Emil Silvestru

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'''Emil Silvestru''' {{lived|1954}} is a [[Young earth creationist]] [[geology|geologist]] (with an actual PhD from ‘Babeş-Bolyai’ University<ref name=Cre>http://creation.com/emil-silvestru</ref>) and {{wpl|Karst|karstologist|.}} He appears to be creationism's ''only'' karstologist, in fact.<ref>http://zsylvester.blogspot.com/2004/12/creationist-karstology.html</ref>

==Creationism==
Silvestru was employed by [[Answers in Genesis]],<ref>https://answersingenesis.org/ministry-news/ministry/aig-hires-cave-man/</ref><ref name=Zyl>http://zsylvester.blogspot.com/2004/12/creationist-karstology.html</ref> and stayed on the Creation Ministries International side during the split. Silvestru is a signatory of [[Creation Ministries International]]'s [[list of scientists alive today who accept the biblical account of creation]] and participated in their movie ''[[The Voyage that Shook the World]]''.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6248568/</ref> Silvestru is a "Seminar Lecturer" at CMI Canada, writes for the [[Creation Ministries International|''Journal of Creation'' and ''Creation Magazine,'']] and has produced several DVDs.<ref name=Cre />

===Arguments===
Silvestru has written for the existence of the [[Roraima pollen paradox]], which supposedly proves the existence of a young Earth, and against the validity of [[radiometric dating]], which actually [[Evidence against a young earth|proves the existence of an old Earth]].

===Conversion===
Creation Ministries International writes of Silvestru's transition to [[creationism]]:

{{quotebox|[[Faith|‘Once I became a Christian,’ Emil says, ‘I knew I had to "tune up" my scientific knowledge with the Scriptures.’  [....] Although philosophically and ethically I accepted a literal Genesis from my conversion, at first I was unable to match it with my “technical” side.]]

E-mail discussions with qualified creationist geologists, creationist books, Creation magazine and especially the TJ helped him realise what he calls two ‘essential things’:

[[Flood geology|1: Given exceptional conditions (e.g. the Genesis Flood) geological processes that take an extremely long time today can be unimaginably accelerated.]]

[[Global flood|2: The Genesis Flood was global, not regional.]]

‘These factors were immensely important in my conversion and my Christian life. I am now convinced of six-day, literal, recent, Genesis creation. That doesn't mean that there are not still some unanswered problems, but researching such issues is what being a scientist is all about.’"<ref>[http://creation.com/emil-silvestru Dr Emil Silvestru], creation.com.</ref>}}

It's interesting how someone can "ethically" accept a literal Genesis [[Confirmation bias|and ''then'' become convinced of its scientific truth.]]

In [[Carl Wieland]]'s interview of Silvestru, Silvestru wrote:

{{quotebox|[[Argument from beauty|It was through my scientific work that I came to realize that the order, beauty, and sense of fine humor with which the world is built cannot possibly come from chaos and randomness—I was sure there was a Designer.]]<ref name=Int>[https://archive.is/F5Hdh Caving in to creation. Dr Carl Wieland interviews Romanian geologist and world cave authority Dr Emil Silvestru]. Creation Magazine, June 1999. Archived from the original at creation.mobi.</ref>}}

Silvestru writes of a time when he "was wading through a narrow gorge" and "massive boulders began falling":

{{quotebox|With the walls less than 4 m [13 feet] apart, and me waist deep in water, there was very little chance I would survive. Yet, it happened.

All this made me understand that it was unfair to attribute my survival to my good reflexes … as a scientist I had to accept that “somebody upstairs” loved me. I started attending my wife’s church regularly, and on one apparently ordinary evening in church, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.<ref name=Int />}}

Indeed, scientists [[methodological naturalism|''routinely'' accept supernatural guidance for their successes]].

==Blogbabble==

Silvestru likes to prattle on about various topics on a blog bearing his name. The blog is full of incoherent rantings, pseudoscience, and pseudo-academic screeds full of typographical errors and grammar crimes. A particularly hilarious example is found in the article "What is science and what is not 'science'?" containing wonderfully hilarious rantings such as:

{{cquote|Let’s see now if the fossils that shouldn’t '''exist at all''' are yet ''' ''still mentioned'' ''' and the researchers are completely perplexed? No, after 1950s on, the much simpler solution: '''there are no evolved fossils in the old layers like the Precambrian!''' Moreover, if somehow the '''“scientific police”''' admit that there are fossils where they should not be, they will say that ''in the future, people discovered the “time machine”'' and somehow those fossils '''“accidentally”''' reached the too-distant past where there is no fossils! Dogmatic evolution forbid that Precambrian can have evolved fossils – such as insects – because then '''all macroevolution is threatened!''' Now, did you see some “accidentally” too-old fossils at TV or program like Netflix, History, Nova etc.? I doubt any! You can see (DVD & Blu-Ray): “The Voyage that Shook the World” (Amazon or creation.com) but you cannot see at CBC, ABC, CNN, NBC, Nova etc. Why?<ref>[https://drsilvestru.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/what-is-science-and-what-is-not-science/ What is science and what is not “science”?] drsilvestru.wordpress.com, 22 August 2020.</ref>}}

==Other views==
Silvestru is also a [[global warming denial|global warming denier]].<ref>[https://drsilvestru.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/climate-or-climato-glycon-why-the-climate-became-a-cult/ WHY THE CLIMATE BECAME A CULT (is it climate or climato-Glycon?)] drsilvestru.wordpress.com, 10 December 2019.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Roraima pollen paradox]]
*[[Carl Wieland]]

==External links==
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*[https://drsilvestru.wordpress.com/ His blog]
*[https://vimeo.com/6867632 "Dr. Emil Silvestru - "The Darwin Delusion" - September 27th, 2009 Evening Service"]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9lsfR9ttY "Creation A scientific perspective - Dr. Emil Silvestru - Caves 1 / 2"]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4QciY7opiU "Dr Emil Silvestru "The Cave Book" 1 of 2"]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Geologists]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Geologists, Global warming denialists, Living people