Michael Denton – Apologetics Ministry

02May 2020 by Post

How Water’s Chemistry Helps Make Life on Earth Possible

biology, Chemistry, earth, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Denton, planetary fine-tuning, Podcast, Privileged Species, The Wonder of Water, water

On a classic episode of ID the Future, we bring you a sample from the documentary Privileged Species arguing that water possesses many unique properties that appear finely tuned to allow for life on Earth. The excerpt dips a toe into what biologist Michael Denton explores in much greater depth in his book The Wonder of Water. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo source: A scene from Privileged Species, via Discovery Institute (screen shot). The post How Water’s Chemistry Helps Make Life on Earth Possible appeared first on Evolution News.

29Apr 2020 by Post

Are Cosmic and Planetary Fine-Tuning Constant?

A Fortunate Universe, aaas, catastrophes, Children of Light, cosmic fine-tuning, fusion, Geraint Lewis, Guillermo Gonzalez, habitability, heavy elements, Jay Richards, law of gravity, Luke A. Barnes, Michael Denton, Michael R. Wilczynska, natural constants, Paul Dirac, photosynthesis, physicists, Physics, Earth & Space, planetary fine-tuning, Science Advances, stars, The Privileged Planet, The Wonder of Water

Since Paul Dirac first wrote about the subject of cosmic coincidences in 1937, many physicists have marveled at the specific values of natural constants, such as G, the constant in the law of gravity (6.673×10-11 N m2 kg-2) — an extremely low number. This is an empirical value measured carefully in labs under controlled conditions; it is not derived from equations. One could imagine it taking a different value. But it is balanced between two catastrophes. If stronger, stars would burn hotter, and photosynthesis would be impossible, and life, if it could exist at all under the crush of gravity, would have to take refuge underground. If gravity were weaker, opposite problems ensue: stars would be unable to start fusion and form heavy elements, and would slowly burn out by…

25Apr 2020 by Post

Michael Denton Explore the Miracle of Air and Sun

air, biochemistry, biology, Children of Light, cosmos, Discovery Institute, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Denton, planetary fine-tuning, sunlight

A classic episode of ID the Future shines a light on Discovery Institute biochemist Michael Denton’s book, Children of Light: The Astonishing Properties of Sunlight that Make Us Possible. Denton explores the properties of sun and air. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In Children of Light, Denton shows how sun and air are crucial parts of the larger story of our fine-tuned place in the cosmos. Or as he puts it in the book, “Whatever the cause and whatever the ultimate explanation, nature appears to be fine-tuned to an astonishing degree for beings of our biology.” Photo credit: Ingmar H on Unsplash. The post Michael Denton Explore the Miracle of Air and Sun appeared first on Evolution News.

26Feb 2020 by Post

Darwinism and Intelligent Design in Poland

Adam Cenian, Andrzej Myc, behavior, biology, creationism, Darwin on Trial, Darwin's Black Box, Darwinism, Discovery Institute, En Arche Foundation, eugenics, Evolution, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Fundacja En Arche, Grzegorz Malec, Icons of Evolution, Intelligent Design, marriage, Marxism, Michael Behe, Michael Denton, morals, Phillip E. Johnson, Poland, Polish, relationships, restaurants, Signature in the Cell, slavery, steak tartare, Stephen Meyer, University of Warsaw, vodka, Vodka (restaurant), Warsaw, World War II

On January 29, 2020, I arrived in Warsaw, Poland, in the middle of a blizzard. Fortunately, most of the snow had cleared away by January 31, when I lectured at an event celebrating the release of a new Polish translation of my book, Icons of Evolution. The event was organized by Fundacja En Arche (the En Arche Foundation, or roughly, the Origins Foundation). Although its critics call it a “creationist” organization, Fundacja En Arche is not about biblical creationism (whether young Earth or old Earth). Instead, it focuses on the scientific and philosophical issues of Darwinism and intelligent design. I told the staff that the foundation reminded me of Discovery Institute twenty years ago. A major part of En Arche’s work so far has been translating into Polish books such…

15Feb 2020 by Post

Wonder of Water: Michael Denton at Bridalveil Fall

biosphere, body heat, Bridalveil Fall, carbon dioxide, circulatory system, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Denton, minerals, nutrients, oxygen, rivers, rock, streams, The Wonder of Water, water, Yosemite

On a classic episode of ID the Future, geneticist and biochemist Michael Denton reads the beautiful introduction to his book The Wonder of Water. Download the podcast or listen to it here. He begins at Yosemite’s Bridalveil Fall and explores how water is curiously fine-tuned for life. Indeed, thanks to a unique cluster of properties, water is able to fulfill many roles essential to our living planet. It’s thanks to some of those properties that rivers and streams can leech and carry minerals from rock to various places they’re needed in the biosphere. Water’s unusual properties also make it an ideal medium for our circulatory system. There it serves not only to transfer nutrients and oxygen but also to expel carbon dioxide, excess body heat, and waste products — again, thanks…

08Feb 2020 by Post

Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis

coincidences, Energy, genetics, ID The Future, improbability, Intelligent Design, Life Sciences, light, Michael Denton, oxygen, photosynthesis, Podcast, water

On a classic episode of ID the Future, listen in on a a few minutes from a lecture given by medical geneticist and CSC Senior Fellow Michael Denton. Download the podcast or listen to it here. We’ve all heard of the importance of photosynthesis as an oxygen-creating process. In this segment, Denton explains the “remarkable set of coincidences” that makes the creation of oxygen through photosynthesis possible. From the specific energy of visible light to the unique properties of water, this degree of improbability screams DESIGN. Photo source: “Why Our Sun and Atmosphere Appear Intelligently Designed,” via Discovery Institute. The post Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis appeared first on Evolution News.

31Jan 2020 by Post

A Forest, Not a Tree? Nelson Asks Why Universal Common Descent Needn’t “Pay” for Failures

biologists, Brian Miller, Evolution, evolutionists, failed predictions, forest, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Behe, Michael Denton, naturalism, orchard, Paul Nelson, Podcast, scientific theories, Teilhard de Chardin, theistic evolution, Tree of Life, universal common descent, universal genetic code

Philosopher of biology Paul Nelson recalls the expectation, a scientific standard when he was an undergrad, that all living things would turn out to share a universal genetic code. How could they not if, as Darwin argued, there is only a single, universal tree of life? On a classic ID the Future podcast with host Brian Miller, Dr. Nelson discusses the implications of this failed prediction. Download the podcast or listen to it here. The question is a weighty one since it has emerged that there is no universally shared code, but, instead, many variants. When evolutionists realized this, they performed a sidestep, supposing that since the prediction flopped, it must be the case that the code can itself evolve. But this deft move allows universal common ancestry a luxury…