Chloride Cells

Chloride Cells? 

Yes, I know, sounds like a very random topic, doesn't it? 

The job that God gave chloride cells is amazing, though! 

On day five of the creation week, God created all the creatures that live in the sea. 

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life..." 

"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind.......and God saw that it was good."

"And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas..."

"And the evening and the morning were the fifth day." 

When God said He blessed the creatures of the sea, He wasn't just saying that. He really did bless them. And it's easy to see, if one looks at the complexity of each creature. Each carefully constructed fish, made by the hands of our loving Lord and Savior. The complexity in each creature is outstanding!!!It's obvious we must have an Intelligent Designer that created us!

Just take a look at chloride cells. 

Chloride cells are used by God to regulate the salt  

intake of certain fish (osmoregulators). Osmoregulators can regulate its internal concentration of salts. Whereas, osmocomfortors allow its internal concentration of salts to change in order to match the salts in the surrounding water.

In the teleost, the chloride cells are located in the gills and pump sodium and chloride ions out into the sea against a concentration gradient.

In salmon, chloride cells help distribute the salt intake, in the gills, by pumping out the sodium and chloride ions into the sea. 

Why is this important?

If the chloride cells weren't there then the fish would intake too much salt. Salmon has a difficulty in ocean water, as well as fresh water. While in ocean water, the salmon gets too dehydrated and must drink lots of water. (Well, actually it absorbs the water through its digestive system into its blood. The water gets to stay in the tissues, while the salts are excreted in small amounts of concentrated urine, as well as through the chloride cells in its gills.) 

When fish absorb too many ions, the excess ions absorbed are pumped out of the body via the chloride cells.

What all do chloride cells do?

Well, basically, chloride cells will perform integral roles in acid-base regulation to make sure the fish doesn't dehydrate. Without chloride cells, there would be a lot of dead fish, because of dehydration. And I know, how strange? Fish are in water, and they can dehydrate? Doesn't seem right does it? But, it's in God's wonderful plan for the creation of these lovely creatures. And thankfully, He blessed the fish with chloride cells so that the fish won't dehydrate. I think that's amazing!

There is a lot more complexity in fish that are yet to be discussed. In the chloride cells, pedrin (antiporter anion exchanger) helps by mediating the electro neutral exchange of chloride for bicarbonate across the plasma membrane. 

All cells have plasma membranes (outer walls that separates the internal fluid from the exterior environment) And bacteria even has a wall outside of the plasma membrane to provide mechanical support and form.

When God first created the world, things were much different. Everything was perfect, including the marvelous sea creatures. And who knows?! (Except God. Of course God knows,) The waters could have been much different before sin entered the world, and before the Flood happened. There may not have been as much salt in the water as there is now. Whether the fish actually had to use their chloride cells before the Flood, I do not know, but surely after the Flood they had to, because of all the salt that ended up in the ocean.

How come so much salt got in the ocean during the Flood?

There are many ways for this to have happened.

During the Flood, the fountains of the deep burst forth, the waters probably carried the earth's surface tons of pulverized crustal material containing large amounts of salts.  Sodium chloride was also carried into the ocean by hydrothermal vents from below the earth's crust. As I discussed a little about volcanoes in the Flood in my last post, volcanoes' gases and rock decomposition are where a lot of the salt in the sea comes from. Rocks have a lot of salt in them, and as rain dissolves the salt, the salt is carried away into stream, and then eventually into the ocean. 

Now with all that salt in the water (I'm sure the fish weren't used to), the chloride cells could finally do their job, and keep the fish happy (however fish can be happy) and healthy. 

The complexity of chloride cells is proof alone we have an Almighty Creator/ God. 

Everything God does is unique, and amazing. Chloride cells did not evolve, nor did fish, nor did anything or anyone. How could anyone think the world came from randomness, with all the complexity that we have in each organism. If randomness can do that, I'm in shock. (Although, how do i know I'm really in shock. Or did I randomly just say that? How can I know, if everything happens from randomness?) Randomness could never create anything. Randomness did not create anything. 

God is the Creator of everything. And not just that, He also loves everyone, so much that He, our loving God, came here just for you and me, and died, taking the blame for our sins, so that we could get saved and go to heaven one day. And I'm so happy, the grave couldn't hold Jesus, and He rose again on the third day! Only God can create miracles. we see miracles every day, whether we know it or not. Nothing happens by random chance. Whether we're talking about chloride cells, or dragons, God has a special plan for everything He created. 

Praise God that He is our Creator! 

                                                 

 

The Ice Age

Hi, there! Sorry for the late post! I finally have my email and all situated, so I’ll be posting more often than I was.

Now on to the more important subject, the Ice Age.

 

Have you ever wondered about the Ice Age? I’m sure you've heard of it. Maybe you heard about it in school, or maybe you watched the children’s movie about it. Well, I’ll tell you a little about the real Ice Age.

There is a lot of evidence showing that large sheets of ice once covered large masses of land. Scientists have found evidence that ice once covered most of Canada, parts of northern and central United States, northern Europe, northwest Asia, many of the mountain ranges in Eurasia, and high mountainous areas of the Southern Hemisphere and tropics. All this evidence leads towards an Ice Age. But secular scientists still don’t know what caused this enormous amount of ice covering God’s beautiful green earth.

Over the years, scientists have changed their view on the Ice Age, since none of them make the Ice Age picture clear.

Secular scientists say there were 4 ice ages spread within millions of years and lasting a very, very, long time. Then, they figured that couldn’t be possible and by 1970 said there were over 30 ice ages separated by interglacials. This belief was forced upon by the paradigm change in glaciology toward belief in the astronomical model of the ice ages. Most museums still linger towards four ice ages, and show for them. Secular scientists are so confused about the ice age. Nothing is adding up for them. (Although, nothing will ever add up for any scientist looking through a glass blindly. To see clearly we must have Jesus- The True Light of this world.) If the Ice age is so confusing for evolutionists, then what would make it easy to understand as a creationist? Evolutionists keep forgetting about the missing piece to the puzzle - The Genesis Flood.

The Genesis Flood was never proved wrong.  Scientists just went away from God and started following uniformitarianism instead. Once one goes away from God, everything will feel confusing. The devil is the author of confusion, you know.

The Flood mentioned in Genesis wasn’t just a minority. Like most people say, “Oh yeah, Noah and his family were saved from a flood that happened in the beginning of the Bible.”  No, the Genesis Flood was much more than that.  Imagine being there yourself, or that happening today (Even though, we know it will never happen again, since God promised us he would never destroy the entire world again with a flood). If this was happening today, it would be a major deal.

A global flood. Could you imagine being in an ark and watching God destroy everything. Water harshly destroying the earth - killing everything in it’s path. Like a tsunami, no one expected it. The people were warned for many years, but since it hadn’t rained on the earth, no one believed Noah when he said the earth would be destroyed by a flood. The Flood also is one of the leading causes to all the rain.

Many things happened after the Flood. You don’t think, “Noah and his family made it off the ark and the world looked the same after the water was gone”, do you?

A lot of people picture the world this way when reading about Noah getting off of the ark. But no, everything was different. The world had just experienced major trauma. The Flood formed the Grand Canyon. Washed sea creatures so high you can find their fossils at the tops of mountains. Changed climates and made life hard to live for many animals, causing them to die out. God’s beautiful land was destroyed.

A great Flood such as this would cause many after effects. One of them being, The Ice Age.

After the Flood there was one great Ice Age covering the earth. Not many ice ages, but one. The Flood caused major changes in the earth: The way the earth moves, the earth’s crust, tremendous volcanism, the earth’s climate.

A result of the Flood would have been the perturbation of the climate before it reached the equilibrium we see today.

The Bible says, much of the Flood water came from the fountains of the great deep. The great deep would be referring to the oceans. And that would be a good source for God flooding the earth to use, since the oceans cover most of the earth.

Before the flood the mountains were fairly low, and even if they were over 10,000 ft the Flood would have eroded the mountains which did exist. Monumental geological and hydrological activity occurred early in the Flood. God probably used large earthquakes to crack or rift the earth’s crust, explosively releasing water and triggering volcano activity.  Within the sedimentary rocks is evidence of incredible volcano activity that has no parallel today. After the world wide Flood, the world was covered with huge volumes of volcanic ash and gas that had spewed into the atmosphere of the earth. There are vast amounts of volcanic flows and ash in sedimentary rocks, which are the result of the Flood.

What does volcanic ash have to do with the Ice Age?

A lot!

See, all this ash and gas trapped in the stratosphere acted kind of like an anti-green house. Meaning, it reflected the sunlight back to space. So, the sun had no way of keeping the earth warm with all the volcanic gas and ash in the way. Also, during this time, infrared radiation continued to escape the earth. Although, volcanoes when erupted can be extremely hot, volcanic ash and gas are known to cool down the earth.

If you remember the volcanic eruption that happened in Tampora during 1816. The largest volcanic eruption was credited with, “The year without a summer”. All the volcanic gas and ash cooled Tambora, and also caused a series of cold spells to go through other areas of land. Usually cooling after a volcanic eruption lasts between 1-3 years as the ash and gasses slowly fall from the stratosphere.

This would have helped in causing the Ice Age, since during the Flood when all the oceans broke forth, the heavy currents would have caused volcanic eruptions throughout the entire earth (which were drowned in water though), leaving in the stratosphere much volcanic ash and gas. And since the flood was global this would have covered most of the stratosphere, leaving it pretty difficult for the sun to heat the earth, and most likely be one of the great causes for the Ice Age.

Now, you might be wondering, “Where was man during the Ice Age?”

Evolutionists say the Ice Age was where man evolved through a series of missing links, but we have the missing link, it’s called the Bible, and it’s not missing.

We know from God’s Word, that for at least the first 100 years man lived in the middle east. After Noah and his family left the ark, they remained in the Tigris-Euphrates river area until God spread everyone abroad during the time of Nimrod and the tower of Babel incident. The Tower of Babel incident (where God confounded the languages of man, because man was rebellious towards God again) happened 100-300 yeas away, and the Ice Age was well underway.  God’s Word records events that either happened during the Ice Age or right after. Since the Bible focuses mainly on events happening in the middle east, you won’t expect to read anything on the Ice Age.  The book of Job was recorded either during the Ice Age or soon afterwards. The life and times of the patriarchs were during or soon after the Ice Age as well.

After the tower of Babel incident most people went southward. The years after the Flood summers weren’t as warm and hot as they are today. Summers were cooler and wetter. And since it wasn’t as hot these people were able to live in areas now called inhospitable. There has been found post-Flood civilizations in these areas, which confuse many a secular scientist who say the land is too hot for people to have lived in.

Thankfully we don’t have to be confused since we have God’s Word and understand the summers were cooler, making it easier for people to live in these areas.

A few hundred years after the Flood, during the Ice Age, the Sahara Desert had much life in it. We know this due to the remains of aquatic animals and the extensive rock art in the Sahara Desert.

Now the people that navigated northward probably had no idea that an ice sheet existed. They were probably used to the warmer temperatures in the middle east.  Just as Scandinavia is now-a-days, the days for people in that direction were darker and cooler. (Today in Denmark the sun comes up at either 7 or 8 AM and goes down at 4 PM. Not much daylight there!)

Ahh! Another question, do you have? Where did the idea for cavemen come from?

Those European “cavemen” so mentioned in schoolbooks and such like were actually people just living in caves.  Not ape-like creatures living like animals in caves. When the people moved northward the warmest places to live were caves. These people were not ape-like in any way. They were probably much more intelligent seeing that they could live in such harsh brute weather.

So as we see, man spread out all over the world during the Ice Age and learned how to live in the environment changes.

Why did God cause an Ice Age?

God has had a purpose for absolutely everything He has done. But since most of the Bible was written after the Ice Age, it’s hard to know God’s reason for the Ice Age. There are many things not mentioned in the Bible that God has used for a purpose for man. God only includes what He deems necessary for our daily walk with Him.

The Ice Age was a result of the Flood, and the climate changes. The Ice Age occurred in the far north areas, or in the mountains, way away from most mankind causing no harm to them. God could have used the Ice Age to help repopulate the people. Mid winters and cooler summers allowed people to cross the Sahara Desert without over-heating. And also aided people into going towards Africa, and go across towards North America.

Job is probably the only book written during or close after the Ice Age. It is possible Job wrote about the Ice Age, seeing how he mentions snow and ice, that he observed, but Job could have also been observing winter. Only God knows.

God has given us a book which has all the science answers we will need in life. It’s called, The Bible.

I hope this helped you understand the Ice Age more.

God bless!

 

Is Evolutionism Racist?

 

 

 I have been taking the Creationist Worldview  (from ICR.com) online course for about two years now. I have really found it beneficial, informative and useful. This week, I was reading in one of the books that came with the course, Many Infallible Proofs, by Henry M. Morris, about the origin of the different nations on Earth.

 

Which leads me to the topic of discussion today. If you have read or studied the Old Testament at any length you probably know that it is from Noah's three sons that all the peoples of today have stemmed from. From Ham, Shem and Japheth, we all have come, and each one of us is a descendant of one of the three sons.

 

From what has been surmised and projected, Ham's descendants migrated into the African, Western Asian and Native American countries. Japheth's offspring moved to Europe, and Shem's stayed in the Middle East/Eastern Asian terrains.

 

The topic of how each nation came to be is really something to be covered at another time, what I wanted to talk about today was about racism and how it relates to evolutionistic thinking.

 

I am not simply name-calling when I state that evolutionism is racist.

 

This is something very much a reality, and it is truly very sad.

 

Truth be told, I am heartbroken in general about racism and how it has ruined so many lives who have chosen to believe that way. The though that one man is better, and superior to another, simply because of his physical attributes is just plain evil, and equally disturbing.

 

Multiple times throughout Scripture, God states that He is not a "respecter of persons", in other words, He does not favor or value one human being over another ultimately.

 

Galations 3:28 says... "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

 

  And, Romans 10:12 -  "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him."

 

 Finally, (although this is just a mere sampling of the many verses which relate to this topic!) Romans 2:11 "For there is no respect of persons with God."

 

Obviously, Creationism is not a racist belief system and has never been. There have been people who called themselves "Christian", and were racist, but God is not responsible for their decisions or actions. I do not think you can follow God's will and be racist; or be a true Christian and think that white people are 'better' than black people for example. So much in Scripture is this way of thinking refuted it just seems impossible to be both a racist AND follower of Jesus Christ!

 

Evolutionism itself is rooted deeply in racist thought, and vice versa.

 

Adolf Hitler, whom some believe was one of the most wicked (and quite obviously, extremely racist) men to ever exist, stated a belief in 'natural selection'., in this quote.

"By leaving the process of procreation unchecked and by submitting the individual to the hardest preparatory tests in life, Nature selects the best from an abundance of single elements and stamps them as fit to live and carry on the conservation of the species.^[2]"

 

 

And, again, here: "Whatever survives these hardships of existence has been tested and tried a thousandfold, hardened and renders fit to continue the process of procreation; so that the same thorough selection will begin all over again. By thus dealing brutally with the individual and recalling him the very moment he shows that he is not fitted for the trials of life, Nature preserves the strength of the race and the species and raises it to the highest degree of efficiency.^[2]"

 

In justifying his own vegetarianism, he stated, "The monkeys, our ancestors of prehistoric times, are strictly vegetarian".^[4]   If you can't see the evolutionistic mindset here than you might want to do some more research on the topic!

 

Just as one of the most adamant racists and white supremacists of history did in fact subtly infer favoring a naturalistic approach to creation, many evolutionists also have proclaimed (more or less subtly) racist ideologies.

 

The man more responsible than any other for the widespread acceptance of evolution in the 19th century was Thomas Huxley. Soon after the American Civil War, in which the black slaves were freed, he wrote as follows:

"No rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average negro is the equal, still less the superior, of the white man. And if this be true, it is simply incredible that, when all his disabilities are removed, and our prognathous relative has a fair field and no favour, as well as no oppressor, he will be able to compete successfully with his bigger-brained and smaller-jawed rival, in a contest which is to be carried out by thoughts and not by bites."³
 

 What a horrible, cruel thing to say of another person!

 

"Ab initio, Afro-Americans were viewed by these intellectuals as being in certain ways unredeemably, unchangeably, irrevocably inferior."⁵

 

 The word "race", itself, is rather evolutionistic. It in biological terms defines a 'sub-species', or, species in the midst of evolving. And, it definitely does not describe an ultimately finished product.

As stated in the early chapters of Genesis, God made everything "good". Adam and Eve were created as 'final product', fully mature adult human beings. They did not evolve and neither had they come from evolving. Micro-evolution has been confused with this, and some have said that Biblical Creationists have been inconsistent in their argument that evolutionism is racist, because accordion to them, micro-evolution could be seen as a means of a species evolving to something 'greater'.

 

I do not think this is valid, but I'll save micro-evolution for yet another day. I know I have rambled quite a bit in this post so I want to get the gist of this discussion.

 

While I would not define a religion or stasis of thought simply on what some of its followers have believed; this does have a lot to do with how one can view the belief system. Darwin himself, known as the 'creator' of evolutionism, inferred racist ideas subtly throughout his writings. And, if the very 'creator' of the naturalistic religion of evolution did such, it is reasonable to assume that racism can and does indeed go hand in hand with evolution.

 

Think of natural selection alone. A concept which purports the eventual annihilation of the 'weak', and the 'survival of the fittest.' Surely it was not implied merely of the animal world, since Darwin believed humankind itself to be members of this realm and obviously nothing more than another species. Therefore, if natural selection is applied to mankind, wouldn't it seem awful racist in many ways? Yes, we have changed physically since the flood and Adam and Eve, but we are still all humans...people...created by God, and immensely precious in His eyes. We are ALL made in His image!

 

 By the way, do you ever see the word "race" mentioned in His Book? No? That's because it's a word He never uses therein. Instead, we see "peoples, nations, tribes, languages." God doesn't judge us by our skin color, He judges us by our hearts. (1 Sam. 16:7)

 

Is evolution racist? Yes. But thankfully, the Creator of the universe isn't.



Thoughts On The Age of the Earth

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the late post!
Today we are going to talk about the age of the earth!

 

I’m sure a lot of teachers have told you that the earth was formed billions of years ago, but to be honest with you, no it was not. The earth is only about 6,000 years old.

 

How do you know? Some may ask.

 

Well, there are many ways of being sure of this.

For one, we have the Bible (God’s Word given to us), and if you add up the ages from Adam-Jesus (and from then on we have the date calculated) it’s about 4,000 years, and from Jesus to now about 2,000 years.

 

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the “gap theory”, right? You know, the theory that says there are millions of years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? The theory that says God didn’t mean a literal day?

In Hebrew the word for day is Yom. Throughout the entire bible, the word yom is used, and no where does anyone question it meaning a literal 24 hour day, except in Genesis. The devil tries over and over again to take away the foundation of Christians by confusing them with how the world started.

 

Yes, the word day can mean many different things.

 

For instance, it can mean...

1. 24 hour period of time.

2. The time of light between one night and the next.

3. A specific time or period. (The Lord’s day)

 

However, once one understands the meanings of the word day, it should be easy to understand which one is which.

God created the universe and everything in it in this order:

 

On day one God created Light.

On day two God divided the firmament from the waters.

On day three God created grass and trees.

On day four God created the sun, moon, and stars.

On day five God created the sea creatures and flying creatures.

On day six God created animals, and man in his image.

 

Some may ask, how can God create the earth in just six days? Wouldn’t it take billions of years?
No!

God, the All Powerful Intelligent Being, and Creator of Everything, could have made the earth in a split second. God has the power to do everything. It was no problem at all for him to create the world in six days.

If it would have taken God more than six days, then why do we have the Sabbath day as the seventh day? The day in which God rested from all his work? God didn’t say, “Work for millions and billions of years, and rest for millions and billions of years.” No, God said, “Work six days, and rest on the seventh.”

 

So, for the big earth age question.

 

Haven’t scientists proven the age of the earth is billions of years old?

No, they have not!

 

There are many proofs that the earth is young.

Biological proof, Geological evidence, Astronomical evidence, and much more!

Even history claims a young earth!

 

If you count the population of people (6 people) from 4,500 years ago (after the Flood), you would end up with the population of people today, but try thinking people “evolved” millions of years ago with the population we have today. I would wonder, umm, where might all the people be???

Bone tissue and red blood cells (which aren’t supposed to live but a few thousand years) were found in a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Also, DNA was taken from bacteria that evolutionists’ said to be 425 million years old. DNA isn’t supposed to last over thousands of years. This has confused many “scientists”.

 

God changed the languages after The Tower of Babel was built. Many evolutionists’ believe some languages are separated by tens of thousands of years, but similarities in many languages say otherwise.

 

A lot of cultures relate back to “myths” or “legends” about an earth destroying flood., but these are stories past down from their ancestors of the world wide flood in Noah’s day. The stories differ somewhat, one from another, because most of it was passed down generation to generation either spoken or written. But we know what happened during the flood, because God promised to preserve his Word throughout all generations.

 

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” ~ Psalm 12:6-7

 

There are many proofs of a young earth, in which, we will discuss in detail soon!

 

Always remember to trust in God. He has all the answers.

 

His galaxies are amazing and full of endless wonder!

Cyanobacteria

Hello!

We're going to talk about something a little random today.

How many of you know what algae is? I'm sure a lot of you brushed over algae in school, but have you ever heard of cyanobacteria?

               Get ready to see some of the glories God has given us in this world, and see his magnificent creation!

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmanent of heaven." ~ Genesis 1:20.

                                       Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) is a plant-like group of photosynthetic bacteria.

Cyanobacteria is not what you would call true algae though, since they are prokaryotic (simple cells with no membrane-bound organelles).

                          Prokaryotes photosynthesize on folded membranes. cyanobacteria do not have chloroplasts found in eukaryotic (many membrane-bound organelles, which have a lot to do with the way a cell functions) protein.

They have bluish/redish pigments in their cells, which help make up their color. Their main color is from the green chlorophyll.

                                They can be found in the Upper Intertidal zone,( and just about everywhere!)  Most organisms are unable to survive these dry conditions. Cyanobacteria are able to live in these conditions, because of a slimy layer of pretection. These organisms are nitrogen fixers, which means they can fix mitrogen straight from the air. They can remove nitrogen from the air atmosphere and use it in their metabolic process, making it something other producers are able to use. A lot of producers rely of cyanobacteria fixating nitrogen.

By themselves, most Cyanobacteria is microscopic, but some are able to be seen, when they form long strands that float on the water.                  Ever see cyanobacteria?

                                                                    I bet you have!

                                            Cyanobacteria is an amazing part of God's creation!

If cyanobacteria over populates it can actually change the color of the oceans water! That's where "red tide" comes from. When floating in the ocean, under prime conditions (usually warm water too!),  cyanobacteria will multiply rapidly. when tide peaks, one drop of water (out of all the ocean) can hold tens of thousands of organisms.

                                                          That sure is a lot to hold!

Aren't you glad God gave water the ability to do that!  Now, while it may sound interesting in all to have a red tide, it is extremely harmful to other creatures/organisms.

There are different species of cyanobacteria, all in which God gave the ability to form a special function.

    One type of cyanobacteria is stromatolites.

                    Stromatolites are cyanobacteria matted together, on the sea's floor, forming large mounds up to 1 meter high.

As we all know, evolutionists try to take God out of everything. However, this is impossible! Most evolutionists say organisms like cyanobacteria should have changed "millions of billions" of years ago. Scientists have found fossil stromatolites in Precambrian rock! Thus making what evolutionists' thought a lie, and making God's creation light up in this dark world!

    

Fulgurites

 

Fulgurites: An amazing feat of the natural world which many people have never even heard about.

 

Truth be told, I didn't know what they were either until I overheard my younger brothers listening to a Jonathan Park episode about them, a year or so back.  

 

 

 This diagram demonstrates how fulgurites are formed, in dune/sandy locations.

 

So...What are they, you might be wondering?

 

Fulgurite comes from the Latin word fulgur, which means lightning.  Have you heard of petrified wood? Well, a fulgurite has been called petrified lightning.

 

Sometimes, when cloud-to-ground lightning occurs, and an ample amount of silica (sand) is available wherever the lightning happens to strike down, the heat of the lightning instantly forges the silica particles together, creating a glassy sculpture, and that is what a fulgurite is.

 

This can take place literally in one second. Instantly, as soon as the lightning touches the sand, it melts, leaving behind a marvelous piece of uniqueness...a physical signature of where the lightning had been.

 

Every lightning strike has the capability to create a fulgurite, because lightning typically ranges from 11,000 degrees to 50,000 degrees, Fahrenheit.

 

The heat required to make a fulgurite is around 11,000 degrees, and most lightning strikes which occur are 50,000. Did you know that the sun's surface is only 10,000 degrees? 

 

This means that lightning is typically MUCH hotter than even the sun's surface!

A drawing representing what a fulgurite looks like.

Fulgurites are relatively rare. They are not something most people find in their backyard, and even if there were to be fulgurites in their own neighborhood, they would probably not notice them or be able to find them. (Assuming of course that they even knew what these formations were, to begin with!)

 

There are two different types of fulgurites.

 

1., Sand, and 2., rock.

 

Below is pictured a rock fulgurite formation. These sometimes occur when lightning strikes pavement or other types of rock, usually on mountaintops depending on the mountain peak's altitude.

 

 

Below, is another sand fulgurite. This particular one as you can see is called an "exogenic" fulgurite.

 

Here is what excavating fulgurites can look like, depending on the terrain.

Fulgurites can be found on the ground surface or underneath the soil, depending on how the lightning struck, and where it struck.

 

Speaking of which, where exactly can you find these neat little (and sometimes NOT so little) formations? I'm pleased to say that my home state, Florida, bears the title of having the largest fulgurite found on its soils.

Fulgurites can only form when silica is present in the soil. Therefore, it must be at least a half-way sandy ground cover. Fulgurites can not be made when too much clay composes the soil.

 

Many fulgurite-hunters have found petrified lighting on undeveloped, relatively remote beach dunes.

Also, they can be found in deserts.

 

Don't want to travel all away around the globe to the Sahara desert? Sometimes you can find fulgurites around metal poles which have been struck by lighting. (Assuming of course that there was silica in the soil!)

Fulgurites are very fragile structures. Their interior is glassy and smooth, while their exterior is usually sandy and gnarled, from where the silica particles did not melt completely.

 

Lately, I've been extremely fascinated with how fulgurites come into existence, and with learning about them just in general.

 

At first glance, they may appear to be nothing that exciting or incredible. And really, unless you KNOW for certain what you're looking for, how could you realistically every differentiate a fulgurite from your average rock or piece of debris?

 

But think about it for a moment. Isn't this a lot like life? Oftentimes, we miss out on the little details. We fail to see the beauty in God's creation because we are too busy trying to keep up with our hectic schedules. To find a fulgurite takes immense patience. And to be able to even notice one's presence takes skill and discernment.

 

Fulgurites testify greatly to the mighty work of our Creator, YHWH God. They are just one of the immense wonders He has created in this world, in this universe. Think about how the Lord created lighting, to begin with. Revelation declares that "lightnings and thunderings proceed" from the throne of God. I believe God created lightning to give us a tiny taste of His all-consuming might and power. So much strength and energy is thrust into each bolt of lighting, that one strike alone could power a modern, electric running house for a week. One strike.

 

Even the little detail of fulgurites shows me that God's plans are intricate and beyond my comprehension. I never even knew these formations existed, but they have been around since lightning first came into existence!

 

It makes me think...How many more such wonders exist which we as humankind haven't even begin to discover?

 

 

 

Dragons

Hi Everyone! Today's post is going to be on dragons!

                             Now, how many of you have heard dragons aren't real? They're made up? They're just in legends, myths, and fairy tales? I'm sure a lot of you have been told that, but in reality dragons use to be real, live, creatures that roamed the planet. (And may still roam the planet today)

Ever wonder why dragons are so much like dinosaurs?

Evolution tells us that dinosaurs evolved la-de-da millions of years ago, and all that other stuff, but this my friend is a lie. Dinosaurs were created by our loving God on day six in the Creation week.

Have you ever questioned why you don't find the word dinosaur in the bible? This question has confused many Christians, leading them astray to evolutionism, but there is an easy answer. The Bible was translated in 1611. However, the word dinosaur was not coined until 1841, by a British anatomist, Richard Owen. Hence, "dinosaur" didn't exist.              

                 So, what did people in the olden days call these beasts (dinosaurs)? Drum roll please!

                                                         They were called...  dragons!

God's Word mentions various times that dragons and people shared the same earth ever since man was created.

 In Job 40, God mentions a large beast, behemoth. This creature is described as the dinosaur: Brachiosaurus. Many Christians have come to believe that behemoth was either an elephant or a hippopotamus, but this untrue. In verse 17 ("He moveth his tail like a cedar"), it clearly removes the possibilities of behemoth being an elephant or hippopotamus. Have you ever seen an elephant or hippopotamus with a tail that moves as a cedar? I know I haven't!

In Job 41, God mentions a monstrous sea creature, Leviathan.  This dragon is also known as the dinosaur, Kronosaurus. 

Some may ask, "If dinosaurs (dragons) lived at the same time as people, how come no one writes about them in history?"

As we remember, dinosaurs and dragons are the same, so lets take a look at all the dragon records around the world! In times past, there have come to be many legends and myths about dragons, but are these really legends? Or are they encounters with actual dragons?

In Greece there was a cave near a lake where a mighty beast lived. That beast was known as the Hydra. This creature was said to have been killed by Hercules. The Hydra was known for regenerating its head after being cut off.

Here are some recorded encounters with dragons!

Alexander the Great had an encounter with a very large serpent while on a conquest in India, which he was told not to kill, for the Indians liked the large serpent.

Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century scholar and researcher, who wrote of many encounters with dragons in De Draconibus a chapter in his book Mundus Subterraneus.

In Tombstone, Arizona a large winged monster was found killed on the Huachuca desert.

There have been many reports of dragons all through the world. Dragons may still live today. The reason we don't see dragons when we walk outside, is most likely due to the fact our living environment is not fit for them, and we are a potential threat. Most dragons were killed off after the flood, because men sought to kill them. Killing a dragon could have given you a mighty title, thousands of years ago.

When God created the world, dragons (as well as all other creatures) ate only plants, but after man sinned, death and destruction came into the world, and dragons became monstrous creatures.

There are some parts of Africa (and other parts of the world) still undiscovered by man, where there is a possibility dragons may roam.

Wouldn't it be exciting to see a real, live, breathing dragon today?!