Scientists recently announced that they have found the best evidence supporting the theory that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, but the founder of the largest creation ministry in the country says the discovery is "much ado about nothing." Meanwhile, the founder of a science-faith think tank said "the significance of these findings is huge."

On March 16, physicists said they have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The discovery-which involves an analysis of variations in the brightness of microwave radiation-is the first direct evidence to support the two-decade-old theory that the universe went through what is called inflation.

Researchers found the evidence for inflation by looking at a faint glow that permeates the universe. That glow, known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB), was reportedly produced when the universe was about 300,000 years old-long after inflation had done its work.

Physicists presented new measurements of those variations during a news conference at Princeton University. The measurements were made by a spaceborne instrument called the Wilkinson Microwave Anistropy Probe, or WMAP, launched by NASA in 2001, the AP reported.

However, evangelist Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), told New Man that "although most secular astronomers believe that the CMB is the result of a big bang, there is really no reason to believe this."

He noted that big-bang supporters believe that tiny fluctuations in the CMB eventually became stars and galaxies. But such an idea comes from a belief in the big bang, and there is really no independent evidence to support this, Ham added.

"This is really much ado about nothing," said Ham, a former high-school biology teacher who travels the nation speaking at churches colleges, private schools and rotary clubs. "There are actually many different models of the big bang, each of which requires different parameters for the CMB. The latest WMAP results are roughly consistent with one of these big-bang models.

"However, if WMAP had obtained a different result, the secular astronomers would simply have picked the model that was most consistent," he added. "In other words, no matter what WMAP would have found, big-bang supporters would have claimed that it supports the big bang. As such, it really doesn't prove anything. The latest WMAP results are fully consistent with biblical creation, as we share on our Web site, AnswersInGenesis.org."

But Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist who believes that each day mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis was a longer period of time, said the Bible taught the big bang first. Unlike Ross, Ham and other creationists believe God created the universe and all its creatures in six 24-hour days, roughly 6,000 years ago.

"The significance of these [WMAP] findings is huge," Ross, founder of Reasons To Believe (RTB), said on his Web site, reasons.org. "This breakthrough goes a long way toward weeding out a particular set of big-bang models designed to get around the need for a transcendent personal Creator.

"As the WMAP continues to soak up light it will reveal even more about how the universe came to be," Ross added. "This data will be instrumental in verifying or falsifying the testable creation model my colleagues and I have been developing the last several years."

Ross studied distant galaxies and quasars while doing his post-doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. He sees the WMAP confirmation of cosmic inflation as further support for the RTB creation model.

"Scientific discoveries of this caliber add further evidence for the biblical account of creation-a continuously expanding universe exquisitely and deliberately fine-tuned for life," Ross said.

Ham, though, believes the big bang is expressly taught against in the Bible.

"The scriptures say that the Earth was created first in Genesis 1:1, the first day of creation, and then the sun was created on the fourth creation day, Genesis 1:16," explained Ham, who is building the $25 million Creation Museum, which will open later this year near the Cincinnati, Ohio international airport.

"But the big bang says that the sun came first and then the Earth," added. "By the way, during the first three days of creation, there was light from a source different than the sun. Genesis 1:3. As we will proclaim in our new Creation Museum planetarium, if we start with God's infallible Word and what it clearly teaches us about the history of the world, we can be confident that the big bang and other secular ideas such as "molecules-to-man" evolution are wrong."

Posted April 19, 2006

Satellite and cable providers promise family-friendly TV this year. In an effort to help parents weed out the amount of sex, violence and rough language their kids see on TV, providers of the country's largest direct-broadcast satellite services disclosed plans in mid-January to offer "family friendly" programming to their subscribers.

The announcements by EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV were made one day apart and came less than a month after the three top U.S. cable providers had unveiled similar plans.

According to Twice.com, EchoStar's DishFamily package was to be available Feb. 1. DirecTV announced it would offer its family package starting in mid-April. Both services are to include approximately 40 channels, with family-oriented programming such as Boomerang, Disney, PBS Kids Sprout, National Geographic and Noggin. Also included are public-interest channels featuring scientific, political and religious content, Twice.com reported.

EchoStar and DirecTV followed steps taken by cable companies Time Warner, Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications in December and early January to make more family programming available to their subscribers.

Time Warner was the first of the three cable providers to make public its plans for family "tier" programming.

Its announcement in mid-December stated plans to introduce in early 2006 its Family Choice Tier of 15 mostly sex-and-violence-free services that will include Disney Channel, Weather Channel, CNN Headline News and HGTV.

"We selected channels that were G-rated in nature, did not include 'live' entertainment programming and which contained content that was generally perceived as acceptable for the entire family to view," stated Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt, according to USA Today.

A week after Time Warner's announcement, Comcast Corp. revealed it would offer a family-tier package of 16 channels of "mostly G-rated programming" that include Disney Channel, Discovery's Science Channel and religious programmer TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network).

According to Mediapost.com, Comcast's package will be available to 99 percent of all its subscribers who have access to its "Digital Cable" service. The company also offers a Hispanic-language tier of programming as well as a sports-tier package.

In early January, Cox Communications became the third cable-television provider to unveil family-friendly programming packages. The Cox tier, planned for the first quarter of this year, will offer a package of approximately 40 channels, as well as a religious network and additional Spanish-language networks on a per-location basis, Mediaweek.com reported.

Proponents of "à la carte pay-TV programming," which encompasses both cable and satellite TV, say family-tier programming is an effort to stop their attempts to force providers to sell programming by the individual channel.

For most consumers, it has been impossible, for example, to subscribe to kid-friendly Nickelodeon without also getting the college- and young-adult programming of MTV. Jim Metrock, head of the Birmingham, Alabama-based child advocacy organization Obligation Inc., believes viewers shouldn't have to pay for a package of stations to get the one they want.

"Let's say … if I wanted the Disney Channel I would have to buy 59 other channels. They say you don't have to watch them. Well, yeah, but I don't have to pay for them either—or I shouldn't have to," Metrock told Religion News Service (RNS), according to Christiancentury.org.

Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable Television Association, told RNS it's not that simple. "Several economic analyses have all concluded that à la carte would likely lead to higher prices, less choice and less diversity in programming," he said.

Industry analysts generally agree the companies all are responding to a warning in December by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin for the industry to deal with concerns about indecent programming.

Fewer and fewer men are reading magazines these days. A study conducted by Time Inc. found a noticeable slide in men's magazine usage.

Our hearts sank, until we saw that men aren't migrating so much from the content of magazines as from the format. The study also revealed: 1) that men spend more time with new media than women; 2) that men visit magazine Web sites more often than women.

The fact that you're reading this on the website of New Man magazine shows you are following a new-media format to find content. And we THANK YOU! Still, we need to consider what this drift away from print magazines means for those of us in men's ministry.

First of all, don't give up on print. It's still a valuable, tangible and personal form of communication that will never be replaced—our strong reader renewal rates prove this time and again. But, print can and should be extended. We need to put more emphasis on creating excellent Web sites targeted at God-hungry men.

Here at New Man, we relaunched our Web this month. We want to create "The leading online community for Christian men." Both the magazine and the online community are essential tools you need for your ministry to men. When you have time, look further into newmanmagazine.com. You can read hundreds of articles, connect with other Christian men and access other tools that we can't provide in a print setting—like our Podcasts and our coming Blogs link.

We believe you'll get a lot out of our new site. E-mail us at newman@strang.com and let us know what you think.

Even as our January-February issue was rolling off the presses in mid-December, the Xbox 360 was flying off store shelves. And for good reason. This device is a marvel. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out next time you're at Best Buy.

Of course, you won't get to play because there's always a mile-long line of people wanting to try the demo unit. But watch as users interact with the technology. You'll probably notice three things. First, the graphics on this machine are eerily lifelike. It almost blurs the line to the point where you can't tell when fantasy ends and reality begins.

Second, the gamers are almost exclusively male.

Third, most of the gamers are adults. Did you know that 92 percent of all games are purchased by people over 18? These aren't just geeks living in their mothers' basements, either. Many are professionals with families and mortgages and dogs named Sparky.

It's easy to criticize these gamers and the games they play. And let's face it, there are some games Christian men just need to avoid. But look deeper.

Some men are looking to escape from the realities of life. And a small measure of this is OK. Isn't this why we see movies, attend plays or read comic strips? But more than that, men are looking for adventure within a communal setting.

When men play games today, we typically do it in community (60 percent of frequent gamers play with friends). Sometimes we're connected through cable modems with headsets, but that's a form of community nonetheless.

Christian men's groups need to tap into this somehow. And if someone out there starts a Bible study that includes Star Wars: Battlefront II, let us know.

Cox Communications has become the third cable-television provider in a month to unveil family-friendly programming packages that will help parents weed out the amount of sex, violence and rough language their kids see on TV.

Cox announced last week it will offer a family programming "tier" beginning with the first quarter of this year. Time Warner and Comcast each revealed in December separate plans to launch family packages to consumers early in 2006.

"We are pleased to offer this package to our customers who are concerned about certain content entering their home," Cox president Pat Esser told Mediaweek.com.

Cox will offer a package of approximately 40 channels at a cost of about $32 per month in selected viewing markets, as well as a religious network and additional Spanish-language networks on a per-location basis, according to the website. Networks included in the Cox package must offer G-rated programming that is "suitable for family viewing with minimal chance of objectionable content or disturbing images."

Time Warner was the first of the three providers to make public its plans for more family-friendly programming.

Its announcement in mid-December stated that in early 2006 it will introduce a Family Choice Tier of 15 mostly sex-and-violence-free services that will include Disney Channel, the Weather Channel, CNN Headline News and HGTV. USA Today reported that the package will be offered for $13 a month as an alternative to the expanded basic package.

"We selected channels that were G-rated in nature, did not include 'live' entertainment programming and which contained content that was generally perceived as acceptable for the entire family to view." stated Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt, according to USA Today.

A week after Time Warner's announcement, Comcast Corp. revealed its would offer a family-tier package of 16 channels of "mostly G-rated programming" that include Disney Channel, Discovery's Science Channel, National Geographic Channel and religious programmer TBN (Trinity Broadcasting).

According to Mediapost.com, Comcast's package will be available to 99 percent of all its subscribers who have access to its "Digital Cable" service. The family tier will cost on average $31.20 per month, depending on the market.

A Comcast spokeswoman said the family tier packaging is about choice. The company also offers a Hispanic-language tier of programming as well as a sports tier package. However, proponents of "à la carte pay-TV programming," which encompasses both cable and satellite TV, say family tiers are an effort to stop their efforts to force providers to sell programming by the individual channel.