Module 5 Study Guide (Exploring Creation with General Science 2nd Edition)

Question 1

What is life science?

Answer 1

A term that encompasses all scientific pursuits related to living organisms.

Question 2

What is archaeology?

Answer 2

The study of past human life as revealed by preserved relics.

Question 3

What are artifacts?

Answer 3

Objects made by people, such as tools, weapons, containers, etc.

Question 4

What is geology?

Answer 4

The study of earth’s history as revealed in the rocks that make up the earth.

Question 5

What is paleontology?

Answer 5

The study of life’s history as revealed in the preserved remains of once living organisms.

Question 6

What is Aristotle’s Dictum?

Answer 6

The benefit of the doubt is given to the document, not the critic, because language changes.

Question 7

What is known age?

Answer 7

The age of an artifact as determined by a date printed on it or a reference to the artifact in a work of history.

Question 8

What is dendrochronology?

Answer 8

The process of counting tree rings to determine the age of a tree.

Question 9

What is radiometric dating?

Answer 9

Using a radioactive process to determine the age of an item.

Question 10

What is absolute age?

Answer 10

The calculated age of an artifact from a specific dating method that is used to determine when the artifact was made.

Question 11

What is the principle of superposition?

Answer 11

When artifacts are found in rock or earth that is layered, the deeper layers hold the older artifacts.

Question 12

If you wanted to learn about the history of life other than human life would you use archaeology or paleontology?

Answer 12

Paleontology

Question 13

Name the 3 tests used to evaluate documents that claim to be historical.

Answer 13

Internal, External, Bibliographic

Question 14

Give a brief description of an internal test.

Answer 14

The internal test checks if the document contradicts itself or not.

Question 15

Give a brief description of an external test.

Answer 15

The external test checks if it is correct with archaeological facts and other historical documents.

Question 16

Give a brief description of a Bibliographic test.

Answer 16

The bibliographic test checks for an eye witness account and how many years between the original work and the time of the first copy. It checks how many copies were made and by how many different people.

Question 17

In what test is Aristotle’s Dictum used? Why must we use it?

Answer 17

The internal test. Aristotle’s Dictum gives the benefit of the doubt to the document, not the critic. Language changes over time, so it could be hard to tell if the document contradicts itself.

Question 18

There are 2 reasons to believe that the copy of an ancient document might not be the same as the original. One is that the person making the copy might have made some unintentional mistakes. What is the other reason?

Answer 18

An authority might force the copier to change the wording.

Question 19

What two things help a document pass the bibliographic test?

Answer 19

Looking for how many copies there are of the original work and by how many different people. A short time frame.

Question 20

Does the Bible contain any contradictions that make it fail the internal test?

Answer 20

No.

Question 21

Does the Bible have any difficult passages that might seem like contradictions?

Answer 21

Yes.

Question 22

Why are the 2 accounts given in Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 not contradictory?

Answer 22

It is not contradictory. Paul’s friends heard but did not understand.

Question 23

Why are the two geneologies of Christ given in Luke 3 and Matthew 1 not contradictory?

Answer 23

Matthew gives Joseph’s lineage and Luke gives Mary’s lineage.

Question 24

Why can we say that the Bible passes the external test better than any other document of its time?

Answer 24

There is tons of archaeological evidence and historical documents that prove the Bible passes the external test.

Question 25

Suppose a document passes the internal and bibliographic tests but some of the conclusions of archaeologists go against what the document says. If the document has some other external support (other historical documents or some archaeological evidence), why should you not automatically say that it fails the external test?

Answer 25

Archaeological evidence could be wrong. For example, the archaeologists could be looking in the wrong place for evidence.

Question 26

Why can we say that the New Testament passes the bibliographic test better than any other document of its time?

Answer 26

There are eyewitnesses who have written historical documents of Jesus. There are also 24,000 handwritten copies of the New Testament by different people.

Question 27

Does the Old Testament pass the bibliographic test?

Answer 27

Yes

Question 28

The age of an ancient settlement is determined by using dendrochronology on some firewood that had been chopped down but never used by the inhabitants. Does the settlement have a known age or an absolute age?

Answer 28

An absolute age

Question 29

A coffin of a great king is discovered. The date of the king’s death is recorded in a document of history. Does the coffin have a known age or an absolute age?

Answer 29

a known age

Question 30

If an archaeologist gives an absolute age for an artifact, does that mean we know for certain how old the artifact is?

Answer 30

No, it is just an estimate/educated guess

Question 31

Why does an archaeologist use master tree ring patterns?

Answer 31

to determine the age of an object

Question 32

What is the underlying assumption of the Principle of Superposition?

Answer 32

Layers form one at a time on the earth, therefore the deeper you dig, the older the sediment/artifacts.

Question 33

Suppose an archaeologist uses dendrochronology to determine that a city was built in 2500 B.C. Several years later, another archaeologist is digging deeper under the city’s site and, in a lower layer of soil, he finds the remains of another city. Unfortunately, there is nothing he can use for any dating technique. He can still conclude something about the age of the city. Assuming the Principle of superposition is true in this situation, what can he conclude?

Answer 33

The city is younger than the object found/The object is older than the city.

Question 34

Besides being discussed in the most accurate historical document of its time, what other historical evidence exists to indicate that a worldwide flood actually did occur?

Answer 34

Many other cultures have a similar story or mention a man who survived a worldwide flood or a worldwide flood.