[Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Thread Index] [Date Prev] [Date Next] [Date Index]

RE: paleonet Creationism again



Title: Creationism again
Hi,
 
I have heard about this paper but only now I could get a glimpse of at least the abstract through the link you provided. Below, I paste an essential part of this (long!) abstract:
 
On this basis, it is proposed that the unusual local freezing process might have provided an origin to the story that Christ walked on water. Since the springs ice is relatively small, a person standing or walking on it may appear to an observer situated some distance away to be 'walking on water'. This is particularly true if it rained after the ice was formed (because rain smoothes out the ice's surface). Whether this happened or not is an issue for religion scholars, archeologists, anthropologists, and believers to decide on. As natural scientists, we merely point out that unique freezing processes probably happened in that region several times during the last 12,000 years.
 
From this follows that the authors did not intend in anyway to convince us that Jesus existed, or that the story of walking on water is true (if he walked on ice, the story is even untrue - decide for yourself what you think of this). This even implies they believe this is a legend, that might be based on superstitious reports of people walking on ice, while they believed it was water. Seems like pure science to me - the fact that they linked this to a particular Bible story is rather interesting, even if atypical for these fields of science. In other words, this has much more to do with real palaeontology than you thought!
 
Ken
-----Original Message-----
From: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk [mailto:paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk]On Behalf Of Michael Rasser
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 1:59 PM
To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
Subject: paleonet Creationism again

Dear colleagues!

The "Journal of Paleolimnology" published an article discussing that Jesus did not walk on the water - instead, he was walking on ice. It was published in volume 35/no. 3, p. 417. Springerlink: http://springerlink.metapress.com/link.asp?id=g0565g4u74758076

Can anybody tell me, how this could happen?

How can an editor accept this in times of increased pressure by creationists and intelligent design?

Confused and annoyed,
Michael Rasser




__________________________
Dr. habil. Michael W. Rasser

Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde
Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart, Germany
Tel.: +49-(0)711/8936-143
Fax: +49-(0)711/8936-100
Mobil: +49-(0)162/6521819

Email: rasser.smns@naturkundemuseum-bw.de
Museum:
www.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/stuttgart
http://www.saurier2007.de
Michael: www.paleoweb.net/rasser