Articles » Introductory

When I started university, I worked as an administrative assistant for an oil and gas laboratory company.  Originally, I thought I would focus on chemistry.  The university didn’t have a chemistry major in their science programs, so I enrolled in the general science degree program.  Later, as a full-time student, I decided to explore other fields of science and became fascinated with astronomy, but God had other plans.  It took a while for me to admit that math and physics are not my strongest subjects.  Geology, on the other hand, was easy for me.  Halfway through my degree, I decided I like rocks!

Sugar gliders look like chipmunks, glide like flying squirrels, and their young (called joeys like kangaroos), can live for several weeks after birth in their mother’s pouch like opossums, and amazingly they belong in the same family as kangaroos. No wonder their origin has stymied evolutionists. The three types of gliders are so different that evolutionists propose that they “evolved at least three times independently in closely related glider species, including sugar gliders. But the question lingers as to how it evolved.” [i]

From time to time, CSAA adds relevant new discussions to HeadStart, our amazing information resource (headstart.create.ab.ca). While many online discussions provide definitions and current views on an issue, HeadStart typically provides the history of how this science-related discipline came to be developed and what that means for us today. For example, within the past year we have added new topics related to dinosaurs and fossils, all written at the introductory level. All these items are posted under the Investigate Further banner. These topics include dinosaurs; extinct Alberta creatures (marine reptiles); record in sedimentary rock; geological column; and fossils.

Challenges, Motivation and Hope

Featuring
Dr. Brian Thomas
Research Scientist at the Institute for Creation Research, Dallas, Texas

Location:
Providence Canadian Reformed Church
12905 122 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB

SCHEDULE

Friday, Oct 24 @ 7:00 p.m.
Fresh Fossils from Four Continents
(especially family friendly) Have you heard about the blood vessels from dinosaur bones? It turns out that’s just the beginning of fresh features from all kinds of fossils. In this presentation, Dr. Thomas explains how we can know that these proteins are relatively young and how these exciting new finds fit with the Bible’s history of the world.

Saturday, Oct 25 @ 10:00 a.m.
The Beginning of Life
(design features extraordinaire) Using information you won’t find in secular biology textbooks, Dr. Thomas demonstrates the complete failure of natural processes to explain how life began. He critiques evolutionary speculations about the beginning of life and illustrates engineered precision in cellular machines that credit the Creator, not nature, with creating life.

Saturday, Oct 25 @ 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Annual General Meeting

Saturday, Oct 25 @ 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Noon Break

Saturday, Oct 25 @ 1:15 p.m.
How Creatures Adapt
(why Darwin’s explanatons don’t work) New studies into the nuts and bolts of creature adaptation keep refuting Charles Darwin’s old ideas about how creatures change. From finches to fishes, stunning animal adaptations revel new hallmarks of handiwork.

Free Admission
www.create.ab.ca

In the early years of the existence of Creation Science Association of Alberta, CSAA brought in many excellent speakers from the Institute for Creation Research. All these speakers were scientists with excellent experience and credentials. These included biochemist Dr. Duane Gish, geologist Dr. Steve Austin and biologist Dr. Gary Parker. In more recent years, ICR moved from California to Texas and set about becoming established in a new region. Now once again, CSAA is delighted that one of ICR’s research scientists, Dr. Brian Thomas, has agreed to be our featured speaker for Creation Weekend on October 24 and 25, 2025. The sessions are scheduled to take place at Providence Canadian Reformed Church which hosted the event in spectacular fashion in October 2024 (12905 122 Avenue NW in Edmonton).

Some scientific words come from what was originally everyday language, but the concept has long been almost forgotten. Take the word ‘chaperone’ for example. Until recent times, a chaperone was a respectable mature lady who needed to be present on any social occasion to ensure that courting couples conducted themselves in a sedate and appropriate fashion. That certainly sounds old fashioned, doesn’t it? There was even a play written, called Charley’s Aunt, by Brandon Thomas (about 1890), that lampooned the efforts of two young Englishmen to entertain some young ladies to tea. In order to do this, they needed a chaperone to be present. They therefore persuaded another male friend to masquerade as a rich aunt from Brazil so that the tea party could take place. Hilarious escapades and disasters followed (including the real aunt showing up).

Small boys love stories about large earth moving equipment. They love to look at the pictures, identify the types of machine and hear the stories again and again. Other children love to identify dinosaur pictures or birds. Even long after the children have grown up, they value these books as important mementos.

Commercial movies come and go and many are soon forgotten. Of those movies that I saw as a university student, there is only one that I remember. Inherit the Wind was the lesser feature on a double bill in a small theatre in Quebec. But the content packed a powerful message! The story line was about a trial involving Christian townsfolk in an American town who were ignorant and boorish, as opposed to evolution supporting educators there who were informed and civilized. Everyone understood that the movie claimed to portray an actual event, the Scopes Trial of July 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. Thus, we reflect on the centenary of this trial which some claim represents the most significant trial of the century. What was it all about, and what is its legacy?

Back in the days when television was new to North American society, there was a show called Perry Mason. This featured a lawyer who specialized in courtroom drama. In predictable fashion, Mr. Mason set out to defend an accused person, but the facts of the case looked very discouraging for the defendant. However, thanks to great sleuthing by Perry Mason’s two assistants, some important new details were discovered. In the courtroom, as the show drew toward a close, Mr. Mason triumphantly asked a witness, “Isn’t it true that ….?” And some new facts were revealed which changed the whole story. Everyone was all smiles when the defendant was exonerated. The point is that partial information can lead to wrong conclusions.