Answers in Genesis has put together an excellent online program called Answers News, and it’s hosted by a team of scientists, researchers and staff members. Generally, the thirty-minute program is led by a panel of two or three, and I like that they mix these teams up to offer a variety of perspectives and expertise. I really appreciate their take on newsworthy subjects, many dealing with evolution, and some on cultural issues.

In this program, biologist Georgia Purdom shares the stage with Tim Chaffey and Roger Patterson as they discuss the five topics below:

Headline #1: This is a photo of an atom

Amazingly, scientists produced a photograph of a strontium atom, which is viewable by the naked eye! Check it out.

Headline #2: Cellular landscape

The inside of a cell is an absolutely amazing place. It’s a compact factory actively working to build things up and tear things down. This 3-D image shows organized proteins, DNA and RNA as they’re transported through different regions of the cell. Take a peak to get a glimpse of this complex marvel.

Headline #3: Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does

This article was written by an evolutionist to address popular evolutionary myths and how they’re wrongly promoted and repeated over and over again. The author makes some fantastic points which many evolutionists fail to recognize; she explains that there’s a fundamental “misunderstanding of both the process of science and the process of evolution,” and she admits that “the consequences of mistaking a possibility for the truth can be far-reaching.” She goes on to say that “Evolution is often treated as synonymous with natural selection, and natural selection is often boiled down to a single phrase: survival of the fittest.”

The Answers News hosts thank her for her honesty because few evolutionists admit these truths. The hosts point out that even though the author believes in evolution and understands the difference between that and natural selection, she still fails to understand that natural selection, mutations and time can’t turn one kind of organism into a different kind of organism. Natural selection and mutations only lead to adaptation and speciation, and the rest of the article serves as an example.

Another major point comes when the author wrote, “Evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life.” Roger Patterson brings attention to how the author is using a narrow definition of evolution by distinguishing biological evolution from life originating on its own. But, he says, if you hold a naturalistic worldview, then you must have an explanation for how life got organized in the first place before you can describe how evolution happened.

According to Georgia Purdom, “Evolutionists don’t want to deal with the origin of life issue. They just want to deal with what happens after that. Because they just don’t really know. They don’t have any good explanations for that. But yet there’s no point to talking about biological evolution… if you can’t even explain how it started in the beginning.”

Headline #4: Tiny toucan-like bird with a single tooth flew during the dinosaur era.

This article was about how an extinct bird that resembles a toucan is an example of convergent evolution- where two unrelated organisms develop similar structures along different evolutionary paths. In this case, the bird- Falcatakely forsterae– has a bill that looks like a modern day toucan’s, even though they’re unrelated.

Roger Patterson offered an explanation at odds with evolution- simply put, God uses similar designs for different animals. Thus there’s no need to evoke evolution to explain the kind of diversity we observe now and in the fossil record.

Headline #5: Canada to protect unborn chimps in ‘Jane Goodall Act’ while ignoring unborn humans targeted for abortion

In this article, the panel is critical of Canada for protecting animals and giving them more status and worth than humans. The Jane Goodall Act serves to protect captive great apes and elephants in Canada, and goes so far as to criminalize obtaining an embryo.

The hosts discuss how humans are made in the image of God, which makes their lives worth protecting. And while it is good to protect animals from abuse and extinction, our governments should work toward protecting and valuing human life before animal life.

Chaffey refers to a G.K. Chesterton quote: “Wherever there is animal worship there is human sacrifice.” Sadly, this is very true.

The article, from Life Site, makes a strong case: “There is nothing wrong with loving animals. There is something profoundly wrong with loving them more than our own children.”

Headline #6: The last children of Down Syndrome

This last article is about how children with Downs Syndrome are aborted at a rate of more than 95 percent in Denmark. Parents are having genetic testing done to diagnose their children before they’re borne, and if a defect is identified, the child is considered undesirable and aborted.

Purdom explains that genetic screening can helpful when it identifies problems that can be fixed, or gives us time to prepare for those disabilities. But these children are still created in the image of God.

A major takeaway was presented by Patterson when he calls for the church to take an active role, and for us to be as Christ to the world by supporting- in various ways- parents who do give birth to children with genetic diseases. We can be empathetic and appreciate the difficulty they’re going through and help provide the resources they need. Then we can share the real hope of the gospel.

I find these programs by Answers News to be a great resource. The hosts have a wealth of knowledge, and they have a heart for ministering to God’s people and the world. I love the teamwork they employ. They genuinely have fun, and their camaraderie shows how much they enjoy working together.