Light Echo: V838 Monocerotis

 "The star mentioned on page 242 of, Dismantling the Big Bang is

known as V838 Monocerotis (named because it was the 838^th variable star of the faint constellation Monoceros (Unicorn)). The Hubble space telescope first spotted it in 2002. Because there are still questions of how and why it erupted, V838 Monocerotis is thought to be a binary star system, i.e., two stars orbiting close together. It is in the constellation of Monoceros, 19,000 light years away.

 

If the speed of light has changed in the past, the change would most likely occur at a time when miracles are freely allowed. 

---For Evolutionists this is the Planck era, i.e. the first 5.39 × 10^-44 s of the universe, where current theories of physics are not able to make retrodictions. 

---For the creationist, this is Creation Week.

Although creationists can account for a change in the speed of light (we have a miracle worker), most creationist astronomers suggest alternative theories as a solution to the light travel time problem.

But in the case of V838 Monocerotis, the speed limit of the universe appears to be broken!

It is important to note that the object expanding is not the star itself

(or the remnants of the 2002 eruption) but a surrounding shell of nearby interstellar dust (presumably from an earlier eruption).

The shell only appears to expand at a superluminal velocity because the light the dust gives off is a ‘light echo:’ The light originates from the star’s 2002 eruption and is re-radiated by the dust shell. 

Similar geometric effects produce apparent superluminal motion in radio galaxies, BL Lac objects (active galactic nuclei that emit signals that vary on all time scales and at all frequencies!), quasars and blasars.

Galaxies do appear to be moving away from us and the Bible describes a stretching of the heavens: covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. Psalm 104:2, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out Isaiah 42:5; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone;44:24; have stretched out the heavens 45:12; and My right hand hath spanned the heavens: 48:13; that hath stretched forth the heavens 51:13 that I may plant the heavens 51:16; hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion Jeremiah 10:12; hath stretched out the heaven by His understanding 51:15; which stretcheth forth the heavens Zechariah 12:1.

A light echo: Light ray A, direct from the source (yellow star) arrives at the observer (blue dot) first. Light ray B and C reflect off the gas cloud, but because B has a shorter path it arrives at the observer first. To the observer, B and C appear to come from the same point in the sky. It therefore appears that the illumination of the gas cloud in the direction perpendicular to A is faster than the speed of light.

The universe appears to be expanding in all directions, in a similarway, stars explode in all directions." 

CMI

If God created the universe, then who created God?

"A number of skeptics ask this question. 

But God by definition is the uncreated creator of the universe, 

--so the question ‘Who created God?’ is illogical, just like ‘To whom is the bachelor married?’

So a more sophisticated questioner might ask: ‘If the universe needs a cause, then why doesn’t God need a cause? And if God doesn’t need a cause, why should the universe need a cause?’ 

In reply, Christians should use the following reasoning:

*Everything which has a beginning has a cause.

*The universe has a beginning.
*Therefore the universe has a cause.

The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning.

God, unlike the universe, had no beginning, so doesn’t need a cause. In addition, Einstein’s general relativity, which has much experimental support, shows that time is linked to matter and space. So time itself would have begun along with matter and space. 

Since God, by definition, is the creator of the whole universe, He is the creator of time. 

Therefore He is not limited by the time dimension He created, so has no beginning in time—God is ‘the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity’ (Isaiah 57:15). 

Therefore He doesn’t have a cause." 

CMI

Stomata of plants

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 

"The stomata of plants:

---These tiny gates permit the exchange of gases, adjusting

automatically to day/night cycles and environmental cues they read from sensors in the leaves. The guard cells around the openings adjust their turgor pressure to open and close according to the needs of the plants. It’s a marvelously sophisticated system that is exquisitely functional to a high degree of precision." 

CEH

VENUS: Why are they "surprised"?

Q: Why are they "surprised"?

Q: Because based on their idea of the age of Venus it should be a dead planet by now.....oops.
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Hebrews 1:2

"Venus may be far more geologically alive than anyone expected. New research suggests its outer crust could be churning with convection, a process that helps move heat and may explain the planet’s tens of thousands of volcanoes.

This overturns assumptions that crustal convection only happens deep in planetary interiors like Earth’s mantle. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have run new calculations suggesting that Venus’ outer crust could be continuously churning through a process known as convection.

“Nobody had really considered the possibility of convection in the crust of Venus before,” said Slava Solomatov, a professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences." 

SciTechDaily

Language Makes Humans Human

 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Genesis 2:19

"Of all the animal world, only humans have the ability to perceive current circumstance in 

--the context of time and space, 

--make moral judgments about right and wrong, 

--and therefore be culpable for intent, which requires premeditation. 

Man’s ability to reason is one aspect that fundamentally sets this “rational animal” apart to uniquely reflect the imago Dei (image of God). 

Finite human rationality is responsible for these differentiating

characteristics, which will be demonstrated to be necessarily dependent on language. 

Language, then, becomes a necessary but insufficient condition for thought, serving as the fabric or material out of which rational thoughts are constructed. 

*Our worldview, in a global sense, is consequently constructed out of our accumulated knowledge, which is based in language and thereby circumscribes our worldview’s boundaries. Denied language, then, man’s ability to think would be reduced to immediate, animal-like reasoning.

However, our ideas are both described by and constrained by the words we have available to define and describe those ideas. 

Only by way of language are we able to form higher-level cumulative thought.

Language gives man the unique ability to recast the immediate in light of a larger context by framing current circumstance in the context of time, space, relationship, principles, and logic." 

AIG

Teleology

 “Teleology” is a scientific term which is defined as ‘purpose in nature.’ 

Atheism denies teleology in the universe. 

For this reason some biologists have forbidden their students to use purposeful language. In 1974 Ernst Mayr illustrated it like this:Statement #1 is purposeful, statement #2 is not. 

Mayr does fancy footwork in order to avoid reference to design in biology. (It also converts all of his writing to colorless passive sentences. Any good writer will tell you passive language is a sign of mushy thinking.)
The famous biologist JBS Haldane joked, “Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot live without her but he’s unwilling to be seen with her in public.”
Everything in biology is purposeful. Which is precisely why biology is fundamentally different than chemistry.
Chemicals have no purpose. 

Organisms do. 

You cannot formulate a coherent description of life

 if you deny purpose.

1. “The Wood Thrush migrates in the fall in order to escape the inclemency of the weather and the food shortages of the northern climates.”

2. “The Wood Thrush migrates in the fall and thereby escapes the inclemency of the weather and the food shortages of the northern climates.”

CosmicFingerprints

The Lord has made everything for its purpose....

Proverbs 16:4 ESV

Evolutionary "Glitch" Claim of "Random Mutations"

I have seen the foolish taking root:

Job 5:3

Evolutionary Claim: “Random mutations are usually neutral or harmful but occasionally they confer a benefit to an organism. Natural Selection filters out the harmful mutations, causing species to evolve.”

"This is the central dogma of neo-Darwinism and is allegedly accepted by “virtually all scientists.” You will find it in literally 1,000 textbooks and 10,000 websites.

But I’m an EE. 

--I know that the information in DNA is a signal. 

--By definition, random mutations are noise. 

Telling a communications engineer that adding noise to a signal

sometimes create new, useful data structures is like telling a nurse you can occasionally cure a common cold by swallowing rat poison.
You’ll be hard pressed to find any communications engineer who, upon examining this claim, would agree with it.

Q: Have you ever had a data glitch on your computer that improved your files? Ever? 

--There is not a one single principle or practice in engineering that would ever suggest that this is actually true."
Cosmicfingerprints.com

Manufacturing of a raw protein: stop signals & a postal address

 I lay my hand on my mouth. Job 40:4

"The manufacturing of a raw protein is nothing short of an engineering miracle. The cell starts with a complex machine called a ribosome. This is composed of multiple proteins and RNAs, each of which must be coded in the DNA, manufactured with ATP-dependent processes … you get the drill.

*The mRNA is fed into the ribosome from one end. 

*The mRNA will be translated into protein three letters at a time. 

*Each set of three letters is called a ‘codon’. There are 64 possible codons and 21 amino acids, so some amino acids are ‘coded’ by more than one codon. 

*Three of the codons are used as ‘stop’ signals, but one of them can also code for the amino acid selenocysteine.

A series of adaptor molecules called transfer RNAs (tRNA) enter the ribosome. 

*At the base of each tRNA is a three-letter ‘anti-codon’ that matches a codon. 

*At the top of each tRNA is an amino acid that is removed from the tRNA and added to the growing protein strand. 

*Each tRNA is ‘charged’ with its amino acid by a specific protein in the aminoacyl transferase family. There are elaborate mechanisms to make sure the right amino acid is charged, not the wrong one, even if chemically similar. Not only do these proteins require ATP in their manufacture, but the charging step and the protein elongation step

also burn ATP.

Most proteins, if left to themselves, will fold up into a useless knot of random coils. Thus, they need help folding. After the strand leaves the ribosome, helper proteins called chaperones clamp onto the unfolded strand. 

*The protein is then escorted to, and inserted into, a huge multi-protein molecule called a chaperonin. We’re not exactly certain what happens inside, but the chaperonin will fold the protein into its near-finished state and spit it out the other end. More proteins. More activity. More ATP burned.

The final stage in the manufacturing process is delivery. 

Proteins must be actively transported to the site where they are needed. To do that, the cell uses a kinesin protein. There are many different kinesin types, but the main one we need to know about is a slender molecule with two legs. Those legs literally walk along a microtubule (made of proteins that require ATP in their manufacturing, transport, and assembly). Each step requires one ATP. The package to be delivered is stored on the top end of the kinesin and various signals and modifications to it effectively serve as a postal address." 

CMI

Biology And Sunsets

1. Stress reduction: It can be a great stress reliever.

2. Improved sleep quality: Sunsets produce a red and orange light spectrum that can help regulate your circadian rhythm.
3. Boosted mood: Watching the sunset can lift your spirits.
4. Opportunity for reflection: Sunsets inspire reflection and gratitude.
5. Slowed down time: The experience can make time feel more meaningful.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest...be in health,.. 

3 John 1:2