Christian belief in
general and in a literal six-day creation in particular is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Approaching the second millennium He is still the central figure of
human history. Every newspaper, computer, and coin bearing today's date
reminds us that it was He who split time in two: A.D. and B.C. He never
wrote a book or a song, yet millions of books and some of the world's
greatest music have been written about Him. He never erected a monument yet
tens of thousands of buildings have been erected in His honor. He never led
an army or drew a sword, yet by His love down through the years, He has
conquered the hearts of millions. Some of His enemies, on meeting Him, were
changed into men who gave their lives for Him. His example and teachings
have been the greatest influence for the good of mankind. Universities,
schools, hospitals, orphanages, charities, and social reforms have been
founded and progressed in His name as in the name of no other person.
His life story is told to us in the eyewitness accounts of the writers of
the New Testament. These men were present when Jesus healed the blind, fed
the hungry, calmed the storm, walked on water, and raised men from the dead.
They heard Him speak, watched Him live, saw Him die, and walked, talked, and
dined with Him after He had risen from the dead, as He predicted that He
would. He did and claimed things about himself that only God can do or
should claim. Jesus spoke of God as His Father, and said, "I and the Father
are one" (John 10:30); and, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John
14:9).
Now it is important to realize that the Lord Jesus Christ believed in the
early chapters of Genesis as historical fact. Indeed, such was His high view
of Old Testament Scripture that He called it the "Word of God," and that God's
Word "was truth," affirming that "scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35,
17:17). That the Lord Jesus Christ believed in Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel,
Noah and a worldwide cataclysmic Flood is evident from such passages as
Matthew 19:4, 23:35, and 24:37-39. In Mark 10:6 Jesus said, "But from the
beginning of the creation God made them male and female." In these words of
Jesus, we find that He teaches that Adam and Eve were created at the
"beginning of creation," not millions of years after the beginning! This
also implies that God had prepared a world for them shortly beforehand.
Everywhere we find that the Bible is consistent with the view of a literal
six-day, recent creation. This has been the almost universal teaching of the
Christian Church until the last hundred years or so.
The testimony of others
Many of the world's greatest scientists have been convinced, Bible-believing
Christians [Ed. note: see AiG's creation scientist section]. In my own
discipline of electrical engineering, one has only to think of names like
Michael Faraday, James Joule, Lord Kelvin, and James Clerk Maxwell (who
wrote against evolution) to see that this is true. The Creation Research
Society currently has a membership of 650 scientists, each one holding a
master's degree or above in a recognized field of science. In a recent
article Dr. Russell Humphreys, physicist at Sandia National Laboratories,
New Mexico, estimates that there are around 10,000 practicing professional
scientists in the USA alone who openly believe in a six-day recent
creation.1
Personal experience
I became a Christian at the age of 16 by seeking forgiveness for my sins and
committing my life to the Lord Jesus Christ in a simple prayer. Although
aware of the apparent contradiction between science and the Bible, the fact
that Jesus believed in the Genesis account as historically true was enough
to convince me as a young Christian that I should also! The disciple is not
above His Lord. Many years later, I am more than ever convinced not only of
the truth of the Christian gospel, but also of the harmony between the
biblical revelation and true science.
It is extremely important to realize that, contrary to what we are often
told, there is no proven fact of science that can be shown to contradict the
biblical account. When scientific theories appear to contradict, it is
important to examine the evidence for and interpretation behind such ideas.
Scientists are subject to error and bias, as the history of science shows.
In the closing section of this article, I would like to examine briefly some
of the severe scientific problems inherent in the evolutionary model of
origins.
What went bang and how?
According to the "big bang" theory, the universe began about 10 to 20
billion years ago as an inconceivably small volume of space and
matter/energy which has been expanding ever since. However, we are entitled
to ask the question: what went bang? In simple terms, "Nothing can't go
bang." A related question is when did natural laws governing the physical
world come into being? Are we to believe that these laws also are the
product of chance? Professor Werner Gitt has recently reviewed the big bang
theory and notes that, "Many discoveries in recent years with improved
instruments and improved observational methods have repeatedly shaken this
theory."2
How did life originate?
Evolution has the fundamental problem of explaining how life came from
non-life. In his book Evolution, a Theory in Crisis, molecular biologist Dr.
Michael Denton claims that his subject lends no support to the theory of
evolution. He points out that there is no such thing as a simple cell. He
asks the following question: "Is it really credible that random processes
could have constructed a reality, the smallest element of which-a functional
gene or protein-is complex beyond our own creative capacities, a reality
which is the very antithesis of chance, which excels in every sense anything
produced by the intelligence of man?"3
Professor Sir Fred Hoyle, the former Cambridge astronomer, gave the
following analogy to illustrate the difficulty of life originating by
chance: "Imagine 1050 blind persons each with a scrambled Rubik's cube and
try to conceive of them simultaneously arriving at the solved form. You then
have the chance of arriving by random shuffling (random variation) of just
one of the many biopolymers upon which life depends . nonsense of a high
order."4
Dr. Michael Behe, associate professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University,
similarly argues for intelligent design as an obvious logical explanation
for the intricacy of the biochemical machines found in all living things. He
gives examples of biological systems such as blood-clotting that are
"irreducibly complex," requiring all the parts to function. In such systems
no direct, gradual route leads to their production, since if one part is
missing, the whole system is useless.5
Where did the new information come from?
Large-scale amoeba-to-man evolution requires massive increases in genetic
information over time. Evolution is said to proceed by the processes of
natural selection (the survival of the fittest) and/or mutation. However the
key question for both of these processes is where does the new information
come from? For a reptile to become a bird, it must have the extra
information necessary for wings and feathers, etc. Natural selection is
easily observable, but it cannot of itself create the new information, since
there is no upward development in the genetic complexity of the organism.
Another alleged source of new information is mutations. For large-scale
evolution, mutations must on average add information. In a recent book,
biophysicist Dr. Lee Spetner shows with detailed probabilistic analysis that
this is completely precluded. He examines the classic textbook cases of
mutations cited in favor of neo-Darwinian evolution and shows conclusively
that, without exception, they are all losses of information. There is no
such thing as a mutation that adds information.6 Spetner is well qualified
to make these calculations. As a former fellow of Johns Hopkins University
he is a specialist in communications and information theory.
The case against evolution is summed up by Berkeley University law professor
Philip Johnson, who makes the following points: (1) evolution is grounded
not on scientific fact, but on a philosophical belief called naturalism; (2)
the belief that a large body of empirical evidence supports evolution is an
illusion; (3) evolution is itself a religion; (4) if evolution were a
scientific hypothesis based on a rigorous study of the evidence, it would
have been abandoned long ago.7
In this article we have looked at the clear statement of Scripture and
discussed reasons for accepting it at its face value. We have looked at an
alternative theory of origins embodied in evolution theory and the
scientific difficulties it faces, difficulties which are increasing with
time. From these considerations and others I, for one, have no hesitation in
rejecting the evolutionary hypothesis of origins and affirming the biblical
alternative that "in six days the Lord God created the heavens and earth and
all that in them is."
Notes
1.. Creation 20(1): 37, 1997.
2.. Creation 20(3): 42, 1998.
3.. Denton, M., Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Adler and Adler, 1985.
4.. Nature 294: 105, 1981.
5.. Behe, M.J., Darwin's Black Box, Free Press, 1996.
6.. Spetner, L., Not by Chance: Shattering the Modern Theroy of
Evolutions, Judaica, 1997.
7.. Johnson, P.E., Darwin on Trial, Regnery Gateway, Washington, DC, 1991.
--
"I just tell em the truth, and they think it's hell." Harry Truman
Concerning quotes (out of context): these are distortions, taken out of the
context of
the blasphemies and insults placed upon me by the vilest of traitors and
foul wretches
imagineable. Jesus kicked their asses out of the Temple and I do the same to
all god damned liars and hypocrites. I make no apology. God is my judge. If
this fellow (Manning) were honest he would include these, and all would see
that I am
justified by the Lord in my responses. The word of the Lord is given on
the matter in the following:
Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice,
and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys
of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according
to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
Let no one, therefore, set on my servant for I will justify him. saith the
Lord your God.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF DISINFORMERS:
Always accuse your adversary of whatever is true about yourself.
"Nothing has more retarded the advancement of learning than the disposition
of vulgar minds to ridicule and vilify what they do not understand."
Dr.Samuel Johnson.
The Revelations of Jesus Christ:
<http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-28287-3>
Discourses of Brigham Young, Pg.68
As it has always been, and will be yet for some time, when the sons
of God assemble together Satan will be on hand as an accuser of the
brethren, to find fault with those who are trying to do good.
"But we ask, does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call
down one scrap of revelation from heaven, and for all they have now are
indebted
to the faith of another people...does it remain for them to say how much God
has
spoken and how much He has not spoken?" Joseph Smith
"Every generation has flattered itself that it is a little better than the
one that preceded it. Every generation has prided itself in its knowledge
and great advancement in the arts and sciences and its superiority over
preceding generations; yet the power of the adversary and his hatred of
righteousness and truth are as great to-day as they ever were since the
creation of the earth." Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, Pg.228 - Pg.229,
George Q. Cannon, May 6, 1866
"Some men are natural born saints; whenever a principle is advanced they
understand it, and drink it in; * * * while there are others who do not
understand and oppose every principle that is not clear to their mind. This
can be accounted for, that we are not all pure blooded, for Ephraim became
foolish and mixed up with the gentiles. When we find the pure blood of
Ephraim, we find a natural born child of God and there is nothing in the
gospel that is objectionable to them, but the others have to exercise faith
in God and humble themselves before Him and live for it." (Deseret Weekly,
50:250-251)
35 And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall
be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
36 For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim,
wherefore they shall be plucked out.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 64:35 - 36)
Greg
"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
news:3mqbrsF...@individual.net...
> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
> First published in
> In Six Days
> Religion and origins testimony #10
>
> Edited by John F. Ashton
Im Glad to see Art Bulla gives credit for others literary works. Maybe you
could give your "Apostles" a lesson
in how its done Art.
Greg
斧R.L.Measures
>"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
>news:3mqbrsF...@individual.net...
>> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
>> First published in
>> In Six Days
>> Religion and origins testimony #10
>>
>> Edited by John F. Ashton
>
>Im Glad to see Art Bulla gives credit for others literary works. Maybe you
>could give your "Apostles" a lesson
>in how its done Art.
>
• Them boys is loose cannons, Greg.
> ...
--
€ R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
remove _ from e-mail adr
Art Bulla
Manning say I make it up! In fact I'm the only one on this newsgroup who
routinely provides documentation, I think. I don't fault Aaron though. He
takes an idea and develops it himself. The only criticism I have, however,
is for you:
Isa 29:20-24
20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed,
and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that
reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
22 Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the
house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now
wax pale.
23 But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of
him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and
shall fear the God of Israel.
24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they
that murmured shall learn doctrine.
It seems to me that you should clear your head of faulty judgment, for the
weightier matter of the laws judgment, saith the Lord and it is necessary to
cleanse the inner vessel before one attempts to judge the outer one. In
other words, "Thou that has the beam in mine own eye first remove the beam
in thine own eye that ye may see more clearly to remove the moat in my
brother's eye." Or, in other words, "Judge not lest ye be judged." Aaron
is just trying to save your soul and you are reveling in the carnal mind as
usual. So who is more at fault? Aaron is blameless and you are in danger
of hellfire saith the Lord.
"Greg" <gran...@dnet.aunz.com> wrote in message
news:4308...@news1.veridas.net...
Art Bulla
cover your wickedness and his tattered and floppy in the breeze full of
holes from the loose cannons.
".?R.L.Measures" <r...@somis.org> wrote in message
news:r_-210805...@192.168.1.101...
> In article <4308...@news1.veridas.net>, "Greg" <gran...@dnet.aunz.com>
> wrote:
>
>>"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
>>news:3mqbrsF...@individual.net...
>>> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
>>> First published in
>>> In Six Days
>>> Religion and origins testimony #10
>>>
>>> Edited by John F. Ashton
>>
>>Im Glad to see Art Bulla gives credit for others literary works. Maybe you
>>could give your "Apostles" a lesson
>>in how its done Art.
>>
> . Them boys is loose cannons, Greg.
>> ...
>
> --
> ? R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
斧R.L.Measures
<a...@artbulla.com> wrote:
>I try to attribute everything and document everything and still people like
>Manning say I make it up! ...
• Good point, Art. My guess is that Manning does not realize that the
voices in your head are pulling the strings.
--
€ R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
Greg
> wrote:
>
>>"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
>>news:3mqbrsF...@individual.net...
>>> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
>>> First published in
>>> In Six Days
>>> Religion and origins testimony #10
>>>
>>> Edited by John F. Ashton
>>
>>Im Glad to see Art Bulla gives credit for others literary works. Maybe you
>>could give your "Apostles" a lesson
>>in how its done Art.
>>
Loose cannons or loose marbles, one or the other Mr Measures. !
Greg
>> ...
>
> --
> ? R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
斧R.L.Measures
wrote:
>".?R.L.Measures" <r...@somis.org> wrote in message
>news:r_-210805...@192.168.1.101...
>> In article <4308...@news1.veridas.net>, "Greg" <gran...@dnet.aunz.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
>>>news:3mqbrsF...@individual.net...
>>>> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
>>>> First published in
>>>> In Six Days
>>>> Religion and origins testimony #10
>>>>
>>>> Edited by John F. Ashton
>>>
>>>Im Glad to see Art Bulla gives credit for others literary works. Maybe you
>>>could give your "Apostles" a lesson
>>>in how its done Art.
>>>
>> . Them boys is loose cannons, Greg.
>
>Loose cannons or loose marbles, one or the other Mr Measures. !
>
• It seems they pretty much go together, Greg.
cheerz
--
€ R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
Art Bulla
not hesitate to blaspheme. That is why queers need to be put to death. I
pray for the day that Zion will arise.
1 AWAKE, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more
come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, [and] sit down, O Jerusalem: loose
thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall
be redeemed without money.
4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to
sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken
away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD;
and my name continually every day [is] blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore [they shall know] in
that day that I [am] he that doth speak: behold, [it is] I.
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they
sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for
the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and
all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean [thing];
go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the
LORD.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will
go before you; and the God of Israel [will be] your rereward.
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and
extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any
man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at
him: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that]
which they had not heard shall they consider.
(Isa 52:1-15)
".?R.L.Measures" <r...@somis.org> wrote in message
news:r_-210805...@192.168.1.101...
> In article <3msk2gF...@individual.net>, "Art Bulla"
> <a...@artbulla.com> wrote:
>
>>I try to attribute everything and document everything and still people
>>like
>>Manning say I make it up! ...
>
> . Good point, Art. My guess is that Manning does not realize that the
> voices in your head are pulling the strings.
>
> --
> ? R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
taiki
> Stephen Taylor, electrical engineering
> First published in
> In Six Days
> Religion and origins testimony #10
>
So?
-taiki
John Manning
> Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost! There is absolutely nothing that you will
> not hesitate to blaspheme. That is why queers need to be put to death. I
> pray for the day that Zion will arise.
Looney Toons.
斧R.L.Measures
<jrob...@terra.com.br> wrote:
• ... with banana-nut pudding.
--
€ R.L.Measures, 805-386-3734, www.somis.org
cliff...@yahoo.co.uk
particular occupation bestows no special insight into the origin of man
or the correctness of evolution theory, etc. As a matter of fact,
there's a well known joke about engineers that goes something like
this:
"As time goes by Engineers learn more and more about less and less
until eventually they know everything there is to know about nothing".
I do like to pride myself on believing, however, that DESIGN Engineers,
with years and years of experience working under a lot of pressure to
produce working projects on schedule are much more logical and mentally
disciplined than the average person on the street. Basically, this type
of experience teaches one to not jump to conclusions about anything and
to not act on "beliefs", but on facts. I personally doubt if Dr. Taylor
has had the benefit of this type of experience. He merely appears to be
just another pedant, school teacher to me.
In any case, what he believes is totally irrelevant. The Mormon church
teaches that no scripture is of private interpretation. Merely holding
the priesthood does not bestow the authority to interpret scripture.
You have to have "keys" to do that. If you are a Mormon, therefore,
your only option is to following the teachings of your leaders.
If your leaders (who have the keys) tell you evolution is incorrect,
then it is incorrect--end of story. If they tell you it is correct, it
is correct and if they tell you nothing, then you know nothing. Devout
Mormons who want to know about evolution should consult their leaders
and get the official church view and quit speculating. God doesn't need
your help in this regard.
What is the official Mormon church teachings regarding the theory of
evolution, anyway? For that matter, what is the official church
teaching on evolution of the other mainstream churches in the world?