) columns for 23 years.| 2021 Web Sites of the Month |
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| Web Site of the Month - January 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| Rethinking the Evidence from Science and the Bible |
The January 2021 website review looks at a book I recently discovered while searching for information regarding the Creation vs. Evolution controversy on the Internet. You can find a preview of this book by performing a search at books.google.com and entering "Creation vs Evolution Alan Hayward" as the search term.
The preview you find on the Internet presents the cover page of the book, the Table of Contents, the Introduction, and most of Part I – THE GENUINE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIONS TO DARWINISM. The Introduction to the book observes that presidential candidate Ronald Reagan declared that he had creationist sympathies in 1979, and "Ever since the public has been subjected to a barrage of books, articles and television programmes about evolution and creation...The subject is so technical, and attitudes on both sides are often so unreasonable and unhelpful, that the man in the street has often despaired of finding out what is going on." From the spelling of “programmes” you can guess that the author of the book is from England.
It makes for interesting reading to learn about the battle between creationists and evolutionists from its very beginning in England, and how it was "spiced with sarcasm and venom."
The book author's aim was to produce a kind of "Plain Man's Guide to What is Going On." He points out that his position is somewhere in the middle ground between the two hotly contested extremes, and then presents a section titled "A QUESTION OF DEFINITIONS" where he describes three different concepts: 'succession', 'evolution' and 'Darwinism', and how these three distinct terms are used in the book.
Next follows a section titled "CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TO CREATION" which describes the three different ways Christians view the subject of creation and evolution. He categorizes the views as:
In this section the author also presents a logic diagram that illustrates the views of creationists and evolutionists.
In the next section, "THE PLAN OF THIS BOOK", the author explains why in Part I of his book "My arguments and quotations have been drawn exclusively from the writings of evolutionists who oppose Darwinism." Also, you can learn what is contained in Part II and Part III of the book. You will need to purchase a copy of the book if you want to read what the author has to say about "THE AGE OF THE EARTH" and "BIBLE TEACHING ON CREATION."
In Part I you can read about the objections to Darwinism by evolutionists. This part of the book is divided into 4 chapters:
It is interesting to read about the many objections evolutionists from many different disciplines have regarding Darwinism and how they have been unable to arrive at an alternative explanation of evolution that other evolutionists would find reasonable.
| Web Site of the Month - February 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| A site dedicated to promoting the intelligent design theory. |
The website review for this month looks at a site of a non-profit organization "dedicated to promoting intelligent design theory and fostering good – spirited discussion and a better understanding over intelligent design theory and the creation – evolution issue among students, educators, churches, and anyone else interested." The main page of the site invites a reader to “JOIN THE IDEA REVOLUTION!” and welcomes you to the IDEA Center and provides information about "IDEA Clubs", News & Events and links to Articles, and a link to a site which provides access to websites, articles, and organizations in the Intelligent Design movement.
To explore the content of this site each page of the site provides the following navigation tabs:
Following the "About IDEA Center" tab you can learn about the history, purpose, and mission of the Center. Here you also find how the Center describes Intelligent Design. "Intelligent design (ID) is a scientific theory which states that certain features of nature are the result of an intelligent cause. ID is thus heavily dependent upon information theory because one if its fundamental premises is that information that is complex (highly ordered) and specified (fits a pre-existing pattern) is not produced by naturally occurring events (chance or law-governed processes). Rather, this sort of observable information and complexity is best explained as the result of purposeful action by an intelligent designer." ID is described as a scientific theory that life was designed by an intelligence. ID does not make the claim that the God of the Bible is the designer. That leads to the question, "Is Intelligent Design Theory Science or Religion?" You can find the Center's views on the above question in the article "Religious and Scientific Affiliations" found under the heading of "Purpose and Mission". This article discusses the nature of science, the nature of religion, and the relationship of science and religion.
The "Resources" tab provides many resources related to Intelligent Design and evolution. You will find many articles you can download as PDF files. Here you will also find "Creation & Evolution Links." Since I often search the web for finding interesting and "useful" creation – evolution websites, I found it helpful that the above-mentioned links are rated according to the amount of easy-to-access "useful" material on a site. A table with Rating, Site Link, and a brief Description is provided for the following:
The "IDEA Student Clubs" tab provides the information on how to start a Club for your school. You will also find many helpful resources and Chapter Locations around the country.
Besides learning about Intelligent Design Theory, there is much to explore how ID relates to Evolutionary Theory on this site. You will find many articles and ID FAQs and Primers on this site that cover both topics. Also, you can just use the "Search" tab to find information of interest.
| Web Site of the Month - March 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| Website promoting the documentary film “IS GENESIS HISTORY?” |
For the website review for this month, we are looking at the website that promotes the above-mentioned documentary film. A reviewer of the film states that it "Attempts to deal with that one simple question: Is the biblical account of creation and flood meant to be understood as history? And Does the world give evidence of recent creation and catastrophic flood? Host Del Tackett tackles these questions head-on and does so in a compelling way."
The main page of the site starts with a continuous scrolling video of scenes from the documentary film and provides the following navigation links to explore the site: At the top left, there is a pulldown menu guiding the reader to SHOP, OVERVIEW, RESOURCES, TOPICS, CONTACT, DONATE and a link to the IMDB database describing the details about the video version of the film. At the top right, there are links related to your shopping cart and a search link. The middle top “IS GENESIS HISTORY?” link guides you back to the main page from any page of the site. The middle center has an “Explore Our Products link” leading directly to SHOP. [Editor’s note: Apropos to this month’s email column, that’s not exactly how the web page appears on my Windows 10 Edge browser, and it won’t load at all on my XP Chrome browser.]
The best place to start on the site is to select OVERVIEW, here you will find links to About the Film, Explore the Film, Questions & Answers and Del & Directors Discuss Film. In the About the Film section, you learn that "The Film's goal is to provide a reasonable case for Creation in six normal days, a real Adam and Eve, an actual fall, a global flood, and a tower of Babel." The Questions & Answers section seeks to provide explanations to the many questions about Creation & Evolution that are addressed in the film. This is done by presenting a short video clip from the film and then a written write-up of the dialogue between Del Tackett and the scientist addressing the question.
On RESOURCES you will find links to Articles, Videos, Free eBook, Guide to the Film, Devotional Study, Discussion Material, Creation Books, and Scientist Bios & Links. Articles is a listing of all articles on the "Is Genesis History?" website that are also sorted by subject under the "TOPICS" tab of the menu. There is a total of 52 articles, each given a category, title, and short description followed by a View Post link. At the end of each Post, you will find links to SUPPORT CREATION SCIENCE Donate Now, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWLETTER SIGN UP, FEATURED ARTICLES, POPULAR PRODUCTS, Social Media FOLLOW US, QUESTIONS ABOUT CREATION & EVOLUTION WATCH NOW, FEATURED VIDEO, and LEARN ABOUT a selected category. The additional RESOURCES links all provide interesting material to review, especially the Guide to the Film where you can download "A Useful Little GUIDE to the Film" as a PDF file.
On TOPICS you will find the material presented in the film arranged into the following categories: Bible & Archeology, Life & Design, History & Science, Rocks & Fossils, Stars, and Age of the Earth.
On SHOP you will find links to materials you can order besides the “Is Genesis History?” Feature Film. The cost of each item is presented along with a description of its contents.
A quote from the Guide to the film by Del Tackett best describes what the documentary tries to convey to those watching the film. "Genesis is central to understanding everything around us. If we try to construct a history based on our own limited experiences, we will misinterpret what has happened in the past and misunderstand our place in the world. Genesis, on the other hand, explains where we came from, who we are, what our problem is, and where we are headed. When looking at everything together, we can be confident that Genesis is history."
| Web Site of the Month - April 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| Think About Your Life and Future |
The website review for this month looks at a site I recently discovered while searching for a sight to review for our monthly newsletter. The site is called THINK ONE WEEK, and it asks the reader to Think About Your Life and Future.
The main page of the site provides the following tabs to explore:
The More Information tab takes you to links to:
Starting at the Home tab, you learn about the general format of the site. On each webpage of the site you will find a title for the particular page and a link to play an audio file containing the text of the page in the English language. This allows you to just hear or just read the information the site provides. Here you also learn that you can read the information in your native language, of which there are many provided, and download a Free E-book of the sites content.
The Home page title is "DISCOVER THE MEANING OF YOUR LIFE" and asks the question "Did you ever take some time to think about the big life questions?" and challenges you to think about your life and future for one week using the 7-day program the site provides. The site suggests it will only take a few minutes per day to read the information and asks the reader to spend time thinking about what is presented for each day.
You may wonder how this site relates to the ongoing creation versus evolution controversy. On the Select Your Day tab you find the following topics discussed for each day:
The “Day 1 – The Origin of Life” page discusses the conditions that make life possible on a planet. You can read that science has discovered at least 200 parameters (a number that has changed over time) necessary for a planet to support life. The odds against life in the universe are simply incredible! You can also read about the "Big Bang" and the problems scientists face explaining all the parameters necessary for life to exist on a planet.
The “Day 2 – Is There More to Life” page asks you to consider that the probability of life originating by a succeeding series of coincidences as being impossible and that there might be some intelligence behind all existence. Here you can also read about Intelligent Design, what the designer would be like, and what the creation would be like.
The “Day 3 – Life by Design” page asks you to consider that if there is a designer What would be the big plan for the creation? Would the designer's plan include freedom of choice? Who is this designer?
The pages for Day 4 through Day 7 ask you to think about the meaning of life, the original plan for creation, what happened to disrupt the perfect creation, the solution, learning about how to fit into the plan of the designer, and the life choices you need to make.
Being curious about who created this website, I found contact information on the About page located on the More Information page of the website. The postal mail address is ThinkOneWeek (BoazFoundation), Vijfhuizen., The Netherlands.
As always, there is much to discover on this website, just use the More Information page to find additional information to review.
| Web Site of the Month - May 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| ICR's Approach to Scientific Investigation |
The website review for this month looks at the website of the Institute for Creation Research. If you perform a web search for information about the creation versus evolution controversy you will probably find links to their site.
The main page of the site provides tab links to the following topics:
It is on the About us link, that you can find information about the Institute. "After 50 years of ministry, ICR remains a leader in scientific research within the context of biblical creation. Founded by Dr. Henry Morris in 1970, ICR exists to conduct scientific research within the realms of origins and Earth history, and then to educate the public both formally and informally through professional training programs, through conferences and seminars around the country, and through books, magazines, and media presentations." The three main purposes of ICR are to conduct research, offer formal courses of instruction, seminars, and workshops, and communicate the evidence and information related to its research and education by the production of books, videos, periodicals, and other media.
The News link provides articles for the present week and links to past articles. Information is also provided on the availability of a free mobile app for Apple and Android devices.
By selecting the Publications link you will find information about Acts & Facts, "a full-color monthly magazine with a readership of over 250,000, providing articles relevant to science, apologetics, education, and worldview issues." You will also find a link to subscribing to this free publication. Links to technical papers and books can also be found here.
On the Media link, you find links to short videos on various topics to watch, Podcasts, and DVD series that are available for purchase.
Since ICR is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, as you learn on the Give link, all donations to ICR are tax deductible and are greatly appreciated to continue the ongoing work of this organization.
The Store link will guide you to the material that has been published by ICR over many years. You will find books on Fossils, Dinosaurs, Ice Age, Flood, Climate Change, and other topics. Recommended books are available for purchase, and other material is available for downloading or in ebook format.
The main page of the website presents snippets of information from the various link pages discussed above. Each snippet describes where you can find more detail about the information such as NEWS, ACTS & FACTS, APOLOGETICS, and VIDEOS.
One additional link you can find on the home page is about the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History. This center is in Dallas, Texas, and is a museum which presents cutting-edge exhibits, planetarium shows, and live science presentations.
As always, there is much to explore on this site, just follow the many available links to find topics of interest.
| Web Site of the Month - June 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| News and Views on Creation vs. Evolution |
The website review for this month looks at a site that is a blog that presents electronic copies of the official publication of various creation/evolution organizations. The Oxford Language dictionary definition states a "blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style."
The Creation and Science Chronicle blog provides most of the usual means for navigating the information presented on a blog site. A simple HOME link will guide the reader back to the main page of the site. A NOW READING link provides links to Planned books, Current books, and Recent books that the site creator recommends. A CATEGORIES link presents the site reader with a pull-down menu of various categories to quickly find information of interest. An ARCHIVES link allows you to select a particular month, going back as far as June 2006, of articles that have been archived on the site. A number presented after a date will tell you how many articles are discussed for that month. A STUFF link provides detailed information about how the site was created.
The main page of the site begins by presenting information for six different creation/evolution organizations for December 2020. This may indicate that the site is no longer being actively updated. In any case, there is much to explore from the material available for the period June 2006 to December 2020.
The way information is presented for different creation/evolution organizations varies. For Creation Illustrated, Vol. 27 No. 3, Fall 2020, quarterly, you learn the cost, Editor/Publisher, the complete table of contents, the mailing address, and link to their website. For Acts & Facts, Vol. 49, No. 12, monthly, you also learn the cost (free), the Executive editor, and are presented with a table of contents with links to the articles in the publication, a link to the PDF of the issue, the mailing address, and link to the website.
When searching for topics by using the CATEGORIES link, you arrive at a list of articles covering that topic which presents a title, brief description, and a READ MORE link. This link generally provides an abstract of the article and links to a pdf of the article.
Since fourteen years of discussions about creation vs. evolution are archived on this site there is much to explore on this site. Just review the information for recent years or use the CATEGORIES link to find articles covering topics such as archeology, astronomy, biology, geology, and more.
| Web Site of the Month - July 2021 |
| by Lothar Janetzko |
| This website describes the incredible technology we have wired inside of us. |
The website review for this month looks at the site of an engineer who worked on the space shuttle guidance system. He discovered that "the vestibule of our inner ear was actually the same 3-axis gyro and accelerometer sensor we used to guide the space shuttle." This discovery caused him to start researching the vestibule system and its connection in online neuroscience research papers. Soon he was working 12-15 hours on this project.
He has created this website to inform the reader about the amazing technology that humans have inside, and how this technology provides proof that it is not the result of evolution.
An interesting quote by Physicist Richard Feynman serves as the introduction to the website. "As a matter of fact, I can also define science another way. Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts."
Since the study of the vestibule of the inner ear played such an important role in beginning his research project, he describes it in detail "The Amazing Functions of the Vestibule."
Next, he summarizes and provides in detail important facts from his research into the study of the brain and provides "Top Brain Facts." Here you will also find links to view the World's Most Advanced Brain Maps.
Under the heading "How to Estimate Brain Processing Power" you find a detailed description of the 80 billion neurons found in a human brain and how they function. The description is from an engineering standpoint and remarkably interesting, especially if you understand the internal operations of computers. "The minimum estimated processing power of the cerebral cortex (based on synapses equal transistors) exceeds 34,500 Intel Quad Core i7 processors while in actuality it could be much higher."
The "Microprocessor in the Eye" section of the website provides interesting details about the electronics operating in our eyes.
Additional sections provide more details about the amazing technology found inside of us.
Near the end of the website, you will find the section "Darwin's Deception." It begins with a quote from Thomas Jefferson. "It is always better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing than to believe what is wrong. In my mind, theories are more easily demolished than rebuilt." Then follows a lengthy discussion on "How Scientists Deceive Us." Here you learn about Darwin's belief that eyes are too complex to evolve, and what Richard Dawkins had to say in his 2009 book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. The website author believes Dawkins's book contains 434 pages of fictional nonsense with lots of distracting photos and that Dawkins showed his lack of engineering knowledge when discussing the operation of the human eye.
You can learn a great deal about the author of this website and its purpose by following the topics About and Help in the dropdown menu found on the top of the main website page.
| Web Site of the Month - August 2021 |
| by R. David Pogge |
| This is the final Web Site of the Month column. |
The first Web Site of the Month column appeared in Volume 1, Issue 1, of Disclosure in October 1996. The column was written by Helen Belisle for the first two years. That was back when “website” was spelled, “web site.” We never changed the name of the column to retain consistency.
Lothar Janetzko wrote the column from August 1998 until last month (July 2021). We thank them both for their contributions; especially Lothar who never missed a deadline, providing us with “interesting” (some say he overused that word ) columns for 23 years.
Times have changed since Helen wrote the first column. In 1996, the few people who had Internet access were starting to abandon the text-based search engine, Gopher, for the brand-new graphic web browser, Netscape Navigator. Netscape was graphic in the sense that it worked on a graphical windows-based user interface (rather than a text-based command-line interface) so one could simply point to an HTML link and click on it. Fortunately, most HTML pages didn’t have any images back then, which would have taken too long to download over a phone line through a 1200-baud modem. Our articles were written using Microsoft Word and converted by hand (there weren’t any HTML tools then) to HTML 3.2 (compatible with Gopher) and uploaded using FTP over a dial-up modem. I still convert the articles to HTML by hand.
People needed help finding information about evolution on the Internet in 1996 because Google wasn’t launched until 1998. They no longer need help searching for information on the Internet now. They just ask their phone to tell them what they want to know, so there really isn’t any need for the Web Site of the Month column. That’s why we won’t be replacing Lothar.
Many of my friends are now dead, dying, or (like Lothar) spending most of their time caring for a dying loved one. Although I am in perfect health, it has not escaped my notice that both my parents, three of my four grandparents, and all eight of my great grandparents, died when they were younger than I am now. I am past my expiration date, and need to consider what will become, not just of the Web Site of the Month column, but Disclosure, too.
Someday, the New This Month page will consist of a short goodbye message, and encouragement to peruse the back issues of Disclosure. I hope that won’t be too soon—but you never know.
Like me, the theory of evolution has not much life left. Science has completely debunked it. It is only through political pressure that it is still alive. Hopefully, back issues of Disclosure will someday be as enlightening as newspapers from the 1940’s discussing World War II from a contemporary perspective are now. The war against the theory of evolution is nearly over. The theory of evolution is about to lose.
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