The First City After Babel?

When you spring a name like Çatalhöyük on us, give us a clue how to pronounce it!

Fern B., Kempner, Texas

Editor’s Response: The sounds represented by ö and ü don’t normally occur in spoken English, but “cha-tal-HU-yook” is close.

The article says, “During the Ice Age in the years following the dispersion from Babel . . .” Shouldn’t this be “following the Flood?” I’ve always understood the Ice Age was at the end of the Flood, not after Babel.

David H., Maryville, Tennessee

Editor’s Response: The evidence indicates that the Ice Age followed Babel. For instance, after the Flood, forests grew on Antarctica and in the Arctic before ice began to form. For more on this, see “When Was the Ice Age
in Biblical History?” Answers, April–June 2013, pages 46–52.

The article seems to indicate that Çatalhöyük was settled after the Ice Age. If this were the case, wouldn’t that put it 500–700 years after the Tower of Babel and thus, not one of the earliest civilizations after Babel?

Tony R., Lizton, Indiana

Editor’s Response: No known evidence places any of the world’s ancient cities in the Ice Age, and the duration of the Ice Age is not a settled question. When comparing the age of early settlements, we need to focus on what we know from Scripture and physical evidence. Many lines of evidence, including radiometric dating of bones and comparison of traded goods seem to indicate that Çatalhöyük arose and was abandoned before any ancient cities, and no existing physical evidence has been found that conflicts with this view.

Legendary Writing

The article by Lacey and Anderson was great. Having studied creation for years, I have never heard many of the specific inconsistencies of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The comparison with the Genesis flood is what we need more of to gain a better understanding of the biblical position and to answer the attacks of nonbelievers.

William M., Santa Clarita, California

Educational or Just Pretty?

I was displeased to find that the highly educational charts were replaced with a new series, “Through Your Lens.” I appreciate art and even take photos myself, however I am really going to miss the educational material!

Richard B., Holly, Michigan

Editor’s Response: Our goal is for readers to display the photo posters in a prominent place to spark conversations about the Creator—and ultimately the gospel. The magazine’s focus is educational materials that edify our readers, but we also want to supply material helpful to their witness. Surveys of our subscribers indicated that most didn’t use the educational posters, so as we looked for ways to connect with readers and involve them in the magazine more, we decided to try this new approach. Meanwhile we’ll do our best to continue to supply helpful material through articles and the associated graphics.

Facebook Faceoff on Public Schools

Dr. Mohler, I, too (60 years old), have seen the change. Thank you for pointing it out.

Michael L.

I am very disappointed in this article. How can we be light in a dark world if we segregate our children from the very world we want to impact? Overcome public school issues by being the parents God calls you to be.

Graig W.

Kids are not dumb . . . teach them to watch out for these false teachings, talk to them every day, and public school will not brainwash them.

Shaun S.

Jesus didn’t send 6- and 7-year-olds into the mission fields. He sent adults whom He’d already spent time with Himself and grounded. The odds favor the teachers or influences that have the most direct time with one’s children.

Kevin M.

I’ve gone to public school for the past three years, and absolutely love it. I have a strong core group of Christian friends, and there are several Christian organizations present in my school.

Josh A.

Blurring the Boundaries

Isn’t it the Lord Himself who makes a distinction between sea creatures and land creatures by creating them on separate days? So if the argument is that pinnipeds occupy a “both/and” category, doesn’t that undermine the very boundary between sea and land creatures that God Himself established?

Ryan N., Happy Valley, Oregon

Editor’s Response: The difficulty in classifying pinnipeds is not that they are not a part of either classification that God established but that scientists, working with limited information, do not fully understand on which day God made the pinnipeds because they were created with characteristics suitable for life both in the ocean and on the land. God obviously knows, but we are not sure.

This interesting diversity of God’s creation isn’t limited to pinnipeds. For instance, certain amphibians spend a near-equal amount of time in both land and water. So we should be careful to avoid reading into God’s words. It doesn’t mean He was limiting His creative options just because He created animals on two different days.

We need to be careful not to impose a man-made classification scheme on God’s words. In fact, pinnipeds are a good reminder that we should acknowledge our limits and seek guidance from God’s Word, instead, to understand how He intends us to understand words.

Correction

The dinosaur featured in our interview with Paleoartist Buddy Davis (Answers October–December 2013, page 62) is a Kentrosaurus.