2. This is a Biblical principle, as stated in places like Ecclesiastes 3:1 -- "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." See the paper "Purpose in Physical Creation" by J.F. Henry (Chattanooga, TN, Center for Creation Concepts, 1985).
3. Genesis 1:1 actually states that in the beginning on the first day God created the heaven (singular), referring to the expanse of outer space. This is because the atmospheric heavens of earth were not formed until day two (Genesis 1:7), and God did not build His dwelling place in the heavens until sometime after the very beginning on day one. Psalm 104:5 indicates that God made His dwelling place (also referred to as "my father's house" in John 14:4, the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:1, and the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2) sometime between day 1 and day 3. See the paper "Six Day Creation of All Things" by J.F. Henry (Chattanooga, TN, Center for Creation Concepts, 1993) and "Biblical Creation Accounts," also by J.F. Henry (Chattanooga, TN, Center for Creation Concepts, 1985).
4. For example, the Bible speaks of God's having laid the foundation(s) of the earth in Job 38:4, Psalm 102:25, Psalm 104:5, Isaiah 51:13, Zechariah 12:1, and Hebrews 1:10.
5. In the original sinless creation, all trees were "fruit trees" bearing fruits that were good for food, but today many trees bear useless or poisonous fruit. "Grasses" occupy open spaces with lots of sunlight, "herbs" grow close to the ground often in shade, and "trees" tower over other vegetation. Some Biblical critics have claimed that this three-fold grouping of plants is primitive and prescientific. However, the modern system of biological classification has many uncertainties, and experts frequently disagree about how organisms should be classified. In other words, the modern system is no more problem-free than the simple Biblical system. Furthermore, the Biblical system is actually environmentally oriented, based as it is on the ecological habitat of the three groups of plants.
6. In contrast to the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible, pagan cultures ancient and modern have always worshipped gods which are unpredictable and often malicious. In such cultures there is a strong sense of fatalism rather than purpose.
7. Astronomers have found throughout the cosmos the same elements which are found on earth, and no others. Given these elements, and the compounds they can react to produce, liquid water is the only solvent which can support life. See the paper "Temperature, Matter and Life" by J.F. Henry (Chattanooga, TN, Center for Creation Concepts, 1985).
8. The Hebrew which is translated "fowl" in the King James Version and some other versions actually refers to flying creatures of all sorts, not only birds.
9. As with the groupings for plants mentioned in Genesis 1:11-12 (see Note 5 above), these groupings for animals are based on where the creatures tend to live.
10. What does it mean for us to be made "in God's image"? For answers, see the paper "Man in God's Image" by J.F. Henry (Chattanooga, TN, Center for Creation Concepts, 1988).
11. See Discovery Series monograph #12, "Giants in the Earth," for more information on giantism in antiquity.
12. There is nothing natural about the week at all. Unlike the day, the month or the year, the week is totally independent of nature's orbits, tides, and seasons. "For those who take the biblical account of the Creation both seriously and literally, the length of the seven-day week presents no problem at all. The practice of working for six days and then resting periodically on the seventh . . . is essentially believed to have originally been a divine temporal pattern which requires no further explanation. It was first practiced by God when creating the universe . . ." Quoted from The Seven Day Circle: The History and Meaning of the Week by Etiavar Zerubavel (New York, The Free Press, 1985), page 6. Zerubavel does not take the Biblical account seriously or literally, but he is compelled to acknowledge that Biblical history provides the simplest explanation for the origin of the week. For more information on why the days of the Creation Week were literal, see the non-technical paper "God Did It in Six Days" referenced in Note 3 above. For a technical treatise on the six days of creation, see Studies in Genesis One by Edward J. Young (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1976).