In previous posts, I have written extensively about the rising tide of Islam, particularly in The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night Since writing this blog in January, 2008, a couple of resources have become available that communicate the threat succinctly:

· The short movie Fitna was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament in the Netherlands.
· The documentary The Demographic Winter was produced.
· The following call to action is compelling (if you are receiving this via email subscription, visit the blog to view the short video):

I predicated in a previous blog that the Netherlands would be the first European democratic government to fall to the rising tide of Islam within ten years – with the rest of Europe soon following. An indicator of the threat is that Muhammad has been the most popular baby name in Amsterdam for years. It will be instructive to the rest of Europe to view how the famously-decadent Amsterdamians fare under Sharia law.

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

Piracy on the High Seas: The US Navy Returns to its Roots
The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

I read a remarkable research paper this morning.  It is titled The Return of a Static Universe and the End of Cosmology.  It can be found at: http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0704/0704.0221v3.pdf

The authors are:
Lawrence M. Krauss, Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University
Robert J. Scherrer, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University,The article won the 5th place prize in the 2007 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition, and will be published in the October 2007 issue of General Relativity and Gravitation.  Here is the conclusion of their research.  I’ll follow with a couple of observations:

“The remarkable cosmic coincidence that we happen to live at the only time in the history of the universe when the magnitude of dark energy and dark matter densities are comparable has been a source of great current speculation, leading to a resurgence of interest in possible anthropic arguments limiting the value of the vacuum energy (see, e.g., Ref. [19]). But this coincidence endows our current epoch with another special feature, namely that we can actually infer both the existence of the cosmological expansion, and the existence of dark energy. Thus, we live in a very special time in the evolution of the universe: the time at which we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time in the evolution of the universe!

“Observers when the universe was an order of magnitude younger would not have been able to discern any effects of dark energy on the expansion, and observers when the universe is more than an order of magnitude older will be hard pressed to know that they live in an expanding universe at all, or that the expansion is dominated by dark energy. By the time the longest lived main sequence stars are nearing the end of their lives, for all intents and purposes, the universe will appear static, and all evidence that now forms the basis of our current understanding of cosmology will have disappeared.”

The cosmological expansion referred to is the Hubble effect.  Simply stated, Hubble demonstrated that the universe is expanding at an increasing rate.  This is responsible for the ‘red shift’ astronomers have observed in the furthest galaxies.  For a layman like me, the best analogy I can relate this to is the sound of a train’s whistle as it passes by a stationery observer.  As the train approaches, the soundwaves are compressed, and the pitch is high.  When it passes, the soundwaves are stretched apart and the pitch is lower.  Hugh Ross explains this much better in his books.  Steven Hawkin’s A Briefer History of Time also provides a wonderful layman-oriented explanation. So – in astronomy, the red-shift of distant galaxies is comparable to the low-pitch of a receding train whistle.  Hubble was able to demonstrate (in keeping with Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity) that the observable light from galaxies had a red shift that was directly correlated with their distance from us.  In other words, the further away they are, the faster they are moving away from us.In a speech at a Lifework Leadership seminar, I heard Hugh Ross explain this pheomenon.  He indicated that the Hot Big Bang model of the universe can be visualized with an expanding balloon.  If you put three dots on the surface of the balloon and expand it, you will notice that the dots move away from one another.  More importantly, the dots will move apart at differing rates.  The dots furthest from one another will move apart at an accelerating rate relative to dots that are closest.   This is the red shift.Here’s another sound wave analogy that sets the stage for understanding the article above.  Imagine a fighter jet (Navy, of course…) traveling faster than the speed of sound.  As it approaches an observer, it cannot be heard because it is outpacing any sounds being emitted by its turbines.  As it passes, the sound waves catch up with one another, and overlap.  The turbulance created by this phenomenon is called a sonic boom. 

Here’s the gist of the article above:  The ability of cosmology to observe the universe and to come to an understanding of its nature has a narrow window of opportunity.  If you go back too far in time, the light from the distant galaxies would not yet have reached the earth, and we would be unaware of their existence.  Conversely, if humans still exist on our planet in the distant future, no observations of the universe will be possible because the rate of expansion in the universe is about to outpace the speed of light.  When this happens, the furthest galaxies will ‘blink out’ first, followed in turn by those closer to us.  At some point in time, we will only be able to detect stars within our ‘static’ galaxy, much like the Navy pilot can only hear the hum of his turbines as he travels faster than the speed of sound.

It is interesting to consider that most of the implications and proofs of Einstein’s theories of General and Specific Relativity would be impossible in a static universe.  In fact, the development of the theories themselves may not have been possible in such an environment.

Since the ability to study the universe and develop a comprehensive understanding of God’s creation is limited to a narrow span of time (Cosmologically speaking), we have to ask whether that is coincidence.  When put in context with the hundreds of examples of the fine-tuning necessary for Earth to support life, I believe mankind’s existence during this particular epoch should be interpreted as our Creator’s desire that we should know him and his handiwork in an intimate way.

The authors of this study should have won the first place prize.

Liam

I welcome your comments and observations!

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

In The Y Factor, I make the point that the the earliest scientists were Christians. To have included more background information would have been a bit contrived in the context of the novel, so I offer it here as additional background.

The contention is that Western Christian culture is the only one that could spawn the scientific method.  Many have written on the topic. A precise, thorough review can be found here: The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science by Kenneth R. Samples.  The link will take you to the Reasons to Believe website.  This is Hugh Ross’ highly respected organization.

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism

Since the 1980s, research has been conducted on human DNA to determine when the branches of the human family tree first separated.  The most well-known of these research efforts is the Genographic project by the National Geographic Society (www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic).

Many small mutations, called markers, have been identified in DNA samples taken from around the world.  By analyzing the patterns of mutation found in geographically isolated population groups, the rate of mutation has been estimated. 

An analogy: You could tell how long it took me to type this manuscript if you knew the number of mistakes I make per minute.  You could count the mistakes in the whole manuscript and do the math. 

The same is true with documented mutations in population groups.  The patterns of shared markers makes it possible to extrapolate when racial groups diverged from one another.  As data accumulates, the models have been refined and Anthropology continues to be rewritten. 

Even the earliest researchers concluded that we descended from one man and woman whom they dubbed Adam and Eve.  The earliest studies estimated that the point of convergence was over 200,000 years ago, and may have been influence by the pressure exerted by evolutionists.  Refinements continue to be made and current estimates are that the first humans lived no more than 75,000 years ago. 

This relatively late appearance of fully developed Homo Sapiens presents an uncomfortable problem for evolutionists who have postulated a linear progression of species differentiation from a common primate ancestor.  The small, insignificant mutations that have been identified over this narrow time span are limited to coloration of eyes, skin and hair as well as body mass, hair texture and facial characteristics like nose and eyelid formation.

At the same time, recovery and analysis of viable DNA from over a dozen geographically-dispersed Neanderthal remains has revealed a tight statistical correlation in their DNA.  Human DNA shows the same clustering, but the two groups are statistically far apart.  The conclusion: there is no possibility that the two groups are genetically related to one another.  The complete Neanderthal genome is due to be unveiled in a few months, by the group at the Max Planck Institute.  A similar conclusion has recently been derived at from Homo Erectus DNA.

So, for the first time, biological data augments what the fossil record has stubbornly demonstrated after 125 years of searching: the sudden appearance of fully-developed and differentiated species with no transitional forms.

In response, evolutionists are now suggesting that there must have been an evolutionary explosion, resulting in a multitude of hominid dead-ends.  (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17542627/site/newsweek/)  Homo Sapiens were the lucky species that evolved the right combination of traits to survive the natural selection crap shoot.

We can anticipate that the advancement of science will continue to vindicate the Biblical account, as eloquently portrayed in Robert Jastrow’s God and the Astronomers:

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Regarding the point of convergence in the earliest Homo Sapien man and woman, an interesting anomaly consistently appears in the data across all studies.  The original woman, ‘Eve,’ seems to be much further back in time than the earliest man.  To date, an adequate explanation for this has not been advanced.  There seems to be no satisfactory explanation for the greater variation in the female-specific mitochondrial DNA than in the male-specific Y chromosome.

Naturalists emphasize that that men often don’t pass their Y chromosome to another generation when they have no male children, or die before procreating.  Given that men are more aggressive, expressed in warlike tendencies, large numbers of them died in battles throughout the ages.  The victors often killed all males from the vanquished tribes to suppress the possibility of future rebellion.  So, in an extreme example of survival of the fittest, the naturalists would have us believe that one man who lived tens of thousands of years after Eve, was the only one lucky enough to sire an unbroken lineage of male children.  In contrast, all other men who had lived until that time were less fortunate.  Their line of Y chromosome died out over the ages.

I believe statisticians would tell us this is beyond the realm of chance.  The early dispersion of population groups makes all derivatives of this explanation implausible. 

I would contend that a single catastrophic event is a better explanation for the disappearance of all other strains of the chromosome.  At first blush, this would seem problematic.  How could one event narrow the genetic variation in the male side of the species and not do the same to the other?

The flood is the only model that fits.  The Scriptures indicate that only eight people survived the cataclysm: Noah, his three sons, and their respective wives.  Noah passed his Y chromosome to his three sons.  Hence, no variation would be present in the only Y chromosomes to survive in the human family.  All men today are direct descendents of Noah, so he is the point of convergence.

The wives were another matter.  The Bible doesn’t specifically state it, but by chance and chance alone, at least one of them would have been from a different family.  Therefore, a certain amount of variation in their mitochondrial DNA would have been present.  Any variation at all explains the statistical anomaly in the data; the point of convergence has to be further back in time for the female half of our species.

Other blog entries you may find interesting:

The New Dark Ages: A Long Eurabian Night
Hand-Wringing Diplomacy: Mideast Peace is an Impossible Goal
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
A Woman’s Place in Islam
Islamic Law Requires Breast Feeding of Male Co-workers
What is the Qur’an? Archaeological Find Invalidates Islam’s Holy Book
Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Persecute You
Madrassah Schools: Why They Pose a Threat to Western Civilization
Violence in the Bible: 1st Response to a Muslim
Validity of Scripture: 2nd Response Presents The Bible as Superior to the Qur’an
The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
DNA and the Flood: The Biblical Account is Written in Our Genetic Code
Jihad.com: Islamofascists Are Recruiting Via the Internet
A Brief History of Islam
Submission: The Movie That Led a Muslim to Assassinate Theo Van Gogh
Honoring America’s Fallen Warriors
Profile of A Reluctant Hero: Why Christians Should Defend Themselves
The Enlightenment of Atheism