Ariel A. Roth (born 1927) is a

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation, and is often pseudoscientific. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary' ...

who was born in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and now lives in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is a leading figure in the field of

flood geology Flood geology (also creation geology or diluvial geology) is a Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific attempt to interpret and reconcile :geology, geological features of the Earth in accordance with a literal belief in the Genesis flood narrative, th ...

, having been involved and published extensively on the

creation–evolution controversy Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups exists regarding the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and of other life. In accordance with creationism, species were once widely believed to be fixed ...

. Roth is a former professor and chairman of Biology at Emmanuel Missionary College, now Andrews University and at

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

. He is also the former director of the

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

run Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University. He served as editor of the journal ''Origins'' for 23 years. After receiving his PhD in biology at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Roth pursued research in invertebrate zoology and on fossil and living coral reefs funded by

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, and other government agencies. He obtained additional training to facilitate his research in radiation biology, geology and mathematics at various campuses of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. He has been a longtime member of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

and the

Society for Sedimentary Geology The Society for Sedimentary Geology is an international not-for-profit, scientific society based in the US state of Oklahoma. It is commonly referred to by its acronym SEPM, which refers to its former name, the Society of Economic Paleontologists a ...

. Roth has published many articles in both scientific and popular journals and lectured worldwide.

Early life

Ariel Roth's parents were Andre and Hazel Roth, Seventh-day Adventist missionaries who served in Haiti, France and Switzerland. His oldest brother, Lionel Andre Roth, also attended PUC and graduated with a medical degree from Loma Linda in 1946. He had a sister, Elvire Hilgert.

Education

Roth received his Bachelor of Arts in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

from

Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa Cou ...

in 1948, and his Master of Science in biology (1949) and Ph.D. in

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

(1955) from the

. He received additional training in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

radiobiology Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the effects of radiation on living tissue (including ionizing radiation, ionizing and non- ...

, and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

Career

In the fall of 1950, Roth joined the biology department at Pacific Union College (PUC). He worked at PUC until 1957. In 1958, Roth took the place of Frank L. Marsh as chairman of the biology department at Emmanuel Missionary College (EMC), now known as

Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...

. In 1961, while Roth was head of the biology department at EMC, the United States Public Health Service awarded the department $17,082 to be used in a three-year study of the disease

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

. During the 1950s and 1960s Roth published several studies related to this disease and its related snail vector. In May 1974, Roth and two other scientists from Loma Linda University lived for a week fifty feet under the ocean's surface near Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. His team studied coral formations. The three lived in an anchored 18-foot metal hydro-lab when not conducting their experiments. The underwater laboratory and sleeping quarters was operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was used by several groups.

Academic activities and honors

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by the U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry ...

Grantee in

radiation biology Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the effects of radiation on living tissue (including ionizing and non-ionizing radiation) ...

(1960) *

Grantee for research on metabolism of

schistosomes ''Schistosoma'' is a genus of trematodes, commonly known as blood flukes. They are parasitic flatworms responsible for a highly significant group of infections in humans termed ''schistosomiasis'', which is considered by the World Health Organi ...

(1961-1963) * Visiting Research Scientist, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (1968, 1970) * Visiting Professor,

Extension in Europe (1970) *

Grantee for research on coral reefs at

Enewetak Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a leg ...

(1971, 1972, 1973) * Member, NSF-AEC sponsored Symbios research team to study coral reef metabolism at

(1971) * Consultant on creation to the

California State Board of Education The California State Board of Education is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The State Board of Education sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, an ...

(1971) * Director,

Research Team for underwater research on coral in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

(1973, 1974 - Sponsored by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

; lived on the ocean floor for 1 week) * Listed in

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

(1974) * Editor: ORIGINS journal (1974-1996) * Keynote speaker, public hearing, House Education Committee,

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

(1981) * Witness for the

State of Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to th ...

: Evolution-creation trial (1981) * Visiting Professor of Biology, University of Eastern Africa, Baraton (1995) * Visiting Professor of Biology, Spicer College, India (1995) * Adjunct Professor of Science and Religion, SDA Theological Seminary,

(1993–1996) * Recipient Medallion of Distinction, the highest award of the Department of Education of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

(1997) * Visiting Professor of Biology, Caribbean Union College (1997) * Lecturer for the William A. Osborne Distinguished Lecture Series, Caribbean Union College (1997) * Honored alumnus

* Member,

Councilors (2000- ) * Recipient: Charles Elliott Weniger ''Award for Excellence 2003''

Advocacy of creationism

In late 1972 or early 1973 he presented to the California Board of Education hearings on Creation and the classroom. In 1980, Roth argued that "Creation and various other views can be supported by the scientific data that reveal that the spontaneous origin of the ''complex integrated biochemical systems'' of even the simplest organisms is, at best, a most improbable event", which is regarded as a precursor to

Michael Behe Michael Joseph Behe ( ; born January 18, 1952) is an American biochemist and an advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID). Behe serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, an ...

irreducible complexity Irreducible complexity (IC) is the argument that certain biological systems with multiple interacting parts would not function if one of the parts were removed, so supposedly could not have evolved by successive small modifications from earlier ...

argument, which has been the subject of considerable empirical refutation from the scientific community. Roth later used a version of this argument in his testimony in '' McLean v. Arkansas'' (which struck down the Arkansas Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act), where he testified in support of the scientific merits of

creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...

, but admitted that " you want to define 'science' as testable, predictable" then

creation science Creation science or scientific creationism is a pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism which claims to offer scientific arguments for certain literalist and inerrantist interpretations of the Bible. It is often presented without ov ...

is not really science. In the same year, he testified before the Oregon House Education Committee in support of a similar "balanced treatment" law. His view is that science should emancipate itself from its limited secularism and "should allow the data of nature to direct . . . wherever it may lead."Roth AA. 2008. ''Science Discovers God: Seven Convincing Lines of Evidence for His Existence''. Hagerstown, MD.

Review and Herald Publishing Association The Review and Herald Publishing Association was the older of two Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America. The organization published books, magazines, study guides, CDs, videos and games for Adventist churches, schools and ind ...

, p. 8.

Selected publications

Has published nearly 200 articles in the scientific and public press. 1950s * * 1960s * Roth, A.A. 1960. ''Aspects of the function of the bursa copulatrix and seminal receptacle in the prosobranch snail Oncomelania formosana Pilsbry and Hirase.'' Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 79: 412-419. * Roth, A.A. and E.D. Wagner. 1960a. ''The development of sexual maturity in Oncomelania nosophora (Robson) snail vector of oriental schistosomiasis.'' Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 79:429-438. * Roth, A.A. and E.D. Wagner. 1960b. ''Notes on the production of eggs in Oncomelania nosophora and O. formosana.'' Nautilus 73:147-151. * Roth, A.A. and L.N. Hare. 1966. ''Effect of Schistosoma mansoni on amino acid levels in a chemically defined medium.'' (Abstract) American Society of Parasitologists, 41st Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico, p. 60. * Roth, A.A. and H.E. Heidtke. 1966. ''Removal of schisto-somes from hosts with minimal physiological disturbance to the parasite.'' Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 85:422-426. * Tkachuck, R.D. and A.A. Roth. 1967. ''Free amino acids in plasm of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni.'' (Abstract) American Society of Parasitologists, 42nd Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, p. 29. * Carter, C.E. and A.A. Roth. 1967. ''Carbon dioxide fixation in Schistosoma mansoni.'' (Abstract) American Society of Parasitologists, 42nd Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, p. 30. 1970s * Roth, A.A. 1971a. ''Effect of various light treatments of calcification rates in Acropora sp.'' (Abstract) R/V Alpha Helix Research Program, 1971, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, p. 21. * Roth, A.A. 1971b. ''Effect of the addition of nutrients on the variability of calcification rates in a single colony of Pocillopora damicornis.'' (Abstract) R/V Alpha Helix Research Program, 1971, Scripps Institution of Oceano-graphy, San Diego, pp. 21–22. * Roth, A.A. 1971c. ''Estimate of carbonate production of some species on Japtan Reef.'' (Abstract) R/V Alpha Helix Research Program, 1971, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, p. 22. * Johannes, R.E. and 22 other authors including A.A. Roth. 1972. ''Project Symbios: an examination of the metabolism of some coral reef communities.'' BioScience 22:541-543. * Roth, A.A. 1974c. ''Factors affecting light as an agent for carbonate production by coral.'' (Abstract) Geological Society of America Abstracts 6:932. * * * Roth, A.A. 1975e. ''Some effects of light on calcification in coral.'' Abstracts of Symposia and Contributed Papers for the Fifty-Sixth Annual Meeting (San Francisco State University, December 26–30, 1975) of the Western Society of Naturalists, p. 29. * Clausen, C.D. and A.A. Roth. 1975a. ''Estimation of coral growth rates from laboratory 45Ca-incorporation rates.'' Marine Biology 33:85-91. * * Smith, A.D. and A.A. Roth. 1977. ''Carbon dioxide and calcification in the red coralline alga, Bossiella orbigniana.'' (Abstract) Pacific Division, American Associa-tion for the Advancement of Science, 58th Annual Meeting, San Francisco State University. * ; Rebuttal, 28-29. * 1980s * Roth, A.A. 1980a. ''Implications of various interpretations of the fossil record.'' Origins 7:71-86. * Crabtree, D.M., C.D. Clausen, and A.A. Roth. 1980. ''Consistency in growth line counts in bivalve specimens.'' Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 29:323-340. * Roth, A.A., C.D. Clausen, P.Y. Yahiku, V.E. Clausen, and W.W. Cox. 1982. ''Some effects of light on coral growth.'' Pacific Science 36:65-81. * Roth, A.A. 1983b. ''Why some scientists believe in creation.'' These Times 92(3):6-11. * Roth, A.A. 1984a. ''The current controversy over origins. Part I: teaching creation in public schools.'' The Journal of Adventist Education 46(3):30-31,35-37. * Roth, A.A. 1984b. ''The current controversy over origins. Part II: Seventh-day Adventists and the creation movement in the United States.'' The Journal of Adventist Education 46(4):31-32,39-40. *Hodges, L.T. and Roth, A.A. 1986. ''Orientation of corals and stromatoporoids in some Pleistocene, Devonian, and Silurian reef facies.'' Journal of Paleontology 60:1147-1158. 1990s * *Roth, A.A. 1998. ''The disadvantage of collective ignorance.'' The Record (Australia), August 29, 1998, p. 3. *(Book now in 17 languages.) *Roth, A.A. 1999. Chapter Essay. In Ashton, J.F. ''In Six Days.''

New Holland Publishers New Holland Publishers is an Australian based international publisher of non-fiction books, founded in 1955. It is a privately held company, with offices in Australia. History The publishing firm was established as "Holland Press" was on 20 Jun ...

. p. 74-89. 2000s *Roth, A.A. 2000. ''The Grand Canyon and the Genesis Flood.'' In Baldwin J.T. ''Creation, Catastrophe, and Calvary.''

. p. 97-103. *Roth, A.A. 2001. ''Commonly Asked questions about science and the Bible.'' The Journal of Adventist Education. 64(2): 9-18. *Roth, A.A. 2003. ''Genesis and the geologic column.'' Dialogue 15(1): 9-12, 18. *Roth, A.A. 2003. ''Implications of parconformities.'' Geoscience Reports No. 36: 1-5. *Roth, A.A. 2005. ''Design in nature: Evidence for a Creator.'' In Wesracott, M.J. and Ashton J.F. editors. ''The Big Argument.'' Sydney: Strand Publishing. p. 99-122. *Roth, A.A., Zoutewelle T., Hornbacher D. 2006. ''Complex concretions in the Jurassic Morrison Formation.''

, Abstracts with Programs 39(6): 7. *Roth, A.A. 2008. ''Science Discovers God: Seven convincing lines of evidence for His existence.'' Hagerstown, MD:

. (Book now in 28 languages.) *Roth, A.A. 2009. ''Flat gaps in sedimentary rock layers challenge long geologic ages.'' Journal of Creation 23(2): 76-81. 2010s *Roth, A.A. 2011. ''Can I believe in a worldwide flood?'' In Gibson L.J., Rasi H.M., editors. ''Understanding Creation.'' Nampa, ID:

Pacific Press Publishing Association The Pacific Press Publishing Association, or Pacific Press for short, is the only remaining Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in North America, following its absorption of Review & Herald in 2014. It was founded in 1874 by James White in ...

. p. 123-132. *Roth, A.A. 2012. ''The Genesis Flood and the geological record.'' In Ball, B.W., editor: ''In the Beginning: Science and Scripture Confirm Creation.'' Nampa, ID:

. p. 220-237. *Roth, A.A. 2013. ''The Bible and science: A new free illustrated resource for teachers and students.'' Journal of Adventist Education, February/March, p. 44-46. *Roth, A.A., Nick, K.E., Zoutewellw T., and Hornbacher D. 2019. ''Complex siliceous concretions in the Jurassic Morrison Formation, Church Rock, New Mexico, USA: Implications of inorganic factors in ichnological interpretations.''

Sedimentary Geology Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of ...

, Vol. 392, Article 105526, October, 1
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2019.105526
2020s *Roth, A.A. 2021. ''Flat Gaps in the Rock Layers Challenge Long Geologic Layers'' In Gibson, L.J., Nalin R., and Rasi H.M., editors. ''Design and Catastrophe: 51 Scientists Explore Evidence in Nature.''

Andrews University Press Andrews University Press (AUP) is an academic publishing authority operated under the auspices of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Established with minimal funding in 1969, a permanent director was appointed in 1979. AUP now has ...

. Chapter 47.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *
Roth, Ariel A. Curriculum Vitae.
* * Includes audio recording of Roth's presentation. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 59th Session, Atlanta, Georgia, US. Recorded 6/27/10, 5:45 PM *

External links

science and scripturesThe Bible Science Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Ariel A. Pacific Union College alumni 1927 births Living people American Seventh-day Adventists American Christian creationists University of Michigan alumni Scientists from Geneva Swiss emigrants to the United States