Dumb and Dumber and 6,000 Years

Everyone begins this life as a ship that sets out to sea and finally arrives at its destination.  That destination will be a result of the map we follow.  We have the sun by day that declares the directions of the compass, and the stars by night to help us navigate.  John 14:6 reads:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

To reach our final destination we need a way, and the way to the city of God, the city of eternal life, is a person.  Jesus Christ is the way.

On this journey across this sometimes treacherous sea, we have the sun by day and the stars by night.  Malachi 4:2 speaks prophetically of Jesus Christ:

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Revelation 22:16:

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Revelation 1:20:

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The map is the Word of God, and the Sun and the stars direct our course.  Are you born-again?  Would you like a certain and clear direction by which to navigate?  Would you like to find this place where sin and shame are washed clean by the blood of Christ?  Would you like to set your life on course?  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY'S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Exodus 20:11:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

GOD SAID, Genesis 5:1-9:

1  This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2  Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4  And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5  And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6  And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

7  And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8  And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9  And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

MAN SAID: I don’t know where I came from.  I don’t know why I’m here.  And I don’t know where I’m going.  But, follow me anyway.     

Now THE RECORD.  Welcome to GodSaidManSaid.  This is feature article #636; it will confirm the full, inerrant accuracy of the Word of God found in the Holy Bible.  All of these features are archived on this site in text and streaming audio for the edification of the blood-bought and as ammunition in the battle for the souls of men.  You can also use these features as a gospel tract with the “Tell A Friend” feature above.  Image: you can download this subject or the entire catalog of features of GodSaidManSaid to your iPod.  Also, the search bar (top right) allows you to type in a key word from your question and watch as the screen populates with subjects for your consideration.  Thank you for coming today.  We truly look forward to your visits.

According to research conducted by Barna, 84% of the U.S. claims to be Christian, but only 38% would confirm the statement that says, “The Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”  Why all the doubt concerning Biblical inerrancy?  Is this doubt a result of diligent search or is it a product of the drip-drip-drip of false science and limp-wristed ministers of unbelief?

One of the most ridiculed and maligned teachings of the Bible is the concept of a 6,000-year-old earth.  Among confessing Christians, doubt abounds here, but why?  Has science proved, not theorized, but proved the earth and the universe to be billions of years old?  The short answer is no!  There are over 100 scientific measurements that declare a young earth.  GodSaidManSaid has published over 40 features that certify a young earth that fit the parameters of God’s Word.  Truly, there should be no doubt concerning this matter.

It was 1,656 years from the day Adam opened his eyes until the flood in the days of Noah.  We know that by the genealogical line laid out in the Word of God.  Genesis 5:3-6:

3  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4  And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5  And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6  And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

Adding the genealogical spans from Adam to Noah registers the date of the flood.

From Adam to Christ, the Scriptures lay out redundant chronological indicators dating the age of the earth.  These include genealogies, direct markers such as the years Israel spent in Egypt, the reigns of kings, etc.

Is the Bible true?  Is the earth only 6,000 years old?  Does extra-Biblical information confirm it? 

Microbiology’s study of DNA continues to knock the pinnings out from under the theory of evolution.  The following paragraphs are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Mitochondrial DNA and a Young First Man and First Woman:”

Chittick continues his dissertation and goes on to quote Ann Gibbons as she wrote in the January 2, 1998 issue of Science.  The title of the Gibbons article is, "Calibrating the Mitochondrial Clock."  Chittick writes:

What has been the result of further investigation since the 1988 and 1995 results were published?  An interesting subsequent development has been calibration of the mitochondrial clock by using actually observed data rather than by using speculations from evolutionism.  The result has shown that the clock ticks very much faster than expected.  [End of quote]

Gibbons reports:

Mitochondrial DNA appears to mutate much faster than expected, prompting new DNA forensics procedures and raising troubling questions about the dating of evolutionary events.  In 1991, Russians exhumed a Siberian grave containing nine skeletons thought to be the remains of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family and retinue, who were shot by firing squad in 1918.  But two bodies were missing, so no one could be absolutely certain of the identity of the remains.  And DNA testing done in 1992 — expected to settle the issue quickly — instead raised a new mystery.

The mystery concerned dates relating to the clock rate.  It appears that mutations occur at a much more rapid rate than had been imagined.  Although there seems to be considerable debate about the cause of the faster rate, the faster rate has been verified by independent investigations.

Again, Gibbons says:

Regardless of the cause, evolutionists are most concerned about the effect of a faster mutation rate.  For example, researchers have calculated that "mitochondrial Eve" — the woman whose mtDNA was ancestral to that in all living people — lived 100,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa.  Using the new clock, she would be a mere 6,000 years old.  [End of quote]

The headline in the article published in the May 2008 issue of Acts & Facts, reads, "Mitochondrial DNA and a Recent Human Origin."  The bulk of the article follows:

A team of scientists that includes Dr. Daniel Criswell of ICR has recently completed a study of mitochondrial DNA and will be presenting its work at this summer’s International Conference on Creationism.  A mitochondrion is a cellular power plant that generates most of the chemical energy the cell needs to support its functions.  Although most of a cell’s DNA is contained in the nucleus, the mitochondrion has its own small DNA molecule and this DNA is passed down from mother to child.  The study has revealed an unexpected lack of diversity within worldwide human mitochondrial lineages, despite high mutation rates, and this supports the idea that humanity is only a few thousand years old.  [End of quotes]

In the 2012 GodSaidManSaid feature, “New Science Says Bible True, Again,” we find the following:

In the September 2012 issue of Acts and Facts, science writer Brian Thomas wrote concerning the age of man and the earth under the title, “A Recent Explosion of Human Diversity.”  Several paragraphs follow:

Everyone should know that the cosmos was created.  It also stands to reason that those who “listen to Moses and the prophets,” as Jesus said, should be able to see more specific evidence of Biblical creation, including scientific discoveries.  One such evidence is human genetic diversity, which leaves evolutionary history in a quagmire, while confirming a straightforward interpretation of Genesis.

The research team investigated the amount of diversity among today’s human genes and how long it took to reach the current amount of diversity.  They concluded that human genes diversified recently.  The authors wrote, “the maximum likelihood time for accelerated growth was 5,115 years ago.”  This is a tiny fraction (0.2 percent) of the 2.4 million years of humanity that evolutionists suppose.  The explosion of human genetic diversity has occurred in parallel with, and because of, human population growth.  With each new person comes another opportunity for DNA differences to arise, either by designed genetic shuffling processes or mutations.

For example, if the evolutionary timeline is true, then human population growth and genetic diversity were miraculously unchanged for a few million years before suddenly exploding in just the last few thousand years.  What are the odds that every married couple would have had almost exactly two offspring—just enough to replace the parents—survive into the next generation for over two million years or 100,000 straight generations?  In addition, where are all the human remains that should litter the planet after having been peopled for so long?

In short, why does the human genetic diversity data fit so well with Biblical creation?  Evolutionary theory provides no real answer to what caused the radical bottleneck in the worldwide human population at that time, whereas the Bible teaches that it was Noah’s Flood.  This genetics study confirms Moses and the Prophets.  Both science and Scripture show that humans have multiplied and diversified within the past 5,100 years.  [End of quote]

The headline in the December 29, 2012 issue of Science News reads, “Human diversity’s recent explosion.”  The subhead reads, “Most genetic variation came about in last 5,000 years.”  The more science looks into the invisible, the more the facts shout YES to God’s Holy Bible.  Keep in mind that God is invisible and He created all out of that which is invisible. 

Now consider this headline from the May 2013 issue of Acts & Facts: “Is Mankind Getting Dumber?”  Several paragraphs written by science writer Brian Thomas follow:

Do today’s children have lower I.Q.’s than yesterday’s?  Yes, according to measurements of intellectual and emotional strength gathered from different countries and contexts.  The results show the same basic decline and resist the notion that public or other forms of education are to blame.  Could the cause instead lie within?

Stanford University professor Gerald Crabtree thinks so.  He published a pair of essays in the journal Trends in Genetics, citing new discoveries that show why the human intellect is “surprisingly fragile.”  This biblical creation-friendly notion didn’t sit well with the authors of a rebuttal paper, who countered that the human intellect is “robust.”  What lies at the heart of this disagreement—bad science or bad assumptions?

Crabtree identified two fundamental processes as the main culprits.  First, human intelligence uses neurons, and these cells can only function properly if their genes stay in top shape.  Second, these genes are susceptible to degradation.  This loss of organization occurs continually as mutations slowly, irreversibly garble genes, and the resulting errors pile up and are not corrected.

Each new generation accrues about 60 new mutations to the gene-coding DNA regions of the human genome.  Crabtree applied this rate to calculate that “every 20-50 generations we should sustain a mutation in one copy of one of our many ID genes.”  As a result, “in the past 3000 years then (~120 generations), each of us should have accumulated at the very least 2.5-6 mutations in ID genes.”  Accordingly, the human intellect “perhaps reached a peak 2000-6000 years ago.”

This appears to confirm three lessons that can be drawn from the Bible.  First, Adam and Eve’s brains were originally “very good.”  Second, we had our best brains about 6,000 years ago.  Third, humanity has suffered genetic degradation since then under the Curse.

Both Crabtree and his detractors tried to extrapolate some set of numbers to make conclusions about the unobservable past.  The rebuttal authors who resist the genetic-decay principle hand-picked numbers that support evolutionary history.  Crabtree instead used numbers collected from real-world studies.  And those studies present an ever-clearer case for a human race that was very good at the start, but is steadily falling apart.  [End of quote]

Does an examination of the facts continue to certify the inerrancy of Holy Writ?  Of course the answer is yes.  God’s Word is true and righteous altogether.  God’s Word is the map.  It’s the compass.  It’s the way to navigate your ship to the city of God.

GOD SAID, Exodus 20:11:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

GOD SAID, Genesis 5:1-9:

1  This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2  Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4  And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5  And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6  And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

7  And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8  And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9  And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

MAN SAID: I don’t know where I came from.  I don’t know why I’m here.  And I don’t know where I’m going.  But, follow me anyway.

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, "Mitochondrial DNA and a Young First Man and First Woman"

GodSaidManSaid, "New Science Says Bible True, Again"

Thomas, B., M.S., "Is Mankind Getting Dumber?" Acts & Facts, May 2013, p17

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