Todd's Blog

Back in 2005, when the Executive Council of the BSG first met to discuss legal incorporation, we wanted to rename the Baraminology Study Group to something more understandable and accessible. Unfortunately, we concocted the new name (BSG: A Creation Biology Study Group) by committee, and last year we finally got tired of explaining it to people ("BSG doesn't stand for anything any more"). So we voted to change the name to the much more sensible Creation Biology Society . In the future, we would invite you to refer to us as the Creation Biology Society or the CBS. We will also be replacing the Occasional Papers with a new publication, which we hope to announce sometime this summer. In the meantime, everything else pretty much stays the same. Remember that we have a conference coming up in Rapid City, SD, and we're looking for some good abstracts to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Genesis Flood . Feedback? Email me at toddchar...

From the secretary of the BSG: We would like to remind you of our upcoming "special edition" of our summer conference  "Origins 2011" which will be held in Rapid City, SD on July 27-29, 2011.  We will be observing the 50 th anniversary of the publication of the Genesis Flood. We will once again be joining with the Creation Geology Society for this special event/conference. You'll probably want to reserve some days around that date (say the 26th to the 31st), since we're also planning field trips and a special conference for the general public. Please reserve these dates now and plan on attending!! We would also want to announce our first call for abstracts. The abstract deadline will be April 1 st Look for updates to our website in the new year which will include abstract guidelines. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Abstracts from the 2010 meeting of the Creation Geology Society are now available online. Check them out at the CGS website . They also have a brief announcement about the upcoming BSG/CGS conference, "Origins 2011," to be held in Rapid City, SD on July 27-30 next year. Be sure to start thinking about your contributions now. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Paul Garner has a nice write-up of the BSG/CGS conference at the BCM website , complete with photographs. Meanwhile, there are lots of things going on behind the scenes, and I wish I could tell you all about them. But I don't think I can. At least, not yet. But if you are a person of prayer, I would appreciate your prayers at this time. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

What a great conference! Thanks to everyone who helped out and presented, and especially to those who stepped in to help make airport runs after the college van broke down. I had such a good time getting re-energized for the work ahead. We've got lots of great ideas for the future, and I'm excited about seeing them to fruition. Meanwhile, for those of you keeping score, the final day of the conference opened with my own talk on terrestrial mammal families, followed by talks on mutations and halobacteria. The afternoon was spent going through the Coconino talks, which were extremely interesting. I'm excited to see that project really paying off. One thing the CGS and BSG decided was to adopt a name for our conference to help with marketing. We selected the simple name "Origins," which would encompass just about any subject you'd like. As I announced previously , Origins 2011 will be held in Rapid City, SD on July 27-29, 2011. You'll probably want to...

The first full day of presentations at BSG/CGS was great. We had great talks on the creation of plants in Genesis 2, the dominion mandate in Genesis 1, underwater debris flows, and mechanisms for halite and anhydrite deposition in a submarine environment. Very nice. The baraminology session went fine also. Gordon Wilson argued that we should be more conservative in our delimitation of baramins, and Roger Sanders presented evidence that the Verbenaceae are a single holobaramin. I closed that session with my sediba talk, which was a lot tamer than I expected. To this crowd, my conclusions were far less controversial than they are to certain other folk (who, I might add, did not show up). In the afternoon, we had presentations on radiohalos, dinosaur tracks, geology in Christian textbooks, and post-Flood climate modeling. It was a very good day. The CGS and BSG boards met at dinner and settled on next year's conference venue: Rapid City, SD. The date will be July 27-29, 201...

I'm currently at the BSG/CGS conference, and the BSG proceedings are now posted. That is all. More later. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

I just remembered that early registration for BSG/CGS closes at the end of the day on June 30! If you want to come and you want to get a good rate, you should register ASAP. Click here to register Remember that BSG membership is open to all (there are requirements for voting members only), so anyone can get the discount member rate. Registration cost includes all meals and housing for the conference. There are special spouse rates and rates for those who want to stay off campus. Email secretary at creationbiology dot org for more info on those rates. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Here is the final list of talks for the 2010 BSG/CGS conference. This is not a schedule (it's just alphabetical). Creation Geology Society 2010 presentations Austin - Submarine Liquefied Sediment Gravity Currents: Understanding the Mechanics of the Major Sediment Transportation and Deposition Agent during the Global Flood Cheung, Strom, Whitmore - Persistence of Dolomite in the Coconino Sandstone, Northern and Central Arizona Garner - Permian Cross-bedded Sandstones and Their Significance for Global Flood Models Gollmer - Deep Ocean Interaction in a Post-Flood Warm Ocean Scenario Hutchison - Potential Mechanisms for the Deposition of Halite and Anhydrite in a Near-critical or Supercritical Submarine Environment Oard - Dinosaur Tracks, Eggs, and Bonebeds Explained Early in the Flood Ross - YEC Geology in the Classroom: Educational Materials, Challenges and Needs Snelling - Radiohalos in Multiple, Sequentially-Intruded Phases of the Bathurst Batholith, NSW, Australia: Evidence for R...

It's official: I got word from my editor this week that my abstract on Australopithecus sediba has been accepted for this summer's BSG conference. This abstract describes a new analysis of postcranial characteristics that was not part of my ARJ paper but will become part of my response to any critics who happen to crop up in the next few weeks (yes, I know you're out there). Register for the BSG conference here . Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Here's a list of the geology abstracts that will be presented at this year's BSG/CGS meeting. Biology abstracts are still being revised, but I will post them here when I get the final list from the editor. Persistence of dolomite in the Coconino Sandstone, northern and central Arizona - Cheung, Strom, Whitmore Potential mechanisms for the deposition of halite and anhydrite in a near-critical or supercritical submarine environment - Hutchison Dinosaur Tracks, Eggs, and Bonebeds Explained Early in the Flood - Oard Permian cross-bedded sandstones and their significance for global Flood models - Garner YEC Geology in the Classroom: Educational Materials Challenges and Needs - Ross Radiohalos in Multiple, Sequentially-Intruded Phases of the Bathurst Batholith, NSW, Australia: Evidence for Rapid Granite Formation During the Flood - Snelling Radiocarbon in Permian Coal Beds of the Sydney Basin, Australia - Snelling Clay content: A simple criterion for the identification of fos...

My summer's going to be busy, so here's a preview. At the end of this month I'll be in Portland for Evolution2010 . As I did last year, I'll be posting my impressions of the conference. In July, I'll be speaking at Bryan College's Summit . Although I'm not yet listed on the speaker page, I'll be speaking on July 8 and 27. I'll be giving two presentations that will be similar to what I presented at Messiah College back in April. At the end of July, I'll be at BSG giving two talks, one on mammal baramins and the other on Australopithecus sediba (I just submitted my abstract revisions today). If you've been looking for an occasion to grill me on sediba , there's still plenty of room at the BSG conference, July 28-31 at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA ( register here ). Somewhere in that schedule, I'm going to squeeze in my first real vacation in several years (vacations piggy-backed on conferences don't count). I...

One point I forgot to mention: If you are flying in and looking for transportation from the Atlanta airport, let us know. We should be able to accommodate such requests. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

The 2010 BSG/CGS annual conference will be held on the campus of Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA on July 28-30. As usual, the conference begins on Wednesday evening with a welcome meal and concludes on Friday afternoon. The poster session will be held Thursday evening after dinner. REGISTER HERE As you can see, the cost for the conference is down considerably this year, thanks to moving back to an academic environment. Registration begins at $120 for members and $90 for students. I should also note that if you're a non-member, you can become a BSG member for just $20 ($10 for students). The cost of membership + member registration is less than the cost of nonmember registration. As usual, those who are coming for the CGS meeting should either join the BSG or register as nonmembers and get a refund from BSG for the member/nonmember registration difference. Last year's conference was great, and I'm looking forward to the 2010 conference as well. I have submitte...

The BSG is looking for a volunteer to help us editing abstracts in the areas of biblical studies and theology. I don't really think a public appeal will work, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. We would prefer someone with a terminal academic degree (Ph.D. or Th.D.) and some experience in editing. You can read the editorial manual as a PDF here . The workload is relatively light. Most years we get a handful (2-3) of abstracts in this area. Abstracts are submitted at the end of March and are edited in April and May. Once in a great while there might be a whole paper to edit. Anyone agreeing to help us would also be listed as a member of the BSG editorial board on the website and in each issue of the Occasional Papers of the BSG . There is no term limit, and you can quit when you like. Interested? Suggestions or recommendations? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

Here for no other reason than pure curiosity, I give you the most popular issues of the Occasional Papers of the BSG . In terms of total downloads, the top three are: 1. The Chimpanzee Genome and the Problem of Biological Similarity (1682 downloads) 2. A Refined Baramin Concept (1326 downloads) 3. All Creation Groans: Proceedings of the Sixth BSG Conference [ PDF ] (1291 downloads) In downloads per month, these are the top three: 1. Irreducible Complexity and Relative Irreducible Complexity: Foundations and Applications (141.8 downloads/month) 2. Genesis Kinds: Creationism and the Origin of Species: Proceedings of the Eighth BSG Conference [ PDF ] (98.9 downloads/month) 3. The Chimpanzee Genome and the Problem of Biological Similarity (76.5 downloads/month) In the interest of fairness, here are the least popular in downloads/month: 1. A Baraminological Analysis of the Tribe Heliantheae sensu lato (Asteraceae) Using Analysis of Pattern (ANOPA) (30.1 downloads/month) 2. Bi...

BSG members: There's a new BSG newsletter posted at the BSG website . After you log in to the BSG site, you'll see "Newsletter" appear in the links at the top of the page. I want to thank Jonathan Bartlett for editing these newsletters for us. I know what a hassle it can be putting these things together, especially for such a small group, and I appreciate his work on this. Also, there have been some questions regarding BSG/CGS conference . We're still working out details and pricing, so we can't open registration yet, but I can explain how it will work. Registration will include housing, meals, and printed conference materials. There will be one conference for both BSG and CGS (no separate registration). There will be a nonmember cost per person, and a steep discount for BSG/CGS members. Students will also get a generous discount on nonmember and member prices. If you would like the member's discounted registration, notice that you can join the B...

The BSG/CGS conference at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA is coming this summer, July 28-30. Remember: ABSTRACTS ARE DUE APRIL 2, 2010! That's next week. (No fooling.) Some abstracts have started coming in, and I'm really looking forward to the hearing some of the submissions this year. Here's the full announcement : 2010 BSG/CGS Joint Conference The summer conference of the BSG and the Creation Geology Society will be held at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia on July 28-30, 2010. Please consider submitting an abstract for the summer conference. See call for abstracts below. Call for Abstracts Abstracts are due April 2, 2010 Send all abstracts to editor@creationbiology.org . The BSG and Creation Geology Society invite abstract submissions for their third joint conference, to be held July 28-30 2010 in Cleveland, Georgia. We seek submissions relevant to the life and earth sciences and the issue of origins. Submissions must offer positi...

The 2010 joint conference of the BSG and the Creation Geology Society will be held on the campus of Truett-McConnell College on July 28-30, 2010. We are currently soliciting abstracts on any biological, geological, or related theological/philosophical topic. Abstract guidelines: Abstracts should not be longer than 700 words. Examples of published abstracts can be found in the Conference Proceedings issues of the Occasional Papers of the BSG ( OPBSG ). (see Author Guidelines ). Abstracts may include references (which are counted in the 700 word limit), but they must be formatted according to the guidelines of the Occasional Papers . Abstracts must include a complete summary of the paper. That includes an introduction, methods, results, and conclusion where appropriate. Abstracts that do not include results or conclusions will be immediately returned for revision. Abstracts should be written in English. Names and affiliations of all authors should be included. Authors working ind...

We had an interesting problem in the BSG recently concerning editing of a paper that had been submitted to the Occasional Papers of the BSG . The question that arose concerned the grounds for rejection of a paper. We had a manuscript submitted that received four reviews that recommended against publication, And that after the paper had already been rejected by a different creationists journal. Sounds simple, right? If the reviewers say reject, then we should reject. What's the problem? The problem was the point of the paper. The paper lays out an argument that the serpent of Genesis 3, the one that tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, was just a snake. Now as anyone with a conservative, evangelical background "knows," Eve was tempted by a manifestation of Satan, not just a snake. Except that's not what the Bible actually says. The closest you get to that idea is a single reference in the New Testament to Satan as "the serpent of old" in Revela...