Todd's Blog

Core Academy of Science had a great time hosting our guests at the first Shenandoah Valley Creation Retreat!  We talked at length about the most basic issues of faith and science, and we had a great time discussing nearly every other topic in creationism.  It was a great time of fellowship and encouragement! Up next for us is our public lecture "Natural Evil" on March 27 at 7 pm at Core Academy (245 California Ave, Dayton, TN).  Then on the weekend of April 15, we have our annual Smoky Mountain Creation Retreat .  This year in the Smokies, we'll be considering the subject of biblical chronology.  We'd love to see you at one of these events! Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com. If you enjoyed this article, please consider a contribution to Core Academy of Science. Thank you.

I don't usually do this sort of thing, but... I just sat and watched a half hour of news coverage of the latest school shooting, and I am shaken. Seventeen people died in the fifth incident of 2018 in which a student or former student killed someone on high school property. If that wasn't bad enough, the latest headline on our local paper says, "Report: Man threatened shootout." Right here in little, old Dayton, Tennessee! As much as I'd like to pretend otherwise, we live in a dangerous world, and the danger is right here. And I can't just sit here and be sad again. I need to do something. So I'm asking today for money to help improve the security at our local Christian school, Rhea County Academy. This is not an official, sanctioned RCA fundraiser. I am doing this on my own. I am a part-time teacher there, and I am a concerned citizen of Rhea County. I do not want to see this sort of tragedy here. I watched an interview this morning of a teacher in ...

The Creation Biology Society updated today with a call for abstracts for Origins 2018. The annual summer conference of the Creation Biology and Creation Geology Societies will be held at the Crown Plaza Green Tree hotel in Pittsburgh, PA on July 29, 2018.  We invite high-quality abstract submissions relevant to the life and earth sciences and the issue of origins.  Submissions must offer positive, constructive interpretations or criticisms.  All abstracts will be reviewed by an editor for suitability and content.  Submissions will be judged on scientific merit, adherence to the guidelines, and relevance to creationism.  Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to present at the conference, and all accepted abstracts will be published in the Journal of Creation Theology and Science . The conference will be held on Sunday just before the International Conference on Creationism , so if you're going to one, there's no reason not to go to both. Abstract...

Southwestern Greenland from 30,000 feet, where the conventionally oldest rocks on earth contain the earliest putative traces of living things. I have a reader's question this week, and this is going to be extra science-y for those of you who like that sort of thing.  For the rest, well, God bless you.  Bear with us as we explore early cellular evolution. First, a paraphrase of the question: If all cells possess similar structures that are supposed to have been inherited from a common ancestor, is that something we would have expected?  After all, we're talking about billions of years of evolution!  That's a long time, and many things could change.  The idea that cells still have similarities inherited from the very beginning of life seems unbelievable or at least unexpected. I'm not sure "expecting"  is the right question.  The reality is that all cells, from Archaea to Bacteria to Eukarya, have have a common core of metabolism and proteins. ...

Ted Davis has an interesting blog post over at BioLogos.  I don't usually link to BioLogos (because, you know, we're mortal enemies and all), but this article struck me as something worth responding to.  Ted writes about two things that he would like to see change in the current origins debate.  The first is sacrificing truth to service agendas, and the second is educating rather than indoctrinating.  Your reaction to his essay will vary, of course, depending on what you think about creation, creationists, and BioLogos.  I for one am always disheartened to see BioLogos position themselves as the "reasonable" middle ground between extremists like me and Richard Dawkins. Rather than complain about BioLogos though, let me instead offer my own habit that needs to change in the origins debate.  It's a habit that I confess that I've indulged in, even right here on this very blog.  It's also a habit that I've come to dislike more and more over the past ...

Hey, look, I'm back!  I've been busy lately trying to get a paper done that was due four months ago.  Ha ha, OOPS!  Anyway, here's my presentation from the first Core Academy public lecture series.  Enjoy! Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com. If you enjoyed this article, please consider a contribution to Core Academy of Science. Thank you.