Sunday, March 2, 2014

Recently I watched a debate between Ken Ham, of the Creation Museum and Bill Nye, about if Creationism is a viable model of origins in today's scientific knowledge. Good debate. Ken was good and convincing. Bill's efforts were surprisingly weak and unconvincing. I pondered what each had said, and I wrote this article below. Interestingly, I find that evolutionism violates many known and proven scientific laws. Evolutionism turns out to be a very weak model of origins in today's scientific knowledge.

Creationism As A Viable Model Of Origins In Today's Scientific World
By David Concidine © 2014

Creationism is a viable model of origins in today's scientific world. In reality, when the facts are plainly reviewed, Creationism is the only viable model of origin, providing answers that agree with scientific knowledge, while Evolution fails to provide scientific answers to basic origin's questions.

The Need For A Model Of Origins
Man finds himself here on this planet. A variety of explanations are available about the origins of the planet and man. Man lacks perfect knowledge. And man's ability to acquire knowledge are limited. Man can observe the planet and make guesses. And man can read the oldest historical documents that tell the account of the origins. Is not a truthful account of the origins by those who witnessed it better than making guesses thousands of years after the fact?
Since man lacks knowledge, he makes up models to try to explain the origins. The Creationist model draws on the historical documents, as well as assimilating what is observed by scientists today. The Evolutionist model starts the assertion that there was no Higher Intelligence (God) involved in the origins (which cannot be proved), denies the Creation account of the Bible, and tries to explain the origins by some other means. Evolutionists search for some forces in nature that made the planet and life upon it.

Freedom of Belief and Speech
Because all US citizens are protected in the right of belief and the right of free speech (thanks to the Bill of Rights), citizens are able to get knowledge freely (as long as others are not injured thereby), and they are free to believe in Creationism or Evolutionism, and to speak of these two differing models to other people. In the school setting, the teaching of Creationism does not constitute forcing a religion on students. Creationism does not seek to quash other models and institute a religion, though it may draw from a religious historical document. Creationism seeks to win minds by the superiority and reasonableness of its discoveries.
But Evolutionism very often seeks to stop all teaching of Creationism, and to prevent any other views from being discussed. In this respect, Evolutionism tries to establish a evolutionary belief system on students, and so, violates the right of free belief and speech. One main reason for this is because the Evolutionism fails to answer basic scientific questions, and to help bolster its case, it resorts to coercion and violating rights of students in the classroom.

Creationism Is a Viable Model of Origins
Creationism utilizes both the historical documents and the most accurate scientific knowledge of today. First, we should understand better the historical documents. The historical documents begin with the Bible, which is a compilation of records kept by truthful observers from the beginning of the human race down to the last Apostle, John, circa 100 AD. The first book, Genesis means “Origin”. In this book is described a brief account of the making of this earth into a habitable planet, and the placing of life upon it by God, a vastly advanced Intelligent Being, who communicated this account to Moses in approx. 1475 BC. Moses' account of the Creation is reliable because 70 elders of Israel also saw God upon the Mount (Ex. 24: 9,10), and because other prophets (Abraham, Enoch, the brother of Jared, Joseph Smith) have been shown the Creation by God, and all these accounts by numerous witnesses agree. With multiple witnesses, from many times and places agreeing, the authenticity of the record is proved. Other recently found records (The Book of Mormon, the Book of Ether, The Book of Abraham) confirm the Genesis Creation account, and agree with its message. (In fact, with the addition of new scripture, no significant change was made to the Creation account, except the stripping away of changes to the account made by persons biased towards Platonic philosophy in the 4th Cent. AD.)
In addition, the knowledge of God was well preserved in the beginning ages of the world because the longevity of the patriarchs, from Adam down to Abraham, many of them lived with each other. (see Note 1 at the end of the article) In addition to all this, the patriarchs kept records, which began with Adam, father of the entire race, who was taught to write by God, and these records were passed down from Adam down to Noah, and from Noah down to Abraham, and Abraham to Joseph, whose bones and records Moses took out of Egypt at the Exodus. With these records, and the revelations Moses received in his day, Moses wrote Genesis, the “Origin”.
The Genesis Creation account is a short sketch of the construction process of this earth. The main point of the account is that God organized this earth with its heavens, for his own purposes. God took a void or empty planet, made of pre-existing materials, and modified it in seven “days” or periods, until it became habitable and filled with life.
Creationism draws on the account of the Creation in Genesis. It also assimilates today's scientific knowledge. In comparing Genesis to scientific findings, we find these points in agreement: 1) the second law of physics (entropy), all things are going from higher states of energy and order to lower states of energy and to chaos. Only by addition of energy can chaos be reversed. This law of entropy agrees with the change that occurred at the Fall of Adam, when change, decay and death were introduced into the entire world. All physical things break down, and it is only by work that man can make order and improvement.
Only by work and planning is order achieved—because, left to itself, the law of entropy prevails, and all things are running down, breaking down, and moving towards chaos. Only by intelligent plan and work (energy) is a habitation made. A bird builds a nest following its instinct's plan. A man builds a house by following a plan. It is reasonable to believe that a vastly advanced Intelligent Being planned and worked to organize this earth, which is a vast and complex habitation for many forms of life. In observing this planet and its life-forms we find such amazing order and complexity, on such a vast scale, we know that it is beyond the minute capacity of man or of all men to have organized such a world as this one. We are left to draw the inevitable conclusion that the origin of this planet and its life came by some very great Intelligence and higher Power. For we know from observing nature that accidents/random events do not construct nests, houses or habitable planets. Accidents or random activity making complex order is “Not Observed In Nature” (NOIN). Furthermore, this planet has been carefully prepared for the life-forms that are upon it—it's distance from the sun just right, its times and seasons, its climates and environments, it's protective and breathable atmosphere; the sufficient quantity of salt and fresh water; the ample distribution of necessary elements and minerals, etc. We explore the moon and other planets in our solar system and find them not like our planet at all, totally desolate, too hot or too cold, lacking oxygen and conditions necessary to support plant and animal life. This agrees with Gen. 1 which states that God prepared this earth and placed life on it.
But Evolutionism says that all life happened randomly, and that there was no Higher Being. First, they say that entropy is not destructive, entropy is creative! How novel—but what nonsense. Second, how can evolutionists prove that there is no God (they can't) just because they can't see God doesn't mean that he isn't in some place that they can't see (and evolutionists can't see everywhere). How is it that this earth can be so perfectly habitable, and so filled with life, while all around us in space is no planet that is habitable or containing life at all? Why aren't evolutionary forces making loads of planets all around ours, full of living things like this earth? Why doesn't life spontaneously generate today? (Because such contradicts the laws of nature!) In reality, the desolate, dead moon and planets that surround us are the perfect picture of evolution and its random forces! The earth we live on is a total anomaly to evolution—it is a perfect example of planning and work by a vastly advanced Higher Being.
Endless time: 1a) Time marches on without stopping. One moment follows another, and another shall follow it. One moment preceded the present, and another moment preceded that. Past, present, future. Men are born, men live, and men die; but still time and events go on. So we observe in nature, no end to the passing of time. And so also says the scriptures. God existed before this earth was framed. God is eternal: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalms 90:2)
But Evolutionism says that the universe began with a Big Bang. It says there was some starting time for the universe, when all the matter in the universe was gathered into a single point. What was happening before the moment before the Big Bang? Such contradicts the nature of time, and the unending sequence of events that we see in nature. A starting time of the universe that had nothing before it is inconceivable and “not observed in nature.”
Astronomy and chemistry: 2) it is observed that the stars seem to stay in the same places in relation to each other, and the movement of sun, earth, moon and stars are regular; yet astronomers make measurements and find that the universe is expanding gradually. The regular position and movements of the earth in relation to the sun, moon and stars, also agrees with Genesis 1: God set this earth in this solar system, and set the sun to give light to the day, and set the moon (which is the same size in the sky as the sun) to give light at night, and the stars in the night sky, and God set their movements to be regular and ordered. As for the gradual expansion of the universe, God also said that his works never end, and they are numberless (Moses 1), that his heavenly curtains are stretched out still (Isa. 40:22). Thus the universe expands because it is “under construction” by God. In contrast, Evolutionism believes that all the matter in the universe was compressed into a single point, (which is contrary to chemistry which has learned that there is much space between particles in atoms because there are great forces of repulsion to keep them apart). Evolutionism says that when all matter was in a single point, it exploded—but instead of scattering matter and chaotic debris farther and farther apart, evolutionism says that this matter cooled down, organized itself into suns, habitable planets and moons orbiting in regular fashion, and then spontaneously generated life thereon! How could all the matter in the universe be gathered and compressed into a single point? Since when has an explosion caused order, habitation and life? Such things are “Not Observed In Nature”.
Laws of biology: 3) life comes from life, not from inanimate, inorganic matter. It is observed in nature that plants grow from seeds, and animals grow from eggs produced by similar animals. No animal or plant has ever been observed to spontaneously generate from dirt or rocks. This agrees with Genesis 1, that says that God placed plants and animals on this earth. The source of life comes from a living Being, God, who is the God of the living. God made living things, made to act; and God made non-living things, made to be acted upon. Living things come from other living things. Evolutionism however, posits that life, at some point, evolved from inanimate materials. Since, Evolutionism decrees, there was no God, at some magical moment, too far in the past for us to see and witness, a living thing popped into existence from inanimate, non-living materials. At some magical moment, consciousness and awareness gradually “happened” in some piece of previously inanimate material, and life began! Such is contrary to the laws of biology today. Living things do not generate themselves from non-living materials. NOIN
Laws of heredity: 4) each kind of life brings forth after its own kind. It is observed in nature that each main group of animals or plants brings forth new life (seeds or offspring) after its own kind. While there are no two animals or plants are exactly alike, yet small differences in a specific kind occur, yet they are still that specific kind of plant or animal. No major “kind” of animal changes into, or brings forth progeny of, another kind. There are many varieties of apples, but apples bring forth only apples, and they do not bring forth thistles. There are many breeds of dogs, but still dogs bring forth only dogs and not cats. Zoos exist all around the world, and chimpanzees bring forth chimpanzees, but never do they bring forth an ape-man or a human born to a set of chimps. And the Genesis record agrees with heredity and nature as it is observed: God declared that each kind of life (grasses, trees, fish, fowl, animals, and man) was to bring forth after its own kind.
The Evolutionist model contradicts the known laws of heredity. Evolutionism says that kinds of life change or evolve into other kinds of life! Evolutionism says ALL life originated from one lower kind of life, that itself came from inanimate matter! Evolutionism supposes that over vast amounts of time, somehow, life popped into being one day from dead minerals and molecules; fish were born from lower sea life-forms; birds were born to fish; reptiles were born to birds; animals were born to reptiles; and man was born to apes. Such is Not Observed In Nature. And in nature, when an animal makes a mutation with some big change, it cannot reproduce, and dies off. Evolution tries to explain the broad array of plants and animal species by a law of mutation (change) which does not happen in nature, and is contrary to laws of heredity.
Population growth rates: 5) Population grows rapidly. If two parents have two boys and two girls, then those four children could pair off and make two couples. If those two couples had four children each, then there would be eight children. Four more sets of parents could be paired up. Four sets of parents could then have four children each, then there would be sixteen children. So the population can double in every generation or two. Today's population is nearly 7 billion people. To reach 7 billion people would require about 113 generations, putting the start of today's population about 4,300 years ago, which agrees with the Biblical chronology, when Noah's three sons disembarked from the ark, and the re-population of the earth began after the Flood. Today's population number agrees with known average rate of population growth, and the time that the Bible says that the Flood occurred (2344 BC).
Evolutionism says that mankind has been on the earth for two or three million years, reproducing all that time. Such a thing is impossible! The rate of increase of the population is known, and if the human family has been reproducing for even 1 million years, that would have produced 26,000 generations, and a current population of 102000 people ( I with 2000 zeros after it) . Even a population of 1082 would fill the entire known universe, packed like sardines in a can, with no space between people!
Decay of stars: 6) Astronomers observe the stars and our sun, and measure their sizes. They find that stars, at some phases of their development, decay and grow smaller over long periods of time. Our sun is in such a phase of slow decay. The Bible agrees with a “young” earth that has known mortal life since the fall occurred in 4,000 BC. Revelations says that the earth will have 7,000 years. Genesis states that God made the lights in the firmament, the sun, moon and stars. This length of time agrees with what astronomers find in the rate of decay in stars, in this case, the size of our sun. At one time, our sun was a much larger star. A “young” earth fits well with our present sun's size, making the earth as a habitable planet.
Evolutionism, however, presents a timetable that would make life on this planet impossible. Evolutionary story says earth is millions of years old, lit by our same sun. Impossible! The sun is shrinking 0.01% per century. 50,000 years ago, the sun would touch the earth's surface and burn it to a crisp!
The age of the earth's materials, despite a “young earth” since the Fall of Adam: 7) Scientists have developed many kinds of dating systems, based upon certain assumptions (which may render them accurate or not). Whatever the guesses of age that these dating systems give, it is reasonable to believe in the very old age of the materials of the earth, and the stars in the heavens. It is also reasonable to believe in an earth that has known mortality for only 6,000+ years since the Fall occurred. Genesis says God took the “void” or empty earth (Gen. 1:2), and that God began the process of making it habitable. This fact of the pre-existing materials of the earth means that the earth can be very old, while the generations of man and animals of only 6,000+ years, since the time of the Fall of Adam.
But Evolutionism there was no God, no Creation Period, no Garden period, no Fall of Adam, no beginning to reproduction of life-forms on earth. Evolutionism says that everything must be millions of years old, with thousands of generations of plants, animals and man. Because of population growth rates, such would be impossible, and the earth would be too small to sustain the massive populations. By denying God and the big changes that have occurred in the earth's progression, dating estimates fro the age of the earth have little value.
Evidence of a universal Flood, and separation of the continents: 8) Scientists measure the amount of water in our oceans. If the earth's surface was all the same elevation high, there is enough water on the planet to cover all the earth with water 8,000 feet deep (1.5+ miles deep), leaving no dry land. A Flood that covered the whole earth is therefore, quite possible. Geologists notice that the continents have moved and separated. At one time in the past, all the continents were all connected in one land mass. It is the movement of the continents when they separated that helped to form deep ravines in the oceans, and high mountain ranges on the continents. The American continents have a range of mountains that run from north all the way to the south, creating a continental divide. When the continents were all one land mass, the land was flatter. Geologists further discover an amazing array of fossils of plants and animals that were rapidly buried and heated and baked into fossils, by some cataclysmic mudslide/flood/volcanic eruption. These facts agree with the record in the Scriptures. The Flood account describes “all the fountains of the great deep [possibly volcanoes] broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”(Genesis 7:1112) Also, the earth was all one continent in those times. The separation of the continents, with the creation of deep gorges and high mountains did not occur until after the Flood: “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided...” (Genesis 10:25) Both historical records and geological evidence confirms the Flood and the rapid burying of many plants and animals, baked and solidified into fossils: fossils of trees and forests buried upright through more than one layer of strata; the rapidly formed fossils of animals buried while still alive; older sediments found intruding into younger sediments; and there are dozens more evidences which support a rapid, cataclysmic formation of strata.
Evolutionism's model that denies a Flood and states that all fossils and strata were formed gradually over millions of years, by sediment slowly burying plants, etc. Slow sedimentation, has not been observed to make any fossils today.
Historical records of the earliest post-Flood civilizations: 9) The oldest civilizations and writings are found in Sumer and cities in the Fertile crescent. The spreading of the earliest civilizations out from regions south of Mt. Ararat, out from Sumer, Canaan and Egypt, agrees with the historical records found by archaeologists and historians, who have found clay tablets in Sumer, and the hieroglyphics and the pyramids in Egypt. Furthermore, we find these records show the early civilizations were hierocentric, competing for Priesthood authority and imitating a patriarchal, priestly form of government. The Egyptian pyramids are giant monuments and burying places of pharaohs, to prepare them for the after-life. Genesis and other records depict the early civilizations post-Flood as having descended from Noah's three sons' descendants, after the the ark landed on Mt. Ararat. Ham's posterity built up the cities in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10), which is the land of Sumer, the Sumerian civilization; and also other of Ham's posterity founded Egypt at the Nile river. Out from these cities in the fertile crescent, the families and nations of the ancient world spread abroad to possess the land.
Evolutionism however describes a story that does not agree with archeology and history: it tells of the rise of humans from animals, from apes and then from ape-men, lost in millions of years of fighting for survival, arising in Africa, Europe or China. The highest purpose of life was survival of the fittest. Then one day, a human was born, and then he began to write, and use tools, and then the bronze age began. In what year did humans magically appear amongst the sub-humans? Do monkeys write? Do monkeys make weapons, tools and records? Are monkeys concerned with impractical purposes such as worshiping God and preparing for the after-life? No, such is Not Observed In Nature.
Languages and families derived from a common set of parents: 10) Students of languages notice the similarity among languages, and the development of writing alphabets from hieroglyphics. It is reasonable to deduce that all languages derived from a common tongue. Genesis says Adam and Eve were our common parents. After the Flood, the earth was populated by the posterity of Noah's sons' families. After the Tower of Babel, the confusion of tongues occurred and many languages resulted. But Evolutionism does not teach a common set of parents and supposes that humans evolved in separated places throughout the earth. Such a model does not agree with the closely related languages and races that sprang from one family.
Historicity of Christ and Adam: 11) The historicity of Jesus Christ, the Apostles and prophets like Moses, and the movements of the tribes of Israel is documented in secular history as well as in the Bible. Jesus Christ is historically proven, the documents written by his witnesses being published throughout the world (the New Testament), along with other historical documents; and the religion that they taught having spread in a way that has been historically documented as well. Christianity should have died when Jesus died—Peter and others were already going back to the fishing business. But Jesus was resurrected, and he appeared to Peter and the Apostles, proved that Jesus was resurrected, and Jesus sent them on a mission to preach the Gospel to all the world—which they did, against great opposition. Since Jesus was real, then Adam was also real. Jesus came to repair the effects of Adam's Fall, that brought sin and death into the world. Jesus would not have been sent, and would not have arisen Adam.
But Evolutionism denies the historicity of Adam, Moses, and Jesus Christ, and the effects of their ministries that have changed the world. Evolutionism looks for origins and first parents in Lady Luck, Chance, Mr. Random Happening and in a Chimpanzee couple lost millions of years ago.

Summary
We have seen in many points that Creationism is a viable model of origins, and that it agrees with today's scientific knowledge. We have also seen that Evolutionism fails over and over again to agree with basic, known and observable laws of nature, physics, biology, heredity, astronomy, chemistry, archeology and history. Evolutionism is a poor model of origins in today's scientific world.
Evolutionism rests a large part of its case by wasting time criticizing the Bible. Because the Bible is a very ancient document, written in unfamiliar language, does not mean it is untrue. Disbelief at such things as the longevity of the early patriarchs (who lived before the Flood, nearly 900 years each); the lack of mention of dinosaurs; disbelief in the universal Flood, etc. does not itself produce a viable model of origins. The silly ideas of Evolutionism such as the universe beginning with a explosion, the denial of any higher Intelligent Being, life self-generating spontaneously from inanimate materials, and mutations causing new kinds of plants and animals, form a model of origins that is unscientific, unobservable in nature, contrary to scientific knowledge, and is an unreasonable form of belief. The “religion” system of Evolutionism takes blind faith to believe—because the evidence of nature doesn't support it.
Evolution puts forth as evidence many pictures and artifacts that cannot be closely inspected and tested by common people; objects that many times have been later proved to be frauds and fabrications. Evolutionism tries to support its notion of man evolving from animals by many pictures, illustrations, fabricated and manipulated fragments of bones, animated films, and CGI movies, to tell a story of the origins of life from inanimate materials. But students must realize that PICTURES AND OBJECTS CAN BE MANIPULATED AND CHANGED BY EVOLUTIONISTS TO TELL LIES. Pieces of human skulls have been altered with animal parts so as to create an object that look like an ape-man skull—but no such race exists or has existed. Pictures can depict impossibilities in the real world. Illustrations can make up stories, but they do not constitute scientific evidence. A picture of evidence that cannot be investigated and tested by many unbiased examiners is not evidence, it is trickery. Evolution of one life form into another different kind is not observable in nature today. Man evolving from apes or ape-men is not observable in nature today. So the story of man evolving from apes, by verbose word-pictures, or by visual illustrations, is just a fiction-making, and is not scientific, observable, testable evidence.

Creationism Is More Than Genesis
Genesis gives a short description of the Creation, and tells the history of the earth in its early ages. Many mighty changes happened to the earth. Creationism assimilates historical accounts along with the best of today's scientific knowledge. By both of these we have a much richer, more accurate view of origins.
While Genesis may tell things that seem hard to comprehend today, such as longevity of patriarchs, no mention of dinosaurs, the account of the Flood, Creationists find viable and scientific answers to these questions. The longevity of the patriarchs may be explained by the different conditions that existed in the pre-Flood era, with a layer of water above the firmament to protect all things from short wave radiation (which is what causes aging, mutation and early death). With greater protection from this damaging radiation from the sun, all things were able to live much longer and grow much bigger. So the patriarchs could live 900+ years; plants could grow very large; and reptiles could grow bigger and bigger and live a long time—hence the dinosaurs may have existed in the pre-Flood era. Fossils and many other geologic evidences confirm a cataclysmic Flood. So the account of Genesis is viable and useful in understanding origins.
In sum, Creationism uses the best historical documents and the best scientific evidence, and is the only viable scientific model of origins. Creationism is a model that agrees with today's scientific knowledge in physics, chemistry, time, chronology, dating systems, astronomy, biology, heredity, geology, population growth rates, and the earliest and most truthful historical documents. It is reasonable to believe in accurate documents kept by truthful Prophets/Patriarchs; to believe in a vastly advanced Higher Intelligent Being to have prepared this planet for habitation and to have filled it with life; to believe that life comes from life and not from inanimate matter; that it takes work and planning to make a habitable planet, and that order and life do not pop into existence randomly; that each kind of life brings forth after its own kind; that the Flood occurred and left many layers of strata and buried things; that while the materials of the earth are old, yet the time since generations of humans began to be on this planet has been only about 6,000+ years; that the account of early civilizations in Genesis agrees with what historians and archaeologists find about Sumer, Canaan and Egypt, and that the Bible account is history, not myth.
Evolutionism, as we have seen in practically every instance, violates the findings of the laws of nature and today's scientific knowledge, and tries to fabricate a model of origins that is, therefore, impossible! Evolutionism denies the law of entropy, saying that random activity creates complex order (NOIN); it denies the endlessness of time, and says that the whole universe began at a Big Bang, before which was nothing!; it denies the laws of physics by saying that all matter was gathered into a single point (a physical impossibility) and then it exploded and then instead of scattering debris far apart, that habitable planets were orbiting suns in ordered fashion; it denies the laws of biology by saying that life generated by itself from inanimate matter; it denies the laws of heredity by saying that lower forms of life spontaneously produced higher and different kinds of plants and animals, rather than each bringing forth after its own kind as is found in nature; it denies the rates of population growth and insists that humans have been on this planet for millions of years, which if such were the case, the entire universe could not contain all the offspring; it denies the known rates of the decay of stars, insisting this earth has been here for millions of years, when only 50,000 years ago, our sun was so large it would have touched the earth's surface; it denies geology and insist there is no evidence of a Flood, of volcanic activity, of rapid burying and compression of plants and animals, when the earth's crust is layered with strata, fossils, oil and coal beds that give evidence of rapid and cataclysmic movements; it denies the oldest historical documents which all attest to the rise of civilization in the Fertile Crescent region, which civilizations were hierocentric, patriarchal societies—and instead tells a story of animal-like hunter-nomads whose purpose in life was the survival of the fittest; it denies linguistics and archeology and says that humans evolved from many different places and that there was no single source from which languages developed; it denies historicity of the Bible and its chief persons/events such as Jesus Christ and the evangelization of the world of Christianity; Adam and the Fall whose actions brought mortality, and for whose sake Jesus Christ came to rectify the situation; Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites, and Moses' writing of the Creation account; Noah and the Flood—historical events which have changed the world and left indisputable evidence and written records.
In this situation, honest men are compelled by the light of truth to say that Creationism is the only viable model of origins in today's scientific world. Evolutionism is a poor model of origins and unscientific in its assertions.

Note 1: “We can see from this that Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, all lived on the earth at the same time [after they were born]; and that Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech, were all acquainted with both Adam and Noah. From the foregoing it is easily to be seen, not only how the knowledge of God came into the world [from Adam, the father of the race], but upon what principle it was preserved; that from the time it was first communicated, it was retained in the minds of righteous men, who taught not only their own posterity but the world; so that there was no need of a new revelation to man, after Adam's creation to Noah, to give them the first idea or notion of the existence of a God; and not only of a God, but the true and living God.” And after the Flood, the first eleven patriarchs also lived at the same time later on: “ It appears from this account, that Nahor, brother of Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Salah, Arphaxad, Shem, and Noah, all lived on the earth at the same time...We have now traced the chronology of the world agreeable to the account given in our present Bible, from Adam to Abraham, and have clearly determined, beyond the power of controversy, that there was no difficulty in preserving the knowledge of God in the world from the creation of Adam, and the manifestation made to his immediate descendants, as set forth in the former part of this lecture; so that the students in this class need not have any doubt resting on their minds on this subject, for they can easily see that it is impossible for it to be otherwise, but that the knowledge of the existence of a God must have continued from father to son, as a matter of tradition at least; for we cannot suppose that a knowledge of this important fact could have existed in the mind of any of the before-mentioned individuals, without their having made it known to their posterity. We have now shown how it was that the first thought ever existed in the mind of any individual that there was such a Being as a God, who had created and did uphold all things: that it was by reason of the manifestation which he first made to our father Adam, when he stood in his presence, and conversed with him face to face, at the time of his creation.” (Lectures on Faith)