News to Note, July 10, 2010

1. Close to God’s-Eye View of Physical Universe

When it comes to a God’s-eye view of the physical universe, the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope mission may have given us the closest approximation yet.

2. Were Humans a Million Years Ago Britons?

What were humans like a million years ago—fur-wearing, meat-eating, tool-making Britons?

3. Function of the Wings of Flightless Birds

Biologists have identified the function of what were once considered vestigial structures: the wings of flightless birds.

4. Moon and Earth Originally One Body?

Was the moon formed separately from the earth, or were the two originally one body?

5. Adventist News Network: “Session Delegates Strengthen Adventist Church’s Creation Focus”

One Christian denomination has reemphasized its adherence to a literal, six-day creation as described in Genesis 1–11.

The official news organ of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church reports that delegates to the church’s general conference in Atlanta have voted to reaffirm the denomination’s belief in a plain interpretation of Genesis, including (especially) the important—but controversial—events of the book’s first eleven chapters.

Those events are “not an allegory,” declared current Adventist president Ted Wilson, but are instead “authentic, true, and literal.” Other delegates agreed, with one arguing that creation is “important for all our doctrinal systems” (which Answers in Genesis regularly points out) and another adding that (for Adventists, at least) “our faith informs our science,” rather than the converse.

Naturally, Answers in Genesis applauds any Christian denomination’s embrace of a plain reading of Scripture, including the crucially important first chapters that establish so many doctrinal concepts and have a direct connection to the gospel. Answers in Genesis takes no stance, however, on denominational disagreements that stem from shared plain readings of Scripture. To read more about what it means to be a parachurch ministry—and how we negotiate the sometimes-tricky waters of the many denominations within the church, see Where Do We Draw the Line? (See also our official mission statement and statement of faith.)

6. And Don’t Miss . . .

• From the University of Haifa comes another report of archaeological work linking today’s world with biblical history: namely, the possible site of Sisera’s power base (cf. Judges 4–5).
• Why is Darwin’s name turning up in the field of quantum mechanics? Don’t worry, the connection is essentially superficial.
• Dig a swimming pool, find a mastodon—it worked for Tennessee’s Jim Leyden!
• Is the United States more fundamentalist than the Taliban? Assuming accurate translation, that’s the speculation of Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguist (and political pundit) Noam Chomsky, who bases his claim on the fact that “[a]bout half of the [U.S.] population believes that all living species were created 6,000 years ago in their current form.”

Remember, if you see a news story that might merit some attention, let us know about it! (Note: if the story originates from the Associated Press, Fox News, MSNBC, the New York Times, or another major national media outlet, we will most likely have already heard about it.) And thanks to all of our readers who have submitted great news tips to us. If you didn’t catch last week’s News to Note, why not take a look at it now? See you next week!

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