Race Roits Essay

In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of there is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally we must treat them differently† – Harry A Blackman. It shows how racial tension between African Americans and whites provoked the riot because they were treated differently because of their race. The Chicago race riot occurred July 29, 1919 and it lasted for 8 days and it was a turning point in Chicago’s history. The riot occurred because of racial tension between African Americans and whites. The Chicago race riot occurred July 29, 1919 and it lasted for 8 days and it was a turning point in Chicago’s history. The riot occurred because of racial tension between African Americans and whites. The riot was provoked by inequality, racial tension, and discrimination Prejudice, wars, and inventions have been going on since the beginning of time, but in the 19th century that is when those three things are the most significant because it changed the atmosphere of the United States. First, in the 19th century segregation was going on in the U. S, but more in the south than anywhere else. During the year of 1914 many of the states in the south required separated entrances for blacks and whites. Next, in the 1910’s the U. S just finished going into war. The decade was affected harshly because of the war. The war left the United States with storage of food, money and etc. Finally, the 1900’s brought new inventions to the United States. The First flight took place by the Wright brother, and Henry ford crated his first ford car model. Those inventions changed the way people took transportation making them get to their destination quicker. (Danzer, Alva, Krieger, Wilson, Woloch) Three street riots were East St. Louis, Springfield, and Chicago. These three riots happen because of racial tension and inequality between African Americans and whites. First, in 1917 a riot broke out in East St. Louis. The riot occurred because of racial tension. There was racial tension because the whites were on strike, so the owners decided to give the jobs to the African Americans. The whites were angered by this so they decided to take control and a riot broke out. Second, in 1908a riot broke out in Springfield because of inequality. The riot broke out in Springfield because an African American man was falsely accused of rape. Lastly, in 1919 a huge riot took place in Chicago. The riot occurred because of a death of an African American child. This riot was the biggest riot in Illinois history. So in conclusion, racial tension and inequality between African Americans and whites are the two main reasons why these riots occurred. (Encyclopedia of Chicago) The Division Street riot was a turning point on history because they showed how racial the government was, how violent and dangerous riots can be and how they riot can affect the atmosphere. First, in the Chicago riot there were cases were police would only arrest African Americans for having possessions of weapons and not whites. There was also the case that sparked the Chicago riot when a police refused to arrest the gang that killed Eugene Williams. †Chicago Race Riot of 1919†Ã¢â‚¬  The Chicago Race Riot of 1919†. That shows that the government was very racial towards African Americans when it came to arresting or anything else during the riot because the police didn’t help the African American man when Eugene Williams was drowning. Second, the riots showed how dangerous and violent they can become. In the Chicago riot it was so out of hand it wasn’t until the government had to call in the State Military to calm down the riot. Also in the East St. Louis riot the National Guards had to be called in to stop the white mobs. â€Å"Race Riot† â€Å" East St. Louis Race Riot: July 2, 1917†. This shows that the race riots became so out of hand that the Government had to call in the National Guards and the State Military because the riots were getting to out of control, and out of their reach and power. Lastly, the riots changed the atmosphere of the place where the riots occurred because it made many people suggested creating zoning laws to formally segregated housing in Chicago, or other restrictions preventing blacks to work in the same workplace as whites. Some African Americans were rejected by liberal white voters. The riots made the two races not get along even more because before the riots there were already racial tension between African Americans and whites. So in conclusion, the Division Street riot was a turning point on history because they showed how racial the government was, how violent and dangerous riots can be and how they riot can affect the atmosphere. Discrimination towards African American provoked the riot. First, when Tabitha C Wong writes â€Å"angry white workers lodged a formal complaint against black migration. After the meeting ended news of an attempted robbery of a white man by an armed black man began to circulate though the city. † This explains how in the East St. Louis riot whites were angered when African Americans took their jobs. â€Å"East St. Louis Race Riot: July 2, 1917† Second in the Springfield riot the trial, the woman told the judge that she was not raped by the two men. Another place this can be seen is when Springfield, Illinois race riot writes about† Mabel Hallem later recalled her accusative against George Richardson and Joe James when it was discovered she had probably fabricated the story to cover up an affair. † Second in the Springfield riot the trial for the African Americans were racially unfair. â€Å"The Accused: George Richardson† Third, Steven Essig writes about â€Å"the determination of many whites to deny African Americans equal opportunities in employment, housing and political representation has frequently resulted in sustained violent clashes. † Some whites didn’t want African American the same opportunity so they decided to deny them certain chances that whites would be able to do. (Encyclopedia of Chicago) Finally in the Springfield, East St. Louis, and Chicago riot dealt with discrimination which provoked the riot. Inequality provoked the riot making African Americans have fewer resources than whites. First, a great example can be found in The Slum and the Ghetto: Neighborhood Deterioration and Middle Class Reform when Philpott writes about how† they had no gas baths or toilets plumbing very bad: toilet leaks; bowl broken; leak in kitchen sink; (180). This shows that inequality between whites and African Americans made the African Americans have terrible living environment. Next, a great example can be found in The Slum and the Ghetto: Neighborhood Deterioration and Middle Class Reform when Philpott talks about how â€Å"a write once summed up the Negro question by saying â€Å"the North has principles and the South has the Negroes. †(146). It shows how the North (whites) had principles, and the South has Negroes (bad living environment). So it shows how because of inequality the African Americans didn’t have a good housing opportunity. Lastly, since schools were segregated whites had a better learning opportunity than African Americans. When the schools were segregated the African Americans did not have the same learning opportunity as white. The teachers were not able to teach the African American children how to read, or write. â€Å"Imprisoned or Teaching Free Blacks† So in conclusion, inequality provoked the riot making African Americans have terrible living environments, terrible housing opportunities, and terrible education. Racial tension provoked the riot making African Americans and whites not get along. First a great example of this can be found in â€Å"Gangs that came to rule in seats of power† when Kass writes about the â€Å"Hamburgs ignited the worst and deadliest race riot in Chicago’s history in 1919†. That shows how the riot started because of the racial tension between African Americans and whites because they didn’t get along. Second police were racial to African Americans. A great example of this can be found in â€Å"Chicago and its eight reasons† when the White writes about â€Å"in one case a colored man who was trailer for weapons, and whites were not trailed, and they were all together in a bunch†. This shows how the police didn’t want to arrest whites, but they were willing to arrest African Americans. It also proves that they were racist towards African Americans. Finally African Americans and Whites were segregated. A great example of this can be found when Essig writes about â€Å"an African American teenager who had crossed an invisible line at 29th Street separating customarily segregated â€Å"white† and â€Å"black† beaches†. That proves that white and black had separate things and they didn’t get along. So in conclusion, gangs racial tension, and segregation were part of the racial tension that provoked the riot. The Division Street riots had an impact history because led to African Americans getting better treatment later on in history. First, the Springfield riot brought about the NAACP. The NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP was created to ensure the political right, educational, and social economic equality of minority groups â€Å"Our Mission†. The NAACP fought for African Americans to have better treatment. The NAACP was created after the Springfield riot because they wanted to make sure that African Americans and other minority groups have the same rights as whites. Second, the NAACP had led up to greater things. The NAACP was a major part in the Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King as one of the leader â€Å" NAAC: 100 years of History†; leading African Americans through the Civil Rights movement taking them one step closer to integration. With Martin Luther king as one of the leaders of the NAACP and Civil Rights movement, with his dead and everything he did for the African Americans eventually led up to him being known as a great man, and making everyone in his time period including African Americans and Whites become segregated. Lastly, city officials organized the Chicago Commission on Race Relations to look into the cause of riots and find was to combat them. The Chicago Commission on Race Relations was created after the Chicago race riot. The Chicago Commission was a great source if information after the Chicago riot because they suggested several key issues including competition for jobs, thinking of ways to fix the problems. † The Chicago Race Riot of 1919† In conclusion, the Division Street Riots were turning points in history because the NAACP was formed, the NAACP led up to greater things and the Chicago Commission fixing race relations and their problems. The Chicago riot occurred July,27 1919 and it lasted for 8 days and it was a turning point in Chicago’s history. The occurred because of racial tension between African Americans and Whites. Inequality, racial tension, and discrimination provoked the riot. The Chicago Riot that lasted for 8 days and it was a turning point in History. Due to racial tension between African Americans and Whites a riot broke out . In Order to get beyond racism we ,must first take account of there is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally we must first treat them differently- Harry A Blackman. Even though the Chicago riot left 38 people dead, it still was the most dangerous riot in Illinois History.

Free Essays on Coli

What is E. coli O157:H7 ? E. coli O157:H7 (or simply E. coli) is just one of the hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. E. coli, however, produces a powerful toxin that can cause a severe infection. (The combination of letters and numbers in the name of the bacterium refers to the specific markers found on its surface and distinguishes it from other types of E. coli.) An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 cases of E. coli infection occur in the United States each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes E. coli as an emerging food-borne illness. How is the E. coli infection spread ? Most E. coli illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. E. coli bacteria live in the intestines of healthy cattle and, although the number of organisms required to cause disease is not known, it is suspected to be very small. Meat becomes contaminated during slaughter, and organisms can be thoroughly mixed into beef when it is ground. Contaminated beef looks and smells normal. Other ways to transmit E. coli include: Person-to-person contact in families and in child-care and other institutional-care centers can also be places where the transmission of the bacteria can occur. Bacteria present on a cow's udders, or on equipment, may get into raw milk causing the infection. Infection may occur after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water. It has been confirmed that unpasteurized juices, such as apple cider, may also cause the infection. What are the symptoms of an E. coli infection? An E. coli infection can make a person very ill. The following are some of the most common symptoms associated with E. coli. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently, and some individuals may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms may include: severe bloody diarrhea o... Free Essays on Coli Free Essays on Coli What is E. coli O157:H7 ? E. coli O157:H7 (or simply E. coli) is just one of the hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. E. coli, however, produces a powerful toxin that can cause a severe infection. (The combination of letters and numbers in the name of the bacterium refers to the specific markers found on its surface and distinguishes it from other types of E. coli.) An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 cases of E. coli infection occur in the United States each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes E. coli as an emerging food-borne illness. How is the E. coli infection spread ? Most E. coli illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. E. coli bacteria live in the intestines of healthy cattle and, although the number of organisms required to cause disease is not known, it is suspected to be very small. Meat becomes contaminated during slaughter, and organisms can be thoroughly mixed into beef when it is ground. Contaminated beef looks and smells normal. Other ways to transmit E. coli include: Person-to-person contact in families and in child-care and other institutional-care centers can also be places where the transmission of the bacteria can occur. Bacteria present on a cow's udders, or on equipment, may get into raw milk causing the infection. Infection may occur after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water. It has been confirmed that unpasteurized juices, such as apple cider, may also cause the infection. What are the symptoms of an E. coli infection? An E. coli infection can make a person very ill. The following are some of the most common symptoms associated with E. coli. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently, and some individuals may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms may include: severe bloody diarrhea o...

If You Can’t Bless It, Change It.

If You Can’t Bless It, Change It. This season of the Jewish New Year brings much reflection on the past year and how we want to live our lives in the future. Most of us know that gratitude is key to living a satisfied life, and this holiday season my rabbi in Madison, Laurie Zimmerman, focused on this subject in her sermon. She related a story by Mitchell Chefitz in which a newly graduated â€Å"Officer of the Law† encountered a man in rags.  He commanded the man three times to Come forward! to no effect.  Finally the man in rags said, â€Å"I dont know what Im going to do with you. Do with me? the Officer of the Law mocked.  Do with me?  You dont do with me! I do with you!  I am an Officer of the Law, and I command you to come forward. Now I know what to do with you, the man in rags said, and as he spoke, he drew his sword.  A swordfight followed in which, after putting up a good fight, the man in rags lowered his guard, and the Officer of the Law’s sword mistakenly ran through him.  As the man died, he said, I put upon you the Curse of Blessings. Every day you must say a new blessing, one you have never said before. And on the day you do not say a new blessing, you will die. The man in rags closed his eyes and then disappeared, and the Officer of the Law wondered whether his experience were real. But as the sun set, he felt life leaving him and in a panic uttered a blessing over the sunset. Life flowed back into him.  From that day on, he said a new blessing every day, blessing abilities, then concrete things, relationships, and more. Word spread throughout the land that this previously pompous Officer of the Law was a source of blessing. He kept blessing the miracles of the world and found more and more things to bless. Finally, he was about to turn 120 years old and decided on his birthday not to make a new blessing but to recount some of the blessings he had made before. As the sun set, he felt a chill coming into his body and did not utter a blessing. Then appeared the man in rags. You! the Officer of the Law exclaimed. I have thought about you every day for a hundred years!  I never meant to harm you.  Please, forgive me. You dont understand, said the man in rags.  You dont know who I am, do you? I am the angel who was sent a hundred years ago to harvest your soul, but when I looked at you, so pompous and proud, there was nothing there to harvest.  An empty uniform was all I saw.  So I put upon you the Curse of Blessings, and now look what youve become! The Officer of the Law could not help but say, I feel blessed, dear God, that You have kept me alive and sustained me so I could attain this moment of insight. Now look what youve done! the man in rags said in frustration. A new blessing! Life flowed back into the Officer of the Law, and he and the man in rags looked to each other, neither of them knowing quite what to do. (Paraphrased from â€Å"The Curse of Blessings† in The Curse of Blessings: Sometimes, the Right Story Can Change Your Life by Mitchell Chefitz, 2006.) The rabbi also recounted a tale of the crossing of the Red Sea. In the midst of this great miracle, two people, Reuven and Shimon, did not celebrate, but rather cursed the mud, saying it was just like Egypt. â€Å"Their eyes turned downwards, while the greatest of miracles was happening all around them.† So often, like the pre-swordfight Officer of the Law, and like Reuven and Shimon, we don’t notice the blessings in our lives. We focus on what’s missing, on the negative. We become self-absorbed. This way of life drains the life from us, making us heartless and cold. In contrast, waking up and saying a new blessing, showing gratitude consistently, brings us warmth and life, carries us into the present so we’re not living in the past or the future, and draws people closer to us. We become someone people appreciate and want to be around. Marge Piercy’s poem, â€Å"The Art of Blessing the Day,† encourages us to create a life full of blessings: â€Å"Bless whatever you can / with eyes and hands and tongue. If you / cant bless it, get ready to make it new.† At this time of reflection, I encourage you to find and express the blessings in your life, and to live as much as possible in the present. And, if you can’t bless it, change it. For me, that’s the way to create a life I want to live. A life that inspires me to jump out of bed in the morning excited to bless something new.

Examine citically the ways in which Marxist Theory seek to establish a Essay

Examine citically the ways in which Marxist Theory seek to establish a relationship between Law and the Economy - Essay Example From the Instrumentalist point of view, capitalism and its effects on the working class is dependent upon the ruling class’ distribution of economic power. The economic base is understood to be accountable for determining all other social institutions such as criminal law, religion and the media. The media conveys mass communications that help maintain capitalism and historical documents assume that the wisdom of any time period is generally held by the ruling class. Business owners, the rich and the government, including the judicial system, control cultural structures to maintain the status quo which enables them to retain an element of supremacy. Thus, Capitalists’ power depends on the making and enforcement of the prevailing law. Instrumentalists assert, however, that the capitalist state must be relatively autonomous in order to best serve a capitalist society. â€Å"Its relative independence makes it possible for the state to play its class role in an approximate ly flexible manner.   If it really was a simple instrument of the ruling class, it would be fatally inhibited in the performance of its role.   Its agents absolutely need a measure of freedom in deciding how best to serve the existing social order.†2 Instrumentalists contend that the state works as an intentional and planned instrument for the supremacy over society: â€Å"Instrumental exercise of power by people in strategic positions who either manipulate state politics directly (direct instrumentality) or through the exercise of pressure on the state (indirect instrumentality).†3 While Marxist theorists agree that capitalism provides for the well-being of the social elite by the exploitation of the working class, some differ in their rationalizations of how a capitalist nation accomplishes this.   Instrumental Marxism views law as a tool of the ruling class

M6A2 Leadership and Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M6A2 Leadership and Ethics - Assignment Example Implementation Plan The first step of the implementation plan would include the depiction of the ethical issues related to the company (i.e. Tesco). One of the prime ethical issues that the company is facing is regarding coming up with misleading advertisement. It has been observed from the previously conducted analysis that the company showed price cuts for it’s certain products but in reality they had intended to increase their sales through the reduction of price of disliked products and increase in price of the accepted items. This is also considered as one of the ethical issues of the company. It has been further recognized that in order to deal with such issues proper leadership guidance would be quite vital. A leader is a person who would be held responsible for the entire performance of the group (Northouse, 2010). Thus, it is vital that a company should have leaders with appropriate characteristics so that they can handle varying as well as unpredictable situations wi th utmost effectiveness. In this regard, it has been noticed that transformational style of leadership model would be quite appropriate. It has been learnt that this type of leader would enhance motivation and morale of the employees. These would further include enhancing a sense of identity and responsibility of the employees so that they can work effectively by keeping in consideration the ethical aspects (Simic, 1998). The first step a leader should follow with regard to solving any ethical dilemma would be to analyze the concerned issue of the company from different perspectives. He/she first needs to understand about who would be affected the most by such ethical issues. It can be said that the issue mentioned above is immoral as well as illegal. Leader would have to take the responsibility or the accountability of the entire situation. It can easily depict that the whole issue generally take place mainly because it is overlooked when it was actually taking place. The leader ha s a big role to play with regard to tackling these issues. He/she would have to instruct the employees of the company about how these issues could harm the reputation of the company in the long run. It also needs to be discussed by the leader that customers are the sole reason for the success of any business. Hence, it is highly unethical to mislead or cheat customers with such advertisements as they are the biggest asset of the company (McLeod, 2007). He/she would also need to form a set of ethical code of conducts and encourage all the employees to follow the same. These the issues could be resolved by the leader with transformational leadership characteristics. Contingency Plan The contingency plan could be considered as a substitute of the implementation plan. This would be implemented if the first plan fails to create an impact. In this plan, a leader with strict personality would be taken into consideration. In this regard, an autocratic leader can be considered to take the le ad. He/she would need to be quite severe in their conduct. The leader should aim to complete a particular task mostly through negative motivation. He/she would also need to maintain a close supervision on the ethical conducts of the employees. High Penalties would be imposed on employees who are caught following any unethical practices that can ultimately harm the reputation of the organization. This approach could be considered negative but it is mostly observed to be effective (Daft, 2008).

International Students challenges in the US Essay

International Students challenges in the US - Essay Example Most of the students especially those from Middle East can rarely spell even an English single sentence without faltering, becoming very difficult to communicate and relate with other students in class. They therefore ends forming the groups according to the language they understands promoting the negative art of discrimination. It even becomes more difficult for them to ask or even answer a question in class for fear of misunderstanding from their fellow students. â€Å"Jumping into these conversations is a challenge for some international students. They might be uncomfortable speaking English† (Lipson 31).Most of them got very funny accent such that whenever they say something the class busts into a laughter making them feel inferior in anything they do. Language barrier also creates a wall between those students and the Professor who they also fear speaking with considering he or she is the master. These students are forced to learn English as an additional unit so as to en hance their communication skills, and therefore ending up wasting time. This is the only solution in order to write and express their view points in term papers, class work and research. Others who have studied English before are always in a better position although some have to master English in order to learn the academic rules understood in USA (Lisbon 36). Getting used to the culture and beliefs in the new environment an issue affecting them. Religious and cultural beliefs differ from one country to another and an international student in US may encounter difficulties in the process of accepting the change. Take for example a Libyan male student who believes that women are tools of house chores forced to accept that the ratio of professionals’ jobs from men to women is 53:47.There are even other cultures which do not believe friendship between male and females yet in US it their culture. International student must couple with this new style so as to be on the

The Creation of God and the Universe

The Creation of God and the Universe Does God really exist? How can we know? If God made everything, who made God? In our everyday experience, just about everything seems to have a beginning. In fact, the laws of science show that even things which look the same through our lifetime, like the sun and other stars, are running down. The sun is using up its fuel at millions of tons each second. Since, therefore, it cannot last forever, it had to have a beginning. The same can be shown to be true for the entire universe. So when Christians claim that the God of the Bible created the entire universe, some will ask what seems a logical question, namely â€Å"Where did God come from?† The Bible makes it clear in many places that God is outside of time. He is eternal, with no beginning or end—He is infinite! He also knows all things, being infinitely intelligent. Is this logical? Can modern science allow for such a notion? And how could you recognize the evidence for an intelligent Creator? The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding . The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of Gods existence are: The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason. The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are: The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause. The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature. The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that â€Å"verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.† Matthew G. Easton How to recognize intelligence Scientists get excited about finding stone tools in a cave because these speak of intelligence—a tool maker. They could not have designed themselves. Neither would anyone believe that the carved Presidents heads on Mt. Rushmore were the product of millions of years of chance erosion. We can recognize design—the evidence of the outworkings of intelligence—in the man-made objects all around us. Similarly, in William Paleys famous argument, a watch implies a watchmaker.Today, however, a large proportion of people, including many leading scientists, believe that all plants and animals, including the incredibly complex brains of the people who make watches, motor cars, etc., were not designed by an intelligent God but rather came from an unintelligent evolutionary process. But is this a defensible position? Design in living things Molecular biologist Dr. Michael Denton, writing as an agnostic, concluded: Alongside the level of ingenuity and complexity exhibited by the molecular machinery of life, even our most advanced [twentieth century technology appears] clumsy. It would be an illusion to think that what we are aware of at present is any more than a fraction of the full extent of biological design. In practically every field of fundamental biological research ever-increasing levels of design and complexity are being revealed at an ever-accelerating rate. The world-renowned crusader for Darwinism and atheism, Prof. Richard Dawkins, states: We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully â€Å"designed† to have come into existence by chance. Thus, even the most ardent atheist concedes that design is all around us. To a Christian, the design we see all around us is totally consistent with the Bibles explanation that God created all. However, evolutionists like Dawkins reject the idea of a Designer. He comments (emphasis added): All appearance to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature is the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way. A true watchmaker has foresight: he designs his cogs and springs, and plans their interconnections, with future purpose in his minds eye. Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation for the existence and apparently purposeful form of all life, has no purpose in mind†¦ It has no mind†¦ It does not plan for the future†¦ it is the blind watchmaker. Selection and design Life is built on information, contained in that molecule of heredity, DNA. Dawkins believes that natural selectionand mutations (blind, purposeless copying mistakes in this DNA) together provide the mechanism for producing the vast amounts of information responsible for the design in living things. Natural selection is a logical process that can be observed. However, selection can only operate on the information already contained in genes—it does not produce new information.distinct kinds of animals and plants, each to reproduce after its own kind. One can observe great variation in a kind,and see the results of natural selection. For instance, dingoes, wolves and coyotes have developed over time as a result of natural selection operating on the information in the genes of the wolf/dog kind. But no new information was produced—these varieties have resulted from rearrangement, and sorting out, of the information in the original dog kind. One kind has never been observed to change into a totally different kind with new information that previously did not exist! Without a way to increase information, natural selection will not work as a mechanism for evolution. Evolutionists agree with this, but they believe that mutations somehow provide the new information for natural selection to act upon. Can mutations produce new information? Actually, it is now clear that the answer is no! Dr. Lee Spetner, a highly qualified scientist who taught information and communication theory at Johns Hopkins University, makes this abundantly clear in his recent book: In this chapter Ill bring several examples of evolution, [i.e., instances alleged to be examples of evolution] particularly mutations, and show that information is not increased But in all the reading Ive done in the life-sciences literature, Ive never found a mutation that added information. All point mutations that have been studied on the molecular level turn out to reduce the genetic information and not to increase it. The NDT [neo-Darwinian theory] is supposed to explain how the information of life has been built up by evolution. The essential biological difference between a human and a bacterium is in the information they contain. All other biological differences follow from that. The human genome has much more information than does the bacterial genome. Information cannot be built up by mutations that lose it. A business cant make money by losing it a little at a time. Evolutionary scientists have no way around the conclusions that many scientists, including Dr. Spetner, have come to. Mutations do not work as a mechanism to fuel the evolutionary process. [For further information, see: Can genetic mutations produce positive changes in living creatures? Answer] More problems! Scientists have found that within the cell, there are thousands of what can be called biochemical machines. All of their parts have to be in place simultaneously or the cell cant function. Things which were thought to be simple mechanisms, such as being able to sense light and turn it into electrical impulses, are in fact highly complicated. Since life is built on these machines, the idea that natural processes could have made a living system is untenable. Biochemist Dr. Michael Behe uses the term irreducible complexity in describing such biochemical machines. †¦systems of horrendous, irreducible complexity inhabit the cell. The resulting realization that life was designed by an intelligence is a shock to us in the twentieth century who have gotten used to thinking of life as the result of simple natural laws. But other centuries have had their shocks, and there is no reason to suppose that we should escape them. Richard Dawkins recognizes this problem of needing machinery to start with when he states: The theory of the blind watchmaker is extremely powerful given that we are allowed to assume replication and hence cumulative selection. But if replication needs complex machinery, since the only way we know for complex machinery ultimately to come into existence is cumulative selection, we have a problem. A problem indeed! The more we look into the workings of life, the more complicated it gets, and the more we see that life could not arise by itself. Not only is a source of information needed, but the complex machines of the chemistry of life need to be in existence right from the start! A greater problem still! Some still try to insist that the machinery of the first cell could have arisen by pure chance. For instance, they say, by randomly drawing alphabet letters in sequence from a hat, sometimes you will get a simple word like BAT.So given long time periods, why couldnt even more complex information arise by chance? However, what would the word BAT mean to a German or Chinese speaker? The point is that an order of letters is meaningless unless there is a language convention and a translation system in place which makes it meaningful! In a cell, there is such a system (other molecules) that makes the order on the DNA meaningful. DNA without the language/translation system is meaningless, and these systems without the DNA wouldnt work either. The other complication is that the translation machinery which reads the order of the letters in the DNA is itself specified by the DNA! This is another one of those machines that needs to be fully-formed or life wont work. Can information arise from non-information? Dr. Werner Gitt, Director and Professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology, makes it clear that one of the things we know absolutely for sure from science, is that information cannot arise from disorder by chance. It always takes (greater) information to produce information, and ultimately information is the result of intelligence: A code system is always the result of a mental process (it requires an intelligent origin or inventor) It should be emphasized that matter as such is unable to generate any code. All experiences indicate that a thinking being voluntarily exercising his own free will, cognition, and creativity, is required. There is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this. What is the source of the information? We can therefore deduce that the huge amount of information in living things must originally have come from an intelligence, which had to have been far superior to ours, as scientists are revealing every day. But then, some will say that such a source would have to be caused by something with even greater information/intelligence. However, if they reason like this, one could ask where this greater information/intelligence came from? And then where did that one come from . one could extrapolate to infinity, for ever, unless . Unless there was a source of infinite intelligence, beyond our finite understanding. But isnt this what the Bible indicates when we read, In the beginning God .? The God of the Bible is an infinite being not bound by limitations of time, space, knowledge, or anything else. So which is the logically defensible position?—that matter eternally existed (or came into existence by itself for no reason), and then by itself arranged itself into information systems against everything observed in real science? Or that a being with infinite intelligence,created information systems for life to exist, agreeing with real science? The answer seems obvious, so why dont all intelligent scientists accept this? Michael Behe answers: Many people, including many important and well-respected scientists, just dont want there to be anything beyond nature. They dont want a supernatural being to affect nature, no matter how brief or constructive the interaction may have been. In other words . they bring an a priori philosophical commitment to their science that restricts what kinds of explanations they will accept about the physical world. Sometimes this leads to rather odd behavior. The crux of the matter is this: If one accepts there is a God who created us, then that God also owns us. He thus has a right to set the rules by which we must live. In the Bible, He has revealed to us that we are in rebellion against our Creator. Because of this rebellion called sin, our physical bodies are sentenced to death—but we will live on, either with God, or without Him in a place of judgment. But the good news is that our Creator provided, through the cross of Jesus Christ, a means of deliverance for our sin of rebellion, so that those who come to Him in faith, in repentance for their sin, can receive the forgiveness of a Holy God and spend forever with their Lord. [Watch The HOPE on-line (streaming video)] So who created God? By definition, an infinite, eternal being has always existed—no one created God. He is the self-existing one—the great I am of the Bible.19 He is outside of time; in fact, He created time. You might say, â€Å"But that means I have to accept this by faith, as I cant understand it.† We read in the book of Hebrews, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). But this is not blind faith, as some think. In fact, the evolutionists who deny God have a blind faith—they have to believe something that is against real science—namely, that information can arise from disorder by chance. Can you believe in the existence of something that you cannot see? Have you ever seen your own brain? We all believe in many things that we have never seen. Have you ever seen the wind? Have you seen history? We see the effects of the wind, but the wind is invisible. We have records of history, but it is by faith we believe that certain historical events happened. Television waves are invisible, but an antenna and a receiver can detect their presence. Do you know that you have a receiver? Prior to becoming a child of God, your receiver (your spirit) is dead because of sin (see Ephesians 2:1). You need to be plugged into the life of God, and then you will come alive and be aware of the invisible spiritual realm. Learn more about God and his plan for your life Adapted from author Ray Comfort See these information sources for evidence of God and the accuracy of His Word†¦ The Christian faith is not a blind faith; it is a logically defensible faith. This is why the Bible makes it clear that anyone who does not believe in God is without excuse: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). For a more in-depth article, read: Who created God? Who created God? A number of skeptics ask this question. But God by definition is the uncreated creator of the universe, so the question Who created God? is illogical, just like To whom is the bachelor married? So a more sophisticated questioner might ask: If the universe needs a cause, then why doesnt God need a cause? And if God doesnt need a cause, why should the universe need a cause? In reply, Christians should use the following reasoning: Everything which has a beginning has a cause.1 The universe has a beginning. Therefore the universe has a cause. Its important to stress the words in bold type. The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning, as will be shown below. God, unlike the universe, had no beginning, so doesnt need a cause. In addition, Einsteins general relativity, which has much experimental support, shows that time is linked to matter and space. So time itself would have begun along with matter and space. Since God, by definition, is the creator of the whole universe, he is the creator of time. Therefore He is not limited by the time dimension He created, so has no beginning in time God is the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Therefore He doesnt have a cause. In contrast, there is good evidence that the universe had a beginning. This can be shown from the Laws of Thermodynamics, the most fundamental laws of the physical sciences. 1st Law: The total amount of mass-energy in the universe is constant. 2nd Law: The amount of energy available for work is running out, or entropy is increasing to a maximum. If the total amount of mass-energy is limited, and the amount of usable energy is decreasing, then the universe cannot have existed forever, otherwise it would already have exhausted all usable energy the heat death of the universe. For example, all radioactive atoms would have decayed, every part of the universe would be the same temperature, and no further work would be possible. So the obvious corollary is that the universe began a finite time ago with a lot of usable energy, and is now running down. Now, what if the questioner accepts that the universe had a beginning, but not that it needs a cause? But it is self-evident that things that begin have a cause no-one really denies it in his heart. All science and history would collapse if this law of cause and effect were denied. So would all law enforcement, if the police didnt think they needed to find a cause for a stabbed body or a burgled house. Also, the universe cannot be self-caused nothing can create itself, because that would mean that it existed before it came into existence, which is a logical absurdity. IN SUMMARY The universe (including time itself) can be shown to have had a beginning. It is unreasonable to believe something could begin to exist without a cause. The universe therefore requires a cause, just as Romans 1:20 teach. God, as creator of time, is outside of time. Since therefore He has no beginning in time, He has always existed, so doesnt need a cause. OBJECTIONS There are only two ways to refute an argument: Show that it is logically invalid Show that at least one of the premises is false. Is the argument valid? A valid argument is one where it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. Note that validity does not depend on the truth of the premises, but on the form of the argument. The argument in this article is valid; it is of the same form as: All whales have backbones; Moby Dick is a whale; therefore Moby Dick has a backbone. So the only hope for the skeptic is to dispute one or both of the premises. Are the premises true? 1. Does the universe have a beginning? Oscillating universe ideas were popularized by atheists like the late Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov solely to avoid the notion of a beginning, with its implications of a Creator. But as shown above, the Laws of Thermodynamics undercut that argument. Even an oscillating universe cannot overcome those laws. Each one of the hypothetical cycles would exhaust more and more usable energy. This means every cycle would be larger and longer than the previous one, so looking back in time there would be smaller and smaller cycles. So the multicycle model could have an infinite future, but can only have a finite past.2 Also, there are many lines of evidence showing that there is far too little mass for gravity to stop expansion and allow cycling in the first place, i.e., the universe is open. According to the best estimates (even granting old-earth assumptions), the universe still has only about half the mass needed for re-contraction. This includes the combined total of both luminous matter and non-luminous matter (found in galactic halos), as well as any possible contribution of neutrinos to total mass.3 Some recent evidence for an open universe comes from the number of light-bending gravitational lenses in the sky.6 It seems there is only 40-80% of the required matter to cause a big crunch. Incidentally, this low mass is also a major problem for the currently fashionable inflationary version of the big bang theory, as this predicts a mass density just on the threshold of collapse a flat universe. Finally, no known mechanism would allow a bounce back after a hypothetical big crunch.7 As the late Professor Beatrice Tinsley of Yale explained, even though the mathematics say that the universe oscillates, There is no known physical mechanism to reverse a catastrophic big crunch. Off the paper and into the real world of physics, those models start from the Big Bang, expand, collapse, and thats the end. 2. Denial of cause and effect Some physicists assert that quantum mechanics violates this cause/effect principle and can produce something from nothing. For instance, Paul Davies writes: spacetime could appear out of nothingness as a result of a quantum transition. Particles can appear out of nowhere without specific causation Yet the world of quantum mechanics routinely produces something out of nothing.9 But this is a gross misapplication of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics never produces something out of nothing. Davies himself admitted on the previous page that his scenario should not be taken too seriously. Theories that the universe is a quantum fluctuation must presuppose that there was something to fluctuate their quantum vacuum is a lot of matter-antimatter potential not nothing. Also, I have plenty of theoretical and practical experience at quantum mechanics (QM) from my doctoral thesis work. For example, Raman spectroscopy is a QM phenomenon, but from the wavenumber and intensity of the spectral bands, we can work out the masses of the atoms and force constants of the bonds causing the bands. To help the atheist position that the universe came into existence without a cause, one would need to find Raman bands appearing without being caused by transitions in vibrational quantum states, or alpha particles appearing without pre-existing nuclei, etc. If QM was as acausal as some people think, then we should not assume that these phenomena have a cause. Then I may as well burn my Ph.D. thesis, and all the spectroscopy journals should quit, as should any nuclear physics research. Also, if there is no cause, there is no explanation why this particular universe appeared at a particular time, nor why it was a universe and not, say, a banana or cat which appeared. This universe cant have any properties to explain its preferential coming into existence, because it wouldnt have any properties until it actually came into existence. Is creation by God rational? A last desperate tactic by skeptics to avoid a theistic conclusion is to assert that creation in time is incoherent. Davies correctly points out that since time itself began with the beginning of the universe, it is meaningless to talk about what happened before the universe began. But he claims that causes must precede their effects. So if nothing happened before the universe began, then (according to Davies) it is meaningless to discuss the cause of the universes beginning. But the philosopher (and New Testament scholar) William Lane Craig, in a useful critique of Davies,10 pointed out that Davies is deficient in philosophical knowledge. Philosophers have long discussed the notion of simultaneous causation. Immanuel Kant (17241804) gave the example of a weight resting on a cushion simultaneously causing a depression in it. Craig says: The first moment of time is the moment of Gods creative act and of creations simultaneous coming to be. Some skeptics claim that all this analysis is tentative, because that is the nature of science. So this cant be used to prove creation by God. Of course, skeptics cant have it both ways: saying that the Bible is wrong because science has proved it so, but if science appears consistent with the Bible, then well, science is tentative anyway. A final thought The Bible informs us that time is a dimension that God created, into which man was subjected. It even tells us that one day time will no longer exist. That will be called â€Å"eternity.† God Himself dwells outside of the dimension He created (Titus 1:2). He dwells in eternity and is not subject to time. God spoke history before it came into being. He can move through time as a man flips through a history book. Because we live in the dimension of time, it is impossible for us to fully understand anything that does not have a beginning and an end. Simply accept that fact, and believe the concept of Gods eternal nature the same way you believe the concept of space having no beginning and end—by faith—even though such thoughts put a strain on our distinctly insufficient cerebrum. Paul S. Taylor, adapted from author Ray Comfort Further Reading More information can be found in the following works. Unfortunately they are too friendly towards the unscriptural big bang theory with its billions of years of death, suffering and disease before Adams sin. But the above arguments are perfectly consistent with a recent creation in six consecutive normal days, as taught by Scripture. Craig, W.L., Apologetics: An Introduction (Chicago: Moody, 1984). Craig, W.L. online article â€Å"The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe† http://www.leaderu.com/truth/3truth11.html Geisler, N.L., Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1976). How does archaeology conclusively demonstrate the Bible to be reliable and unique among all the holy books of world religions? Archaeological discoveries verify the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. When compared to other religious books, the titles, and events mentioned in the Bible; and the language and literary formats used to compose the Bible. Many scholars today question the validity of Biblical accounts, supposedly based on the findings of archaeology (i.e. misinterpretation of evidence, lack of evidence, or poor scholarship) and not with the Bible. How can archaeology prove helpful to someone seeking for truth to the basic questions about life? The discoveries of archaeology can be helpful in removing doubts that a person might have about the historical trustworthiness of the Bible. The places, and events of the Bible are real. What Gods Word? Any one discovery can be explained away as coincidence, or an alternative interpretation can be given to disassociate it from the Bible. It is the weight of a myriad of discoveries that demonstrates the Bible to be the Word of God. These discoveries fall into three categories: Archaeological evidence demonstrates the historical and cultural accuracy of the Bible. The Bibles message of a salvation stands in sharp contrast to the pagan fertility religions of the ancient world as, revealed by archaeology. Archaeological findings demonstrate that the Biblical prophets accurately predicted events hundreds of years before they occurred—something that lies beyond the capability of mere men. Where did Cain get his wife? We dont even know her name, yet she was discussed at the wife in history? Scripture and, thus, the Christian faith. For instance, at the historic Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925, William Jennings Bryan, the prosecutor who stood for the Christian faith, failed to answer the question about [3] lawyer Clarence Darrow. The worlds press was focused on this trial, and what they heard has affected Christianity to this day—Christians are seen as unable to defend the biblical record. And skeptics then make the logically fallacious jump of concluding that the biblical record is indefensible! The agnostic Carl Sagan used this same question in his book ContactContact,† which was based on Sagans book, also used it. In the book, the fictional character Ellie could not get answers about [6] Sagan cleverly used common questions—such as â€Å"Who was Cains wife?†Ã¢â‚¬â€questions that are often directed at Christians in an attempt to prove the Bible cannot be defended. Sadly, most Christians probably could not answer these questions! And yet, there are answers. But, since most churches are lacking in the teaching of 1 Peter 3:15). Why is it important? Many skeptics have claimed that, for New Testament doctrines depend. Defenders of the Genesis 4:1-5:5.) Before we answer this question, we will first show how important it is to the meaning of the gospel. The first man Therefore, even as through one man Romans 5:12). We read in God did not start by making a whole group of men. The sin of rebellion, also passed on to all his descendants. Since return to God! Because a man brought Romans 3:23). What is the solution? The Last Adam pay the penalty for sin: â€Å"For since by a man came [8] God. Since the Bible describes all human beings as gospel could not be explained or defended. The Hebrews 2:11-18). Thus, only descendants of the first man saved. All related Thus, there was only one man at the beginning—made from the Genesis 2:7). This also means that Adams descendants. The first woman In Eve—she was the first woman. marriage of one man to one woman. Also, in animals, he could not find a mate—there was no one of his kind. All this makes it obvious that there was only one woman, Eves descendants. If Christians cannot defend that all humans (including gospel and all that it teaches. Cains brothers and sisters Genesis 4:25), were part of the first generation of children ever born on this earth. Even though only these three males are mentioned by name, Genesis 5:3) before Seth was born. During their lives, Adams children, as says the old tradition, was thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters.† The Genesis 1:28). The wife If we now work totally from Scripture, without any personal prejudices or other extra-biblical ideas, then back at the beginning, when there was only the first generation, brothers would have had to have married sisters or there would be no more generations! We are not told when marriages and children, but we can say for certain that some brothers had to marry their sisters at the beginning of human history. But what about Gods Laws? Many people immediately reject the conclusion that Gods law originally when close relatives (even brothers and sisters) married each other. Remember that Moses laws that forbade such marriages. Biological deformities Today, brothers and sisters (and half-brothers and half-sisters, etc.) are not permitted by law to marry because their children have an unacceptably high risk of being deformed. The more closely the parents are related, the more likely it is that any offspring will be d