Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian's Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Evolution
November 15, 2011 at 7:18 pm · Filed under 24 Days of Thanks-Giving, Evolution
This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #15: Science
Today I had a really bad headache. My mom suffered from migraines too. However, I can get relief from them faster than my mom due to medications that were not available to her – because of the advance of science.
In 2009 I felt a heart attack coming on – I hurried to an emergency room. I avoided a heart attack and got a stent put in instead. I was told not so long ago, I would have died a 40 year old, but advances in science have given me a re-enforced heart and a new lease on life.
Much forgotten by atheists and evolutionists, it was Christians who opened the doors to science since Christians were the ones unafraid to study the body and wanted to learn more about the universe they believed God had made – but I won’t go there in detail here.
Science continues to substantiate the details of the Bible in archeology, history and in several other areas. For example, many ancient cultures believed that the world was flat and was held up by something. However, Isaiah 40:22 hints that the earth is round and Job 26:7 tells us, “God hung the earth on nothing.” The importance of washing our hands to prevent the spread of germs was not discovered until around 1865. However, God taught the Israelites to wash their hands and clothes in Numbers 19:11-16. In 1855, Matthew Fountain Maury (the father of oceanography) discovered that there were natural currents and paths in the ocean. Psalm 8:6-8 reveals the “paths of the seas” long before this discovery.
Every discovery that is made is further evidence of a divine creator – for those who do not close their minds to that possibility from the get-go for other reasons, many of which are fair and understandable, when openly discussed, but can usually be apologized for – they were wrong things that happened – or explained, there is more to it than the surface issue being used to reject God.
All that to say, those who deny or reject God, usually are rejecting something else, and throwing God out with it. As the saying goes, “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” That has been my experience whenever I have gotten to interact with a genuine atheist in person. A story is usually uncovered that explains the rejection, it is rarely objective. Online this is harder to discover, as it is a more hostile environment usually, though I have been encouraged to meet a few atheists who are genuinely truth seekers like myself, and that has been encouraging. I know I have atheists friends reading this, forgive my generalities, I am referring to those who also treat Christians in generalities – there are exceptions on both sides. I consider myself not to be one of those obnoxious preachy Christians, as I know there are atheists who are reasonable and objective and can hold a logical debate without it being mean-spirited godbot bashing too.
My point, is that Christians don’t reject science. (As atheists like to often claim.) I love science! I benefit from it every day. I only reject when it is used to draw conclusions beyond it’s reach and capability. Once it attempts to apply its tools with definite conclustions into the realms of metaphysics, or confuse macro-evolution with micro-evolution, and claim with finality things that are only theories (something Creationists are in some cases equally guilty of, by the way!) – or insist upon common physical evidence for non-physical realities, things begin to fall apart – but that is a post for another day.
Today, sitting under electric lights in a heated home, my migraine meds taking effect, and my heart stent doing its job, I am very thankful for science!
November 1, 2011 at 9:00 am · Filed under 24 Days of Thanks-Giving, America, Apple, Awesome Products, BeTheDadToday, Breckenridge, Children's Ministry, Christianity, Discipleship, Evolution, Family, Food, Friends, Kidology, Luke, Mac, Marriage, Moody, Parenting, Photography, Politics, Spiritual Growth, Star Wars, Technology, Yosemite, iPad, iPhone
Today I launched a little Thanksgiving Project over on Kidology.org called “24 Days of Thanks-Giving” – basically I am providing a simple Word doc you can download and every day from Nov. 1 until Thanksgiving add ONE thing you are thankful for.
It’s really just something I need to DO MYSELF – but I thought maybe others might want to join me, and I’d enjoy reading/seeing what others are thankful for. So you are welcome to use the Word doc, or just post in the forum what YOU are thankful for! So let me begin today, with my first post. These are NOT going to be in priority order, otherwise I’d have to go God, Family, etc. and then later on, people might judge me for putting one thing “above” or “before” another – so right out of the gate let me say, these posts will be in RANDOM ORDER of things I am THANKFUL FOR!
DAY 1 –
Yosemite
DAY 2 – God’s Word
DAY 3 – My Mom
DAY 4 – Photography
DAY 5 – Pandora
DAY 6 – George Lucas
DAY 7 – Breckenridge
DAY 8 – Barq’s
DAY 9 – Mercy & Grace
DAY 10 – Steves
DAY 11 – Freedom
DAY 12 – Luke
DAY 13 – Sara
DAY 14 – My Bookkeeper
DAY 15 – Science
DAY 16 – Da Cloud
DAY 17 – Awana & Sunday School
DAY 18 – My Dad
DAY 19 – True Friends
DAY 20 – Scottevest
DAY 21 – My Customers
DAY 22 – Tennis Balls
DAY 23 – Flight
DAY 24 – Jesus
May 14, 2011 at 1:05 pm · Filed under Christianity, Evolution
I got to spend some time yesterday with family and friends in two of my favorite places in Colorado – Castlewood Canyon State Park, and Garden of the God. (I leave the ’s’ off, there is only one God.) Little did I know the surprise that would await me and rock my Faith! But first, some pictures!
I worship through my camera, so allow me to post a few pictures. A few more are on my facebook page. (If you send me a friend invite, include a short personal note, or I will ignore it due to spam.)
I just can’t get enough of God’s creative art in the mountains and trees that He has created!
And I love seeing my little boy fall in love with Creation!
These rocks fell and caught here years ago… a sample of God’s sense of humor!
I love watching these climbers… tempted to join them, but… well, I won’t.
We saw this cave and it beckoned…
So we climbed up into it!
That’s my boy!
Here he is again!
One of my favorite spots to shoot every time I go to Garden of the God(s). It on a popular route and everyone walks right by.
And then I saw it… (you can click on the image to see it larger)
Through the woods I saw the most amazing thing… out there in the middle of the trees was the most incredible natural phenomenon!
Occurring completely on it’s own, without any intervention by man, was a fire hydrant! Obviously, this didn’t need any design or planning, it just had grown here naturally over the course of thousands or perhaps millions of years. I’m sure the $8 3D video program over at the Visitor Center would explain it in more detail, but I never watch those, because I hate how they deny a designer and planner for everything around this fire hydrant. But, obviously, this had to be completely natural! I see no signs of any intelligence or forethought or purpose or planning for this yellow iron mass. There is no need for a hydrant in this location. No way it fits into an overall plan for balance or safety or prevention. No master plan can be at work here. Obviously, it just popped up over time. It can’t be connected to a larger network in order to help a broader thought-out system be available in case of a fire? Nah. To think that this appearance here in the woods is evidence of intelligent design is absurd and ludicrous. I’d have to be religious or something and take that on blind faith to even suggest such a thing! The only logical explanation is that over a very long looooong period of time it just sort of kinda appeared hear and just happened to be a part of very complex and complicated system that only works once completed and that along the way it was somehow motivated in and of itself to keep evolving even though in its half developed stages it served no functioning purposes. Yeah, that’s it. Makes perfect sense.
November 8, 2009 at 12:17 am · Filed under Children's Ministry, Evolution, Random Observations
As I was surfing the web tonight, I stumbled upon an article about how deep the Congo river is: Evolution in the Deepest River in the World. As often happens if the word “evolution” is used, an evolution debate broke out in the comments. I get both amused and frustrated reading such conversations. Both by ignorant or arrogant evolutionists as well as overly simplistic or dogmatic anti-evolutionist. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind disagreeing with evolutionists. I have a honorary evolutionist friend who reads my blog (and will most likely jump on this post) and is now a friend on facebook (you know who you are) who I’ve enjoyed sparing with because he wasn’t arrogant or condescending even as he sharply disagrees with my theology and science – in fact, I’d rather argue with him than many Christians who I find petty or too quick to quote a Bible verse rather than use their brain.
So for the sake of knowing someone will read it, I want to re-post here, my soap-box comment that I posted on the article linked above. Feel free to add your comments below: (I was limited to 2000 characters, hence the brevity)
I love reading these evolution debates… usually they appear on barely related articles, like this one.
I’m glad SOMEONE brought up Micro and Macro evolution, since most people miss that there are two COMPLETELY different types of evolution, and I have to read people arguing and they are usually talking about two completely different ones.
Macro – change from one species to another – never seen or proven. ever.
Micro – changes within a species – YES, a fact and proven. repeatedly.
Christians and non-Christians, no need to argue about this, whether you believe the Bible and love Jesus or think its an old dusty book and Jesus was just a nice guy. Micro evolution is what all evolutionists use for evidence of evolution. only problem is, they tend to argue micro evolution as their proof for macro evolution. This is unfair and wrong.
Christians also, goof up by denying micro evolution when they start quoting the Bible to deny micro evolution (usually because they won’t be quiet long enough to listen to facts about micro) But evolutionist don’t want to admit THERE IS NO PROOF OF MACRO EVOLUTION. NONE. ZIPPO. ZILCH. frankly, its non-sense. but they can’t see it, because they don’t like the alternative, they realllly dont want to end up on the side of those wacky Christians. and that’s where I’m stuck.
I accept both the FACTS of micro evolution and truth of science*, everything that can be DEMONSTRATED and SEEN today, but also have to accept what CANT BE PROVEN, macro, which puts me in agreement with the goofy Christians, who turns out, all the evidence is on their side if you really look in to it with their explanation for creation and the flood & fossil record. I just wish they weren’t so goofy with the micro evolution stuff, and maybe more non-Christians would take a look at their facts on macro side. but then, most people don’t know there are TWO EVOLUTIONS. maybe a few will read this post and learn there are 2.
1) Most non-Christians are right on Micro Evolution but
2) Most Christians are right on Macro Evolution two bad we can’t stop calling names and be objective and get to the truth!
So, there is my rant and contribution to the looooong heated debate on evolution in the public square.
By the way, the world “Science” is thrown around a LOT and I get irritated because it seems a lot of the people who use the word science have no idea what science is. When I say I believe in true science, I am mean as defined by what can be demonstrated, otherwise, it isn’t science, it is meta physics. Anytime someone refers to evolution as science, please correct them. Micro evolution IS science. Macro evolution is not. You can politely say, “Oh, you mean the science of micro evolution? Oh, yes, that is scientific. I have no issue with that, nor does the Bible. But please don’t mix macro evolution with micro evolution. They are two completely different arenas of study. One can be studied and proven, they other can only be speculated and hypothesized to a reasonable degree.”
Make no mistake, there is an intentional effort to mix and confuse the two in secular education and media. The blur is being made on purpose, and we must make sure our children understand the difference. When they do, it helps them not only defend their faith, but in their own mind, separate the confusing messages they see and hear in text books, educational films and in museums. They can constantly recognize, “Oh, that’s micro – I can accept that as true.” or “Nope, that’s macro – that’s just their theory.” They can still learn it, but know its probably contrary to what the Bible teaches and therefore false.
Understanding the difference between Micro and Macro evolution makes all the difference in the world in navigating the Creation / Evolution debate.
