ROCKS & MINERALS
THE LORD, IS MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS
Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Evidence for a young earth
No matter if you believe in a young or old earth - we all share the same evidence.
It is your right to accept or reject the truth.
It is your right to accept or reject the truth.
We can choose to be Christian or non-Christian and when it comes to evidence for our beliefs, again we all share the same common ground.
We all have the same evidence and the same facts. For that evidence we all look to the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same flora and fauna, the same solar system, the same past, present and future and we all share the same facts.
Where we differ, is in the way we choose to interpret the facts and because we start with different presuppositions, we interpret the facts differently.
We then assume these things to be true, but we are unable to prove them. Our reasoning is based on presuppositions. This is particularly relevant when dealing with past events.
We all exist in the same present and all facts exist in the present. When we try to understand how the evidence came about, like where did the animals come from? What happened to the Dinosaurs? How did the fossil layers form? And so on, what we are really doing is trying to connect the past to the present.
But none of us were there in the past to observe these events. So how can we know what happened and how can we can explain the present?
The Christian can rightly claim to have been enlightened in these matters. We rely on the historic records in the Bible and we know that they are the Word of God who was there before the beginning and revealed to us , major events of the past.
In a court of law these writings would be considered as evidence.
Just like a jury, we can choose to accept or reject this evidence.
Again we all share the same freedom of choice & the same evidence and we can choose to believe or not to believe. We can build our presuppositions on these historic writings or we can build on our presuppositions with newly presented evidence (the more recent writings of others) or we are at liberty to develop our own theories or simply give up.
We all have the same evidence and the same facts. For that evidence we all look to the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same flora and fauna, the same solar system, the same past, present and future and we all share the same facts.
Where we differ, is in the way we choose to interpret the facts and because we start with different presuppositions, we interpret the facts differently.
We then assume these things to be true, but we are unable to prove them. Our reasoning is based on presuppositions. This is particularly relevant when dealing with past events.
We all exist in the same present and all facts exist in the present. When we try to understand how the evidence came about, like where did the animals come from? What happened to the Dinosaurs? How did the fossil layers form? And so on, what we are really doing is trying to connect the past to the present.
But none of us were there in the past to observe these events. So how can we know what happened and how can we can explain the present?
The Christian can rightly claim to have been enlightened in these matters. We rely on the historic records in the Bible and we know that they are the Word of God who was there before the beginning and revealed to us , major events of the past.
In a court of law these writings would be considered as evidence.
Just like a jury, we can choose to accept or reject this evidence.
Again we all share the same freedom of choice & the same evidence and we can choose to believe or not to believe. We can build our presuppositions on these historic writings or we can build on our presuppositions with newly presented evidence (the more recent writings of others) or we are at liberty to develop our own theories or simply give up.
THE ATHEIST DELUSION MOVIE
Ray Comfort on You Tube
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Having to prove the existence of God to an atheist is like having to prove the existence of the sun, at noon on a clear day. Yet millions are embracing the foolishness of atheism. “The Atheist Delusion” pulls back the curtain and reveals what is going on in the mind of those who deny the obvious. It introduces you to a number of atheists who you will follow as they go where the evidence leads, find a roadblock, and enter into a place of honesty that is rarely seen on film.
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From Living Waters, creators of the award-winning TV program “The Way of the Master” and the hit movies “180” and “Evolution vs. God,” comes the powerful film “The Atheist Delusion.” Executive produced by TV co-host and best-selling author Ray Comfort (Hell’s Best Kept Secret, Scientific Facts in the Bible). http://www.atheistmovie.com/
PROSPECTING for RUBIES
When I looked for Rubies in Western Australia, mainstream scientists laughed!
But guess what?.......I Found Rubies !
When I looked for wisdom in the Bible, mainstream scientists laughed ! But guess what?....... I Found Wisdom in the Bible! Today when I tell mainstream scientists & others about God's Creation , Guess what?....... They still laugh! But I am confident ''He who has the last laugh , laughs the loudest!" |
WISDOM ABOVE RUBIES
The things I value most above the value of rubies:
My faith - Proverbs 3: 13-15 blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
My wife - Proverbs 31:10 a wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. |
The term "fossil" is typically associated with once-living things that have been turned into rock. But can also include wood, leaves and insects of extinct species found preserved without being mineralized. Catastrophes such as floods and mudflows provide the most scientifically sound explanation for fossils. The necessary first step in fossilization is to entomb organisms by rapid burial.
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Common vertebrate fossils sometimes show rigor mortis and agonizing postures, indicating sudden smothering and death by asphyxiation. Fossilised tree trunks standing in a vertical position running through several sedimentary coal layers are common and again provide strong evidence of a rapid burial that was responsible for the bulk of the world's fossils. If there was a catastrophic world-destroying global flood, then we would expect to find land-dwelling dinosaurs & other animal fossils mixed with the fossils of sea creatures, fish, shells, corals & whales. Well we do and it is to be expected.
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Genesis 7:19-20 (KJV) And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
The fossil evidence left behind by these flood and post-flood catastrophes, fits in well with the belief of a young earth (of perhaps 6000 years) and the Biblical account recording in Genesis of a relatively recent Global Flood. Attempts to date fossils are conducted using a range of methods but these dating processes provided different ages. So "thousands of years" or ‘’billions of years’’ depends on the dating method used. We have to question the reliability of them all. In contrast, according to biblical chronology—a dating method that relies on eyewitness accounts is strong evidence of the Global Flood about 4,600 years ago.
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Young fossils are found in a young earth!
The Water Wheel in Augusta Western Australia,
built in 1895 is now fossilized.
Fast fossilization
Fast fossilization is necessary to preserve fragile creatures.
Fossil Crustacean just like a living modern species. From Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. This fossil about the size of a man's index finger would have been covered quickly in a mud lacking in oxygen, otherwise it would have decomposed and lost its shape within a couple of days and quickly rotted.
JELLYFISH FOSSIL
Interesting article:
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BURIED FAST
Above: Dragon Fly stuck in the mud & rapidly decomposing as a seasonal fresh water lake dries up (Probably stuck there for about 14 days). Yalgoo goldfields, Western Australia.
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Below: Wild dog or Dingo footprint (about 14 days old) rapidly weathering away as the mud expands and dries up. Yalgoo goldfields, Western Australia.For a print to be preserved as a fossil it would have to be covered quickly.
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This photo below (RHS) from an unknown source, is a fossil dragonfly. Old earth theorists, say it is 150,000 years old. The young earth supporters say it is a result of the global flood around 4,000 years ago (which is still a long, long, time ago)
About Fossils
What is a fossil?
1.The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock: "sites rich in fossils".
2. An antiquated or stubbornly unchanging person or thing: "he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times".
Interesting article:
1.The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock: "sites rich in fossils".
2. An antiquated or stubbornly unchanging person or thing: "he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times".
Interesting article:
We found lots of fossil tree stumps (at right) associated with gypsum(Left) in the Painted Desert near Coober Pedy, which is famous for opals.
In the opal fields we found a few coloured fragments of opal.
In the opal fields we found a few coloured fragments of opal.
About Gypsum in The Painted Desert
Sedimentary gypsum forms under high evaporative conditions in sedimentary rocks. It usually requires desert conditions in shallow marine basins, or along coastal tidal flats. Gypsum commonly forms in association with halite and dolomite in Evaporation Basins.
Gypsum occurs on all of the opal fields, and is particularly abundant at Coober Pedy, where it often forms attractive veins of the so-called 'satin spar'. Occasionally, tiny patches of gypsum, recognisable in most cases by its fibrous crystals, may be found as inclusions in the precious opal. It is interesting to see the similarities between Australia’s Painted desert gypsum deposits and Arizona’s Painted desert.
Gypsum occurs on all of the opal fields, and is particularly abundant at Coober Pedy, where it often forms attractive veins of the so-called 'satin spar'. Occasionally, tiny patches of gypsum, recognisable in most cases by its fibrous crystals, may be found as inclusions in the precious opal. It is interesting to see the similarities between Australia’s Painted desert gypsum deposits and Arizona’s Painted desert.
About Opals
Opal, grown in a laboratoryin a short period of time--not millions of years!
In the opal fields of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Len Cram a committed Christian and self-taught scientist, has been able to ‘grow’ opal which according to the CSIRO is almost indistinguishable from mined opals.
It has the colour and flash of the most beautiful precious opal. Current scientific theory, based on geologists’ belief in slow and gradual processes, suggest that it took around five million years for a centimetre (about a third of an inch) of opal to develop. But Len has proved that the process was probably much faster. In the bottom of his glass jars, the first hint of colour appears within 15 minutes! |
In three months one centimetre (half an inch) of vertical growth has formed. The longest part is the drying-out process, which can take months and years, but the actual formation of the opal takes only a few weeks. The old earth theory, says that the water evaporated and the opal formed as silica gel dried out. But it is now shown that natural opal was not formed by flows of silica gel, but went hard (indurated) under water. Len succeeded because he was prepared to look at the scientific problem completely unshackled by old age earth assumptions. He believed in the Biblical Creation and the global (Noah's) flood—an attitude different from that of most mainstream scientists.
Interesting article:
Interesting article:
About Coober Pedy
Aboriginal people around Coober Pedy in South Australia, were semi nomadic hunters and gatherers who travelled constantly relocating to seasonal food and water supplies. Although they have mythological stories about opals, apart from using sharp flakes as cutting tools, they had little use for opals. On the 1st February 1915, the New Colorado Prospecting Syndicate, consisting of gold prospectors Jim Hutchison and his son, 14 year old William, PJ Winch and M McKenzie set up camp and were searching for water when William found some pieces of opal lying on the ground. 8 days later the first opal claim was pegged.
Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field later it became Coober Pedy, a distortion of the Aboriginal words "kupa piti", which it is thought to mean "white man in a hole". During the Great Depression of the late 1930's and 1940's, opal prices plummeted and production almost came to a standstill. Then at the Eight Mile field in 1946,Tottie Bryant , a local Aboriginal woman, made a sensational opal find starting a new rush to the fields.
By the 1970’s opal mining was a multi million dollar industry & Coober Pedy became a modern mining town.
Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field later it became Coober Pedy, a distortion of the Aboriginal words "kupa piti", which it is thought to mean "white man in a hole". During the Great Depression of the late 1930's and 1940's, opal prices plummeted and production almost came to a standstill. Then at the Eight Mile field in 1946,Tottie Bryant , a local Aboriginal woman, made a sensational opal find starting a new rush to the fields.
By the 1970’s opal mining was a multi million dollar industry & Coober Pedy became a modern mining town.
About the Global FloodThe Global Flood as recorded in the book of Genesis, refers to the most catastrophic flood and geological event, that has ever taken place in the history of the earth. Australian Aborigines have many traditions surprisingly similar to parts of the book of Genesis, especially Creation and Noah’s Flood. In the Bundaba (Australian aboriginal) flood story, it was Ngowungu, the Great Father.
Flood stories which include the saving of only a few people and animals, are found in many cultures worldwide and provide fascinating circumstantial evidence that the common ancestor of Aborigines, Jews, and all modern races of man was Noah. The Genesis account is the most detailed and systematic of them all. Genesis 6:13. ‘’The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth The global flood was God's judgment on mankind because of the evil in their heart and actions.
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About the Painted Desert
The Painted Desert in South Australia is a superb example of the weathering and eroding of a flood lain desert landscape. An area of spectacular colourful hills & breakaway country, It's an amazing sight with its coloured clays in with white, orange, yellow and pink predominating. There are also mesa formations with a layer of red brown rock often protecting the softer underlying clay from weathering
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Colourful broken, angular pieces of rock lie around on the surface. Vegetation is sparse in this arid region with an average rainfall at nearby Oodnadatta (closest site with long-term weather records) of 173 millimetres a year. Hottest month is January with average maximum of 38°C. Coolest month is July with average maximum of 20°C.
The painted desert, or the Arckaringa Hills, is an area of spellbinding beauty. It is a geological wonderland, and a photographers delight. When you're hunting for that spectacular Outback photo, this is a must visit place. Although the tour to the Arckaringa Hills is fairly short by Australian standards, this is very remote country and there is no drinking water or facilities of any kind. It is located 50 kilometres south west of Oodnadatta. The Painted Desert was declared as the Arckaringa Hills State Heritage Area in 1985 and can be reached by 4WD vehicle on dirt and gravel roads.
The painted desert, or the Arckaringa Hills, is an area of spellbinding beauty. It is a geological wonderland, and a photographers delight. When you're hunting for that spectacular Outback photo, this is a must visit place. Although the tour to the Arckaringa Hills is fairly short by Australian standards, this is very remote country and there is no drinking water or facilities of any kind. It is located 50 kilometres south west of Oodnadatta. The Painted Desert was declared as the Arckaringa Hills State Heritage Area in 1985 and can be reached by 4WD vehicle on dirt and gravel roads.
About the desolate landscape
The Painted Desert and Coober Pedy area is like a mysterious lunar landscape which makes it a unique and special place and is the reason it has been chosen for the shooting of desert scenes in many feature movies including: Mad Max one, two and three, Beyond Thunderdome, (starring Tina Turner and Mel Gibson), Mars The Red Planet (starring Val Kilmer), Pitch Black , Down & Under and several other movies.
FADING CAVE PAINTINGS
This Photo (Left) taken about 45 years ago shows Larena & Craig Woodmore with crude Aboriginal rock art behind them (on the right above Craig). Within 20 years it had weathered away. Today these paintings, together with hand prints in the same historic site have vanished completely. Paynes Find, Western Australia. |
About Paynes Find - Traditional Land Owners
The Badmia people were the traditional landowners in the Paynes Find area. Contact with Europeans began with explorers in 1868, followed later by the takeover of their precious water holes, hunting grounds and sacred sites by shepherds, pastoralists and Gold Miners. Records are scant but elsewhere in Western Australia there are records and accounts of violent encounters: Europeans stealing women; Aborigines retaliating, spearing or ‘stealing’ stock; reprisal killings; the arrest and gaoling of Aboriginal men on the Rottnest Island Aboriginal Prison; and hangings.
One incident in the Paynes Find area around 1881, was the attempt to establish a base for a pastoral lease north of Lake Moore near Mt Kenneth. This was reported as unsuccessful due to the hostility of the Aborigines, a most warlike tribe who in one incident took 2,000 sheep and had the lease holder and his assistant barricaded in their hut for two days before they escaped.
By the 1940’s Ninghan Station had only about 20 resident Badmia people on it. When I first visited the area about 40 years ago, I said to an old hermit, gold prospector:
“Are there any Aboriginals in the area?”
I never could figure out what his answer meant “Only one and he’s dead”
One incident in the Paynes Find area around 1881, was the attempt to establish a base for a pastoral lease north of Lake Moore near Mt Kenneth. This was reported as unsuccessful due to the hostility of the Aborigines, a most warlike tribe who in one incident took 2,000 sheep and had the lease holder and his assistant barricaded in their hut for two days before they escaped.
By the 1940’s Ninghan Station had only about 20 resident Badmia people on it. When I first visited the area about 40 years ago, I said to an old hermit, gold prospector:
“Are there any Aboriginals in the area?”
I never could figure out what his answer meant “Only one and he’s dead”
DESTROYED CAVE PAINTINGS
PAINTING OF CAVE PAINTINGS
Secret Site by Rex Woodmore. The Australian Outback holds many secrets and the weird stories of Wycliffe Well in the Northern Territory and the strange rock art of the Kimberley & other places can play havoc with the dehydrated mind & imaginings of the tired and unwary hiker.
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About Rock Art
Aboriginal rock art is part of a tradition of painting and engraving that stretches back perhaps thousands of years. Some of the oldest known examples are the rock engravings in the Pilbara in Western Australia.
Aboriginal art sites were not intended as art galleries. They are usually an interconnected grid of sites, or places, which are all part of an overall story . A local rock art site might tell a Creation story which is connected to another rock art site which might be a few hundred metres away. Some sites are a long distance apart yet still connected through the ancient stories they tell.
Aboriginal art sites were not intended as art galleries. They are usually an interconnected grid of sites, or places, which are all part of an overall story . A local rock art site might tell a Creation story which is connected to another rock art site which might be a few hundred metres away. Some sites are a long distance apart yet still connected through the ancient stories they tell.
RIGHT: An Ancient Australian Aboriginal Boomerang.
It was believed to be 100 years old, when I inherited it from my Father about 40 years ago. Unlike more recently made Boomerangs which often show marks of modern tools, this was made by the traditional method and was carved with a sharp stone tool. |
About Aboriginal Artefacts
An artefact is anything which has been made or modified by people. The term 'stone artefact' includes both a finished product - usually a stone tool - and the debris which was left behind when it was made.Stone artefacts are the most common form of archaeological evidence found in Australia. Artefacts can be found lying on the surface, often in quite large numbers, around granite outcrops and on the banks of natural water sources.
The Aboriginal toolmaker preferred fine-grained silica-based rocks, such as quartz, quartzite, silcrete, and chert. These can all be flaked relatively easily. Starting with what is known as the core, it was struck by a a hammer stone. Smaller thin pieces of stone, called flakes, were chipped off. This process had one of two aims - to chip off a sharp flake to use as a cutting tool, or to shape the core itself into a tool. The process produces a large amount of stone material, including unused flakes, used flakes, hammer stones, used cores, and finished tools. You can recognise this material by the characteristic marks on the stone produced by the blow of the rstone. For example, the new surface of a flake includes a round 'bump' while the core has a hollow on its surface where the flake once was.
At one time Europeans collected these artifacts.
But today Aboriginal Artefacts must be left where they are found.
The Aboriginal toolmaker preferred fine-grained silica-based rocks, such as quartz, quartzite, silcrete, and chert. These can all be flaked relatively easily. Starting with what is known as the core, it was struck by a a hammer stone. Smaller thin pieces of stone, called flakes, were chipped off. This process had one of two aims - to chip off a sharp flake to use as a cutting tool, or to shape the core itself into a tool. The process produces a large amount of stone material, including unused flakes, used flakes, hammer stones, used cores, and finished tools. You can recognise this material by the characteristic marks on the stone produced by the blow of the rstone. For example, the new surface of a flake includes a round 'bump' while the core has a hollow on its surface where the flake once was.
At one time Europeans collected these artifacts.
But today Aboriginal Artefacts must be left where they are found.
Books about Australian Aboriginals by Neville Green
I was very fortunate to have completed a short study course in Aboriginal Lifestyles & History at Applecross TAFE with my Lecturer, Author & Historian, Dr Neville Green, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., Ph.D. (University of Western Australia) and Ph.D. (Murdoch University)
Dr. Green is author, co-author, and editor of eight books.
I think he had completed his first book about the people in the South West of Western Australia. Neville had some wonderful stories about his time as a teacher in very remote country in the North West at Warburton Mission and I learnt a lot from him, not only about Aboriginal Lifestyles & History, but about Aboriginal artefacts.
Dr. Green is author, co-author, and editor of eight books.
I think he had completed his first book about the people in the South West of Western Australia. Neville had some wonderful stories about his time as a teacher in very remote country in the North West at Warburton Mission and I learnt a lot from him, not only about Aboriginal Lifestyles & History, but about Aboriginal artefacts.
About Prospecting in Western Australia
A Miners Right is a necessary permit to prospect for minerals in Western Australia. The holder of Miner's Right is authorised under Section 20 of the Mining Act 1978 to carry out the following activities on Crown land not the subject of a mining tenement: • prospect for minerals (including gold); • conduct geological mapping; • conduct tests for minerals; • undertake limited sampling using hand held equipment and to remove samples up to 20 kilograms; • mark out mining tenements; • fossick for rocks, gemstones, etc; • take water and camp for the purposes of prospecting.
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Possession of a Miner's Right does not authorise these activities on private land or Reserve land (except where the purpose is a Common, Mining or Public Utility)
Prospecting can be carried out for all minerals including gold and a metal detector can be used. Prospecting cannot be carried out on a mining tenement unless the tenement holder's consent is obtained and if a pastoral lease is affected the pastoralist should be notified. Prospecting may be carried out on an exploration licence situated on Crown Land where a Section 20A Permit has first been obtained. Fossicking authorises the collection of mineral specimens (excluding gold and diamonds) for lapidary work or hobby interests. Use of a metal detector is not permitted. In addition the written consent of any mining tenement holder and the pastoralist is required.
Prospecting can be carried out for all minerals including gold and a metal detector can be used. Prospecting cannot be carried out on a mining tenement unless the tenement holder's consent is obtained and if a pastoral lease is affected the pastoralist should be notified. Prospecting may be carried out on an exploration licence situated on Crown Land where a Section 20A Permit has first been obtained. Fossicking authorises the collection of mineral specimens (excluding gold and diamonds) for lapidary work or hobby interests. Use of a metal detector is not permitted. In addition the written consent of any mining tenement holder and the pastoralist is required.
Eucla - The Sands of Time
About Eucla
On the Western Australian side of the border with South Australia
It is said that the word 'Eucla' was part of a local Aboriginal expression used to describe the first appearance of the morning star over the sand dunes by the sea. The ruins of the Old Telegraph Station is about 5 km south of the town. At the end of the road there are white sand dunes with a big Gumtree standing above the sand dunes near the partly buried ruins of the Telegraph Station. Eucla was proclaimed a township in 1885 (there are more buildings hidden under the sand dunes which will, in years to come, be exposed as the dunes are moved by the wind) Eucla was at its most populous in the late 1920s. It declined after 1929 when a new telegraph line was built beside the railway line to the north.