Earth: A Special Place | The Institute for Creation Research

Earth: A Special Place
BY *  | 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2007

Secularists like to consider earth as just one of many millions of planets, occupying an obscure place in an insignificant galaxy in a sea of nothingness. Conversely, the Bible teaches that earth is very special to the Creator, performing a crucial role in the universe today, and prepared for an unending role in the cosmic saga.

This is the location God chose to situate His image in man, after He had created and constructed it and him in wisdom. This is where God sent His only begotten Son, to live a perfect life and die a sufficient sacrifice once man had rejected Him. This is where God is grooming His bride--the Church--for eternal life with Him and where He will reign forever from the New Jerusalem.

It is also special in a temporal sense, well designed for man's habitation. God created it in an orderly fashion, with each step necessary for the life and well-being of man.

On Day One He created space, time, and water, the raw materials from which He created all else. Water was essential for life, with all the right properties. Then He created light, the ongoing source of warmth, energy, and food. The unfinished planet was rotating under the light, with a speed of rotation and tilt to the axis calibrated so that each side of the planet received just the right amount.

Day Two saw the atmosphere created, with the precise amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide for animals and plants.

On Day Three God called the oceans together, and then formed the continents, complete with topsoil supporting plant growth, all necessary for the nourishment of animals and man.

The astral bodies were created on Day Four--the sun as a permanent source of necessary light, and the moon, stars, and planets as necessary adjuncts and protectors of earth. The sun, we now know, is near the center of the entire universe, just as earth is at the center of His attention. At just the right distance, the sun provides energy and warmth in precise amounts. If the sun were any closer, we would burn in unlivable heat; any farther, and we would be locked in ice. The moon's gravity causes the tides to continually circulate and freshen the oceans, without which life would not flourish as it does. The larger planets guard earth from incoming solar bodies. The heavenly bodies were also given for timekeeping and regulation of life.

Day Five saw the oceans filled with abundant life, with much creativity and variety, all enjoying harmony with the environment and each other, and each performing necessary functions which contributed to the well-being of the whole. The skies were alive with flying creatures, beautiful in plumage and song.

On Day Six God continued to display His creativity with land animals of all sorts and sizes, capable of marvelous things, and each one bringing glory to its Creator. All were necessary and existed in amazing balance. And then God recreated His very image in man, and placed him as steward over all creation, to shepherd it, embellish it, and use it wisely.

Perfect equilibrium lasted until man chose to reject God's loving care for him, incurring His judgment and placing in motion God's gracious plan of redemption, for man and his entire dominion. In eternity, He intends to recreate earth and the heavens, restoring the wonderful conditions it originally enjoyed, forever displaying His special care for it and us.

Give thanks to the Creator now and forevermore.

* Dr. Morris is the president of the Institute for Creation Research.

Cite this article: Morris, J. 2007. Earth: A Special Place. Acts & Facts. 36 (11): 13.

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	Some are concerned that global warming will melt the polar ice caps and lead to a rise in global sea level. Is this really happening?

    [abstract_edit] => 

	



	



	Some are concerned that global warming will melt the polar ice caps and lead to a rise in global sea level. Is this really happening?

    [stage] => 

	

    [stage_edit] => 

	

    [body] => 

	Some are concerned that global warming will cause the polar ice caps to melt, leading to an increase in global sea level. If such a rise in sea level occurred slowly, coastal peoples would have time to adjust to the change. But many are concerned that sea level could rise rapidly, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe.



	Although some scientists claim that satellite and tide-gauge data confirm a rapidly rising sea level, others are skeptical. In fact, two Australian scientists, Dr. Albert Parker and Dr. Clifford Ollier, have recently charged that Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped.1,2,3



	Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped. Tweet: Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped.

Is Global Sea Level Rising? http://www.icr.org/article/10403/

@icrscience



	Concerns over sea level rise are also being stoked by the way secular scientists interpret chemical wiggles within deep-seafloor sediments. These chemical wiggles (called oxygen isotope ratios) are thought to serve as “proxy” or “stand in” values for global ice volume: higher oxygen isotope ratios (denoted by the symbol δ18O) are thought to indicate ice ages, and lower values are thought to correspond to warmer “interglacial” periods.



	When water freezes to form ice, less of Earth’s total water is available to remain liquid. Since the total mass of water on Earth remains essentially constant, an increase in global ice volume should result in a decrease in global mean sea level, and vice versa. This means that δ18O values can presumably indicate past global sea levels.



	Most secular scientists assume the validity of the astronomical (or Milankovitch) ice age theory, which posits that ice ages are caused by slow, gradual changes in Earth’s orbital and rotational motions, which in turn are thought to affect the way sunlight is distributed on the Earth. Then they use astronomical calculations to infer times in the supposed prehistoric past when these sunlight variations are thought to have resulted in ice ages, and then these ages are assigned to the peak δ18O values.



	Then they use these ages to calculate past rates of sea level rise. These calculated rates have led secular scientists to worry about possible future catastrophic global flooding.



	Oceanographer Wolfgang Berger asked:



	Just when can we expect to see a rapid rise of sea level, ten times higher than the present values of a few millimeters per year? We do not know. All we can say, from experience with the many millennia of the ice-age records in the deep sea, is that once melting starts, it stimulates further melting for centuries. Deglaciation keeps going once begun in earnest: a great example of the dilemma of the sorcerer’s apprentice.4



	What Berger is calling “experience” is just a Milankovitch interpretation of the seafloor sediment data. But if the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise!



	If the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise! Tweet: If the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise!

Is Global Sea Level Rising? http://www.icr.org/article/10403/

@icrscience



	Despite its popularity, there are many problems with the astronomical theory.5 Moreover, recent ICR research has raised serious doubts about a key argument for the theory presented in a well-known paper titled “The Pacemaker of the Ice Ages.”6 The argument is so important that last year the journals Science and Nature both ran articles commemorating the paper’s 40th anniversary.7,8 More than a year later, secular scientists have yet to respond to this new research. Of course, they would probably claim that there is additional evidence for the theory, so that the theory is confirmed even without the Pacemaker paper’s validity. But if the Pacemaker paper is not essential to the argument for the Milankovitch theory, then why are supporters of the theory so reluctant to candidly acknowledge the paper’s problems?



	Since the argument for a rapidly rising sea level inferred from seafloor sediments is logically invalid, then evidence for such a claim, if it exists, can only come from satellite and tide-gauge data. Given the history of data manipulation in this field,9 including these recent allegations regarding Indian Ocean data, such claims should be heavily scrutinized before being accepted as valid. 



	References


    
	
  1. 
		Parker, A. and C. D. Ollier. 2017. Is the Sea Level Stable at Aden, Yemen? Earth Systems and Environment. 1: 18. doi.org/10.1007/s41748-017-0020-z.
    2. 
	
  2. 
		Richard, K. ‘Adjustments’ to Create Spurious Sea Level Rise Have Now Infected the PSMSL Tide Gauge Data. Posted at notrickszone.com December 4, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017.
    3. 
	
  3. 
		Delingpole, J. 2017. Tidalgate: Climate Alarmists Caught Faking Sea Level Rise. Posted at breitbart.com on December 6, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017.
    4. 
	
  4. 
		Berger, W. H. 2012. Milankovitch Theory—Hits and Misses. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, 16. Emphasis added.
    5. 
	
  5. 
		Oard, M. J. 2007. Astronomical troubles for the astronomical hypothesis of ice ages. Journal of Creation. 21 (3): 19-23.
    6. 
	
  6. 
		Hebert, J. 2016. Revisiting an Iconic Argument for Milankovitch Climate Forcing: Should the "Pacemaker of the Ice Ages" Paper Be Retracted? Part 3. Answers Reserach Journal. 9:229-255.
    7. 
	
  7. 
		Hodell, D. A. 2016. The smoking gun of the ice ages. Science. 354 (6317): 1235-1236.
    8. 
	
  8. 
		Maslin, M. 2016. Forty years of linking orbits to ice ages. Nature. 540 (7632): 208-210.
    9. 
	
  9. 
		McIntyre, S. and R. McKitrick. 2005. Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance. Geophysical Research Letters. 32, L03710.
    10. 




	*Dr. Jake Hebert is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.



	Article posted on January 4, 2018.

    [body_edit] => 

	Some are concerned that global warming will cause the polar ice caps to melt, leading to an increase in global sea level. If such a rise in sea level occurred slowly, coastal peoples would have time to adjust to the change. But many are concerned that sea level could rise rapidly, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe.



	Although some scientists claim that satellite and tide-gauge data confirm a rapidly rising sea level, others are skeptical. In fact, two Australian scientists, Dr. Albert Parker and Dr. Clifford Ollier, have recently charged that Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped.1,2,3



	Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped. Tweet: Indian Ocean sea-level data for the last 140 years were manipulated to show a dramatic rise in sea level, even though the raw data showed that sea level had remained steady, or even dropped.

Is Global Sea Level Rising? http://www.icr.org/article/10403/

@icrscience



	Concerns over sea level rise are also being stoked by the way secular scientists interpret chemical wiggles within deep-seafloor sediments. These chemical wiggles (called oxygen isotope ratios) are thought to serve as “proxy” or “stand in” values for global ice volume: higher oxygen isotope ratios (denoted by the symbol δ18O) are thought to indicate ice ages, and lower values are thought to correspond to warmer “interglacial” periods.



	When water freezes to form ice, less of Earth’s total water is available to remain liquid. Since the total mass of water on Earth remains essentially constant, an increase in global ice volume should result in a decrease in global mean sea level, and vice versa. This means that δ18O values can presumably indicate past global sea levels.



	Most secular scientists assume the validity of the astronomical (or Milankovitch) ice age theory, which posits that ice ages are caused by slow, gradual changes in Earth’s orbital and rotational motions, which in turn are thought to affect the way sunlight is distributed on the Earth. Then they use astronomical calculations to infer times in the supposed prehistoric past when these sunlight variations are thought to have resulted in ice ages, and then these ages are assigned to the peak δ18O values.



	Then they use these ages to calculate past rates of sea level rise. These calculated rates have led secular scientists to worry about possible future catastrophic global flooding.



	Oceanographer Wolfgang Berger asked:



	Just when can we expect to see a rapid rise of sea level, ten times higher than the present values of a few millimeters per year? We do not know. All we can say, from experience with the many millennia of the ice-age records in the deep sea, is that once melting starts, it stimulates further melting for centuries. Deglaciation keeps going once begun in earnest: a great example of the dilemma of the sorcerer’s apprentice.4



	What Berger is calling “experience” is just a Milankovitch interpretation of the seafloor sediment data. But if the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise!



	If the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise! Tweet: If the Milankovitch theory is wrong, then the ages assigned to the seafloor sediments are completely fictitious, as are the calculated rates of past sea level rise!

Is Global Sea Level Rising? http://www.icr.org/article/10403/

@icrscience



	Despite its popularity, there are many problems with the astronomical theory.5 Moreover, recent ICR research has raised serious doubts about a key argument for the theory presented in a well-known paper titled “The Pacemaker of the Ice Ages.”6 The argument is so important that last year the journals Science and Nature both ran articles commemorating the paper’s 40th anniversary.7,8 More than a year later, secular scientists have yet to respond to this new research. Of course, they would probably claim that there is additional evidence for the theory, so that the theory is confirmed even without the Pacemaker paper’s validity. But if the Pacemaker paper is not essential to the argument for the Milankovitch theory, then why are supporters of the theory so reluctant to candidly acknowledge the paper’s problems?



	Since the argument for a rapidly rising sea level inferred from seafloor sediments is logically invalid, then evidence for such a claim, if it exists, can only come from satellite and tide-gauge data. Given the history of data manipulation in this field,9 including these recent allegations regarding Indian Ocean data, such claims should be heavily scrutinized before being accepted as valid. 



	References


    
	
  1. 
		Parker, A. and C. D. Ollier. 2017. Is the Sea Level Stable at Aden, Yemen? Earth Systems and Environment. 1: 18. doi.org/10.1007/s41748-017-0020-z.
    2. 
	
  2. 
		Richard, K. ‘Adjustments’ to Create Spurious Sea Level Rise Have Now Infected the PSMSL Tide Gauge Data. Posted at notrickszone.com December 4, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017.
    3. 
	
  3. 
		Delingpole, J. 2017. Tidalgate: Climate Alarmists Caught Faking Sea Level Rise. Posted at breitbart.com on December 6, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017.
    4. 
	
  4. 
		Berger, W. H. 2012. Milankovitch Theory—Hits and Misses. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, 16. Emphasis added.
    5. 
	
  5. 
		Oard, M. J. 2007. Astronomical troubles for the astronomical hypothesis of ice ages. Journal of Creation. 21 (3): 19-23.
    6. 
	
  6. 
		Hebert, J. 2016. Revisiting an Iconic Argument for Milankovitch Climate Forcing: Should the "Pacemaker of the Ice Ages" Paper Be Retracted? Part 3. Answers Reserach Journal. 9:229-255.
    7. 
	
  7. 
		Hodell, D. A. 2016. The smoking gun of the ice ages. Science. 354 (6317): 1235-1236.
    8. 
	
  8. 
		Maslin, M. 2016. Forty years of linking orbits to ice ages. Nature. 540 (7632): 208-210.
    9. 
	
  9. 
		McIntyre, S. and R. McKitrick. 2005. Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance. Geophysical Research Letters. 32, L03710.
    10. 




	*Dr. Jake Hebert is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.



	Article posted on January 4, 2018.

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