A Man 'Comatose' for 23 Years Has Apparently Been Conscious All Along

But there is debate whether he is really able to communicate.

SUMMARY: A disabled man in Belgium was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state 23 years ago after being in a car crash. Now Dr. Steven Laureys, after using a special type of brain scan not available at that time, says the man, Rom Houben, is fully conscious, and doctors say he has been conscious the whole time.

The man appears to be able to communicate with the help of a speech therapist who assists Houben in moving a finger along a touch-screen keyboard. Houben says that the years of being disabled and unable to communicate left him feeling "alone, lonely, frustrated, but also blessed with my family." The therapist claims she can feel Houben guiding her hand with gentle pressure from his fingers.

There are skeptics though to the claim that Houben is able to communicate. After seeing a video of the therapist working with Houben, Arthur Caplain, a bioethics professor at the U. of Pennsylvania said, "That's called 'facilitated communication.' That is ouija board stuff. It's been discredited time and time again. When people look at it, it's usually the person doing the pointing who's doing the messages, not the person they claim they are helping." A medical team though has verified it is really Houben who is communicating, and Houben's mother also disputes Caplain and thinks her son has been communicating for three years now.

Meanwhile Laureys is re-examining dozens of other cases and believes he has discovered some degree of consciousness in other patients. He estimates some 40% of patients with consciousness disorders are wrongly given a diagnosis of a vegetative state. Many patients from around the world are brought to his center for a battery of tests during a weeklong reassessment. But he admits it can be difficult to tell the difference between a vegetative state and minimal consciousness. Sometimes he has to sadly tell families of a person in a vegetative state that no error was made in the original diagnosis of the patient.

(Photo of a brain scan of a comatose patient from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire article and see a video, click on this link to YAHOO! NEWS/AP.

COMMENT: If this article is to be believed, a "comatose" man in Belgium is fully conscious and is not in a vegetative state. There appears to be no debate about that. One critic, however, questions whether Mr. Houben is really communicating or whether it is his therapist who is doing the real talking. I would suppose Mr. Caplain would have to go there and take the therapist's role for a bit to satisfy his concerns one way or another.

At the very least though, this news should encourage doctors to make every effort to determine whether a person is truly brain dead or not. Hopefully they have the latest scanning equipment. Miracles have happened, even in modern times. Comatose patients have come out of their comas.

Meanwhile, if one of our loved ones should go into a coma, we must see to it that no test is overlooked in determining if the patient is truly in a vegetative state or not. If he/she shows signs of being conscious, then the patient is not dead, and we must leave it up to the Giver of Life to decide when to take that person.

Unhappily, there are too many "comatose" people walking around today who are fully conscious. These are the people who refuse to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence of God's existence in the natural world around them. Let us pray that we can reach these people with the Word of God and that they will admit their sins and come to faith in their Savior. Then when they enter eternity they will inherit a brain that will never die and a body free from every defect.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Is diabetes a growing problem for children?

Yes, incidences of both Type 1 (juvenile) and Type 2 diabetes are increasing in children. Europe reports an annual increase of 4% of Type 1 diabetes in European children. Similar trends are occurring in the U.S. Harmful changes in the environment are suspected as the cause for these increases.

Source: Parade (November 8, 2009)

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Ants Help the Military to Improve Their Techniques

Researcher studies ant trails in order to help plan troop movements on the battlefield.

SUMMARY: Ants are noted for their ability to find the shortest path from nest to food source. They do this by laying down a chemical trail as they walk. At first, the ants wander randomly as they look for food. Because the chemical evaporates gradually, the ants who find the food the soonest will have the shortest paths with the strongest chemical presence. The ants use the chemical to converge on the most efficient route to the food.

Now a U. of Granada researcher, Mora Garcia, has designed a system that uses this behavior to help plan troop movements on the battlefield, and it has caught the interest of the Spanish army. Garcia has developed formulas for choosing the best route for troops in particular environments, maximizing speed of movement while minimizing casualties. Computer simulations of the ant problem-solving process take into account factors such as enemy presence, battlefield settings, and location of troops. Then the mini-simulator software executes the formulas and analyzes the results. The idea is that troops could follow a computer-provided solution while skipping the "random walk" stage.

Scientists say the simulator might also be useful to solve non-military problems such as finding the most efficient path for a sales agent to visit clients, or for distributing goods.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire article, click on this link to WORLD SCIENCE.

COMMENT: Here is another example of biomimicry--the use of features found in nature to inspire human inventions and technologies. (For many other examples of biomimicry, such as the invention of velcro, click on this link to the LSI Journal.)

The implications of biomimicry in the evolution/creation and intelligent design arguments are obvious. Humans are supposed to be the most highly evolved creatures on this planet. Yet we so often end up going to such “primitive” organisms as burrs and ants for features and ideas we haven’t been smart enough to evolve or consider on our own, and that does seems strange.

Isn’t it more reasonable to believe than a Supreme Designer has given to lifeforms the various ingenious features they enjoy for their benefit and survival? For humans, that means we have intelligent and inventive minds. We haven’t been born with wings, but we have invented airplanes with wings to help us fly. We haven’t been born with sonar like bats, but by using our mental capacities we have invented our own sonar.

It is useful at times to look to nature for help in assisting us in our present lives, but nature can’t help us when it comes to planning for our future existence. For this, we need to look at God’s Word, the Holy Bible, where we learn that our futures in Paradise are guaranteed if we allow Jesus Christ to be our substitute and suffer the punishment that we deserve.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What amazing event occurred in the life of a man named Tony Cicoria?

Not particularly adept in the area of music, Cicoria was struck by lightning at the age of 42. Now he is a gifted classical pianist and composer, talents that apparently are traced to his accident.

Source: Discover (December, 2009)

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Ancient Egyptian Woman Had Heart Disease

CT scan of her mummified remains shows plaque in her arteries.

SUMMARY: Lady Rai was a nursemaid to an Egyptian queen who lived three centuries before Pharaoh Ramses I, and she had heart disease. According to researchers in Orlando, a CT scan helped them peer through her tattered wrappings and into her ancient arteries. There they found the same kind of plaque doctors see today in patients.

Today's risk factors for heart disease include fast food, sedentary living and cheap cigarettes, but this maid lived 3,500 years ago. "To me, it means we're all susceptible," says researcher Randall Thompson of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., who presented the findings at an American Heart Association meeting. "To a certain extent, this may be a disease of being human."

The team of scientists examined 22 mummies, dating from 1981 B.C. to 364 A.D. They found heart tissue or blood vessels in 13 and intact hearts in four. Three of the mummies had atherosclerosis (a buildup of fat), cholesterol and calcium inside their arteries. Another three had probable atherosclerosis.

To read the entire article, click on this link to USA TODAY.

COMMENT: This report made me think of the passage from Ecclesiastes: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV)" Although, according to Wikipedia, there is no evidence of smoking before the 9th century and, as far as we know, there were no fast food establishments in Lady Rai's time, she still could have suffered from an inadequate diet and/or a lack of exercise.

This report I believe should make us realistic but not pessimistic. We need to be realistic and realize that there is no guarantee of anything we can do or not do to reach a ripe old age, of say 100. However, we shouldn't be pessimistic about healthful living and a healthy spiritual life letting us achieve as many years as God and our genes want us to enjoy in this world.

Clogged arteries, weak hearts, cancerous tissue, and all other signs that our bodies are wearing out will be a thing of the past when we enjoy perfect health in the only place where perfect health is guaranteed--God's home in heaven, which He is offering to all who come to faith in Jesus as the one and only Savior from sin.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do women get lung cancer as often as men?

In 2007 about 16,000 more men than women were diagnosed with lung cancer, but the gap is narrowing. Between 1930 and 1997, the number of lung cancer deaths among U.S. women increased by 600%! While the incidence of lung cancer among men is decreasing, it is increasing among women. Women's genes are more vulnerable to the cancer-causing effects of cigarette smoke.

Source: Dr. James Hubbard in American Profile (October 25-31, 2009)

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Meditation Cuts Heart Attack Risk in Half

A clinical trial found better results from meditation than from statin drugs.

SUMMARY: Meditation can cut the risk of heart attacks, stroke, and death by almost 50% in patients with existing coronary heart disease, according to a new clinical trial. Relaxation and mental focusing can be as effective as powerful new drugs.

Preventive medicine specialist Robert Schneider from Iowa and Endocrinologist Theodore Kotchen based in Milwaukee collaborated in a test of how effective transcendental meditation (TM) can be on the risk of heart attack. They enlisted 201 patients, all of whom were African American, a high-risk group for heart disease and all of whom had narrowed coronary arteries.

TM is the "most widely used meditation technique" and was invented by an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It grew in popularity in the 1960s thanks to reports that the Beatles practiced it. The technique requires the practitioner to focus on repetitions of a single sound or mantra, such as a phrase from Hindu scripture. It has been shown to decrease blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve mental health, at least in college students. Its effect on overall health or with other ethnic groups is not clear.

In the trial, a control group was given standard treatment involving drugs and also an educational course in cardiovascular health. A second group was told to practice transcendental meditation for 15 to 20 minutes a day. After 5 years (9 years in some cases) the TM group experienced 47% fewer heart attacks, strokes, and deaths. For comparison, statin drugs, which reduce cholesterol levels, tend to lower life-threatening events by 25-30%.

The reason for such a dramatic improvement isn't obvious, but meditating patients had lower blood pressure, and past studies indicated meditation reduces stress hormone levels and dampens the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers the body's stress response. "We've shown that the brain has a direct positive influence on clinical outcomes," says Schneider.

Cardiologist Herbert Benson from Massachusetts praised the study, but he says other stress-reducing techniques such as yoga "or even prayer" may be just as powerful.

To read the entire article, click on this link to SCIENCE.

COMMENT: It is not news that one's mind can affect how one physically reacts whether it is something as innocent as blushing or as serious as extreme anger leading to a heart attack. The advice often given to an agitated person to "relax" does have scientific support when it comes to better health. Meditation, when properly practiced, does seem to relax people. This report then should not be a complete surprise.

For Bible-based Christians though, the type of meditation is very important. Why would we want to constantly repeat a phrase from a different religion when the Bible alone comes to us from God Himself (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16)? He warns us about putting too much trust in worldly things (1 John 2:15, Jeremiah 17:5).

Instead Christians are encouraged to meditate on God's Word (Joshua 1:8, Luke 24:32) and to pray (Psalm 145:18, 1 John 5:14). While some non-Christian meditation practices may apparently provide some benefits, only meditating on God's Holy Word can give us help not only from within but also from outside of ourselves, namely from God, the Great Healer. My suggestion to Dr. Benson when he is mentioning meditation techniques is to say "and especially prayer" instead of "or even prayer."

God not only has the power to heal our bodies, if He so wishes, but even more important He has a plan to heal our souls so that we can enjoy eternity with Him. This He does when He washes away the sins of all those who have repented of their misdeeds and have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What kinds of wood are healthiest to burn in the fireplace?

It can be unhealthy to inhale any wood smoke. However, dry, seasoned wood like oak, maple, birch and poplar produces less smoke than soft woods like pine or wet, moldy logs.

Source: Dr. James Hubbard in American Profile (October 25-31, 2009)

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The Vatican Looks for Life in Space

Catholics try to show they are not hostile to science.

SUMMARY: Four hundred years after locking up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth is the center of the universe, the Roman Catholic Church has come a long way in its relationship with science. Recent popes have been working hard to prove the Catholic Church is not hostile to science by approving such views as the Big Bang, evolution of species, and now the possibility of intelligent life in space.

The Vatican has announced the results of a five-day conference that involved astronomers, physicists, biologists and other experts who discussed astrobiology-the study of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos-and its implications for Catholics. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, an astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, said the gathering focused mainly on the scientific perspective but also considered the possibility of alien life which raises "many philosophical and theological implications."

Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the U. of Arizona, found that Catholics and scientists could come together on this issue. "Both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe," he told a news conference. With scientists having discovered hundreds of planets, Impey thinks the discovery of alien life may be only a few years away. If biology is not unique to Earth or life elsewhere differs bio-chemically from our version, it could have profound implications for our self-image, he said.

This is not the first time the Vatican has considered the possibility of extraterrestrials, even intelligent ones. Last year Funes said, "How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere? Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom."

There are divisions within the Catholic Church on this issue, just as there are in other religions, with some favoring creationism or intelligent design. But the Vatican Observatory has been leading the effort to bring religion and science together.

(Photos from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire article, click on this link to USA TODAY.

COMMENT: It is apparent that the Roman Catholic Church still has not gotten over the embarrassment of the Galileo affair, now some 400 years in the past. Yet, this incident from its history should not cloud its thinking today.

Theologically, the discovery of intelligent life in space would pose some significant problems for Bible-based Christians which the Catholic spokesmen with their rather bland, politically correct statements did not consider. The Bible tells us that sin in the world today is the result of Adam's sin (Romans 5:12) and that Jesus Christ came to save the world from sin (John 3:16).

Suppose intelligent living beings were discovered on some distant planet. Would we not wonder if they were sinful creatures-because they could not have inherited Adam's sin? If they were sinful creatures, could we say that Jesus came to save them-because the Bible says only that Jesus came to earth to save the creatures of this planet? I find it difficult to believe God would put us in such a quandary.

Scientifically, this whole debate seems a bit silly. For decades now scientists have been scanning the heavens with their listening devices for the least little hint that some E.T. has been sending out signals, but to no avail. No matter how many hundreds or thousands or millions of planets are eventually discovered, it doesn’t mask the extreme improbability that intelligent life could have arisen on any one of the planets via natural processes. It couldn’t have happened here, and it’s not likely to have happened anywhere else either.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

When was the computer invented? This may surprise you.

At least 2,000 years ago. In 1901 divers discovered a two thousand-year-old metal wheel, the Antikythera Mechanism (picture from Wikipedia), off the coast of Greece, a machine that turned out to be a surprisingly advanced mechanical computer. A description of this device and its discovery are provided in the book Decoding the Heavens by Jo Marchant.

Source: Discover (December, 2009)

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Did a Gene Mutation Lead to Speech in Humans?

A speech gene is far different in humans than it is in chimpanzees.

SUMMARY: Scientists have identified a mutation in a gene they think might explain why humans can talk but chimpanzees don't. While probably not the only gene involved in speech and language, it does look and act differently in chimps and humans, according to a report in the journal Nature.

Lab tests showed the human version of this gene-named FOXP2-regulates more than 100 other genes differently from the chimp version. These scientists think the mutation happened around the time humans developed the ability to talk. "It's really playing a major role in chimp-human differences," said the study's author, Daniel Geschwind, a professor of neurology, psychiatry and human genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. "You mutate this gene in humans and you get a speech and language disorder." This tells you "what may be happening in the brain."

People with a certain mutation can have subtle physical differences in the lower jaw, the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Eventually, work on this gene and others could perhaps lead to genetic treatments for some people with developmental difficulties, such as autism, because it gives researchers targets.

Some experts warned about making too much of this finding. It is too early and unclear what this discovery means for language and cognitive evolution, according to Marc Hauser, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard. And the U. of Hawaii"s Derek Bickerton says the key question is "why did we get language," not how, since every other species "gets along just fine without it. We must have had some need that other species didn't have."

To read the entire article, click on this link to THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL.

COMMENT: The main problem with this scenario is what mutations can and cannot do. Mutations can delete information from the genetic code of an organism but cannot add it. For instance, a fish can lose it eyesight and even its eyes when it moves into a cave, but even if this change may prove to be a modest advantage, it is still degeneration and not evolution. If some worms who never had eyes were to come out of the ground and grow a pair of peepers, that would be news.

A second problem, as explained by Derek Bickerton, is to explain why humans saw the need for speech and language and supposedly somehow miraculously mutated their genes to achieve it, but chimps didn't see a need and were satisfied with their grunts and squeals. Indeed, in considering all the numerous different species of organisms on earth, why is it only humans were wise enough to "evolve" the powers of speech and language?

Kudos to the scientists for pointing out that humans are different from other species. Calling humans animals is offensive to Bible-believing Christians, even though admittedly some people may perhaps act like animals at times. We not only were given the power of speech and language, we have creative minds and a soul that makes us accountable to God for our actions. In answer to Mr. Bickerton's musing on why humans alone have the power of speech, it is to communicate with and praise the Lord. We have so much for which to praise the Lord, especially the gift of salvation offered to us through the life and death of Jesus Christ. As the hymn says:

Oh, that I had a thousand voices
To praise my God with thousand tongues!
My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
Would then proclaim in grateful songs
To all, wherever I might be.
What great things God has done for me.

(Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, Northwestern Publishing House, 1993.)

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Which bird has the largest wingspan?

The wandering albatross (picture from Wikimedia Commons). A male albatross caught in the Tasman Sea in 1965 had a wingspan of 11 feet, 11 inches. With its impressive wingspan, it is an expert glider and can remain aloft for long periods without beating its wings.

Source: www.usefultrivia

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A Cure for Alcoholism May be Closer

Intoxicated fruit flies have helped scientists find genes that control drinking habits.

SUMMARY: Drunken fruit flies have helped scientists find genes (also present in humans) that play a role in alcohol drinking behavior, a study has found. The investigation has identified molecules in the body that might be targets for anti-alcoholism drugs.

Geneticist Robert Anholt from North Carolina State U. and colleagues timed how long it took for fruit flies to lose control after being exposed to alcohol. While measuring levels of activity in the insects' genes, the scientists were able to pinpoint those that played a crucial role in the response to alcohol exposure.

The scientists then found that humans have the same genes that contribute to alcohol drinking habits as do the flies. Their findings were published in the October issue of Genetics. The journal's editor-in-chief, Mark Johnston, says science has known for a while that genetics have played a role in alcohol consumption. Referring to the genes, Johnston says, "As a result of this work, we have a potential drug target for curing this insidious condition (alcoholism)."

The research also shed light on the negative side effects of drinking such as liver damage and also why some people can tolerate alcohol better than others.

To read the entire article, click on this link to WORLD SCIENCE.

COMMENT: This story illustrates science at its best--research that may help to alleviate a serious condition that affects way too many people. If only the many scientists whose work focuses on conjuring up wild tales of life and the universe "millions and billions" of years ago would only turn to solving current practical problems, the world I believe would be much better off.

A possible downside of a story like this one might be for some people to blame their sinful behavior on nature or their genes. A sin is a sin and people must take responsibility for all their misdeeds. Yes, one's genetic makeup might make it easier to fall into certain sins, but Jesus blames our souls, not our genes, for sin when he says, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19, NIV)

In college I had a very respected professor who admitted he had an inclination for wanting to gamble. Even when he himself resisted the urge to gamble, he said he still liked opportunities to watch other people gamble. Yet, he didn't blame his flesh (i.e. bad genes) for any shortcomings, but he recognized the potential for losing large sums of money and apparently, with God's help, resisted those temptations.

The reason we are sinful is due to the fact we have inherited a sinful nature from our parents (Psalm 51:5) who inherited it from their parents, and so on, all the way back to Adam (Romans 5:12). That may be the reason, but it's not an excuse. Thankfully, we have a perfect cure for our sinful souls. The cure can't be found with science but only with God. The Father sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we believers could enter heaven's gates on the Last Day without any faulty genes or sinful hearts.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

The wife of what world leader claims to have been abducted by aliens?

Miyuki Hatoyama (picture from Wikipedia), wife of Japan's Premier Yukio Hatoyama, claims that while she was asleep, her soul rode in a triangular-shaped UFO to Venus, which she found to be a very beautiful place.

Source: Parade (November 8, 2009)

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Over 17,000 Species Could Go Extinct

Tigers are among animals facing extinction.

SUMMARY: Over 17,000 species are threatened with extinction, a leading environmental group, the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, has said.

More than one in five of all known mammals, over 25% of reptiles, about 1/3 of freshwater fishes, and 70% of plants are included in the 17,291 species thought to be under threat, according to the survey. Craig Hilton-Taylor, who manages the list, believes many more species yet to be assessed could also be under serious threat.

Included on this "Red List" is the tiger, of which only 3,200 are thought to still be alive in the wild because of a shrinking habitat due to human encroachment. More than 300 reptiles were added to the list this year, including the Panay monitor lizard and the sail-fin water lizard, both of which are hunted for food and threatened by logging in their native Philippines.

A rare Panamanian tree frog, the Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, discovered only four years ago, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear because of deforestation and infection. This unusually large frog glides through the forest using its big webbed feet to steer safely to the ground. A fungus is thought responsible for its current predicament.

Some species have recovered thanks to conservation efforts. For instance, the Australian grayling, a freshwater fish, improved from "vulnerable" to "near threatened" because of fish ladders at dams and other protection measures.

To read the entire article, click on this link to FOX NEWS.

COMMENT: It is sad to learn that so many of God's creatures are disappearing from our world. One doesn't have to be an environmentalist or animal rights activist to realize something is wrong. That something is sin, sin which has marred our beautiful world and which caused St. Paul to write, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22, NIV)" Of course, this shouldn't be an excuse for being indifferent to problems in nature or with the world's inhabitants, human as well as non-human.

It is easy to see that the world and the whole universe are winding down. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (entropy) states that as time proceeds there is a decreasing amount of useful energy and things are becoming more disorganized. Thus, far more species are going extinct than new species being observed.

This trend will unfortunately continue until the end of time when we shall see a dramatic change. When that moment comes, those who have placed their faith in their Savior, Jesus Christ, will say good-bye to their diseased, weak bodies and instead inherit perfect bodies. They will enter a world where sin, disease, death, and sadness will have gone extinct. This is what we true believers anticipate as we desire to be with Jesus who said He was going to heaven to get a place ready just for us (John 14:2-3).

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

How many known species of birds are there in the world?

About 10,000. The best continent for bird watching is South America where over 3,200 species are known to exist.

Source: www.usefultriva.com

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Old-Earth Creationism Growing in Islamic Countries

Muslims object in particular to the idea of human evolution.

SUMMARY: Creationism is growing among Muslims, but it appears to be primarily of the old-Earth variety and is still the minority view in Muslim countries, academics at a meeting in Massachusetts were told. While the Koran, the holy book of Islam, says the universe was created in six days, it leaves the door open for an older Earth by adding that a day is "a thousand years of your reckoning."

Salman Hameed, who convened the two-day conference at Hampshire College where he is a professor, said that views of scientific evolution are clearly influenced by underlying religious beliefs and that there is no young-Earth creationism. More and more Muslims, while accepting the views of astronomers and geologists, are quarreling with modern biology. The degree of acceptance of evolution varies among Islamic countries.

High school textbooks in Pakistan cover the theory of evolution although also containing quotations from the Koran, a practice that suggests religion and evolution can coexist. A survey of high school students there found 28% were basically creationists with 60% holding to evolution. Some 86% thought that fossils showed life has existed for billions of years and changed over time.

The situation in Turkey has been changing. A conference participant said he never encountered creationism while growing up in the 1970s. Now creationist books appear in bookstores in the science sections and the teaching of evolution has largely disappeared below the university level. In Indonesia fewer students support evolution than in Turkey, but 85% still believe fossils indicate life has existed for billions of years and changed over time.

What many Muslims can’t tolerate is the idea of human evolution. The Koran states that Allah created Adam, the first man, separately out of clay. Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a prominent atomic physicist, says that when he lectures about the evolution of life beginning with the Big Bang, everything goes pretty well until he gets to the time when “the apes stand up.” Then he hears objections. Biology education in Muslim countries may include evolutionist views, except for the origins of humans.

Islamic creationists have readily borrowed arguments from Western creationists, minus the young-Earth aspects, and Muslims living in the West appear to have more strongly adopted creationism. Muslims of high school age living near Toronto were far more doubting of evolution than students living in Indonesia or Pakistan. Many Canadian Muslims even are young-Earth creationists, with only half the students surveyed at Islamic schools in the Toronto area agreeing that fossils showed life has existed for billions of years or changed over time.

(Picture of Muslim mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire lengthy article, click on this link to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

COMMENT: Some people may be surprised at the similarities of the creation account in the Bible and in the Koran. We need to remember that the Islamic religion did not originate until the 7th century B.C. when it is said that the prophet Muhammad received special revelations and recorded them in the Koran. It seems pretty obvious that he had access to the Bible. In fact, Muslims, like Christians and Jews, trace their history to Abraham. Muslims also honor Jesus Christ, but as a prophet and not as the Savior God.

Perhaps the growing acceptance of creationism, even young-Earth creationism, among Muslims in the West might provide an opportunity to reach them with the Gospel. Because of the similarity of the creation accounts, these followers of Allah might be open to learning about the fall of Adam and Eve and the promise of a Savior. If St. Paul could be converted by the Holy Spirit from a murderer of Christians to a brave preacher of Jesus as Savior, then any other person by the grace of God could also. May we all pray for Muslims and for those Christians who are working to bring the wonderful message of salvation to them.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Is the demand for software engineers increasing or leveling off?

Increasing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a need for more than 324,000 new software engineers by 2016. But the Computing Research Association found only 10,000 undergraduate computer-science degrees were awarded by major universities in 2008.

Source: Parade (10/18/09)

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Built-in Compasses of Migrating Birds Have Been Located

Scientists find certain cells in the eyes of the birds can sense magnetic fields.

SUMMARY: Scientists have known that migrating birds have built-in biological compasses that guide them on their flights--a magnetic sixth sense--but until now there have been two separate theories of where these compasses are located. A study appearing October 29 in Nature appears to have answered that question.

Some researchers had thought iron-based receptors in the upper beaks of some migratory birds sense the magnetic field and send the information along a nerve to the brain. Other scientists suggested light-sensing cells in the birds' eyes sense the magnetic field and send the information along a different path to a part of the brain called cluster N.

Study coauthor Henrik Mouritsen of the University of Oldenburg in Germany and colleagues caught 36 migratory European robins (picture from Wikimedia Commons) for testing. By means of surgeries, they deactivated one or the other of the two systems in each bird. What they found was that the birds in which the beak-to-brain nerves were severed still could orientate themselves perfectly while the birds whose cluster N regions were damaged by the scientists could no longer sense and orient to magnetic fields.

Understanding more about how birds navigate and sense the environment might help conservationists to be able to trick birds into staying in safe areas. About the birds' ability to navigate, Mouritsen says, “This is basically the sixth sense of biology, but no one knows how it works. The magnetic sense is by far the least understood sense in the natural world.”

To read the entire article, click on this link to US NEWS.

COMMENT: This story, in my opinion, has at least two questions for people who believe that amazing abilities in animals such as bird navigation can be achieved through natural means.

First, isn't it a bit strange that very intelligent modern scientists can't figure out the magnetic sense of birds, as Mouritsen admitted, but yet supposedly these dumb animals were able to figure it out on their own?

Secondly, if these birds were able to evolve this very useful ability via natural selection, why didn't other creatures exposed to the same environment choose to adopt this talent? Why haven't humans evolved this feature, as it would be very helpful to us and we could dispose of all our manmade compasses?

The most reasonable position to take is that all creatures were designed by a Creator God who gave them the gifts that they need to get along in this world. People don't need built-in compasses because we have the mental ability to navigate by other means.

What we do need is a compass or roadmap that will show us the way to our final destination. This roadmap exists. It is known as the Holy Bible which clearly explains that Jesus Christ is the "way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through" Him. John 14:6 (NIV)

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What bird launches from a tree branch backwards?

The male Resplendent Quetzal (picture from Wikimedia Commons) of Central America has such a long tail it could rip the tail to shreds unless it takes off backwards. The Quetzal is an endangered species and is pictured on the Guatemalan flag.

Source: www.usefultriva.com

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Little Evidence of Evolution Seen in Colombian Rainforest

Plant fossils "millions of years old" look just like modern plants.

SUMMARY: A "gold mine" of "58 million-year-old" plant fossils discovered by U. of Florida researchers in a coal mine in Colombia (picture from Wikimedia Commons) shows the climate there has changed but not the vegetation. Evidence indicates the climate at one time was warmer and wetter, but the area's fossilized tropical plants look the same as today's flora, except they weren't as diverse. The Cerrejón formation containing this coal mine had earlier produced the fossil remains of a huge snake Florida researchers called Titanoboa, which is clearly related to today's boas and anacondas.

These discoveries pose the question of why after "58 million years" for evolution to take place, virtually no change has happened in this rainforest. Sometimes evolution theorists will say that a failure of creatures to evolve in a certain area is due to the lack of a change in the environment. However, the environment in this rainforest has clearly changed, so why not the plants? The scientists admitted that the “legumes, palms, avocado and banana — have maintained their ecological dominance despite major changes in South America’s climate and geological structure.”

To read the entire article, click on this link to ICR.

COMMENT: First, we have numerous examples of creatures that haven't changed in appearance in supposedly millions of years. Secondly, we have no indisputable examples of transitional forms either in the modern world or in the fossil record. Shouldn't the reasonable person conclude that the idea of one kind of creature changing into another lacks any support in nature?

The only dramatic changes in organisms that can be documented are not physical, but spiritual. For instance, many scientists have given up on the gods of evolution and concluded that there must be a living personal God who has planned and designed the world and the creatures we see in it today. Some of them have told their stories in the book, Persuaded by the Evidence.

True Christians rejoice every time a person, highly educated or not, comes to faith in the Creator God and his plan of salvation offered to everyone through Jesus Christ.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

How many chicken eggs would it take to equal one ostrich egg in weight?

One ostrich egg weighs about 3 to 4 pounds -- the equivalent of around 24 chicken eggs! An ostrich can lay as many as 70 of these massive eggs in one year.

Source: www.usefultrivia.com

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