RATE review.

Today I finished reading RADIOISOTOPES AND THE AGE OF THE EARTH, Volume 2. Ed. by Larry Vardiman (et.al.). It was one of the most difficult books I have ever read, but not because I wasn't enjoying it. The subject matter was largely new to me and I had to really think to follow the arguments. The process of scientific experimentation is shown in all its mind-numbing detail. There are pages of descriptive material chronicling precisely how each mineral sample was collected, prepared and measured. This is more detail that I am accustomed to wade through, and I have a high tolerance for tedious tasks. The end result of all this data was important: Clear evidence for (1) large amounts of nuclear decay in the geologic record (daughter products, Polonium radio halos, fission tracks) and (2) evidences for accelerated decay (rapid Helium diffusion rates through Zircon, Isochron discordance, Carbon-14 even in diamonds). But the most impressive feature of this book was the reverence for the Biblical text. The researchers recognized the clear meaning of the creation account in Genesis and allowed that to determine the bounds of the time limit on the age of the earth to a mere 6000 to 10000 years. The RATE project has dropped the gauntlet on the view of Uniformitarianism that so dominates evolutionary thought. The RATE team has presented their case for a recent creation using reason and logic to interpret the facts. Critics will now have to rethink their old-earth arguments in light of this new data that is a serious blow to their concept of Deep Time. This book is a necessary read for anyone who considers himself a serious student of God's marvelous creation. It will help you understand a little more about the process God employed and therefore may provide you a little more understanding of the mind of God by studying His creation.