High Tech Handicap
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Hugh Ross of the Reasons to Believe organization has witten a new book entitled Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job (Baker Books, 2011). In one chapter he speaks of some of the modern handicaps to understanding and appreciating basic science which could give glory to the Creator and even strengthen…
Read MoreWater’s Anomalies
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 One of my temptations as a science classroom teacher was to devote unequal time to curricular topics for which I had a special fondness. The district curriculum, of course, outlined the topics to be covered. Time requirements for sub-topics were not rigorously spelled out. Sometimes I found myself covering certain topics…
Read MoreJust Plain Water
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 When the restaurant waitress inquires if we would care to have something to drink, I sometimes reply, “I’ll just have plain water.” My reply belies the complex and uniquely wonderful properties of water. Its colorless, odorless, and tasteless qualities have earned it the moniker “just plain water.” But our earth’s most…
Read MoreDissolving Power
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Charles Dickens is credited with initially offering the proverb “Tis love that makes the world go round.” In a poetic sense this may be true. A less romantic proverb may provide more truth in a scientific sense: Water makes the world go round. Our water world is driven by the water…
Read MoreWater of Life
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 By one count there are over 700 references to water in the Bible. The first mention, Genesis 1:2, describes the water-covered early earth, swathed in darkness, with “the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters.” What a picture of God’s tender care for this unique planet! In future…
Read MoreEveryday Water Cycle
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Those who understand weather events to the point of being able to explain them are far more likely to enjoy those events. This statement also applies to a wide spectrum of human knowledge and daily experience. Consider, for example, how we enjoy watching athletic contests. A mother who cheers her son’s…
Read MoreEarth — A Water World
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Some of the most familiar and plentiful things in our experience are also some of the most underappreciated. Water falls into that category. The surface of Planet Earth is 70% water covered to an average depth of about two miles. Earth’s oceans contain 97% of Earth’s water. Life on earth depends…
Read MoreAbsent from the Body
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Driving along Interstate 80 on the return trip to the Midwest from my brother’s funeral services, a Christian Aid Ministries roadside billboard stood out starkly: “After you die, you will meet God.” There was no politically correct gloss in this statement, even though its explicit message grieves many and triggers scornful…
Read MoreAssurance Amidst Breakdown
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 On November 17, 2011 I posted “System Breakdown,” detailing the idea that the breakdown of even one of the many hundreds of systems of our body could result in serious health problems. All our systems operate successfully most of the time. I implied that the breakdown of two or three systems…
Read MoreJob’s Water Cycle Tutorial
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Historical Old Testament figure Job received fascinating lessons in meteorology from the youthful Elihu in Job 36-37. The lessons followed Elihu’s more serious commentary in earlier chapters on the deficiencies he perceived in Job’s lifestyle. Elihu was less harsh in his judgment than Job’s other three friends. The lessons in meteorology…
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