Dialogue 2025 #3

Save the Date!

Creation Weekend with Dr. Brian Thomas

Exciting free presentations
October 24 and 25, 2025

Providence Canadian Reformed Church
(12905 122 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta)

Poster (downloadable)

Understanding genetics was so straightforward back in the good old days. I am not sure when those days were, but our picture of control systems in our bodies was easier when obvious stretches of DNA, called genes, were believed to control specific traits like eye colour and blood type. It used to be that we talked about genes and ‘junk DNA’. Now there are genes and there are control systems.  It was the use of supercomputers which changed our understanding of how the human genome works.

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.

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?

The importance of the mineral calcium phosphate to living organisms can hardly be overstated. It is used by many organisms, including humans, to build their bones and skeletons.  This is especially true for fish, crustaceans, and some brachiopods.  Besides that, and even more importantly, phosphate ions are required for major building blocks of life, such as DNA and RNA.  It is also required for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—the molecular fuel of living cells (Brady, Tostevin and Tosca 2022).

Evolutionists struggle to explain how life could have arisen from non-life—a concept known as “abiogenesis” or “spontaneous generation.”  One of the problems is the importance of phosphate ions for biological molecules and the prohibitively low concentrations of phosphates in nature for those molecules to form spontaneously.  There just isn’t enough phosphate.  Phosphate minerals tend to be insoluble under most conditions, so only trace amounts exist as dissolved minerals in seawater.  In fact, on average, seawater contains only about 0.071 parts per million of phosphorous (Simandl, Paradis and Fajber 2012).

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.

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).