Why Did God Create Poisons and Toxins?
Jerry Bergman, Ph.D.
The problem of toxicity is considered. It is concluded
that many myths exist about the subject of poisons and toxins. A major
one is that a dichotomy exists between poisonous and nonpoisonous chemicals
when actually nothing is toxic in small levels, and all chemicals are
toxic in high amounts. Further, most all chemicals which have a high
level of toxicity have an important function in life, and because compounds
can be used in a harmful way does not negate their importance when used
appropriately. It is not the compound that is the problem, but the use.
Carcharodon megalodon: Is
This the Antediluvian Great White Shark?
Carl R. Froede, Jr., B.S., P.G.
Sharks represent an interesting problem for uniformitarian
paleontologists. They suddenly appear fully formed in the Devonian Period
with no apparent ancestors. One shark species in particular, Carcharodon
megalodon, is known from its abundant teeth found in rocks which
"date" to the uniformitarian Miocene. Some scientists have
suggested that the "modern" great white shark (i.e., Carcharodon
carcharias) might represent the same shark species as C. megalodon.
However, serious questions remain regarding whether these were the same
species of shark. While C. megalodon and _C. carcharias_ are
clearly within the same genus, they likely should remain as separate
species. Many young earth creationists believe that during the Antediluvian
timeframe both mankind and animals had longer lifespans than
at present. Carcharodon megalodon, like the dinosaurs, are believed
to have grown continually until they were killed, either during the
catastrophic conditions associated with the Flood event, or they eventually
died from old age (possibly post-Flood). Longer periods of growth, proposed
for the antediluvian timeframe, could have allowed C. megalodon
to grow to its maximum size potential. Other environmental factors might
still allow for the possibility that a living C. megalodon might
be found in the oceans of the planet.
Mid and High Latitude Flora Deposited
in the Genesis Flood, Part II: A Creationist Hypothesis
Michael J. Oard, M.S.
A creationist hypothesis for mid and high latitude
paleofloras, including the fossil "forests" on Axel Heiberg
Island, is presented. This hypothesis is an extension of the floating
log mat model during the Genesis Flood. One ramification of this hypothesis
is that most of the "Cenozoic land sediments likely were deposited
in the Flood and not the post-Flood period. Several other applications
of this model are presented.
Nine New Species and a New Genus
of Dominican Amber Ants of the Tribe (Cephalotini Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Gijsbertus Vierbergen and Joachim
Scheven, Ph.D.
Fossils of Cephalotine ants are frequently encountered
in Dominican amber. Of 22 specimens examined, 18 belong to species not
known from the Cephalotine fauna of today. Four specimens could not
be identified to the species level. Five species of the genus Zacryptocerus
are described as Z. alveolatus n.sp., _Z. integerrimus_ n.sp.,
Z. obscurus n.sp., Z. pseudo-aztecus n.sp., and Z.
squamosus n.sp., together with four species of the newly raised
genus Exocryptocerus (_E. elevatus_ n.sp., E. serratus
n.sp., E. truncatus n.sp., and E. jansei n.sp.). The Cephalotine
fauna of the Carribean of today is poor in regard to the past and consists
of only four well-defined species. This low number indicates a depauperation
of the ant fauna and possibly the whole insect fauna in the Carribean.
Most likely this depauperation was caused by a geological and climatical
change before or shortly after the Flood.
Pithecanthropus IV:
A Human Evolutionary Ancestor or an Artificial Reconstruction?
Phil L. Davidson, M.A.,
[[ In 1939 the remains of an early "hominid"
were discovered in Java. These remains have been interpreted as representing
an intermediate form between Australopithecus and Homo erectus.
However, statistical and morphological data show these remains to be
an artificial combination of disparate (dissimilar) skeletal elements.