SCIENCE IN THE BIBLE

[JohnD]

As to hammering the Word of God for its descriptive word use, I think that is beneath you, Enoch.

[JohnD]

Just now, JohnD said:

As to hammering the Word of God for its descriptive word use, I think that is beneath you, Enoch.

Which I suppose could be ostracized for the fact that it is not literally beneath you...

[ARGOSY]

8 hours ago, Kevinb said:

Supported by the Cambrian explosion?  Well this is millions of years ago too... how's that supported by the bible?   this cambrian explosion is still 100s of thousands of years plus.  We're lucky to have any fossils ... not complete for all branches but evolution doesn't hang solely on this record of course. Investigate embryology to corroberate evolution...dolphins developing hind legs.. that gets aborted as the dolphin develops. Vestigial hind leg remnants remain in the developed adult body.. go research...search pics... even museums with the skeletal layout of dolphins whales snakes with show this. Human foetus developing a covering of hair that later in development is lost. Just 2 examples. Francis Collins who is religious and head of the genome project said Dna mapping alone is enough to prove common ancestry..ie evolution.  We've mapped the human genome now of course... humans have dna remnants for developing egg sacks.. search for chromosome 2..search for mapping neandathol dna.. most modern day humans have 1 to 3 % neandathol dna in their code. Scientists are even now attributing some modern medical conditions to this part of our make up. Modern medicine is increasingly tailored to an individual's dna.. childhood leukaemia.. and cancer is next more than it was. This isn't in dispute by those that are in the field. Speciation..  should be read also...lots of great stuff and lectures out there.

The germ theory of disease I'll assume isn't in dispute..evolution theory is just as established but I understand why most Christians here are duty bound to attack the later. 

Also on pillars... this is the flat earth nonsense again but where are they?  What are they made of? What are the pillars standing on..a flying turtle maybe? What's the corroberative evidence to support pillars. Using scripture to prove scripture for pillars is a circular reasoning fallacy of course.

Yes sure there is short term adaptation. I like the word "clades". Each organism has he ability to rapidly adapt into a variety of related species. That group is called a clade.   Clades suit both evolutionary and creationist theory. So if you refer to existing clades or quick adaptation, as a creationist I am fully in support of that. Most creationists agree that dogs are all of the same kind, even though they come in a huge variety of sizes and shapes. 

Whether millions of years ago or not, the fossil evidence is that most phyla appeared abruptly in the fossil record seemingly without precursor. Darwin was big enough to admit that was a problem for evolutionary theory, even more so now when over hundreds of years of research still the precursors are not found. Sure evolutionists say fossilisation is rare therefore they have an excuse for the lack of fossil evidence for evolutionary theory, but then don't say that the fossil record supports evolution, when in fact you excuse the lack of such support.  The fossil evidence supports creation, the sudden appearance of nearly every phyla seemingly without precursor.

[Kevinb]

I must disagree... the fossil record completely supports evolution... just been reading about whale evolution.  Also you've heard of tiktaalik? Actually discovered during the famous Dover trial when the judge ruled evolution should remain in science education. Not only that but the fossil record is in date order...ie find a rabbit in the Cambrian? 

As I said the fossil record is a small part of the story too. How about dna evidence? Speciation? Embryology? Vestigial remnants in genome as well as what physically manifests on anatomy. I'm afraid evolution theory is very well established. Darwin knew nothing of the genome of course.. the theory grows stronger all the while. We've even observed evolution in a few years if the pressures are right...300 plus examples. See the island lizard example below for one. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080421-lizard-evolution.html

The problem I now see as a newish non theist is. If you have a faith then go looking for evidence... you've assigned a huge bias before you've even got started. Ie belief forming evidence instead of the evidence should form your belief. I'm sure most don't do it in other aspects of life or workplace so why here.

On the clades stuff...interesting. This means you've been able to come part way..as far as your faith will allow. 

  I now see things so clearly.... there's no issue here... there's no scientific controversy...in fact there really is no debate at all ..it all fits and we'll learn more along the way. A fantastic human achievement.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Kevinb

[Enoch2021]

11 hours ago, JohnD said:

Gravity is the opposing pushing forces of space against mass.

Well that rules "Einstein's gr" out...

"Einstein came up with the theory of general relativity (1915), the prototype of all modern gravitational theories. Its crucial ingredient, involving a colossal intellectual jump, is the concept of gravitation, not as a force, but as a manifestation of the curvature of space-time..."

https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/l evel5/ESSAYS/Bekenstein/bekens tein.html

 

So Netwonian 'gravity' Rules the Roost.  BUT...

That then opens up another 'Can of Worms', because the 'scientific community' follows Einstein 'gravity' not Newtonian...

 

"...Einstein created his general theory of relativity—which provides our modern understanding of gravity—with the express purpose of expunging nonlocality from physics. Isaac Newton's gravity acted at a distance, as if by magic, and general relativity snapped the wand in two by showing that the curvature of spacetime, and not an invisible force, gives rise to gravitational attraction."

Musser George: How Einstein Revealed the Universe's Strange "Nonlocality"; Scientific American, November 2015.

http://www.scientificamerican. com/article/how-einstein-revea led-the-universe-s-strange-non locality/

 

You have, what they call in the industry, A ....  "Paradox".

 

regards

 

[ARGOSY]

3 hours ago, Kevinb said:

I must disagree... the fossil record completely supports evolution... just been reading about whale evolution.  Also you've heard of tiktaalik? Actually discovered during the famous Dover trial when the judge ruled evolution should remain in science education. Not only that but the fossil record is in date order...ie find a rabbit in the Cambrian? 

As I said the fossil record is a small part of the story too. How about dna evidence? Speciation? Embryology? Vestigial remnants in genome as well as what physically manifests on anatomy. I'm afraid evolution theory is very well established. Darwin knew nothing of the genome of course.. the theory grows stronger all the while. We've even observed evolution in a few years if the pressures are right...300 plus examples. See the island lizard example below for one. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080421-lizard-evolution.html

The problem I now see as a newish non theist is. If you have a faith then go looking for evidence... you've assigned a huge bias before you've even got started. Ie belief forming evidence instead of the evidence should form your belief. I'm sure most don't do it in other aspects of life or workplace so why here.

On the clades stuff...interesting. This means you've been able to come part way..as far as your faith will allow. 

  I now see things so clearly.... there's no issue here... there's no scientific controversy...in fact there really is no debate at all ..it all fits and we'll learn more along the way. A fantastic human achievement.

DNA evidence?  Do you know that evolutionists believe we all modern lifeforms evolved from the last universal common ancestor which they refer to as LUCA? Now  LUCA is supposed to be a lot simpler life-form than the rest, having less unique genes than other organisms. So for the theory of evolution to be true, one has to have evidence for a unique gene-adding process that improves an organism.  This has not been observed yet, so DNA evidence supports creationism, not evolution.

Regarding Tiktaalik, yes God made many species as hybrid types, able to live between two environments. Birds that can swim and run well. Fish that can walk and fly well. Mammals that can swim and fly well. Reptiles that can fly and swim well.  This does not favor evolutionary theory just because hybrids exist.   Neither the fossil record nor DNA favors evolution.

 

Regarding rabbits, you are looking in the wrong place. You have to look at an environment suitable to dry land mammals in the Cambrian , the only place evolutionists look for terrestrial fossils in the Cambrian is in wetlands susceptible to regular ocean flooding and in oceans. You wont find rabbits there. Rabbits would be found on dry high ground where the oxygen is thinner because oxygen levels were often  toxic for mammals in the lowlands before the Great Extinction at the PT boundary (35% is toxic): 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geological_history_of_oxygen "Since the start of the Cambrian period, atmospheric oxygen concentrations have fluctuated between 15% and 35% of atmospheric volume.^[10] The maximum of 35% was reached towards the end of the Carboniferous period (about 300 million years ago), a peak which may have contributed to the large size of insects and amphibians at that time"

Where did God create animals? In the garden of Eden, the source of four great rivers which flowed downhill from there. ie it was in the safer highlands that mammals radiated out from when things got dryer and oxygen levels dropped to safer levels. You will find mainly amphibians and mudfish like the Tiktaalik if you look in muddy swampy areas before the flood. (obviously) 

Edited July 14, 2017 by ARGOSY

[Enoch2021]

14 hours ago, Kevinb said:

Well this is millions of years ago too... how's that supported by the bible?  

Scientifically Validate 'millions of years'...

a. What Phenomenon was Observed...?

b. Post the Formal Scientific Hypothesis then EXPERIMENT that validates your claim...?

c. Highlight the "Independent Variable" that was used in the TEST...?

d. Post the Null Hypothesis that was Rejected/Falsified...?

 

Quote

evolution

a. 'evolution' What's that...?? Define evolution...?

b. Post the Scientific Theory of evolution...?

c. Post just TWO Formal Scientific Hypotheses then Experiments that concretized it into a REAL Scientific Theory...?

d. Post the Null Hypotheses that were Rejected/Falsified for each...?

e. Highlight The Independent Variables used in Each TEST...?

 

Quote

search for chromosome 2

I Personally PUMMEL Professor PZ Myers and: Chromosome 2, Common Descent, Tree of Life et al, here (You Tube ):

Professor PZ Myers and "Semi"-- Atheist Round Table DEBUNKED (Science vs Scientism series Ep. 14)

 

Quote

Speciation..  should be read also...lots of great stuff and lectures out there.

"Species" smh. Which Definition?? There's about 50 in the last 100 years and hundreds since Aristotle first coined the Term ca. 330 BC.

And professor, "Species" (The Taxonomic Classification System, invented by a Creationist, btw) is a 'Man-Made' categorization system, i.e., it's an ARBITRARY CONVENTION; MEANING -- any extrapolations OUTSIDE OF IT ... are a Stone Cold Begging The Question Fallacy from the Black Lagoon!!

 

Quote

The germ theory of disease I'll assume isn't in dispute..evolution theory is just as established

1.  Equivocation Fallacy with the term "Theory".

Just because one "Theory" is viable doesn't then Ipso Facto validate another.

2.  "evolution", what's that?? (SEE a. b. c. d. and e. above)

 

Quote

this is the flat earth nonsense again but where are they?

As Opposed to your "Spinning-Ball" Nonsense? You must not have been keeping up on your OWN thread where the "Spinning-Ball" Religion received about 30 Death Knells.  Phlogiston and Alice in Wonderland have more veracity.

 

regards

[Kevinb]

The Cambrian explosion was the seemingly sudden appearance of a variety of complex animals about 540 million years ago (Mya), but it was not the origin of complex life. Evidence of multicellular life from about 590 and 560 Mya appears in the Doushantuo Formation in China (Chen et al. 2000, 2004), and diverse fossil forms occurred before 555 Mya (Martin et al. 2000). (The Cambrian began 543 Mya., and the Cambrian explosion is considered by many to start with the first trilobites, about 530 Mya.) Testate amoebae are known from about 750 Mya (Porter and Knoll 2000). There are tracelike fossils more than 1,200 Mya in the Stirling Range Formation of Australia (Rasmussen et al. 2002). Eukaryotes (which have relatively complex cells) may have arisen 2,700 Mya, according to fossil chemical evidence (Brocks et al. 1999). Stromatolites show evidence of microbial life 3,430 Mya (Allwood et al. 2006). Fossil microorganisms may have been found from 3,465 Mya (Schopf 1993). There is isotopic evidence of sulfur-reducing bacteria from 3,470 Mya (Shen et al. 2001) and possible evidence of microbial etching of volcanic glass from 3,480 Mya (Furnes et al. 2004). 
 

There are transitional fossils within the Cambrian explosion fossils. For example, there are lobopods (basically worms with legs) which are intermediate between arthropods and worms (Conway Morris 1998). 
 

Only some phyla appear in the Cambrian explosion. In particular, all plants postdate the Cambrian, and flowering plants, by far the dominant form of land life today, only appeared about 140 Mya (Brown 1999). 

Even among animals, not all types appear in the Cambrian. Cnidarians, sponges, and probably other phyla appeared before the Cambrian. Molecular evidence shows that at least six animal phyla are Precambrian (Wang et al. 1999). Bryozoans appear first in the Ordovician. Many other soft-bodied phyla do not appear in the fossil record until much later. Although many new animal forms appeared during the Cambrian, not all did. According to one reference (Collins 1994), eleven of thirty-two metazoan phyla appear during the Cambrian, one appears Precambrian, eight after the Cambrian, and twelve have no fossil record. 

And that just considers phyla. Almost none of the animal groups that people think of as groups, such as mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, and spiders, appeared in the Cambrian. The fish that appeared in the Cambrian was unlike any fish alive today. 
 

The length of the Cambrian explosion is ambiguous and uncertain, but five to ten million years is a reasonable estimate; some say the explosion spans forty million years or more, starting about 553 million years ago. Even the shortest estimate of five million years is hardly sudden. 
 

There are some plausible explanations for why diversification may have been relatively sudden: 
 

The evolution of active predators in the late Precambrian likely spurred the coevolution of hard parts on other animals. These hard parts fossilize much more easily than the previous soft-bodied animals, leading to many more fossils but not necessarily more animals. 
 

Early complex animals may have been nearly microscopic. Apparent fossil animals smaller than 0.2 mm have been found in the Doushantuo Formation, China, forty to fifty-five million years before the Cambrian (Chen et al. 2004). Much of the early evolution could have simply been too small to see. 
 

The earth was just coming out of a global ice age at the beginning of the Cambrian (Hoffman 1998; Kerr 2000). A "snowball earth" before the Cambrian explosion may have hindered development of complexity or kept populations down so that fossils would be too rare to expect to find today. The more favorable environment after the snowball earth would have opened new niches for life to evolve into. 
 

Hox genes, which control much of an animal's basic body plan, were likely first evolving around that time. Development of these genes might have just then allowed the raw materials for body plans to diversify (Carroll 1997). 
 

Atmospheric oxygen may have increased at the start of the Cambrian (Canfield and Teske 1996; Logan et al. 1995; Thomas 1997). 
 

Planktonic grazers began producing fecal pellets that fell to the bottom of the ocean rapidly, profoundly changing the ocean state, especially its oxygenation (Logan et al. 1995). 
 

Unusual amounts of phosphate were deposited in shallow seas at the start of the Cambrian (Cook and Shergold 1986; Lipps and Signor 1992).

 

Cambrian life was still unlike almost everything alive today. Although several phyla appear to have diverged in the Early Cambrian or before, most of the phylum-level body plans appear in the fossil record much later (Budd and Jensen 2000). Using number of cell types as a measure of complexity, we see that complexity has been increasing more or less constantly since the beginning of the Cambrian (Valentine et al. 1994). 
 

Major radiations of life forms have occurred at other times, too. One of the most extensive diversifications of life occurred in the Ordovician, for example (Miller 1997).

References:

Allwood, A. C. et al. 2006. Stromatolite reef from the Early Archaean era of Australia. Nature 441: 714-718. See also Awramik, Stanley M. 2006. Respect for stromatolites. Nature 441: 700-701.

Brocks, J. J., G. A. Logan, R. Buick and R. E. Summons, 1999. Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes. Science 285: 1033-1036. See also Knoll, A. H., 1999. A new molecular window on early life.Science 285: 1025-1026.http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/285/5430/1025

Brown, Kathryn S., 1999. Deep Green rewrites evolutionary history of plants. Science 285: 990-991.

Budd, Graham E. and Sören Jensen. 2000. A critical reappraisal of the fossil record of the bilaterian phyla.Biological Reviews 75: 253-295.

Canfield, D. E. and A. Teske, 1996. Late Proterozoic rise in atmospheric oxygen concentration inferred from phylogenetic and sulphur-isotope studies. Nature 382: 127-132. See also: Knoll, A. H., 1996. Breathing room for early animals. Nature 382: 111-112.

Carroll, Robert L., 1997. Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution. Cambridge University Press.

Chen, J.-Y. et al., 2000. Precambrian animal diversity: Putative phosphatized embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 97(9): 4457-4462.http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/9/4457

Chen, J.-Y. et al., 2004. Small bilaterian fossils from 40 to 55 million years before the Cambrian. Science 305: 218-222,http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1099213. See also Stokstad, E., 2004. Controversial fossil could shed light on early animals' blueprint. Science 304: 1425.

Collins, Allen G., 1994. Metazoa: Fossil record.http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/metazoafr.html

Conway Morris, Simon, 1998. The Crucible of Creation, Oxford.

Cook, P. J. and J. H. Shergold (eds.), 1986. Phosphate Deposits of the World, Volume 1. Proterozoic and Cambrian Phosphorites. Cambridge University Press.

Furnes, H., N. R. Banerjee, K. Muehlenbachs, H. Staudigel and M. de Wit, 2004. Early life recorded in Archean pillow lavas. Science 304: 578-581.

Hoffman, Paul F. et al., 1998. A Neoproterozoic snowball earth. Science 281: 1342-1346. See also: Kerr, Richard A., 1998. Did an ancient deep freeze nearly doom life? Science 281: 1259,1261.

Kerr, Richard A., 2000. An appealing snowball earth that's still hard to swallow. Science 287: 1734-1736.

Logan, G. A., J. M. Hayes, G. B. Hieshima and R. E. Summons, 1995. Terminal Proterozoic reorganization of biogeochemical cycles. Nature 376: 53-56. See also Walter, M., 1995. Faecal pellets in world events. Nature376: 16-17.

Lipps, J. H. and P. W. Signor (eds.), 1992. Origin and Early Evolution of the Metazoa. New York: Plenum Press.

Martin, M. W. et al., 2000. Age of Neoproterozoic bilatarian body and trace fossils, White Sea, Russia: Implications for metazoan evolution. Science 288: 841-845. See also Kerr, Richard A., 2000. Stretching the reign of early animals. Science 288: 789.

Miller, Arnold I., 1997. Dissecting global diversity patterns: Examples from the Ordovician radiation.Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28: 85-104.

Porter, Susannah M. and Andrew H. Knoll, 2000. Testate amoebae in the Neoproterozoic Era: evidence from vase-shaped microfossils in the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon. Paleobiology 26(3): 360-385.

Rasmussen, B., S. Bengtson, I. R. Fletcher and N. J. McNaughton, 2002. Discoidal impressions and trace-like fossils more than 1200 million years old. Science296: 1112-1115.

Schopf, J. W., 1993. Microfossils of the Early Archean Apex Chert: New evidence of the antiquity of life.Science 260: 640-646.

Shen, Y., R. Buick and D. E. Canfield, 2001. Isotopic evidence for microbial sulphate reduction in the early Archaean era. Nature 410: 77-81.

Thomas, A. L. R., 1997. The breath of life -- did increased oxygen levels trigger the Cambrian Explosion? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 44-45.

Valentine, James W., Allen G. Collins and C. Porter Meyer, 1994. Morphological complexity increase in metazoans. Paleobiology 20(2): 131-142.

Wang, D. Y.-C., S. Kumar and S. B. Hedges, 1999. Divergence time estimates for the early history of animal phyla and the origin of plants, animals and fungi. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 266: 163-71.

[1to3]

On 6/25/2017 at 11:49 PM, KiwiChristian said:

9. Spherical Earth.

“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth." Isaiah 40:22. "..when he set a compass upon the face of the depth." Proverbs 8:27.

Circle 2329 = Compass 2329 in Hebrew is "Khoog" = to describe a circle, or circuit, meaning the horizon which is circular.

Thank you for bring up your post topic, with biblical references,

But the above quote does not confirm the earth is a round ball sphere  . It mention "circle" and "face".

That could also be interpreted like a round plate surface.  If the plate has a face it has a different side and back to it.

Just saying...

Having now listened to many different arguments for round earth verses flat earth

I am not 1oo-% convinced one particular way than the other as both flat earth and round earth theories have their logic, physics and mathematics to support their claim. And that BTW does not make me stupid, it makes me open to see ALL facts available,tried and tested before coming to one specific conclusion in either direction.

There is a Christian by the name of Bill Schnoebellen who actually gives bible verses that support the flat earth theory.

You can check out the verses bill Schnoebellen gives from the bible.

I personally don't know anymore what to believe,because the more I hear from what the government s are doing, and  worldly propaganda being thrown around, it leaves me questioning things.

The possibility of a flat faced earth does not seem impossible. The bible does say over the earth , the firmaments, there is a dome.

Anyhow... that's all I will say about it. But for sure I agree with you that the Holy Bible reveals so much and that only confirms in the beginning was the WORD and the WORD became flesh John ch1

 

Also I just found another you tube  vedio: christian preacher  Dean Odle: "the bible does say flat earth"

by pastor Dean Odle

1 Samuel 2:8

"For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and on them He has set the world."

Another you tube interview bringing into suspect NASA:

Look and google for: " We  did'nt land on the Moon. Former NASA scientist admits

Game over for NASA

 

 

 

 

[ARGOSY]

15 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

The Cambrian explosion was the seemingly sudden appearance of a variety of complex animals about 540 million years ago (Mya), but it was not the origin of complex life. Evidence of multicellular life from about 590 and 560 Mya appears in the Doushantuo Formation in China (Chen et al. 2000, 2004), and diverse fossil forms occurred before 555 Mya (Martin et al. 2000). (The Cambrian began 543 Mya., and the Cambrian explosion is considered by many to start with the first trilobites, about 530 Mya.) Testate amoebae are known from about 750 Mya (Porter and Knoll 2000). There are tracelike fossils more than 1,200 Mya in the Stirling Range Formation of Australia (Rasmussen et al. 2002). Eukaryotes (which have relatively complex cells) may have arisen 2,700 Mya, according to fossil chemical evidence (Brocks et al. 1999). Stromatolites show evidence of microbial life 3,430 Mya (Allwood et al. 2006). Fossil microorganisms may have been found from 3,465 Mya (Schopf 1993). There is isotopic evidence of sulfur-reducing bacteria from 3,470 Mya (Shen et al. 2001) and possible evidence of microbial etching of volcanic glass from 3,480 Mya (Furnes et al. 2004). 
 

There are transitional fossils within the Cambrian explosion fossils. For example, there are lobopods (basically worms with legs) which are intermediate between arthropods and worms (Conway Morris 1998). 
 

Only some phyla appear in the Cambrian explosion. In particular, all plants postdate the Cambrian, and flowering plants, by far the dominant form of land life today, only appeared about 140 Mya (Brown 1999). 

Even among animals, not all types appear in the Cambrian. Cnidarians, sponges, and probably other phyla appeared before the Cambrian. Molecular evidence shows that at least six animal phyla are Precambrian (Wang et al. 1999). Bryozoans appear first in the Ordovician. Many other soft-bodied phyla do not appear in the fossil record until much later. Although many new animal forms appeared during the Cambrian, not all did. According to one reference (Collins 1994), eleven of thirty-two metazoan phyla appear during the Cambrian, one appears Precambrian, eight after the Cambrian, and twelve have no fossil record. 

And that just considers phyla. Almost none of the animal groups that people think of as groups, such as mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, and spiders, appeared in the Cambrian. The fish that appeared in the Cambrian was unlike any fish alive today. 
 

The length of the Cambrian explosion is ambiguous and uncertain, but five to ten million years is a reasonable estimate; some say the explosion spans forty million years or more, starting about 553 million years ago. Even the shortest estimate of five million years is hardly sudden. 
 

There are some plausible explanations for why diversification may have been relatively sudden: 
 

The evolution of active predators in the late Precambrian likely spurred the coevolution of hard parts on other animals. These hard parts fossilize much more easily than the previous soft-bodied animals, leading to many more fossils but not necessarily more animals. 
 

Early complex animals may have been nearly microscopic. Apparent fossil animals smaller than 0.2 mm have been found in the Doushantuo Formation, China, forty to fifty-five million years before the Cambrian (Chen et al. 2004). Much of the early evolution could have simply been too small to see. 
 

The earth was just coming out of a global ice age at the beginning of the Cambrian (Hoffman 1998; Kerr 2000). A "snowball earth" before the Cambrian explosion may have hindered development of complexity or kept populations down so that fossils would be too rare to expect to find today. The more favorable environment after the snowball earth would have opened new niches for life to evolve into. 
 

Hox genes, which control much of an animal's basic body plan, were likely first evolving around that time. Development of these genes might have just then allowed the raw materials for body plans to diversify (Carroll 1997). 
 

Atmospheric oxygen may have increased at the start of the Cambrian (Canfield and Teske 1996; Logan et al. 1995; Thomas 1997). 
 

Planktonic grazers began producing fecal pellets that fell to the bottom of the ocean rapidly, profoundly changing the ocean state, especially its oxygenation (Logan et al. 1995). 
 

Unusual amounts of phosphate were deposited in shallow seas at the start of the Cambrian (Cook and Shergold 1986; Lipps and Signor 1992).

 

Cambrian life was still unlike almost everything alive today. Although several phyla appear to have diverged in the Early Cambrian or before, most of the phylum-level body plans appear in the fossil record much later (Budd and Jensen 2000). Using number of cell types as a measure of complexity, we see that complexity has been increasing more or less constantly since the beginning of the Cambrian (Valentine et al. 1994). 
 

Major radiations of life forms have occurred at other times, too. One of the most extensive diversifications of life occurred in the Ordovician, for example (Miller 1997).

References:

Allwood, A. C. et al. 2006. Stromatolite reef from the Early Archaean era of Australia. Nature 441: 714-718. See also Awramik, Stanley M. 2006. Respect for stromatolites. Nature 441: 700-701.

Brocks, J. J., G. A. Logan, R. Buick and R. E. Summons, 1999. Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes. Science 285: 1033-1036. See also Knoll, A. H., 1999. A new molecular window on early life.Science 285: 1025-1026.http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/285/5430/1025

Brown, Kathryn S., 1999. Deep Green rewrites evolutionary history of plants. Science 285: 990-991.

Budd, Graham E. and Sören Jensen. 2000. A critical reappraisal of the fossil record of the bilaterian phyla.Biological Reviews 75: 253-295.

Canfield, D. E. and A. Teske, 1996. Late Proterozoic rise in atmospheric oxygen concentration inferred from phylogenetic and sulphur-isotope studies. Nature 382: 127-132. See also: Knoll, A. H., 1996. Breathing room for early animals. Nature 382: 111-112.

Carroll, Robert L., 1997. Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution. Cambridge University Press.

Chen, J.-Y. et al., 2000. Precambrian animal diversity: Putative phosphatized embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 97(9): 4457-4462.http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/9/4457

Chen, J.-Y. et al., 2004. Small bilaterian fossils from 40 to 55 million years before the Cambrian. Science 305: 218-222,http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1099213. See also Stokstad, E., 2004. Controversial fossil could shed light on early animals' blueprint. Science 304: 1425.

Collins, Allen G., 1994. Metazoa: Fossil record.http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/metazoafr.html

Conway Morris, Simon, 1998. The Crucible of Creation, Oxford.

Cook, P. J. and J. H. Shergold (eds.), 1986. Phosphate Deposits of the World, Volume 1. Proterozoic and Cambrian Phosphorites. Cambridge University Press.

Furnes, H., N. R. Banerjee, K. Muehlenbachs, H. Staudigel and M. de Wit, 2004. Early life recorded in Archean pillow lavas. Science 304: 578-581.

Hoffman, Paul F. et al., 1998. A Neoproterozoic snowball earth. Science 281: 1342-1346. See also: Kerr, Richard A., 1998. Did an ancient deep freeze nearly doom life? Science 281: 1259,1261.

Kerr, Richard A., 2000. An appealing snowball earth that's still hard to swallow. Science 287: 1734-1736.

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Is that material yours or talk origins? Without a quote or a link it makes it appear that this is your own research. Which points from talk origins do you feel are their best ones so that we can discuss that?

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