Design and Catastrophe

Design.

Catastrophe.

Two simple but very strong words.

In this unique book, 51 professional scientists, men and women of faith from a wide range of disciplines, provide short essays in their respective areas of expertise demonstrating some aspect of the design:catastrophe paradigm. Though written by experts, the essays are easily accessible to non-specialists, making this book extremely useful in the college and seminary classroom, and for the life-long learner.

Design and Catastrophe does not attempt to prove the veracity of the biblical account of origins and a global Flood as recorded in the book of Genesis. Rather, in these 51 essays, it richly samples the overwhelming evidence of design and catastrophe in the world around us. In so doing, it invites us to look to the Scriptures for an explanation that provides meaning and purpose for our lives and what we discover in nature.

About the Editors

L. James Gibson served as the director of the Geoscience Research Institute until he retired in 2020.

Ronny Nalin is the director of the Geoscience Research Institute and an adjunct professor in the geology program at Loma Linda University.

Humberto M. Rasi served as vice president for editorial development of Pacific Press Publishing Association and director of the Education Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

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“These essays on earth and life sciences, physics, mathematics and astronomy ably illustrate that Scripture provides a solid platform from which to explore the natural world through scientific research. This delightful and compelling book reveals the real scientific truth about design and catastrophe to the glory of the Ultimate Designer and to the One who sat as King over the mabbul, the global Flood of Genesis (Ps. 29:10).”

John T. Baldwin
Professor Emeritus of Theology
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Andrews University

Introduction by L. James Gibson, Ronny Nalin, Humberto M. Rasi

PART I: In the Beginning
CHAPTER 1: The Fine-Tuning of the Universe by Aleksei Popov
CHAPTER 2: Where Does Matter Come From? by Alfredo Takashi Suzuki
CHAPTER 3: The Periodic Table and Design by Nicholas Madhiri
CHAPTER 4: The Heavens Declare God’s Glory by Mart de Groot
CHAPTER 5: Wonderful Water by Rafael Schäffer
CHAPTER 6: From Chemical Space to Creative Grace by John C. Walton
CHAPTER 7: Intelligent Computational Agents Require a Designer by Germán H. Alférez

PART II: Of Life and Molecules
CHAPTER 8: The Matter of Life by Danilo Boskovic
CHAPTER 9: Origin of Life: By Design or Chemical Evolution? by Elena Titova
CHAPTER 10: DNA’s Designer Alphabet by Sven Östring
CHAPTER 11: DNA: A Magnificent Nanomolecule by Orlex B. Yllano
CHAPTER 12: A Look at the Mirror: Chirality in Organic Molecules by Nelson C. Martins
CHAPTER 13: Membrane Asymmetry Points to the Creator by Carrie A. C. Wolfe
CHAPTER 14: Conserved throughout Creation by José A. Cardé-Serrano
CHAPTER 15: Cholesterol: The Wonder of Biosynthesis by Glenn Phillips

PART III: A Green World
CHAPTER 16: All Natural Chemistry: Not What You Think! by Ryan T. Hayes
CHAPTER 17: The Signature of the Creator Revealed in Photosynthesis by Susan Thomas
CHAPTER 18: A God of Law, Order, and Beauty by Mitch Menzmer

PART IV: Filling the Waters and the Air
CHAPTER 19: The Unseen Wonder of Coccolithophores by Emilia R. Belia
CHAPTER 20: Foraging in the Ocean Twilight Zone by Christine Jackson
CHAPTER 21: Squid: Uniquely Adapted to a Changing Environment by George D. Jackson
CHAPTER 22: Design in the Water-Salt Physiology of Fishes by Noble Donkor
CHAPTER 23: Interrelated Design in the Swiftlet by Michael Tarburton
CHAPTER 24: Mathematics and Design in the Realm of Bees by Luciano González

PART V: Let the Earth Bring Forth
CHAPTER 25: Phonotaxis: The Meaningful Songs of Crickets by Benjamin Navia
CHAPTER 26: Design, Spiders, and “Integrated Wholes” by David R. Nelsen
CHAPTER 27: Spider Silk: Design at All Levels by Rivelino Montenegro
CHAPTER 28: Extreme Plasticity in the Skull Shape of Dogs by Rebecca J. Greer

PART VI: In God’s Image
CHAPTER 29: Our Spectacular Skeletons by Liliana Endo-Munoz
CHAPTER 30: The Amazing Gift of Hearing by Lucinda Hill Spencer
CHAPTER 31: The Human Eye: Designed for Vision by Jesson Martin
CHAPTER 32: Why Chimpanzees Can’t Play Chopin by David G. Pennington
CHAPTER 33: A Mind for Beauty by L. James Gibson

PART VII: Interdependence and Cooperation
CHAPTER 34: Designed for Maternal Bonding by Rowena R. Antemano
CHAPTER 35: A Tale of Two Enzymes by George T. Javor
CHAPTER 36: The Marvel of a Functioning Ecosystem by Warren A. Shipton
CHAPTER 37: Cooperation, Empathy, and Altruism in Nature by Noemí Durán

PART VIII: Out of Eden
CHAPTER 38: Epigenetic Inheritance: A Mechanism of Adaptation by Wellington dos Santos Silva
CHAPTER 39: Designed Genetically to Survive Catastrophe by Delano S. Lewis
CHAPTER 40: Adapting to Life after a Catastrophe by Tiago A. J. de Souza
CHAPTER 41: Mass Extinctions in the Fossil Record by Roberto E. Biaggi

PART IX: Vestiges of Catastrophe
CHAPTER 42: Turbidity Currents: Moving Sediment Fast and Far by Ronny Nalin
CHAPTER 43: Megabreccias: A Record of Catastrophes by Art Chadwick
CHAPTER 44: The Colossal Nature of Past Volcanic Activity on Earth by Birgir V. Óskarsson
CHAPTER 45: Worldwide Occurrence of Persistent Sedimentary Layers by Raúl Esperante
CHAPTER 46: Widespread Deposits: Evidence Consistent with the Biblical Flood by M. Elaine Graham-Kennedy
CHAPTER 47: Flat Gaps in the Rock Layers Challenge Long Geologic Ages by Ariel A. Roth
CHAPTER 48: Principles for Interpreting the Sedimentological Record by Monte Fleming
CHAPTER 49: Respecting God’s Word, God’s World, and People in God’s Image by Ben Clausen
CHAPTER 50: Human Life Span after the Flood by John F. Ashton

CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 51: A Story of Brokenness, Hope, and Restoration by David N. Mbungu

Notes
About the Editors and Authors

Title: Design and Catastrophe: 51 Scientists Explore Evidence in Nature
Editors: L. James Gibson, Ronny Nalin, and Humberto M. Rasi
ISBN-13: 978-1-940980-30-0
Year: 2021
Pages: 240