The Blinne Blog

Cassini Image

The following is the latest shot of Saturn by the Cassini probe. It will keep getting better from this.

Gamers Conquer the World

Tomorrow's issue of Nature will report on how the Army is using gaming technology to simulate the whole world.

The US army has teamed up with a computer games company to create a simulation of the whole Earth.

In a bid to help soldiers train around the globe without travelling, army researchers are working with There, a company based in Menlo Park, California, that specializes in games set in realistic three-dimensional environments. Together they will build a virtual model of the entire planet, using existing data about Earth's terrain. Robert Gehorsam, a senior vice-president at There, says that the product will model the real world as closely as possible.

The artificial world will help the army to practise intelligence work, patrols and planning, as well as encounters with civilians. A group of soldiers who served in Iraq will test the system in the spring; a final version is hoped to be in place by September. But the team has a long way to go — so far only part of Kuwait City has been modelled in detail.

Falwell Confidential

Dr. Jerry Falwell opined the following concerning the relationship betwen Creationism and social clashes in the U.S.

Can present-day social clashes - such as homosexual marriage and religious expression in the public square - be traced back to the foundations of our world in Genesis chapter 1? Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis (www.answersingeneis.org) says they certainly can.

Mr. Ham's contention is that church leaders throughout the centuries have consented to secular notions that counter the biblical account of creation. By doing so, these theologians and clerics have allowed the absolute authority of the Bible to be challenged.

Since the foundations of biblical truth were allowed to be challenged, subsequent generations have continued to venture further and further from the Bible's dictates, choosing instead to follow social whims and impulses.

It is no wonder then that we find ourselves, as a nation, clashing over social issues that were once non-issues when the Bible was revered as ultimate truth by our churches, our schools and even by our government.

But our nation has turned its collective back on the Word of God.

Pollster George Barna recently found that four-of-every-ten people involved in Christian discipleship programs believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth. And only 44 percent of adults - and only 9 percent of teenagers - said that they are certain of the existence of absolute moral truth.

It's really no wonder that we are losing the battle on homosexual marriage and other critical cultural issues today.

...

When we compromise the ultimate truth of the Bible, chaos is the ultimate outcome.

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3)

These church leaders who allowed the notion of evolution to be combined with biblical teachings actually unlocked the door to undermine biblical authority, Mr. Ham said.

The outcome is that many Americans, believing that the Bible's history to be inaccurate, now disbelieve many other parts of the Bible. If one part of it can be challenged, why should the rest of it be believed?

It's a worthy question.

The question that is begged is why has our nation turned it collective back on the Word of God. Both Dr. Falwell and I agree that this is a bad thing and causes bad consequences for this country. Where we differ is our analysis of why this occurring.

Both Dr. Falwell and I are inerrantists. We also both believe that when people interpret Scripture they can and do err. So, we both need to be very careful that these fallible interpretations do not adhere too closely to the text. Because, if the interpretation is disproven, then the text is disproven. This results in God's Word which is Truth being treated as utter falsehood.

Fundamentalists like Falwell and Ham present a take it or leave it package of Scripture and their interpretation of Genesis. Ham is correct. The Biblical account of Creation is key to our understanding. The existence of a Creator to whom we are personally responsible makes a huge difference in our life. But, what happens when their interpretation of Genesis gets disproven? Here is an account of the spiritual wreckage that can occur.

John Morris came to the stage to challenge me. He claimed to have been in the oil industry. I asked him what oil company he had worked for. I am going to let an account of this published in the Skeptical Inquirer in late 86 or early 87. It was written by Robert Schadewald. He writes,

"John Morris went to the microphone and identified himself as a petroleum geologist. He questioned Morton's claim that pollen grains are found in salt formations, and accused Morton of sounding like an anticreationist, raising more problems than his critics could respond to in the time available. Morris said that the ICR staff is working on these problems all the time. He told Morton to quit raising problems and start solving them. "Morton chopped him off at the ankles. Two questions, said Morton: 'What oil company did you work for?' Well, uh, actually Morris never worked for an oil company, but he once taught petroleum engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Second, How old is the Earth?' 'If the earth is more than 10,000 years old then Scripture has no meaning.' Morton then said that he had hired several graduates of Christian Heritage College, and that all of them suffered severe crises of faith. The were utterly unprepared to face the geologic facts every petroleum geologist deals with on a daily basis. Morton neglected to add that ICR is much better known for ignoring or denying problems than dealing with them."

It appeared that the more I questions I raised, the more they questioned my theological purity. When telling one friend of my difficulties with young-earth creationism and geology, he told me that I had obviously been brain-washed by my geology professors. When I told him that I had never taken a geology course, he then said I must be saying this in order to hold my job. Never would he consider that I might really believe the data. Since then this type of treatment has become expected from young-earthers. I have been called nearly everything under the sun but they don't deal with the data I present to them. Here is a list of what young-earthers have called me in response to my data: 'an apostate,'(Humphreys) 'a heretic'(Jim Bell although he later apologised like the gentleman he is) 'a compromiser'(Henry Morris) "absurd", "naive", "compromising", "abysmally ignorant", "sloppy", "reckless disregard", "extremely inaccurate", "misleading", "tomfoolery" and "intentionally deceitful"(John Woodmorappe) 'like your father, Satan' (Carl R. Froede--I am proud to have this one because Jesus was once said to have been of satan also.) 'your loyality and commitment to Jesus Christ is shaky or just not truly genuine' (John Baumgardner 12-24-99 [Merry Christmas]) "[I] have secretly entertained suspicions of a Trojan horse roaming behind the lines..." Royal Truman 12-28-99 [emphasis mine]

What I emphasized above is the real reason why many Americans have rejected Scripture. An interpretation is disproven and the Bible and Christianity get rejected. It is a sad, sad story and the stakes are higher than Dr. Falwell even alludes to. Here, he is just addressing so-called social issues. But, what is at stake is the very Gospel itself, which Dr. Falwell is presumably committed to preach every Lord's Day. If he is as concerned as he says he is for the souls of those who are increasingly rejecting Scripture and thus the Gospel, then a massive change of attitude is in order.

Multiple Sclerosis: Cause and Effect

When doing science what you often find is that certain things correlate. Since we are human beings we tend to impute cause and effect from the correlation. A recent report in ScienceNow shows that MS research may have gotten cause and effect backwards.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been thought of as an autoimmune disease. But new research suggests that it's not immune cells that strip the insulation off neurons and cause neurological symptoms. Rather, the insulation may be disrupted when the cells that build it self-destruct.

In MS, the insulating layer of myelin around neurons degrades, leading to loss of muscle control, numbness, or cognitive problems. Most researchers have thought this happens when the victim's own immune cells move in on the myelin and chew it up, leaving plaquelike scars behind.

Now, neurologists Michael Barnett and John Prineas of the University of Sydney, Australia, have found evidence to the contrary. They autopsied 12 patients who died from MS shortly after suffering a bout of neurological symptoms. All of the patients had the plaquelike scars typical of MS. But contrary to all expectations, seven of them had intact myelin and little inflammation, the researchers reported online this week in Annals of Neurology. Equally surprising was that within the plaques, up to 30% of the cells that make the myelin coating appeared to be suicidal. The researchers conclude that MS isn't triggered by an autoimmune affront, but rather by something--possibly a virus--that instigates cell suicide. In this scenario the dead cells cause the immune response, not the other way around.

"The MS field is so focused on autoimmunity as its cause that we rarely hear an alternative hypothesis," says cell biologist Bruce Trapp of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. The study is refreshing, he says, because "the pathology of MS can't be explained by what we currently know." Experimental neuropathologist Moses Rodriguez of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, New York, agrees that viruses are likely suspects. He says that the result could explain why some antiinflammatory treatments haven't helped and why an antiviral drug, interferon, is one of the best treatments.

Californians Ambivalent on Gay Marriage

Inside a San Franciso Chronicle story about Mayor Newsom inviting Governor Schwarzennegger to view the gay marriages, was a recent Field poll.

Meanwhile, as Schwarzenegger's opposition to San Francisco's same-sex marriages has stepped up, a new Field Poll, released Monday, showed that the governor did not have wide support in his position.

When asked to rate his performance in nine specific policy areas -- on issues ranging from the economy to health care -- respondents gave Schwarzenegger his highest disapproval rating on matters related to same-sex marriage, with 42 disapproving, 39 percent approving and 19 percent voicing no opinion.

As expected, the strongest sentiment against the governor's position came from Democrats and from the Bay Area and Los Angeles, said the Field Poll's Mark DiCamillo. The firm added the question to the survey over the weekend -- halfway through the polling -- as the political debate over same-sex marriage heated up in California.

The poll shows that support for the governor is thin at best. The poll apparently didn't go into why the people disapproved. My assumption, however, is that the disapproval largely stems from his instructions to the California Attorney General to oppose Mayor Newsom.

E Pluribus Duo

Pollster John Zogby continues to document the two countries of the U.S., the so-called red and blue states. That is, those who voted for Bush and Gore respectively in the 2000 election. The 2004 election is shaping up to be a repeat of 2000 (with the exception of the seven electoral vote pickup for red states).

Los Angeles,CA (PRWEB) February 19, 2004 -- A new poll conducted by Zogby International for The O’Leary Report and Southern Methodist University’s John Tower Center from February 12-15, 2004 of 1,209 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points found that if the election for president were held today, Democrat John Kerry would edge George W. Bush 46% to 45% in the “blue states” – or states won by Al Gore in the 2000 election. In the “red states,” or states won by George W. Bush in 2000, however, Bush wins handily by a 51% to 39% margin.

The same but less pronounced divide occurs for gay marriage. While the blue and red states have roughly the same number of electoral votes, there are 32 red states and 18 blue ones. Again, John Zogby:

While the issue of gay marriages dominates the news in San Francisco and Boston, a majority of Americans remain opposed to the idea. Fifty-two percent of Red State voters and 50% of Blue State voters support such a constitutional amendment while 43% of Red State voters and 44% of Blue State voters disagree.

It looks like the FMA would sweep the red states and would only have to pick up a third of the blue states to pass the amendment. From this poll, such a scenario seems quite plausible.

Let Her Rip

The New York Times is reporting a possible consequence of so-called dark energy, the Big Rip.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to talk about the end of the universe you had a choice, as Robert Frost put it, between fire and ice.

Either the universe would collapse under its own weight one day, in a fiery "big crunch," or the galaxies, now flying outward from each other, would go on coasting outward forever, forever slowing, but never stopping while the cosmos grew darker and darker, colder and colder, as the stars gradually burned out like tired bulbs.

Now there is the Big Rip.

Recent astronomical measurements, scientists say, cannot rule out the possibility that in a few billion years a mysterious force permeating space-time will be strong enough to blow everything apart, shred rocks, animals, molecules and finally even atoms in a last seemingly mad instant of cosmic self-abnegation.

Britney Spears Finds Religion?

The Daily Mail is reporting:

Britney's first steps towards regaining her squeaky-clean reputation have come at the urging of her estranged parents Lynne and Jamie.

She has been attending regular services at the Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California.

At one she was seen sobbing on her father's shoulder.

"With her father's guidance, Britney realised she had reached a spiritual low and that God was the only answer," said a friend.

"Her family told her that they loved her very much but that they couldn't stand by and watch her destroy her life and her career.

"They told her she needed to get back on her feet and return to traditional values, and that included Christianity."

Hollywood conversions are notorious. Add her dalliance with Kabalah and this could be just wishful thinking on the part of her parents.

Majority of Anglican Communion Recognizes New Network

The Church of England Newspaper is reporting:

A split in the Anglican Communion loomed ever closer this week as 13 Primates from the global south gave their support to a new Network of conservative Anglicans in the Episcopal Church of the USA.

Their statement came on the eve of the first meeting of the newly constituted Eames Commission which was given the brief by the Primates’ Meeting, of resolving the tensions created by the consecration of a practising homosexual in New Hampshire in America.

But the brief may already have been superseded by the new Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, with its gathering worldwide support, which some claim aims to replace the Episcopal Church altogether.

The signatories are primates who represent more than fifty-four million people, well over half of all Anglicans worldwide. Here's the text of their letter:

We, Primates of the Global South greet you in the name of our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The actions of ECUSA in the election, confirmation, and consecration of Canon Gene Robinson have created a situation of grave concern for the entire Anglican Communion and beyond. Their actions are a direct repudiation of the clear teaching of the Holy Scriptures, historic faith and order of the church.

They also constitute a clear defiance of the Primates of the Communion, who warned at their October meeting:

"If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. In this case, the ministry of this one bishop will not be recognised by most of the Anglican world, and many provinces are likely to consider themselves to be out of Communion with the Episcopal Church (USA). This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level, and may lead to further division on this and further issues as provinces have to decide in consequence whether they can remain in communion with provinces that choose not to break communion with the Episcopal Church (USA)."

The world needs to know that the rebellious and erroneous actions of ECUSA are contrary to the teaching of the Anglican Communion and represent a departure from five thousand years of Judeo-Christian teaching and practice. By their actions, ECUSA has separated itself from the remainder of the Anglican Communion and the wider Christian family.

We appeal to all the faithful to be diligent in prayer and faith and call upon Anglicans across the communion to engage in loyal witness to the risen Christ and to resist and confront the false teaching undergirding these actions and which is leading people away from the redeeming love of Jesus into error and danger.

We ask you to join in our repentance for failing to be sufficiently forthright in adequately addressing this issue in the past, and we invite you to stand with us in a renewed struggle to uphold the received truth found in Jesus and His word.

We re-affirm our solidarity with faithful Bishops, clergy and church members in North America who remain committed the historic faith and order of the church and have rejected unbiblical innovation. We offer our support and the full weight of our ministries and offices to those who are gathering in a "Network of Confessing Dioceses and Congregations" now being organized in North America. We regard this network as a hopeful sign of a faithful Anglican future in North America. We invite those who are committed to the preservation of historic Biblical faith and order, to join that work and its essential commitment to the Gospel.

Finally, we appeal to you to sustain us in prayer, and to intercede especially for Anglicans in North America.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Eph 3:20-21

1. The Most Rev. Peter Akinola
Nigeria

2. The Most Rev. Drexel Gomez
West Indies

3. The Most Rev. Greg Venables
Southern Cone

4. The Most Rev. Joseph Marona
Sudan

5. The Most Rev. Benjamin Nzimbi
Kenya

6. The Most Rev. Livingstone Nkoyoyo
Uganda (outgoing)

7. The Most Rev. Henry Orombi
Uganda (Incoming)

8. The Most Rev. Fidele Dirokpa
Congo

9. The Most Rev. Donald Mtetemela
Tanzania

10. The Most Rev. Bernard Malango
Central Africa

11. The Most Rev. K.J. Samuel
South India

12. The Most Rev. Alexander Malik
Pakistan

13. The Most Rev. Yong Ping Chung
South East Asia

14. The Most Rev. Ignacio Soliba
Philippines

Malthus Revisited

The BBC is reporting a report to this year's AAAS meeting theorizing the coming energy shortage will produce a commensurate decrease in population.

As the world's reserves of oil and gas run out over the coming decades, the birth-rates of societies are likely to fall considerably, a US scientist says.

According to some estimates, the global population may rise from its current 6.3 billion today to almost 9bn by 2050.

But Virginia Abernethy told a Seattle meeting that the loss of fossil fuels would hit world economies very hard.

"Economic hardship discourages people from marrying young and from having closely spaced children," she said.

The anthropologist and professor emerita of psychiatry from Vanderbilt University was speaking here in Washington State at the annual gathering of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"The availability of energy has been a major factor in population growth," said Professor Abernethy.

"In the modern context, energy use per capita affects economic activity. So a prolonged decline in energy use per capita will tend to depress the economy which, in turn, will cause a decline in the fertility rate."

I don't buy it. The relationship between wealth and birth rate seems to me to be the other way around — wealthy countries have lower birth rates. The sanguine prediction above states a potential Malthusian crises will be self-regulating. This is not a new tune for Virginia Abernethy. Let's just hope that she is on key.