Creation Science Rebuttals
Institute for Creation Research
RATE Research Comes Up Empty
by
Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
Published 7 November 2005
Creation science ministry Answers in Genesis made a big deal out of the results of the RATE group (Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth).1 Astronomer Dr. Jason Lisle reported on the final results of this multi-year project aimed at disproving radiometric dating. Unfortunately for Dr. Lisle, the claims he makes in this article have already been disproven! Let's look briefly at each claim.
1. Decay Rates are not constant. This old claim has been thoroughly disproven. For more on this, see these articles:
Short rebuttal, Talk Origins website
Were Adam and Eve Toast?, Gondwanaresearch.com website
Short rebuttal, Talk Origins website
2. Helium diffusion. The claim is that there should be very little helium in zircon crystals after billions of years. The presence of helium in vast quantities proves that the crystals cannot be billions of years old. This claim surfaced years ago, and a thorough rebuttal was posted to the Talk.origins website this year.
3. 14C in coal and diamonds. This claim is not unique to the RATE group. Kathleen Hunt provided a rebuttal to the presence of 14C in coal deposits way back in May 2002. The diamond claim is new to me, however, but is probably easily explained via background radiation. This will have to wait until a review of their research is conducted (more on peer-review later).
4. Radiohalos. An old claim that has long been rebutted. For more on this topic, see the article Evolution's Tiny Violences: The Po-Halo Mystery (published 1992!). See also Radiohalos.
It is interesting to note that the results of this multi-year research project, which supposedly disproves the reliability of radiometric dating, is being released in a 600+ page book available to the general public (those least qualified to critique it). Normally, scientific research of this magnitude, especially considering that it supposedly disproves radiometric dating, would be released through peer-reviewed journals. The research is not even being considered for release to peer review. If it really is scientifically sound, the young earth researchers should release it in the normal manner, and their results would truly rock the scientific world. Why do you suppose they are not attempting to release it via peer review?
Obviously, the target audience is not other scientists, but young earth believers. The young earth creation science community has been trained to accept the words of young earth creation scientists, without question. To question a young earth scientist's work is equivalent to mutiny...it just isn't done (to see what happens when it is done, check out Glenn Morton's testimony).
Given the lack of an attempt at peer-review, it is obvious that the many years of RATE research has not turned up anything that would disprove radiometric dating. What do you know...It's an old world after all!
1 answersingenesis.org/docs2005/1107rate.asp
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Old Earth Creation Science Articles
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