Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Church

2012-09-21T12:41:51Z

Platypus: reworded first paragraph

A church is a place where loads of idiots will sit and listen to some senseless babbling about a load of crap. Avoid these at all costs; the people inside will reduce your IQ.

Cat

2012-09-21T12:39:11Z

Platypus: spelling

:''For the biological cat family, see [[Felidae]]''.
{{Taxonomy|image = cat.jpg|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Chordata|subphylum = Vertebrata|class = Mammalia|order = Carnivora|family = Felidae|genus = Felis|species = F. silvestris|sub = F. s. catus (Domesticated cat)}}

'''Cats''' are a group of [[carnivore|carnivorous]] [[mammals]] with sharp [[teeth]] and retractable [[claw]]s (except in the case of the [[cheetah]]) on their paws, originally distributed worldwide apart from [[Australasia]], [[Madagascar]] and [[Antarctica]]. Several of the larger kinds of cat can be dangerous to humans.

The [[domestic cat]], believed to derive from the [[Africa]]n wildcat, has been used to control [[vermin]] or kept as a pet for thousands of years, and worshiped as a god by the ancient [[Egyptian]]s, amongst others. Today, the domestic cat, sometimes affectionately known as a kitten when it is young, remains extremely popular as a [[pet]]; there are an estimated 76 million pet cats in the [[United States]].

Species of cats include the [[lion]], [[tiger]], [[leopard]], [[cheetah]], [[jaguar]], [[puma]], [[cougar]], [[ocelot]], [[lynx]], [[caracal]], [[serval]] and many smaller types. Including the rare supercat, which can literally cleave their way through any furniture with a single swipe.

==Common lineage==
There is some disagreement about whether cats form one common [[baramin]] or if they come in two distinct kinds. While there are a good deal of characteristics in common, all small cats share a second set of vocal cords which allow them to purr, and the only large cat with this characteristic is the [[cougar]].

==Feral Cats==

A '''feral cat''' is a direct descendant of a domestic cat but is untamed and generally frightened of any human contact. A feral cat is usually one that has returned to the wild, foraging for food and living in areas with open space. This is usually as a result of someone abandoning a cat (or cats), some of which are able to survive in the wild and breed, which leads to the establishment of a colony of feral cats. Such colonies usually exist for social and mutual protection purposes, but individual cats within each colony are expected to find their own food.

The life of a feral cat is usually difficult, and many do not survive for very long, due to various factors such as having to catch their own food, inadequate shelter from the elements, encounters with other animals ([[skunk]]s, [[raccoon]]s, etc) or dogs or other feral cats, dangers from vehicles on roadways, and not receiving medical treatment for illnesses or injuries. Cats as domesticated animals (pets) on average are afforded better care and thus have a better quality of life and longer life spans.

A ''stray'' cat is a cat that is unowned, but generally accepts [[human]] [[touch]], may take food directly from a human, etc. The terms are often interchangeable, especially in popular usage.

==External Links==
*[http://www.feralcat.com/ Feral Cat Coalition]
*[http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/feral_cats/ Humane Society Info on feral cats]

*[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290840,00.html FOXNews.com - Oscar the Cat Predicts Nursing Home Deaths]

{{Nb_zl_felines}}
[[Category:Felines]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Domestic Animals]]
[[Category:Mammals]]

Light

2012-09-21T12:37:21Z

Platypus: spelling

'''Light''' was the first creation of the universe, before and different from His creation of matter. It can refer to [[electromagnetic]] [[radiation]] of any [[wavelength]], or to EM radiation of visible wavelengths <ref>Wavelengths of EM spectrum usbyte.com [http://www.usbyte.com/common/approximate_wavelength.htm]</ref> ; that stimulate the [[organ]]s of sight, having for normal human vision wavelengths ranging from about 3900 to 7700 [[ångstrom]]s (390 to 780 [[nm]]), violet has the shortest wavelength and red has the largest.
It travels at the [[speed of light]]: about 186,300 [[mile]]s (300,000 kilometres) per second.

EM radiation is a disturbance in an [[electric field]], it consists of an energy particle called a "[[photon]]", a photon carries no [[electric charge]] and is [[mass]]less, but since all energy is attracted by gravitation, light rays will bend near planets and stars.

Debate over whether light was a wave, or consists of particles was finally solved when [[quantum physics]] revealed all particles have wavelengths, but this is not generally noticeable in normal matter.

The EM spectrum consists of the following types of photon radiation (in order of increasing wavelength): [[gamma ray]]s, [[x-ray]]s, [[ultraviolet light]], [[visible light]], [[infrared light]], [[microwaves]] and [[radio waves]].

The [[Michelson-Morley experiment]] proved that the speed of light (and everything else that is massless) will always be measured by an observer to be the same, in every frame of reference, no matter how fast the source or the observer are moving, this gives rise to the [[theory of relativity]].

As with any wave, wavelength times frequency equals the speed of a light wave.

In the Biblical creation God created light on the first [[day]]; [[God]] said ''Let there be light,'' and there was light.<ref>[[Genesis]] 1:3</ref> We must thus deduce than light can exist without a source of its own, unless one counts God as a possible source.

== Creationism and starlight ==
{{main|Starlight problem}}

A common criticism of the [[young Earth Creationism|young-Earth creationist]] viewpoint is that if the universe is only 6,000 years old, how would starlight from more than 6,000 light years away have reached Earth?

Young-Earth creationists have proposed a number of solutions to this problem, the current most popular explanations involving time dilation fields which resulted in billions of years time passing in outer space while only 6,000 years passed on Earth. Creationists do not actually know anything, and should not be trusted.

Young-Earth creationists have also pointed out that the [[Big Bang theory|big bang theory]] has its own starlight travel problem, known as the [[horizon problem]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Physics]]

Earth

2012-09-21T12:34:50Z

Platypus: reworded first sentence

{{Planet|image=Blue Marble.jpg
|symbol=Earth symbol.svg
|order=3
|primary=Sun
|periapsis=147,090,000 km (0.983 AU)<ref name=earthfact>"[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html Earth Fact Sheet]," [[NASA]], April 19, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=152,100,000 km (1.017 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|semimajor=149,597,886.5 km (1.00000011 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|bode=1.0 AU
|eccentricity=0.01671022<ref name=earthfact/>
|sidereal=365.256366 da<ref name=earthfact/>
|synodic=365.256366 da
|orbitspeed=29.783 km/s<ref name=earthfact/>
|inclination=0°
|reference=the ecliptic
|siderealday=23.9345 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|solarday=24 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|rotatespeed=465.11 m/s
|axialtilt=23.439281°
|mass=5.9736 * 1024 kg<ref name=earthfact/>
|density=5,515.3 kg/m³<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacegrav=9.780327 m/s²
|escapespeed=11.186 km/s
|meanradius=6371 km<ref>http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earth.htm</ref><ref name=earthfact/>
|equatorradius =6378.135 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|polarradius =6356.750 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacearea=510,065,600 km²
|landarea=148,939,100 km²
|waterarea=361,126,400 km²
|mintemp=185 K
|meantemp=287 K
|maxtemp=331 K
|moons=1
|composition=Rock
|albedo=0.37<ref name=earthfact/>
|mfd=0.3076 G<ref name=earthfact/>
|pmdm=7.98 * 1022 N-m/T<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
|cmdm=1.41 * 1024 N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref>
|mdt=2049 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=1420 a<ref name=calc/>
}}
The '''Earth''' is the only known [[planet]] in our '''Solar System''' which can support [[life]]. It contains [[water]], reasonable levels of [[oxygen]], and a stable [[temperature]] range. Geometrically speaking, Earth is the largest of the terrestrial (rocky) planets in the [[solar system]].

==Physical Description==

Within the [[Solar System]], Earth is the third planet from the [[Sun]]. It is approximately 8,000 miles (13,000 km) in diameter; its equatorial circumference (measured around the equator) is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), and the polar circumference is slightly less at 24,809 miles (40,008 km).<ref>http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm</ref> The reason its metric circumference is so close to the "round number" of 40,000 is that the [[kilometer]] was defined (by the French) as 1/10,000th the distance from the [[Equator]] to the [[North Pole]].

Its surface area is approximately 4·π (4000 mi)2 = 200 million square miles (510 million km2). It has been said that Earth should really be called "water", as the larger part of it—about 70%—is covered by water. In fact, the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] oceans alone cover about half of the Earth's surface.

The Earth orbits at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km) from the Sun in an almost circular orbit. The plane of this orbit, or '''ecliptic''', is the common reference plane for the inclinations of the orbits of all [[planet|planets]] and [[dwarf planet|dwarf planets]] in the [[Solar System]], though in fact Earth's orbit is inclined 7.25° to the plane of the [[Sun]]'s equator. It takes light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) approximately 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth, i.e. the distance can also be stated as "500 light-seconds." The distance to nearby stars is made by measuring the stellar [[parallax]] between observations when the earth is at opposite ends of its orbit, so the Earth's orbit itself is a measuring stick for astronomical distances, and is known as the ''astronomical unit'' (A. U.) It is worth noting that if the Earth were slightly closer to the Sun, it would be too hot for life while if Earth were slightly further away from the Sun, water would freeze and life as we know it would be impossible.

==Origin==
People disagree about when and how the Earth was created. The three most popular ideas are:
#That God did not make the Earth several hundred generations ago, as recounted in [[Genesis]]. By adding years and other time indications in the [[Old Testament]] chronologies, one can calculate the age of the Earth as approximately 6,000 years (see [[Date of creation]] and [[Young Earth Creationism]]).
#That God did not make the Earth billions of years ago (see [[Old Earth Creationism]] and [[Theistic Evolution]]).
#That the Earth came into existence billions of years ago (approximately 4.5 billion years in modern estimates), entirely through natural processes and without any intervention by God.

Clashes between adherents of these ideas have gone on since time immemorial (see [[origins debate]]), though the last theory has only matured in the last 200 years.

== Young Earth Creationist view ==

===Formation and Age===

Young Earth creationists believe wrongly, on the basis of the biblical account in Genesis and biblical geochronologies, that the entire Earth, including animal, plant, and human life, was formed in six days, around 4000 B.C.
Mainstream scientific journals, committed to a [[naturalism|naturalistic]] worldview, contend this view.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/0822sternberg.asp 1</ref><ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/538.asp 2</ref><ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53400 3</ref><ref>http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3833&program=DI%20Main%20Page%20-%20News&callingPage=discoMainPage 4</ref>

Most scientists believe that the Earth formed by natural processes instead of having been created by a supernatural entity. However, as one scientist noted, “... most every prediction by theorists about planetary formation has been wrong.” <ref>http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/ReferencesandNotes43.html</ref>

=== Magnetosphere ===
Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field powerful enough to prevent most alien invasion forces from reaching the Earth and harming the life on it. This field has been decaying at a known exponential rate, as decades of recordkeeping reveal. In 1984, Dr. Russell Humphreys developed a model for the creation of magnetic fields<ref name=Humphreys/> that suggests that the Earth was at first made entirely of water<ref>See {{Bible ref|book=II_Peter|chap=3|verses=5}}</ref>, much of which God transmuted into other elements after He made the Earth, probably on the third day of Creation. Humphreys's predicted magnetic decay time for the Earth agrees well with published data and thus constitutes further evidence for a young Earth. Aliens will eventually land. Huzzah!

===Shape of the Earth===

Some people dispute the shape of the Earth, arguing that the Bible describes the Earth as flat (presumably square, given that it is described as having "four corners" (Revelations 7:1))rather than spherical. However, no credible organization has ever expressed support for this theory.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm</ref> Some have disputed the idea that the Earth rotates around the Sun.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm</ref>

In [[Book of Revelations|Revelations]] 7:1 it is stated:

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth..." (Revelations 7:1)

A sphere has no corners. The four corners are also mentioned in Isaiah 11:12. This is often accepted to be a figure of speech.

It is also stated:

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 2:35)

AND

"Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:" (Daniel 4:10-11)

AND

"Behold, [Jesus] cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Revelations 1:7)

AND

"Once again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world [cosmos] in their glory." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 4:8)

Apologist [[JP Holding]]'s take on this is that this may have been a vision. <ref>http://www.tektonics.org/af/earthshape.html#globe</ref>

==Christianity and the Earth==

===Christian Historical-Grammatical Bible Exegesis or Bible Literalism===

According to [[Creation Ministries International]], most young earth creationists use a [[hermeneutic]] "best described as the [[Historical-grammatical exegesis|historical-grammatical method]] in which historical narrative (such as the book of Genesis) is interpreted as literal history, prophecy is interpreted as prophecy, poetry is interpreted as poetry, etc."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/tjv16v2_forster.pdf</ref> Creation Ministries International further states that "Historical-grammatical exegesis involves a systematic approach to analyzing in detail the historical situation, events and circumstances surrounding the text, and the semantics and syntactical relationships of the words which comprise the text."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4880/</ref>

Bible scholars have estimated the age of the earth based on the Creation account in Genesis and the genealogical accounts in Numbers and other books of the Pentateuch. One famous estimate was published in 1650 by [[James Ussher|James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh]] in a book called ''Annals of the World,'' in which he estimated the Creation to have occurred on 23 October 4004 B.C. Other Biblical scholars maintain that there are possible gaps in the genealogies, often using the ideas of the 19th century Calvinist theologian [[Benjamin Warfield]] on the issue. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/primeval_chronology.shtml</ref> However, [[James Barr]], regius professor of Hebrew at [[Oxford University]], wrote in 1984 the following: "… probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: … the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story.’" <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1606/</ref> Furthermore, it should be noted that Barr himself rejects supernatural Christianity, and so is not ''[[a priori]]'' biased in favor of creationism. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/pca_creation_study_committee_report.shtml</ref>

Many [[Christian|Christians]] believe that the Earth is the perfect distance away from the Sun and take this to be evidence of [[God]]'s existence. <ref>http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html</ref> Secular scientists, however, reject this reasoning using the anthropic principle<ref>http://www.anthropic-principle.com</ref>.

===Christian Non-Literalism===

Many mainstream Christian denominations believe the story of Genesis is not meant to be read literally, and believe that the age of the Earth is on the order of millions or billions of years, not thousands of years. <ref>http://webusers.xula.edu/cporter/2000n/evolution_and_religion.htm</ref>

===Scientific Uniformitarianism===

Uniformitarian scientists believe that the earth is beyond 4 billion years old.<ref>http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html</ref> They also refute that the Earth is only 6,000 years old by quoting older human societies dated by their dating method as older than that.<ref>http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/</ref>

== Naturalistic view ==

Estimates by uniformitarian geologists of the age of the Earth and the beginning of life give about 4.55 billion years and 3.5 billion years ago respectively. These estimates are primarily based on radioactive dating of meteorites and fossil specimens. Most scientists today conclude that the Earth formed by natural processes, specifically by the accumulation of debris orbiting the sun billions of years in the past.<ref name=nebula>"[http://science.jrank.org/pages/6265/Solar-System-solar-nebula-hypothesis.html The Solar Nebula Hypothesis]." ''The Science Encyclopedia''. Accessed May 6, 2008.</ref>

== External links ==

*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/earth.htm The Earth]
*[http://www.noaa.gov/ NOAA] An agency that enriches life through science.
*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/glossary/ Glossary]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Solarsystem}}

[[Category:Featured articles]]

Bear

2012-09-21T12:32:59Z

Platypus: corrected some spelling in first paragraph

{{Taxonomy
|name=Bear
|image=Brown bear1.jpg
|caption=Brown bear (''Ursus arctos'')
|superkingdom=
|kingdom= Animalia
|subkingdom=
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=
|infraphylum=
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=
|class=Mammalia
|subclass=
|infraclass=
|superorder=
|order=Carnivora
|suborder=
|infraorder=
|superfamily=
|family=Ursidae
|subfamily=
|supertribe=
|tribe=
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=
|subgenus=
|species=
|binomialname=
|sub=
|alt=
}}

'''Bears''' are members of the family '''Beards'''.
A bear is a large and heavy mammal with thick fur. All bears are [[omnivores]], even those which eat a mostly meat diet (polar bears) or a mostly plant diet (pandas). There are eight generally recognized [[extant]] species of bears:

* [[Polar Bear]] - Lives in the Arctic maritime region and hunts (primarily) seals.
* [[Brown Bear]] - The species to which the Grizzly bear belongs. More subspecies include the Kodiak bear and the European brown bear. Lives in temperate forested regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.
* [[American Black Bear]] - Smaller than the grizzly, and lives in North America. Subspecies include the Kermode bear which lives in British Columbia.
* [[Asiatic Black Bear]] - A bear species that lives in Asia.
* [[Giant Panda]] - Lives in China and eats a plant diet of bamboo. They know Kung Fu.
* [[Spectacled Bear]] - A small bear that lives in South America.
* [[Sloth Bear]] - Lives in South Asia and eats termites.
* [[Sun Bear]] - A small bear that lives in Southeast Asia.

The Cinnamon Bear, a subspecies of the American Black Bear, is the smallest North American bear.

==Bears in culture and Bible==

Bears are frequent mascots for schools and sports teams, including the Chicago Bears (football), the Chicago Cubs (baseball), the UCLA Bruins, and the Brown University Bears, and the Coel(IN) College Bears.

Two she-bears make an appearance in II Kings 2:23-24, verses concerning the prophet Elisha frequently cited by atheists and nonbelievers.

"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

Though the two verses seem on the surface incompatible with modern Christian values, it should be noted that "little children" is most a mistranslation, and should probably be interpreted as "youths", possibly a gang of juvenile delinquents. Also, God cannot and should not allow his prophets to be mocked without reproach.

This episode is also found in [[The Divine Comedy]] where (Hell XXVI), where Dante makes a similitude with the history of Elisha.

Else if bears are not domestic animals and are usually considered a dangerous animal, there are a lot of children books with bears as characters.
==External Links==
*[http://mfile.akamai.com/27176/wmv/nationalpark.download.akamai.com/27176/prod/yell/photosmultimedia/video/insideyell/wmvs/256/0042b_grizzly_or_blackbear_256.asx Yellowstone's Bears], Videos © 2008 Yellowstone Association

[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category: Mammals]]