By Ken Ham

This year’s theme (and through 2014) for the AiG ministry is “Standing our Ground, Rescuing our Kids,” based on Galatians 1:4. It’s one of the reasons we support something called the National Bible Bee in the USA. Earlier this month, registration began for the 2013 Bible Bee. This is a family discipleship program—with a competition at the end of the year—for students ages 7–18. Through the summer, families will be memorizing Scripture and studying God’s Word, preparing to be tested on their general Bible knowledge as well as a thorough inductive study of one book of the Bible (which hasn’t been revealed yet).

The various Bible Bee regional competitions will start in August, and the top 100 contestants in each of the three age divisions from across the country will be invited to compete at the National Bible Bee which will be held in Sevierville, Tennessee, in November.

As one of the main boosters of the National Bible Bee, AiG wants you to know that last year’s senior division champion, Sophie Haire, was influenced by our Answers magazine and newsletter in her spiritual growth. Her brother Joseph also competed, and he won at the local level. In a time when the Bible is under attack in America as never before, we wanted to share with you that there are families using AiG resources for this and future generations.

(By the way, last year, over 6,000 young people participated in the regional competitions nationwide. What an amazing opportunity for families to grow together in Christ and become firmly grounded in God’s Word.)

The 2012 Bible Bee marked the third year Sophie has participated in the event. In preparation for the contest, she spent between two and eight hours per day throughout the summer and fall studying and memorizing the necessary passages of Scripture.

Sophie’s father shared with us that the “AiG ministry is enabling our children (the next generation) to stand on the Word of God. May God continue to richly bless AiG.”

Roger Patterson of our staff and his children have been actively involved in the Bible Bee. He told me that a deadline is nearing: “To participate in this year’s program, families need to be registered by May 31, so there is not a lot of time left. Our family will be participating for the fifth year, and every year we are blessed to be learning and growing together. Our kids are excited to receive the study kits and get started on the study the first week of June. As a father, it has really helped me to stay focused on discipling my family, especially during the summer when many seem to take a vacation from God.”

Roger will also be representing AiG and the Creation Museum with a booth at the nationals in November. I hope he will also be there to support one of his children, but if not, his whole family will be volunteering and involved in supporting all of the families there.

As the program for 2013 ramps up, we just mailed thousands of  2-for-1 discount coupons for the Creation Museum to the Bible Bee for distribution to the young people who will participate in this year’s Bee.

More information about the Bible Bee can be found at www.BibleBee.org.

Roger Patterson with Mark McMahan of the National Bible Bee presenting awards to the winners of last year’s primary division.

Families gather for special events including dinners at the national contest.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

Here is the news release, with an embedded video, that was distributed to America’s media yesterday about some exciting new Bible-upholding exhibits that will be unveiled this weekend at the Creation Museum. (This version of the news release is slightly adapted for the web.)

Dragons, Big Bugs, and Bibles

Creation Museum Expands with Three Stunning Exhibits Opening Memorial Day Weekend

PETERSBURG, KY., May 23, 2013—Three striking new exhibits are opening this Memorial Day weekend at the Creation Museum as part of the popular attraction’s sixth anniversary and expansion.

The following 1:20 video demonstrates that museum officials have determined not to allow their museum to become stagnant. They are encouraging their 1.8 million visitors to make a return visit to see the following world-class exhibits:

• a large and spectacular “Dragon Legends” exhibit that will, among other topics, answer the question, “Were dinosaurs dragons?”
• a high-tech insect display called “Dr. Crawley’s Insectorium” (which rivals the quality of the Smithsonian’s insect collection)
• and the recent placement of over 20 rare Bibles and Bible-related artifacts, a part of the famed Green Collection’s Verbum Domini selection of valuable items.

In addition to a major billboard campaign that has just launched to announce the new dragon exhibit, much more is happening at the Creation Museum this summer.

• The opening of the biggest and best zip line course in the region will occur June 15, with 20 zip lines (12,000 feet total). The zip lines run from near the museum’s entrance, across a lake, and then head into dozens of acres of beautiful forested property.
• An expanded petting zoo with even more animals for young and old to enjoy
• In July, the museum’s popular planetarium will debut its latest production, Fires in the Sky, which will discuss comets (including a major one that will appear in the sky this December).
• The 1,000-seat Legacy Hall will play host to a variety of events. Next door new lab workshops will be held using powerful microscopes, led by Ivy League-educated researcher, Dr. David Menton.

The Creation Museum in northern Kentucky (near the Cincinnati Airport) is an outreach of the apologetics organization of Answers in Genesis. The AnswersInGenesis.org website has been voted “Best Ministry Website” two times, as determined by the National Religious Broadcasters (the site attracts over 1 million web visitors a month). Its Answers magazine has twice picked up the highest award for magazine excellence by the Evangelical Press Association. AiG will soon be building a full-size Noah’s Ark; see www.ArkEncounter.com. The museum site is www.CreationMuseum.org.

All three exhibits are offered at no extra charge for ticket holders.

To read a longer piece about what’s new at the Creation Museum starting this Memorial Day weekend, go to our main web article today. You’ll also see photos of these one-of-a-kind exhibits that glorify the Lord and His Word the Bible.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

Recently, Blue Ridge Christian Academy in South Carolina came under some vicious attacks from many atheists for teaching biblical creation. Specifically, a quiz given to eight fourth-grade students of this private school, based on the teaching of one of our videos, Dinosaurs, Genesis, and the Gospel, was posted online and the atheist community got really upset about it and went into action.

Well, Answers in Genesis offered its support to the school in the midst of these attacks. We donated significant resources (books and DVDs) to the school’s library. I was even able to visit the academy on my way to speak at a conference. In fact, many people—including several AiG supporters—offered prayers, encouraging letters, and even donations to Blue Ridge Christian Academy. The school has been incredibly grateful for such support!

Today, I’ve written a follow-up article on the school. But I decided it was time to urge Christian families to take action in a particular way. As part of AiG’s theme for 2013–14 of “Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids,” I want to encourage you to read today’s lead article on our website and to take advantage of the special resources included. And I also ask you to think about taking the dinosaur quiz that has enraged so many atheists. Below are the introductory paragraphs from the article:

Families: Let’s Use the Recent Atheist Attack to Teach More Kids the Truth!

I’m encouraging families across the nation (homeschool families as well as other Christian families) to join us in taking what some atheists have meant for evil and instead using it for good. We want to get the truth of God’s Word to as many kids as possible (Genesis 50:20). The effort involves a quiz on dinosaurs (which uses AiG teachings based on God’s Word in Genesis) that has become an internet sensation.

• Free streaming video and download: Dinosaurs, Genesis, and the Gospel (See the instructions below.)
• Free science quiz download
• Free dinosaur booklet download

I urge you to read the full web article and take the dinosaur quiz yourself.

Christian parents, we must capture the hearts and minds of our children before the secular world does. We can do that by teaching them the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

This was the title of a blog post by my good friend and colleague at Answers in Genesis, Stacia. I’ve shared her insightful blog posts several times in the past on my blog. Stacia’s son Kieran has Williams Syndrome. I wanted to share this post because of a conversation I had with a woman at the Answers for Women conference a few weeks ago.

She shared with me the story of her two disabled children. Her little girl is four years old and will require a feeding tube soon. Although this woman had a lot to be heartbroken about, I could see that she had learned to depend on God’s grace and strength to carry her through these very difficult times. It would be easy for me to think of this woman and my friend Stacia as “super women” for being able to bear their burdens. But I have no doubt that both women would shun that title and freely admit it is not by their own strength or abilities that they are able to do what they do but God’s.

Stacia writes the following:

There’s a meme that floats around on social media every once in awhile that goes like this, “God won’t give you more than you can handle!” And then there’s the meme about this meme that says, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle; I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!”

And everyone chuckles.

People also say this to those going through rough times (for example, to parents of children with disabilities), in an attempt to encourage them.

It sounds good, doesn’t it? It has “God” in it and that pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality that we Americans love and embrace.

But here’s the thing about that bootstraps phrase: it’s a lie.

Really. Get out your Bible and look for that ideology in it. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Didn’t find it? That’s because it isn’t there.

In fact, this phrase presents a view of God that is completely contrary to the God of the Bible. It portrays God as a distant, laissez-faire deity who gleefully dumps problems on humanity and then steps back to watch them groan under the weight of their burdens, twiddling His fingers and offering the occasional “Atta boy!” when we do something right.

But that isn’t the God that we learn about in the Bible. That God is sovereign and gives to everyone what He deems best, but in giving He also provides the strength and grace we need (Philippians 4:19). He is the stronghold we run to in affliction. And He doesn’t forsake His people.

But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:7-10, ESV)

The Creator of the universe is close to the brokenhearted and He is the one who saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

He is our refuge and strength and His are the arms that we lean on (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Not only does this phrase present a false view of God, it also gives a false view of humanity. It says that they’re all alone in this. That the trial they find unbearable really isn’t so bad–it’s just their imagination. That they have the ability and strength on their own to buckle down and make it work, no matter what.

Far from being encouraging, however, the “you can do it, just grit your teeth and barrel through!” mentality is like salt in a wound to those who know better — to those living out amazingly difficult lives.

When my friend lost her daughter several years ago in a car accident, she couldn’t handle it.

When a mother finds out her unborn baby has multiple disabilities, she has her baby killed because she can’t handle it.

When the father of a severely disabled child looks out at the unending days of caring for his child who can’t do anything by himself, he leaves his family because he can’t handle it.

When parents are told, “There’s something wrong with your child . . . ” they begin to lose their faith in God because they can’t handle it.

And on a more personal note . . .

When Kieran was a baby and not eating well and not gaining weight and not sleeping and crying for hours on end and in the hospital more times that I can count, I couldn’t handle it. Really. I remember telling Seth, “I don’t think I can do this much longer.”

When he was diagnosed with WS and we were forced to face a now-uncertain future filled with even more hospital visits, learning difficulties, potential bullies, and who-knew-what-else, I couldn’t handle it.

When I’m again encouraging him to eat or telling him to put on his shoes for the fifth time because he’s gotten caught up in five different things since the initial telling, I don’t have the patience. I can’t handle it.

And just when I think I can handle life, I’m gently (and sometimes not-so-gently) reminded that I simply can’t. That I’m weak and in desperate need of the wisdom of God, the peace of Jesus, and the filling of the Holy Spirit who works to produce His fruits in my life.

And I’m so thankful for passages that remind me that I don’t need to handle it alone:

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

And

But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1–3)

And

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.(Lamentations 3:21–26)

And

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)

I appreciate the way Greg, the father of a severely disabled child, has said it:

My experience is that God will place a burden on you so heavy that you cannot possibly carry it alone. He will break your back and your will. He will buckle your legs until you fall flat beneath the crushing weight of your load. All the while He will walk beside you waiting for you to come to the point where you must depend on Him. “‘My power is made perfect in your weakness,’ He says, as we strain under our burden. Whatever the burden, it might indeed get worse, but I know this—God is faithful. And while we change and get old, he does not. When we get weaker, He remains strong. And in our weakness and humility, He offers us true, lasting transformation, and undeserved grace.”  Wrestling with an Angel, p. 14

And if we could handle life on our own, who would get the glory? And who deserves the glory?

The hope of a parent of a child with disabilities — or the hope of anyone — isn’t in themselves and what they can handle. It’s only found in Jesus, the lover of souls and Savior of mankind. The perfect Son of God who loved us enough to step into history, feel what it’s like to be human, minister to the disabled and needy, die a painful death, and then rise from the dead three days later. In His amazing love, He offers eternal life to all those who believe and seals us with His Holy Spirit who gives us strength and wisdom and peace and patience–the very things any parent with a special needs child craves. And works all things for His glory and our good.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

So the next time you’re tempted to share that meme on Facebook or offer that platitude to a friend going through a rough patch, can I ask that you please refrain? Instead, offer to sit with them while they cry. Offer to listen to the desperations of their heart. Offer to pray with them and for them. Share a meal with them. Offer to stay with their children while they go out to dinner. Offer to help with therapy visits. But don’t give them a false god and an empty hope. Instead, point them to Jesus who bears our burdens and is the close and personal lover of our souls.

As I read this I wondered how many times I’ve thought or said, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” But I know from my own experience that God does give us more than we can handle on our own! He gives us more than we can bear because He wants us to be totally dependent on Him and not on ourselves. I think many times God makes the situation so impossible, so unbearable that only through His grace, mercy, and power can we have victory.  Gideon found that out when God reduced his army to 300 men (Judges 7)! May we, in whatever our unbearable situation is, “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16), and may we do it to glorify God.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Ken Ham

Well, it looks like there are some secularists who are once again worried about the impact of our ministry! In a recent opinion piece titled “Monkey Business,” which appeared in an Australian newspaper, writer Ian Henschke expressed his deep concern over the lack of a human evolution exhibit at a South Australian Museum (we’ll call it SAM for short).

Apparently, the SAM removed the human evolution display five years ago to make way for another exhibit, and it was never reinstalled. Why is this? He writes, “We may never know the truth. And as long as there’s nothing on human evolution in our museum, neither will the hundreds of thousands of children and adults who visit the place.”

So why is Henschke really this concerned about it? Well, because of biblical creationists, of course:

That brings us to creationist beliefs of Christian fundamentalists. In their world, our journey began a few thousand years ago. So a display in a museum which outlines the four-million-year-old story of human evolution would be blasphemy at worse and science fantasy at best.

Henschke goes on to list statistics on how many people believe in some form of creation, saying that they can’t “let those beliefs override or confuse scientific facts.”

Now, I’ve talked about this problem of confusing the types of sciences many times on this blog elsewhere. Henschke very quickly confuses historical (or origins) science, which deals with how the universe began and cannot be tested or proven, to operational (or observational) science. The latter is the kind of science that leads to advances in technology, medicine, and so on. Good operational science can be performed without holding a belief in evolutionary ideas. In fact, we have a number of PhD-level scientists on staff at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum who are all biblical creationists. They would all say that evolution has nothing to do with operational science—in fact, it hinders it!

But what does the Creation Museum have to do with SAM? Well, Henschke claims that our Creation Museum is a “vast complex compared to the SA Museum.” Now, it’s true that the Creation Museum is large—we have a planetarium, an observatory, the gardens, the museum’s “walk through history,” a new insectorium, a soon-to-open dragon exhibit, a special effects theater, and much more. Australia is my homeland, and so I’ve been to the SAM. And while the Creation Museum is large, the SA museum is actually much larger. In fact, the SAM has one of the largest aboriginal artifact exhibits in the world, and it receives government (tax) money for funding and so the entrance is free. The Creation Museum is privately funded by donations and entrance fees.

Henschke closes his article by saying he’s concerned that a version of the Creation Museum will be built in Australia. It’s amazing to me that the impact of the Creation Museum is even affecting secularists as far away as South Australia. I praise God that our ministry is having such an impact on people who hold evolutionary ideas.

Isn’t it fascinating to note that there are hundreds of secular museums around the world that present evolution as fact, and evolutionists are concerned about one creation museum in America? Think also of the majority of students in America (and Australia) who are going to public schools and are being taught evolution as fact. Furthermore, most of the secular media presents evolution as fact. Yet secularists are really worried about one privately funded museum near Cincinnati, Ohio!

Yes! God’s message is powerful and the secularists know it—that’s why they fight so hard against it.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

A group of atheists had an eye-opening, two-hour chat on the internet over the weekend about what they can do to fight against me being a keynote speaker at an upcoming homeschool convention in Texas. I could summarize what they said like this, paraphrasing portions of the atheist video chat:

What can we do to fight Ken Ham speaking at this homeschool convention? This shouldn’t be allowed. Ken Ham pushes biblical creation on kids and adults. We can’t have this. We need to protest. We will bus in atheists from other cities. We’ve already scouted out the best places to conduct the protest. We need to confront Ken Ham at the conference.

This situation is intolerable. How dare a Christian organization host Ken Ham? And look at this homeschool group—you can see what they are doing. Their three keynote speakers are Christians. They are obviously pushing Christianity at a homeschool convention. How dare they have Christian speakers at this convention? Who do they think they are?

Christian homeschooling parents are ignorant and illiterate. They can teach their religious junk at home, but when it comes to education, they can’t teach Ken Ham’s stuff to children—this can’t be allowed. We’ve got to stop this. We are angry—we are really angry.

I wrote the lead web article for today about these intolerant atheists, showing various video clips from this atheist chat. I urge you to read this article and then consider taking action to help counter an increasingly anti-Christian climate in America. The church needs to understand the nature of the battle—I believe this article can be used to wake up many Christians as to what is happening.

Go to this link to read about this shocking and very revealing atheist attack.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

Well, the results of a recent poll of pastors held some encouraging results—and some discouraging results. I believe this poll is a reminder of how important it is for AiG to work even harder (as we try to do every day) to distribute Bible-affirming resources to overcome the enormous secular propaganda machine around the world. And we also seek to continue to equip Christians and keep them up to date as the enemy works hard to lead people away from the truth of God’s Word. Such polls just burden me even more to increase the influence of the ministry of AiG, the Creation Museum, and coming Ark Encounter as much as we are able to.

BioLogos, an organization that undermines biblical authority and is committed to promoting theistic evolution (or “evolutionary creation,” as they call it), commissioned a poll with the Barna Group to find out pastors’ views of origins. They had four categories of views: young-earth creation, theistic evolution (i.e., God used evolution), progressive creation (i.e., old earth), and uncertain.

In the survey results, BioLogos explains, “The numbers varied widely based on a number of factors. . . . Pastors of mainline churches were most likely to accept Theistic Evolution, while non-Mainline, Charismatic, and Southern Baptist pastors were overwhelmingly Young Earth Creationists. Pastors of larger churches were also more likely to accept Theistic Evolution.”

Now, according to a summary of the study published by the Christian Post, the overall numbers show that a slight majority of pastors are in favor of young-earth creation:

Summarizing the numbers, BioLogos says that a slight majority of pastors, or 54 percent, support Young Earth Creationism, 18 percent agree with Theistic Evolution, and 15 percent accept Progressive Creation.

Certainly in this fallen world, we expect there to be more people who reject the truth than those who do not. For example, with respect to unbelievers, the Bible speaks about the broad gate and the narrow gate:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” (Matthew 7:13)

Basically, the idea is that fewer people will believe the truth of the gospel and receive eternal life than those who suppress the truth and experience eternal judgment in hell. And I think we could also say that fewer people in this life will stand for the truth of God’s Word than those who reject it.

Sadly, in this fallen world, we find that there are many people who are (or claim to be) Christians who also do not stand as they should on the truth of God’s Word. Even Christians can compromise in all sorts of ways and hold inconsistent positions.

So 54 percent is in many ways an encouraging number regarding pastors who believe in biblical creation. Millions of books and other media that have been produced by creation-apologetics ministries like Answers in Genesis have been distributed, and millions of people have attended creation conferences and interacted with creation speakers. The results of this survey do seem to indicate that biblical creation ministries are having an impact on the church—we are reaching people with the message that God’s Word is the final authority!

But it’s also very discouraging to know that the other 46 percent are either progressive creationists, theistic evolutionists, or altogether uncertain. These are pastors—shepherds of the church! There should be no question with them about biblical authority, especially about what the authority is on origins. It’s the Word of the One who was there!

I sincerely pray that those pastors who have attempted to mix millions of years and evolution with Scripture would realize they are leading their congregations astray and would come instead to embrace the historical account of creation. I also pray that these pastors who believe in the authority of God’s Word from the beginning (and thus are young-earth creationists) would continue to stand firmly on the authority of God’s Word from the very first verse. And I pray the use of AiG resources will help rescue the current and coming generations from this evil age. (Remember our theme for 2013–14:  “Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids”—Galatians 1:4.)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

Over the years, God has greatly blessed the Answers in Genesis ministry with a quality staff. This includes  a number of PhD-level experts in the sciences and theology. These experts, along with a team of researchers, spend their time researching new materials and writing articles, so that unbelievers can be reached with the gospel of Christ and Christians can be equipped to defend their faith.

And with that much help, it may seem like nothing would escape our attention when it comes to the news. But many times there’s so much happening in the world, that we actually do miss big news every so often!

But that’s where you come in. Now, I know we all have different interests, and we all find different news sources and websites we like and trust. But what that means is some of you will come across news that our researchers don’t.

Many of you are probably already aware of my Facebook page. I share numerous stories and articles through Facebook, with some comment, and I want you to share articles and news you’ve come across on my Facebook page.

For example, last week, some scientists were reporting that our understanding of the speed of light might not be as accurate as we thought. And do you know how I first found out about it? Supporters like you posted the articles on my Facebook page—our researchers came across the news item a little later.

Another place where supporters can submit important news items for our researchers is through this spot on our website.

I encourage you to help Answers in Genesis respond to the claims of the secular world by sharing timely and important news with us—we appreciate all the help we can get! So if you haven’t visited  and “liked” my Facebook page, I urge you to do so today.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

Earlier this month, our second annual Answers for Women conference was held at the Creation Museum in Legacy Hall—and we were thrilled to see that attendance had doubled from last year! Many women expressed how much they enjoyed and were blessed by the conference.

But after the conference, an “interesting” blog post appeared on a well-trafficked atheist blog. Two women, both atheists, had attended the conference in an “undercover” manner—with an obvious agenda. Now, at the beginning of their commentary, these women expressed that they were “jumpy” and afraid when they arrived at the Creation Museum. Why? What exactly were they afraid of? I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, part of the ministry of the Creation Museum is to share the gospel with unbelievers, in the hope that they will repent and believe. So we encourage atheists to visit. These two women had no reason to be afraid and to keep it a secret that they are atheists. We  welcome atheists to the conference, assuming they would plan to act appropriately throughout the conference. So it was actually quite humorous to read what these two women wrote about how scared they were—they portrayed their visit almost as if they were undercover agents in a communist country hoping they wouldn’t be discovered for fear of some horrible reprisal.  It was just ridiculous stuff to read.

Sadly, not only were these two atheists unnecessarily afraid of being at the Creation Museum, but they also wrote very stereotypically (as is usual for atheist bloggers) about people who visit our museum. They made fun of the attire of attendees at the conference, indicating that they had to wear skirts and couldn’t wear shorts. But  other women in attendance wore a variety of clothing including skirts and slacks.  And they wrote the usual atheist propaganda against the Creation Museum and the messages presented at the conference.  Where was a true critique of the science content of the museum’s exhibit, for example, amidst all the commentary’s snarky tone? We are so used to such atheist rhetoric, and they could have actually asked me to write their report for them—I think I could have  written what they posted on the blog, as it is the usual atheist propaganda, the typical misrepresentations, the usual negative comments, the typical mocking, the usual inaccuracies and usual lies, etc.  In a sense, they had really written most of their report in their minds before they came to the conference and the Creation Museum.

Let me give you an example of an outright error in the commentary. There aren’t just two full-time AiG staff with doctorates from secular schools, as these writers claimed. We have many full-time staff who hold earned doctorates in science from secular schools, from such places as Brown U., Ohio State, Indiana, Vanderbilt, U. of Sydney (Australia), and a PhD in the history of science (Coventry, UK).

Actually, I believe these atheists were “scared” because they  felt the guilt of why there were really there at the conference.  You see, Romans 1:19 not only tells us that the knowledge of God is on everyone’s heart—these atheists know  that God is—but Romans 2 tells us that each person has a conscience:

for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them. (Romans 2:14–15)

You see, these two women felt their guilt because they had come with an agenda to attack AiG and the Creation Museum—just like a couple of years ago when a couple of men pretending to be a “gay” couple (and who stated they would be acting “flamboyantly” gay) tried to crash AiG’s Valentine’s dinner.

You know, it’s interesting that atheists find our conferences and other meetings important and influential enough that they have to send people to attend to find out what’s going on here. What are the atheists scared of? In a way, such undercover attendance is encouraging—the ministry of Answers in Genesis must be having an impact if these atheists are so concerned about our teaching. Why are they so worried about us?  We are only one organization—with one Creation Museum. Meanwhile, the secularists basically have control of our education system—they have their secular evolutionist museums across the country—they really control much of the media—and yet they are SO worried about AiG!  I believe it’s because they know we have such powerful message. Plus Satan wants to do all he can to try to undermine us.

I encourage you to read Dr. Georgia Purdom’s blog post on the Answers for Women conference.

How refreshing to read such a positive report and hear some of the great feedback from the women who were there for the right reasons: to listen and learn for their edification.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

I often document examples of the rampant compromise taught by many church leaders and academics, which is rife in the church in general. For example, see my blog post from yesterday for an example of shocking compromise in the Christian Reformed denomination that undermines God’s Word.

At the same time, it’s also important to know that God still has a remnant—a powerful, faithful remnant in this nation. There are many godly families and pastors who stand boldly on the authority of the Word of God. Let me just give you an example of two.

I speak at many AiG conferences held in churches across this nation. Recently we held AiG conferences in Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Flowery Branch, Georgia, and also First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida. The senior pastors of these churches wrote to us after the AiG conferences with these words:

Our recent “Answers in Genesis” conference, led by Ken Ham and his team, was one of the best attended and most enthusiastically received seminars in my 21 years here. First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida will not be the same, with many gaining a new trust in the authority of the Word, a stronger belief in the creativity of our universe, and a fresh passion for the glory of God. The use of multi-media, the speakers’ lively sense of humor, and incorporation of up-to-date data allowed Mr. Ham to captivate all ages for an extensive period of time. The resources of Answers in Genesis are practical and very popular with our folks. In Christ – Dr. Hayes Wicker.

Here is another from a church where I first spoke in 1997:

Answers in Genesis continues to be a blessing to Blackshear Place Baptist Church. Our recent Answers in Genesis conference with Ken Ham demonstrated, once again, the hunger people have for biblical truths. We saw thousands gather session after session to hear God’s Word taught. The resources they brought continue to be a blessing to our people. We thank the Lord for this vital ministry. – Pastor Jeff Crook, Sr. Pastor, Blackshear Place Baptist Church www.bpbc.com.

Here is a photograph taken of me with the senior pastor of Blackshear Place Baptist Church, Jeff Crook:

To give you just a little sense of what it’s like to be at these conferences, I’ve included a number of photographs from the AiG conference at Blackshear Place Baptist Church earlier this month. One of the most exciting aspects of these conferences is that we not only reach thousands of adults and young people with the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis, but also thousands and thousands of children. What a joy it is to see so many young kids walking out with resources in their hands! Over the years, millions of books, DVDs, and other resources have been distributed across this nation—and they are having a great impact on this generation.

Yes, hundreds of thousands of children and teens have been equipped at our student meetings to stand boldly on God’s Word without compromise and to proclaim the gospel with authority. That’s because they believe the authority from which this message comes—the Word of God.

Make sure you and your pastor request an AiG conference for your church—we have a number of dynamic speakers who can equip adults and kids to defend the Christian faith in today’s world. To request a faith-building conference, go to the outreach section of our website.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Ken Ham

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28–30)

The article I link to below is an extension of what has been going on at Calvin College in Michigan. In previous blog posts and articles I have quoted professors from Calvin College who no longer believe in a literal Adam and literal Eve—or a literal Fall. Calvin professors have been teaching evolution as fact for years. Now, why would any Christian parent spend thousands of dollars to send their kids to a college that attacks and undermines the authority of God’s Word? Calvin College, by the way, is a college of the Christian Reformed Church of North America.

The Banner is the magazine of the Christian Reformed Church and is also located in Grand Rapids. The article I link to below references a 1991 Agenda for Synod document by the Committee on Creation and Science. This was a response to Howard Van Till’s The Fourth Day (1986) and the teachings of Clarence Mennigna and Davis Young, which kicked open the door all the way (partly opened by others) to accepting theistic evolution in the CRC denomination. (Van Till, Mennigna, and Davis were professors at Calvin College.)

The document actually traces this slide into evolution acceptance! The document is 71 pages long, so it’s not easy to summarize. But in brief, it seems to call for a literal Adam and Eve and a literal Fall, but the authors of the document accept the standard evolutionary timescale and seem to accept human evolution. As we have seen time and time again, once the door of compromise with evolution and millions of years is opened, the slide into unbelief will increase—as is seen in this article written by a retired Christian Reformed pastor.

Just one interesting but sad side note that pertains to this issue: John Loftus, a pastor turned atheist, credits Van Till’s book as turning him away from Christianity. He has written the following:

Howard Van Till wrote the book The Fourth Day, which was one of the books that put me on a course of study that eventually led me away from the Christian faith. On page 79 in a footnote he listed several works on Genesis 1-11 that I proceeded to read. These initial books led me to still others, and others. After reading them I came to deny Genesis 1-11 was historical. I concluded these chapters were mythical. Anyway, Van Till has now been led down the same path as I. He has moved away from his Calvinism, and taken a much more ambiguous position on religion [http://www.freethoughtassociation.org/images/uploads/pdf/ODoRs.pdf ]. That too is where I was for a time in my intellectual journey. But it eventually led me to atheism. (http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2007/02/howard-van-tills-intellectual-journey.html)

I have excerpted sections from this article for you to read and link to the entire article for you. As you read this article, think of the students in colleges and people in churches who will become the John Loftus types in the future because shepherds departed from the truth of God’s Word and exalted the teachings of fallible man.

Sadly, this is the sort of shocking compromise and undermining of God’s Word that is happening to one degree or another at Christian colleges, churches, and other Christian institutions across the nation. This article is a warning on where compromise with man’s religion of evolution and millions of years leads—ultimately a rejection of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith.

Well, here are excerpts from The Banner article:

I suspect that a thousand years from now Christians will look back at the 21st century and say, “How could Christians have let themselves think that?” They’d have in mind our theology—some of the doctrines that are so precious to us and that we consider to be the backbone of Christianity. . . .

So I wouldn’t be surprised if a thousand years from now, or even in 500 years, people look back at our cherished doctrines and exclaim, “How could they believe all that?”

Why do I say this? . . .

It’s an insight that began as a hypothesis in 1859, gradually developed into a scientific theory, and is fast becoming recognized as established fact. I refer to what we have been calling “the theory of evolution.”

Scientists recognize generally that the universe began with an enormous explosion—the “big bang.” They provide various scientific avenues to demonstrate the great age of the universe, perhaps as old as 15 billion years. The varied scientific disciplines provide convincing demonstrations of the continuous development of the universe since its beginning, such as producing over billions of years the vast reaches of space and the seemingly infinite number of stars and planets and galaxies that dot the heavens. . . .

Implications for Theology . . .

Creation: We have traditionally accepted the words of Genesis 1—that God created the world as we know it today in seven literal 24-hour days. . . . But there is no way we can possibly continue to hold that doctrine any more than we can hold the doctrines of a flat earth and a geocentric universe. . . .  So we have to find a better way of understanding Genesis 1, a way that embraces scientific insights. . . .

Adam and Eve: Traditionally we’ve been taught that Adam and Eve were the first human pair, Adam made out of dust and Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. But sustaining this doctrine is extremely difficult when we take seriously the human race as we know it today sharing ancestry with other primates such as chimpanzees. Where in the slow evolution of homo erectus and homo habilis and homo sapiens do Adam and Eve fit? We will have to find a better way of understanding what Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve. . . .

Fall into sin: We have traditionally understood Genesis to show the first human beings, in a state of innocence, living sinlessly in the Garden of Eden. They are then tempted. They yield to temptation and God sends them out of Eden. But if we take the discoveries of historical science seriously, where could we fit that story in? . . . We will have to find a much better way of understanding what sin is, where it comes from, and what its consequences are. . . .

Original sin: According to this doctrine, the fall of Adam and Eve is an actual historical event that plunged the entire human race into sin. . . . But if Adam and Eve are not understood as real historical people, then there can hardly be an inheritance of sinfulness from parent to child all the way back to Adam—in which case the entire doctrine of original sin falls by the wayside. We will have to find a better way of understanding not only what sin is . . .

Salvation: We have traditionally understood the work of Jesus as dealing with the two aspects of original sin: guilt and pollution.  Jesus removes our guilt by dying for our sins on the cross; he removes our pollution by sending us his Holy Spirit. This makes good sense, but if the doctrine of original sin needs to be revisited, theologians need to consider whether our understanding of Jesus also needs to be revised.

After reading this article from a church magazine, I thought, “Is it any wonder that two-thirds of young people are departing the church?” (See my book Already Gone.)

You can read the entire article from The Banner at this link.

I can’t see how any Christian reading this article would not call its beliefs heresy.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

Just a few short weeks ago, Answers in Genesis sponsored the second annual Answers for Women conference. I was thrilled to see that our attendance had doubled this year! Women traveled from Florida, Connecticut, and Kansas—a total of 18 states were represented. We heard from great speakers and shared amazing fellowship, and as a result were educated, equipped, and encouraged.

As I sat down to write this blog post, I discovered that two women atheists had attended the conference—unknown to us—and written a blog post about their experience. Although their post about the conference is scathing, I praise God that they attended and heard the gospel!

I have decided not to go through their post point by point and expose error because that would take an enormous amount of time. Much of what they said consisted of ad hominem attacks or arguments that lack substance relevant to the topic and therefore do not warrant a response. However, I did want to point out a few of their comments that I thought were interesting, along with my response.

However, Purdom is one of two Answers in Genesis staffers with PhDs from secular universities (hers is in molecular genetics from Ohio State), so I was interested to hear how she would connect her training to her talk.

Answers in Genesis employs several staff members (not just two) with doctoral degrees from secular universities including Dr. Andrew Snelling (PhD, University of Sydney), Dr. Danny Faulkner (PhD, Indiana University), Dr. David Menton (PhD, Brown University), Dr. Terry Mortenson (PhD, University of Coventry) and Dr. Tommy Mitchell (MD, Vanderbilt University) and me, of course.

Her main argument [in a presentation I gave titled “The Genetics of Adam and Eve”] seemed to be that it was a “matter of starting points,” and that the scientists were starting from a secular place, rather than the Bible. (Starting points would, unfortunately, be a running theme throughout the conference.)

This is one of the best compliments I can think of! The real issue is not the evidence but how we interpret the evidence in light of our starting points or worldview—God as the ultimate authority or man.

Really, the entire talk [“The Genetics of Adam and Eve”] boiled down to one idea: evolutionists are highly prejudiced, and Creation Scientists are starting from an objectively true point: the Bible.

Both biblical creationists and evolutionists are highly prejudiced! Both have a starting point or worldview; the difference is that a biblical creationist starts with the ultimate authority of the inerrant Word of God, and secularists start with fallible man as the ultimate authority.

Dr. Purdom’s main argument [in my presentation titled “Facebook Debates, Re-Tweets, and My Opinion: Does the Bible Have a Place in the Marketplace of Ideas?”] seemed to be that Christians weren’t arguing enough using the Bible. (Which, I would think, is the least useful way to bring opponents to your way of thinking.)

But it’s not my “way of thinking” that I’m trying to bring people to! It’s not about my opinion vs. another person’s opinion. The point is to bring people to God’s way of thinking and to the good news of the gospel—and we can only do that effectively if we start with the Bible.

There were lots and lots of kids walking around with their parents at the museum — most of them under the age of ten. The Creation Museum has really become a Christian family destination.

Once again we see atheists bothered by the large number of children visiting the Creation Museum. Many atheists view teaching creation to children as a form of abuse. We were thrilled to see many children attend with their parents as we offered free admission for families to visit the Creation Museum for women attending the conference.

Although these two women did not appreciate the conference, many of the women who attended did express their appreciation. The following is just a small sample of the feedback we received about the conference.

Thank you so much for organizing the Women’s Conference. I don’t really know how to adequately describe how I feel about the experience… I think it was substantial, relevant, Biblically based, motivated me to action. As you said in the promo, we got into the meat of scripture, and I was so glad of that. I can express how much of an impact it had by saying that I wish I could persuade every woman I know to attend. Every topic was so very relevant and needed to be tackled and we were constantly pointed back to scripture. Even the music was so refreshingly pure and reverent.

I thoroughly enjoyed the women’s conference. When I signed up for it this year, I was convinced that it could never be as good as it was last year. It didn’t take long to recognize how God orchestrated each session to intertwine and exactly complement each other to give us exactly what we need to stand firm in the battle that enrages all around us. The material presented and the encouragement provided was a fresh breath from God as we head back to our homes, our churches, and our communities. I have a renewed sense of purpose and greater desire to reach out than ever before.

We drove 1,640 miles round trip to attend and I tell you that I would do it again.

The conference was indeed a blessing! I was so impressed with how well it was run, and most of all, I can say that it definitely changed my life and my marriage. I haven’t been able to stop sharing with everyone how much it impacted my walk with Christ. I usually hate being away from home, but I adored every minute and was so sad when it ended. I cannot wait until the next one!

What a blessing—I’m really looking forward to next year! If you missed this year’s conference, you can still view my final presentation of the conference: Facebook Debates, Re-Tweets, and My Opinion: Does the Bible Have a Place in the Marketplace of Ideas?

The next Answers for Women conference will be May 2–3, 2014. Be sure to mark your calendars and watch the Answers for Women website for more information.

By Buddy Davis

Boy, I sure have had a busy and exciting spring this year! Starting the first of January, I offered a new workshop at the Creation Museum titled “T. rex—King of the Dragons.” That workshop has been very well attended. I have also been doing two different concerts when I am at the museum because most folks have two-day tickets. This allows them to come to my concert on each of the two days they are visiting, and they get a totally different concert each time.

I am excited about my new video in the Amazing Adventures series, called Extreme Caving, which will have its debut on June 14 at the Creation Museum. That event will be a family fun night with dinner, the showing of my new DVD, and some special guests talking about bats. It sounds like this will be a really enjoyable evening, and I hope you will join me. Check out further details on this museum blog post.

I will also be doing an overnight caving adventure at Cumberland Caverns on August 10, which includes hiking, camping, and performing a live concert inside the cave! Details for this unique event can be found on the members section of the Creation Museum website.

Another thing I have been working on is a new dinosaur sculpture for the museum—this one is of a Kentrosaurus. Right now I am working on the plates and horns and soon will be starting the skin texture. It should be finished before the end of May and will go in the Dinosaur Den area.

I have been speaking at various events in between my weeks at the museum, and I am working on a new children’s book with my daughter, Lydia. We just learned last week that it will be published, and we are so happy about that! It will be a series called “Creation Quest.” The first book will introduce the characters and take you on quite an adventure deep inside a cave. I will keep you posted on its progress, and we are hoping to have it available at the debut of the Extreme Caving DVD.

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

Well, this week marks the beginning of the end of one of my favorite hobbies. I am in the process of selling my camera equipment and my darkroom. I have enjoyed being involved with large-format black-and-white photography for almost 30 years. However, due to my increasingly hectic travel schedule and other family responsibilities, I find that in recent years I’ve had very little time to engage in this activity. So, rather than have the equipment sit idly by, I’ve decided to try to find my cameras a good home where they will be used.

Over the years I’ve had many enjoyable vacations traveling with my view camera. My wife Liz and I have spent untold hours trekking through the woods, into streams, around lakes, and into the snow searching for that perfect image. I have enjoyed nothing more than spending a day in the darkroom, even when at the end of the day I would have little to nothing to show for it. It was never about the result, it was always about the journey.

I will continue to maintain the website that contains my photographs even though there will be no more images added to the collection. You can see my photographs at www.tommysphotos.com.

Here are photographs of my view cameras and several of my favorite images.

My View Cameras

Covered Bridge, Vermont

Main Falls, Sand River, Ontario

Brick Wall and Door

Thanks for stopping by!

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog posts over the last few weeks regarding our Answers for Women conference on May 3–4 at the Creation Museum. Earlier this week, my daughter helped me record a promo for the conference that I think turned out quite well. She was thrilled that she got to be a part of it, and I think she stole the show! Please watch it, share it with your church, and share it on Facebook to encourage the ladies in your life to come.

Elizabeth and I promoting the Answers for Women conference!

At this year’s conference we are pleased to have a new speaker, Dr. Joy Fagan. She is an associate professor of educational ministries at Cedarville University (my alma mater!). Joy is also a conference and retreat speaker focusing on the areas of gender issues, spiritual formation, and women’s ministry. She is particularly interested in ministering to disadvantaged and marginalized women such as those who have suffered trauma, substance abuse, and homelessness. Her presentation will be titled “Vessels of Honor: Our Identity and Calling.” Joy gave me the following summary of her presentation, which will be based on 2 Timothy 2:20-21.

I will talk about the importance of being a clean vessel with a noble purpose as established in Scripture. Having established this as a foundation, we will biblically unpack today’s “Who is my neighbor?” and also the “widow and orphan” of our day, and finally what we as believers and as the local church can do in our communities for the women “still at the well.”

I have no doubt this will be a challenging message!

In addition to the presentations, there will also be a drama performance on Friday evening. Matt Moore of Lamp and Light Productions will present “John’s Gospel: So That You May Believe.” This is yet another Cedarville connection for me. Matt and I attended Cedarville at the same time and I remember him as the star in most of the drama and musical performances that the university offered. He is truly talented.

Remember to register before February 28 to take advantage of the early bird discount. Registration cost includes lunch on Saturday, admission to the Creation Museum for you and your immediate family, and a gift bag.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

Several months ago, I met a wonderful couple at a conference in Mississippi. They told me that their wedding anniversary was coming up soon and they were considering a visit to our Creation Museum as part of their anniversary celebration.

I told them that if they decided to come, I would be happy to be their host and provide them with passes to the museum. As it happens, they did come to visit the Creation Museum. I wanted to share with you all a very nice email I got from them a few days later.

Dear Dr. Mitchell,

You asked me to write you after we got home from visiting the Creation Museum.  You wanted to know what we thought about the visit.  Well, I have been wondering how I’m going to sum up our anniversary trip to the Creation Museum.  If I were to write you back of everything that [my husband] and I thought, then you could probably stick a cover on it and have another book for the bookstore.  I asked myself what one word would I use to describe the Museum and that word which came to mind was “AWESOME”.

We spent two full days in there absorbing all that we could and making sure that we saw it all. There were moments when I felt like crying because my God was becoming bigger and more exciting to my husband and me. I’ve been raised in a strong conservative Christian home.  I was homeschooled as well.  However, my husband was raised in a public school and a slow-growing Christian.  I recently learned that he had even bought into the evolutionary ideas…UNTIL NOW!  He 100% now believes all the Bible is telling him and it has changed his life.  He’s different now and at times overwhelming, but in a WONDERFUL way.  God is good!  Ever since we got back, he can’t get enough of the Word or all the DVDs and books we brought back.

Do you know what joy the Lord has given me to see this hunger and change in my husband?  Do you know what excitement my heart has experienced with all this information that I am obtaining from the Bible?  My parents are the ones who got us started with Answers in Genesis.  We are now planning to get my parents up there to see the Creation Museum, too. Meanwhile they are enjoying, with us, all the bags of DVDs and books we bought in the bookstore.  [My husband] loves going to my parents’ house because they are ready for the next DVD and discussion.  [At] Christmas we read and discussed the booklets about what the Birth was probably like [including the booklet] “From Creation to Bethlehem”.  The entire family really enjoyed that.

Thank you for this gift and letting us enjoy the treasure in the Creation Museum.  It was the perfect Anniversary gift and perfect Anniversary memory.  Now to just see where God is going to take us with all this new knowledge.  [My husband] and I are praying about what He wants us to do as far as teach a class at church and share it with friends.  The Museum is PERFECT and God is all in that building!  His presence was felt and obvious!  We are praying for this ministry and for each of you that work there and help make all this happen.  May God continue to protect and bless.

P.S.

We saw Ken Ham and had our picture taken with him!!! Oh, and if y’all ever want to open up a Museum here in Mississippi, I want a job!!!

A visit to the Creation Museum can be a life-changing event. I hope you all have a chance to make a trip here very soon. I think you will like it, too!

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

At this year’s conference I will be debuting two new presentations that are very relevant to the authority of Scripture in today’s world. They are both presentations that have been percolating in my mind for a while now, so I’m excited to finally be able to share my thoughts on these relevant issues.

For the pre-conference on Friday at 3:00 PM, I will present “Were Adam and Eve Real? The Genetic and Theological Reality of Adam and Eve.”

One of the biggest debates in Christianity today concerns the first two people: were Adam and Eve real or are they the product of myths? Those who claim we have evolved over millions of years believe that Adam and Eve, as the Bible teaches about them, have no place in human history. They argue that the science of genetics proves we cannot be descended from only two people. Many Christians have accepted this position and propose that their historical existence is irrelevant to Christianity and the gospel. In this session, I will show how current findings from scientists who study DNA actually support the biblical position that Adam and Eve were real people. More importantly, I will demonstrate how absolutely necessary Adam and Eve are to understanding original sin and the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. Come find out why there can be no Jesus without a real Adam and Eve.

For the last session of the conference on Saturday afternoon I will present “Facebook Debates, Re-Tweets, and My Opinion: Does the Bible Have a Place in the Marketplace of Ideas?”

You’ve seen it before—that pithy status update about what Mother Teresa thinks about abortion. Or those drawn-out debates on your Christian friend’s wall about why homosexual behavior is wrong or right. Or that opinion offered by so-and-so on the current trend in child-raising that just begs to be re-Tweeted. In a culture where social media reigns and getting the most “likes” or re-Tweets makes us happy, there’s a tendency for Christians to elevate opinion over Scripture, not because they don’t know what the Bible teaches but because teaching the Bible is seen as irrelevant to unbelievers. Yet the Apostle Paul made it clear that we are not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). In this session, we’ll unpack the problems associated with the opinion-based mentality and discover the vital importance of always beginning with God’s Word in order to effectively witness to those around us. We’ll discuss the best way to engage our culture, whether through social media or in real life, that honors our Creator and His Word.

I’m really looking forward to discussing the role of God’s Word as it relates to science, theology, and our everyday lives. For more information and to register, visit AnswersForWomen.org.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

We are so pleased to have Mary Mohler returning this year to present at the “Answers for Women” conference. Mary is the wife of Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the founder and director of Seminary Wives Institute, an academic program for student wives at Southern Seminary and Boyce College. However, her favorite roles are those of wife and mother. I asked Mary to give us some insight into her presentations for this year’s conference.

Modeling Modesty

Do you think of the virtue of modesty as an outdated, Victorian notion? Apparently, many women do. Modesty in dress for us as Christian women is an indication of our seriousness in showing the world and our fellow believers that we seek to be holy in all that we do. Join us for this seminar as we explore what the uphill battle to model modesty looks like in 2013 in light of steadfast Biblical mandates. We will seek to discover what the motivation is behind the abandonment of modesty that seems to be so prevalent even among believers and how to teach our daughters to go against the tide and embrace modesty for all the right reasons.

Embracing God’s Plan for Marriage in a World That Makes Up Its Own Rules

“Submission, are you serious? Don’t you know that you don’t have to be a doormat anymore?” Questions like these are too often the norm as an outraged society questions how women can voluntarily sign on for a marriage based on complementarianism, including male headship. However, these same people do not seem to be outraged at Scripture’s lofty command to husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave His life for them. God’s plan is best now just as it was when the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to pen the words of Scripture over 2,000 years ago. Let’s have an honest discussion about God’s blueprint for marriage and be reminded that we simply cannot improve upon His perfect plan.

Mary’s presentations were well-liked at last year’s women’s conference and are always biblically sound and practical. Whether we are young or old, single or married, a parent or not, the issues presented at Answers for Women are relevant for our lives as we seek to be godly women in an ungodly society.

Here are just a few comments we received about last year’s conference:

Mary Mohler—very energetic, would like to hear more from her.

Can’t wait for the next one.

I can’t thank you enough for a wonderful time of encouragement and equipping me.  This conference was great! I laughed, cried, and grew in faith and love of the Lord!

Next week I’ll share more information about a new speaker to the conference, Dr. Joy Fagan.

To register for the 2013 Answers for Women conference, go to AnswersForWomen.org.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

Since coming to Answers in Genesis, I have been deeply burdened to teach and equip women to defend God’s Word effectively. I knew all too well the problems with many Christian women’s conferences and resources. What they serve is kind of like cotton candy—it looks pretty and tastes sweet but is ultimately nothing more than puffed-up sugar that is short-lived in its effect and not ultimately filling or satisfying. The reason is that many times the speaking is not grounded in the Word of God; it’s just a bunch of personal “stories” and motivational speaking.

Further evidence of this is seen in an article titled “Why We Don’t Need Women’s Ministry.” The author, Sarah Bessey, commented as follows:

We’re choking on cutesy things and crafty bits, safe lady topics . . . We are hungry for authenticity and vulnerability . . . Some of us are drowning, suffocating, dying of thirst for want of the cold water of real community.

I would love to wrestle with some questions that don’t have a one-paragraph answer in your study guide. I would like to do a Bible study that does not have pink or flowers on the cover.

We want to give and serve and make a difference. We want to be challenged. We want to read books and talk politics, theology, and current events. We want to wrestle through our theology.[1]

I concur! Many times I have had women come up to me—after I have given my women’s presentations—and say, “I almost didn’t come today.” They then explain how they are sick and tired of going to women’s conferences that only present a superficial treatment of God’s Word, if the Bible is discussed at all.

Don’t despair—Answers for Women conferences are here! I think an appropriate byline for the conference should be “not your typical Christian women’s conference.” We will be delving deeply into God’s Word! Last year it was thrilling to host the first-ever Answers for Women conference at the Creation Museum. I was very encouraged by the feedback we received from this attendee:

So much new information that gives me more confidence in Scripture and make me love Jesus more! Please, please do this conference again. The quality of the conference is far better than any conference I’ve ever attended—very theologically sound and saturated in the proper understanding of Scripture. This is greatly needed for women in the church today. THANK YOU for helping me grow in Christ and the defense of His Word. You’ve better equipped me to homeschool and disciple my children and love my husband! I’ll be back next year with more women from my church, Lord willing.

We’ve changed the format a bit this year to make the conference accessible to more women. The conference will begin on a Friday evening (there will also be a special preconference session) and end by 3:00 on Saturday. This will also give you time to visit the Creation Museum. As we did with last year’s conference, the registration cost includes free admission to the Creation Museum for you and your immediate family. This allows you to enjoy the conference knowing the rest of the family is being educated and entertained nearby.

In the coming weeks I will share more details about the speakers and their topics. You won’t want to miss out!

Be sure to visit AnswersForWomen.org for more details.

Who: You!

What: Answers for Women Conference

When: May 3–4, 2013

Where: Creation Museum (near Cincinnati, Ohio)

Why: You love God and His Word!

How: Any way you can

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

[1]  Sarah Bessey, “Why We Don’t Need “Women’s” Ministry,” http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/155219-sarah-bessey-why-women-s-ministry-needs-jesus.html.

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

Over the Christmas break as I was waiting on my daughter to choose some books from our local library, I was intrigued when I saw a book titled My Life without God. The book is an autobiography written by William (Bill) Murray, son of Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Madalyn Murray O’Hair is infamous for her fight to remove prayer from public schools that was achieved through a Supreme Court decision in 1963.

As I read about Bill and Madalyn’s life, I just kept thinking, “How is it possible that a woman who was an avowed Marxist and wanted to defect to the Soviet Union was given so much media attention and influence in the U.S. government?” If Madalyn were alive today, she would be grouped with the “New Atheists.” She was passionate about hating God and wanted all the fame and glory for herself. I’ve often thought that cases to remove “In God We Trust” from U.S. currency and “under God” from the pledge of allegiance were modern battles. However, Madalyn was fighting these very same battles in the 1960s. She wanted every trace of God completely removed from society.

Bill’s story is a very sad account, and at times I wasn’t sure I would be able to finish the book. He endured a lot of abuse physically, mentally, and emotionally. One time, his mother read through his junior high history book and made this comment:

“I can’t believe all the hogwash in there. It treats the parting of the Red Sea just like it really happened. It’s incredible! Later on it talks about Jesus and says he was the son of God, that he performed miracles and rose from the dead. [Expletive] stuff I ever read. It has no place in a public school textbook!”[1]

Having graduated from the public school system, I was shocked that at one time biblical history was part of the history books! The battles Madalyn and others fought with the public school system have made a huge impact on the information taught there over the last 40–50 years. We really shouldn’t be surprised that there is so much violence among children, especially in school. This is the result of children learning that—instead of being created in the image of God—they are nothing more than the result of time, death, and chance.

Bill became very disillusioned about life over the years, but wasn’t willing to give up on atheism yet. He wrote a letter to 400 members of his mother’s atheist organization. He stated the following:

I wrote to them asking for support of positive rather than negative atheism. I suggested we use funds to establish atheist chairs at universities rather than to sue to have religious chairs removed. I recommended the construction of monuments and hospital wings.[2]

And what was the response of the atheists?

A handful of people sent contributions out of habit. But the overwhelming majority of those who answered my letter pelted me with such abuse that I was stunned. Over and over I read that the principal goal of atheism was the destruction of religion and that this was no time to build.[3]

Pure and simple atheism is nothing more than rebellion against God. That is its sole goal and purpose. There is nothing in atheism to “build” on. If you think people are nothing more than animals, evolved by random chance, then there is no ultimate meaning and purpose in life. Why build hospitals to save people’s lives? Why bother teaching people anything at all?

These events and others led Bill to believe that God must exist, so he gave his life to Christ at the age of 33. A short while later, Bill wrote a letter to the people of the city of Baltimore where the case to remove prayer in public schools had begun. He wrote as follows:

First, I would like to apologize to the people of the City of Baltimore for whatever part I played in the removal of Bible reading and praying from the public schools of that city. I now realize the value of this great tradition and the importance it has played in the past in keeping America a moral and lawful country. I can now see the damage this removal has caused to our nation in the form of loss of faith and moral decline.[4]

In some ways it is sad to think about the impact that one person with sinful motives and actions can make in this world. But we should rejoice that one person with Christ-centered motives and actions can also make an impact in this world. As we begin 2013, think about ways you can impact the world around you. How can you equip people to defend the authority of the truth of God’s Word? Maybe through a Bible study, Sunday school class, having a conversation with a neighbor or friend, or maybe sending resources to a loved one who has questions. We can all make a difference.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

[1] William J. Murray, My Life without God (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1982) p. 50.
[2] Ibid, p. 228.
[3] Ibid, pp. 228-229.
[4] Ibid, p. 247.

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

I had the privilege of speaking at the Sunday morning chapel service for the Tennessee Titans this past weekend. Reggie, their team chaplain, has a long relationship with our ministry (Ken Ham spoke to the team several years ago), so he wanted an AiG speaker this year.

Over the last few weeks, we had been considering the topic to be presented, and we finally settled on the issue of death and suffering. With the recent tragedies in Kansas City and in Dallas, this seemed appropriate.

I arrived early at the team hotel in Indianapolis (as it was an away game for the Titans), and I got together with Reggie. While on the elevator, Reggie mentioned that AiG’s talk on racism would be well received. So on the spur of the moment, I changed my whole talk.

There were about 40 players and coaches at the chapel service. This was one of the most attentive and appreciative audiences I have had in a long time. They seemed very connected to the talk, and they asked a lot of good questions.

After the talk, the majority of the players and coaches came by to thank me and shake my hand. Several of the young men gave me a hug and said that they had never heard anything like this before! A few of them said that they wanted to visit the Museum after their season ends.

We gave everyone a copy of Ken Ham’s book, The Lie, and copies of my new DVD on death and suffering.

After the meeting was over, the Titans were kind enough to provide us with tickets for the game.

All in all, it was a really great day.

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

A new website devoted to kids and sponsored by the American Humanist Association (AHA) says “Yes” to this blog post’s title. The homepage of the site states,

Welcome to Kids Without God, a site for the millions of young people around the world who have embraced science, rejected superstition, and are dedicated to being Good Without a God!

A cartoon dog, appropriately named Darwin, is used to teach kids what is supposedly true and false about the world they live in. Kids can flip through a storybook, where they learn that Darwin the dog “loves to do science experiments and test out theories about how the world works.” I’m glad Darwin the dog likes observational science (i.e., technology that gives us planes, computers, vaccines, etc.) but that is distinctly different from historical science (i.e., creation and evolution). We can study evidence like cells, fossils, and rocks in the observable present, but our worldviews or starting points determine how we interpret that evidence in relation to the unobservable past. Do we start with man’s ideas about the past—who wasn’t there during the supposed billions of years of earth history—or do we start with the Bible, the written revelation of the eyewitness account of the eternal God?

We learn that Darwin the dog likes to read stories from a “long, long time ago” but he knows those stories are false. Darwin knows it’s okay for people to believe those stories, but you don’t have to believe them to be a good person (more on this below). According to the book, Darwin “only believes in things that he can see in the real world. Things like friendship, and being nice, and learning.” I would love to know how you can “see” friendship, being nice, and learning! These are abstract concepts, not physical realities.

In another section children are encouraged to uphold seven promises that Darwin the dog has decided are the “best way to have lots of friends, and feel happy and satisfied every day.” So who determines how happiness and satisfaction are defined in the relativistic worldview of atheism? AHA has apparently decided they are the ultimate authority on this matter and so, being inconsistent with their own worldview, they proceed to tell children what they need to do to be happy and satisfied.

1. Be nice
2. Care for the world around us
3. Think for myself
4. Think about how other people feel
5. Tell the truth
6. Help others
7. Take good care of myself

As I read the list I couldn’t help thinking, “But why?” or “According to who?” When there is no ultimate authority other than man, each individual determines whether these are “promises” they should keep or not! Whether they decide to keep the promises or not, they cannot be considered wrong.

I doubt the AHA realizes this, but all except one of these promises has a biblical basis! The atheists have borrowed from a biblical worldview to argue against a biblical worldview. It is truly a self-refuting argument! Let’s look at the basis for each of these promises from Scripture. (Please note that I am only sharing a few verses for each promise; there are many more that could be used.)

1. Be nice. (Galatians 5:22–23) Being nice is not one of the fruits of the Spirit, but I think the overall concept being promoted here is encompassed in the fruits of the Spirit.
2. Care for the world around us. (Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15) God gave man dominion over the livings things He created and desired man to be a good steward of it.
3. Think for myself. (Colossians 2:8) Scripture actually speaks against this promise. Eve decided what was right and wrong according to herself, disobeyed God, and along with Adam’s disobedience she brought a curse upon all creation (Genesis 3). Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
4. Think about how other people feel. (Luke 6:31) Jesus gave the Golden Rule.
5. Tell the truth. (Exodus 20:16) This one of the Ten Commandments.
6. Help others. (Matthew 25:34–36) Jesus commands us to care for the sick and poor.
7. Take good care of myself. (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

These “promises” are consistent with a biblical worldview that holds Scripture as the ultimate authority.  Atheists must be inconsistent and borrow from a biblical worldview to state these things and uphold them as the highest good.

The accompanying parents’ site states,

We hope that you and your kids will enjoy reading about Darwin the Dog, who is committed to an uplifting, altruistic morality without the influence of religion; and who is able to enjoy mythology while still differentiating between the real and the imaginary.

You know what I hope? I hope and pray that kids and parents visiting the site will see the morally bankrupt, self-refuting arguments used by the atheists. I hope and pray that kids and parents will decide to visit the Kids Answers and Answers in Genesis websites and discover Bible-based answers to their questions about the world in which we live.

The Answers in Genesis theme for next year, “Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids,” resonated loudly in my mind as I browsed this atheist website for kids. I want to challenge each of you to do one thing (and I hope you’ll do many more!) to actively teach kids the truth of God’s Word in the coming year. Maybe it’s a trip to the Creation Museum, maybe it’s using resources like books and DVDs for Christmas presents, or maybe it’s teaching a Sunday school class (check out our amazing Answers Bible Curriculum). Just do something to help rescue our kids before they’re already gone!

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

Four years ago, I wrote an article titled “A Poke in the Eye? Lenski and the adaptive acrobatics of E. coli.” The article highlighted the work of evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski and his discovery of bacteria that had reportedly evolved a new complex trait. During the recent Bill Nye controversy (see here and here), Huff Post decried my supposed ignorance of Lenski’s work that they acknowledged as “evolution that has been observed in a laboratory setting.” Obviously, as I stated in a response to Huff Post, they didn’t do their homework!

Interestingly, as all this was going on, Lenski released a new paper showing the genetic changes that had occurred in E. coli. First, let’s review what Lenski reported in 2008.[1] E. coli (such as those found in our gut or in the soil outside our home) have the ability to utilize citrate as a carbon and energy source when oxygen levels are low. They transport citrate into the cell and break it down. Lenski’s lab reported that the E. coli they had been culturing in the lab for many years could now utilize citrate under normal oxygen levels. It’s fairly easy to see that this was not “a major innovation” or the “making of a rare and complex new trait”; it was simply a change in the regulation of when citrate was used by E. coli.

In Lenski’s 2012 paper he shows the genetic mechanism that caused E. coli to make this change.[2] The E. coli that had been cultured for many years in his lab had a duplication of a portion of their DNA that included the citrate transporter gene called citT. The citT gene encodes a protein that transports citrate into the cell. The duplicated citT gene was under different regulatory control than the original citT gene. This allowed the citrate transporter to be produced and citrate to be utilized under normal oxygen levels.

Clearly this is not a case of adding new genetic information as the DNA that already existed in the bacteria was merely duplicated. It’s also not an example of the gain of a new function because the bacteria could already utilize citrate under certain conditions. There was a definite loss of regulation as the original citT gene was only expressed under low oxygen levels. These types of changes do not provide a mechanism for adding the new genetic information required for the evolutionary “novelties” necessary for molecules-to-man evolution.

Lenski also noted that certain mutations occurred before and after the duplication event. Those before were deemed necessary to “potentiate” the duplication event and those after were deemed necessary to “refine” the duplication event. I was amazed at just how many changes were necessary to allow the bacteria to perform a pre-existing function (using citrate) under different conditions (normal oxygen levels). Imagine how many changes would be necessary to generate truly novel proteins with truly novel functions necessary for molecules-to-man evolution.  Impossible!

Lenski concluded in his recent paper, “The evolution of citrate use in an experimental E. coli population provided an unusual opportunity to study the multi-step origin of a key innovation.” No, it did not. It did provide further understanding of mechanisms that bacteria use to adapt to varying environmental conditions. God designed bacteria to be “master adapters” to survive and thrive in a post-Fall, post-Flood world. At times this can be to our detriment when bacteria cause disease, but this ability to adapt can also be put to good use for bioremediation and cleaning up our planet.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

[2] Zachary Blount, et al., “Genomic analysis of a key innovation in an experimental Escherichia coli population,” Nature 489 (2012): 513-518.

By Dr. Georgia Purdom

I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog that my dad was sorting through some old things that had belonged to his parents. During the sorting, he came across a letter that his father had sent to him while he served in the military. I never knew my grandfather, as he died of a heart attack many years before I was born. However, my dad always told me that we had a lot in common. We both loved teaching. My grandfather had wanted to attend college and become a teacher but did not have the resources to do so. However, he often taught Sunday school. My dad would tell me stories about how grandpa would work the night shift, come home, clean up for church, and then teach Sunday school. He was very dedicated.

In the letter my dad found, it was obvious that my grandfather and I have something else in common, our love of God’s Word and our willingness to fight for the Bible’s truthfulness and authority. My dad believes the letter was written around 1960 shortly before my grandfather died. My grandpa shared with my Dad some of the problems with Sunday school literature in his church.

We have a big meeting on the literature coming up this week. Pray for us. [Name withheld] told me this morning that he has found out that those who have written our literature do not believe that the Bible is necessarily the inspired word of God. I hope he has proof. If he has we have the battle won and I do mean battle. I had about sixteen in my class this morning. The lessons have wonderful titles but they do not always have the teaching to back it up. When this happens I turn to the inspired word of God and teach with his help.

It was so encouraging to me to visibly see this amazing godly legacy on paper! I feel a special connection to my grandfather now and I look forward to seeing him in heaven and discussing these things. Doubting the Bible is God’s Word started long before our modern times. In reality it’s been happening since shortly after creation, when Satan questioned God’s Word, “Did God really say . . . ?” (Genesis 3:1) and Eve chose not to believe God’s Word as truth. Almost 50 years before I started teaching Sunday school, my grandfather was having the same problems we’re experiencing with Sunday school literature today! There truly is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). I’m sure my grandfather would be thrilled with Answers Bible Curriculum (see my previous blog post) in which we teach children and adults alike to know and defend the Bible as the Word of God.

As I was sorting through these things with my dad, I came across one of my old children’s book called Noah’s Ark. The book was printed in 1969 by Golden Book and I was really impressed with the realistic pictures!

Front cover of the 1969 edition

Very realistic ark with the animals

As I looked for images from the book online I came across the 2003 version of Noah’s Ark from the same publisher.

Front cover of the 2003 edition

It appears that the publishers no longer think of the account of Noah’s Ark as real but merely a made-up child’s story.

I also noticed the wording in the book had changed.

[1969] God said to Noah, “I am going to flood the earth and destroy every living thing on it—except for you and your family and two of each kind of animal.

[2003] God said to Noah, “I am going to wash away the evil in the world with a great flood.” He told Noah to build a special boat, called an ark, to save his family.  “Bring into the ark two of every kind of animal,” God told Noah.

So their description of the Flood went from “flood the earth and destroy every living thing” to “wash away evil with a great flood.”  These are subtle but nonetheless significant differences that seem to imply more of a local flood with minimal impact in the 2003 edition. Praise God for our many children’s resources that don’t “myth” the ark!

My grandfather was right—this is a battle, and the battle will be won because we have the truth of God’s Word on our side.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

By Buddy Davis

Greetings. Thanks for stopping by. A lot has been happening since our last blog post.

I teamed up with Dan Breeding in August for a wild animal encounter. Dan is an expert in handling wild critters. I sang some songs and helped Dan with the animals in our program. Our show was well attended at the museum. We are scheduled to do it again next summer. We may even take it on the road.

I just finished a conference in Hamburg, New York. Next I’ll go to Duluth, Minnesota, to do a wild game dinner, and I will be back at the museum the next week.

On October 5, I will be doing a special concert for married couples who are celebrating 40 years together. They are calling the event “Legacy of Love.” It also includes a dinner.

Our newest DVD, Swamp Man!, is doing very well. I’m so excited about this series. Each DVD also comes with an 11 x 17 inch poster of the cover. This DVD is approx. 45 minutes long.

It also has an animated cartoon of me singing a song called, “Don’t Go Down Nightmare Pass.” The cartoon is based on a true story of when Kay and I kayaked 100 miles by ourselves through the Florida Everglades. Swamp Man! has another song included as well called, “The Lord Made Me To Be A Swamp Man.” We recorded this song in a Cajun style. What fun! There are many behind-the-scenes bonus features as well.

Swamp Man! is a family show I believe you will enjoy. It is a part of our series called Buddy’s Amazing Adventures.

We’re now getting geared up to start filming our third show, which will be about Caving. We’ll be traveling to several different caves in different states. It will be another exciting family show. I can’t wait to get started.

Our newest CD is themed on Noah, the Ark and the Flood. Since our ministries, AiG and the Creation Museum, are building a full scale model of Noah’s Ark, I was inspired to write 12 new songs on this subject. The songs are full of teaching about these events. Music is a great tool that our Creator has given us to share His good news.

There are even plans for us to bring out a songbook that goes along with the new CD, Noah Believed. The songbook will have guitar chords and piano music. I’ve included a brief description of scripture references and why I wrote each song.

Since I searched for Noah’s Ark myself, there will be a short story of my adventure on top of Mt. Ararat, one of the largest mountains in the world. Also included in the songbook will be my personal testimony. I sometimes give my testimony at AiG events. Many times I’ve been asked if it is available, so I wanted to include it in the songbook.

I will be traveling to do a sharathon for KGLE radio station in Glendive, Montana, in October. I’ll be there two days on radio from 6:00 am till 6:00 p.m. I will also be doing a concert in Glendive.

Our dinosaur dig went great this year! Thanks to Otis Kline and the Creation Museum for making this possible. We found some amazing fossils of T. Rex, the super star of the Dinosaurs. I hope someday you can join us on a dinosaur dig in the Badlands of Montana.

It was great to have my good friend, Joe Taylor, on the dig with us. Joe is an expert and I appreciate his willingness to help our team this year. I’m sure I could add much more but I’ll save it for later. Again, thanks for stopping by.

To God be the Glory for ever and ever.

By Buddy Davis

I’ve been very busy traveling during the past several months. Alaska, New York, Missouri, and North Carolina are a few of the places I’ve been recently. It’s always nice to get to meet new people and see old friends.

We were excited to learn this past week that our Amazing Adventures DVD, I Dig Dinosaurs, won a silver and bronze crown award from the International Christian Visual Media. This organization is the primary and most respected trade association for Christian professionals involved in film and video production.

I want to thank Ben Wilt and his team of Answers in Genesis staff, and all who helped make this DVD possible. This makes a total of four awards that I Dig Dinosaurs has received.

Our new show, Swamp Man, which is the second in the “Amazing Adventures with Buddy Davis” series, was released about a week ago. We had a lot of fun making it and have already received some great feedback from it.

Here are a couple of endorsements we received:

Buddy Davis comes across as a friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, fun-loving, God-loving swamp-man, who loves life with a passion. I found myself asking, ‘Man, is there anything this guy can’t do?’ I learned a lot from the video: Always check your sleeping bag for snakes, don’t swing on vines if you’re over 40, and stay away from the Everglades.
– Ray Comfort (Way of the Master Ministry)

I’ve lived only a few miles from the Florida Everglades for years now, yet I learned more about them from Buddy Davis in this video than I’ve learned from living here! Buddy is an able and affable guide, and your entire family will enjoy being led by the “Swamp Man” on this tour of one of the most fascinating theaters of God’s creative glory in the world.
– John Rabe, co-host of Cross Examine and producer, Truth in Action Ministries (formerly Coral Ridge Ministries).

We are getting ready to begin working on our third DVD, which will be about caves. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

This past month I released a new CD, Noah Believed. All of the songs are themed on Noah. I am sure these songs will be used for multiple teaching events on Noah and the Flood.

Come and join Dan Breeding and me for a great adventure this week (August 6–11) at the Creation Museum. We have two shows, one at noon and one at 3:00 PM on Monday through Saturday. It will be a lot of fun for the entire family, so come and experience the wild animal encounter.

I hope you are having a great summer—and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aigbuddydavis.

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

About 8–12 times per month I give a lecture in the museum for guests who want to hear it. On Saturday I gave one of my most common talks, “Is Genesis Relevant in Today’s World?” which explains mainly from Scripture why and how Genesis 1–11 is so foundational to the rest of the Bible and how evolution and millions of years assault the truth of Genesis and are at the root of the moral and spiritual collapse of the once-Christian West.

Each time I speak, there are always interesting people to meet afterward. Many tell me how much they appreciate what AiG is doing to provide answers to the lies of evolution and millions of years and call the church back to the authority of the Word of God. Some have biblical or scientific questions, and I do my best to provide answers.

On Saturday about 160 came to the talk, including a number of Chinese graduate and undergraduate university students who were brought by a church that ministers to internationals students. I was told that many of these Chinese students are not Christians, and for some this visit to the museum was their first exposure to anything contrary to evolution. Lift up a prayer that the truths these bright Chinese students heard will bear fruit in helping to bring them to faith in Christ to be witnesses back in China.

Another person I met is a biology professor at a Christian university, whom I’ll call Sue (not her real name, and she didn’t tell me the name of her university). She is up for vote to receive tenure, and she told me of the very real possibility that she may actually lose her job because her school holds to theistic evolution and she is a young-earth creationist. The irony is that some of the theology, philosophy and history professors have accused her of naivety and not really understanding evolution. The arrogance and ignorance of these non-science professors is breath-taking. I encouraged her to be faithful to the Word and pointed her to some books and DVDs that would help her be better prepared to deal with the professorial committee she has to stand before this week, and to better teach her students to think critically.

She also told me that many of her students had gone to a recent conference at Wheaton College, where theistic evolution and other compromised views were promoted. She said the students came back very confused because “there were so many nice and intelligent Christian scholars who have so many different views from the young-earth view.” I pointed out to Sue that this could actually teach these students a vitally important lesson, namely, that regardless of the position we take on this subject of origins and the meaning of Genesis, we cannot escape the very disheartening fact that some very good, nice, intelligent Christian people are seriously wrong. We simply can’t say that everyone who disagrees with us is wicked and ignorant and probably not saved. That would not be true to reality.

When I say that old-earth creationists and theistic evolutionists are wrong and their views are undermining the authority of Scripture and the truth of the gospel, I am not saying that they are not Christians or that they don’t believe in the death and Resurrection of Jesus for their salvation, are not sincere, are not moral, don’t love their spouse, and don’t care about evangelism, missions, and the poor. I’m sure that most old-earthers and theistic evolutionists are Christians, do love Jesus, do live moral, upstanding lives, do have good marriages and care about the lost and suffering. But they are still wrong about the age of the earth and evolution and the proper interpretation of Genesis, just like Peter was a true believer in Jesus as the Messiah but wrong about the death and Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 16:13–23), and just as he was an apostle mightily used by God but still succumbed to the fear of man and hypocrisy and undermined the gospel (Galatians 2:11–14). The views of old-earthers and theistic evolutionists simply will not stand up under careful scrutiny with an open Bible and when the assumptions driving evolutionary, old-earth interpretations of the scientific evidence are exposed. “Good Christians” can be seriously in error.

Would you lift up a prayer for Sue right now as she prepares over the next couple of days for her meeting with her tenure committee? Pray that God will keep the door open for her to continue to teach her students the truth of science and how to think critically and spot the faulty logic and erroneous assumptions used by evolutionists to promote ideas that undermine the Word and the gospel.

By

Spring is my favorite season, so I was very happy that it came early to Ohio this year. I’ve been enjoying all the flowers blooming and the warmer weather. At the Creation Museum the lilacs are in full bloom right now and they’re beautiful.

We were excited to find out that our song “The Bible is a Gold Mine” went up 14 points to number 28 in the national inspirational country charts for March. Arrangements are under way for another radio release—“King of Kings” from the I Am Not Ashamed CD. The folks handling my songs in Nashville felt it would do very well on radio. God is good, and we appreciate Him allowing our music to reach new audiences.

In the middle of March, the film crew from Answers in Genesis came to our home, and we worked on doing the last of the filming for our movie, Amazing Adventures in the Florida Everglades. Cowboy, our new horse, is in the film. I think he did a great job. I’m excited about this movie and even wrote two new songs for it.

Last week Kay and I visited Kaden Book at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. It was a blessing for us to meet Kaden and his family. This five-year-old boy is fighting leukemia and will be in the hospital for several more weeks. His favorite songs are “Woodpecker” and “Behemoth Is A Dinosaur.” He is sharing with his nurses about dinosaurs, the flood, and Noah’s Ark.

We’ve been down at the Creation Museum a lot recently, and are heading to Alaska next week. You can find out more about what we’re up to if you check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aigbuddydavis.

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Friends,

This past weekend, I spoke eight times in Rockford, Illinois.

We had about 60 at the middle school for a church plant outreach on Saturday night. Probably half were teens, several of whom thanked me—and most of them came to my Sunday night talks at another church. Several men at the meeting decided as a result to go to the pastor’s Bible study meeting tonight. Also a sharp, young man, who is an agnostic that the pastor has befriended and has been witnessing to for several months, attended the talk and told the pastor afterward that I had really given him some things to think about. He wants to process things for a few days and then get with the pastor to discuss his remaining questions. Would you lift up a prayer right now for that young man that he would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Lift up those three men who are coming to the Bible study tonight, that God would work in their lives, too. I don’t know if they are already believers or just investigating Christianity.

The lectures at the other church on Sunday and Monday were well attended and seemed to be well received. This church understands the importance of Genesis and has had an AiG speaker two years ago and another AiG speaker four years ago. But they were eager to learn more and there were also a lot people from the surrounding area who came to hear the talks. A lot of resources were purchased for further study and sharing with others. A number of people came up to me after the talks to ask more questions.  One questioner on Sunday night—after I talked about where the millions of years idea came from historically and Noah’s Flood—was a high school foreign exchange student from Germany, who asked what in the Bible ruled out millions of years. I quickly gave him these responses:

1. There is no biblical evidence for millions of years—the idea is shoe-horned into the Bible from outside. But it doesn’t fit, if we pay careful attention to the details of the Biblical text.
2. You can’t put millions of years into the Bible because then you would have massive death, disease, extinction and other natural evils in God’s very good creation before the Fall of man in sin.
3. The numbering of the days and repetition of “there was evening and there was morning” and the creation of the sun, moon, and stars for man to tell time (days, seasons, and years) shows that the days of creation are literal.
4. Exodus 20:11 rules out millions of years because God said He created everything in six days that were equal length with the six-day work week that God told the Jews to maintain. So there are not millions of years before day 1 (gap theory) nor millions of years in each day (day-age theory) nor millions of years between each of the literal days (day-gap-day theory). And there is abundant Old Testament and New Testament evidence that Genesis 1 is history, not poetry, allegory, myth, or some other kind of non-literal, non-historical literature.
5. Jesus said in Mark 10:6 that Adam and Eve were right there at the beginning of creation, not billions of years after the beginning (as would be the case if the earth and universe were billions of years old. Jesus also believed in the global catastrophic Flood of Noah’s Day. So Jesus was a young-earth creationist.
6. Paul says in Romans 1:18–20 that the witness of the creation to God’s existence and at least some of His attributes have been seen and understood by people “since the creation of the world,” implying that, like Jesus, Paul believed man has been in existed as long as the rest of creation. (Minus a few days—which, when plotted on a thousands-of-years timescale from Paul and Jesus to creation, is essentially the beginning of creation. This is understood when speaking in non-technical, everyday language, as Paul and Jesus were.)

This German boy is not a Christian but is living with a family from the church this year and seemed to be really thinking about what I said. Lift up a prayer for him to come to know the Lord Jesus, please.

Thanks for praying.

Terry

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Friends,

I recently returned from a very busy 17-day trip (January 13–30) to Russia and Albania, speaking on creation (almost always through a translator).

In Russia, I spoke 10 times at a seminary in Samara for a conference on creation attended by about 120 seminary students, pastors, and other church leaders—some of whom traveled over 300 miles to attend. All the talks were videotaped, and most were streamed live on the Internet. Several hundred people from other parts of Russia and Ukraine either watched live or downloaded the lectures since the conference.

In Moscow I gave two public lectures at a college of economics. It was exam time so only about 50 students and laypeople came, but 12 of them (including some non-believers) stayed afterwards for an hour to ask questions. The next day, I gave two lectures to about 150 at Second Baptist Church. Later at the national headquarters of the Russian Baptist Union I did a one-hour, video-taped interview that will be put on the Internet in the future.

From Moscow I flew three time zones east to frigid Novosibirsk, Siberia (about -25 degrees Celsius). I spoke seven times for a seminary conference of about 120 people (many were seminary students and pastors). Some men traveled up to 700 miles to attend. People were very hungry for the information I shared.

The last night there, I participated in a three-hour “discussion” with scientists before an audience of about 90 students and lay people. This meeting was also sponsored by the seminary. One of the men on the panel was a polytheist geneticist with some doubts about evolution. Another was an atheist astrophysicist. Then there was a young-earth creation biologist and me. It was an interesting evening and all the questions were aimed at the geneticist and astrophysicist, neither of whom gave much evidence for their views.

I left the Russian PowerPoint slides for all 10 of my talks with leaders in Samara, Moscow, and Novosibirsk. People were eager to duplicate them for use in churches. Just the other day, I got an email from Moscow saying that my PowerPoint talks will also be made available at a national conference for youth leaders from all over Russia this week.

From Novosibirsk I flew to Albania—a long day from 4 AM until midnight across five hours of time-zone change. In Tirana, Albania, I enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the Campus Crusade for Christ national director and his family, Ylli and Nikki Doci. I spoke four times in the large auditorium of the CCC office building to a group of university students, a group of high school students, a mixed group of students and lay people, and then a Sunday morning church service that meets in that facility. At most of these sessions many of the people stayed after the lecture for 30–45 minutes of Q and A. I also spoke to three different groups of students at the K–12 international Christian school in Tirana for the kids of missionaries, business people, and diplomats from many countries. One of the children was quite impacted by my presentation, and after talking to his mom, she is now open to consider the gospel.

Additionally, I had a two-hour discussion with one of the teachers who had a lot of questions about creation, especially regarding the age of the earth. He found the discussion helpful, and I sent him a follow-up email with links to AiG articles that I think will further stimulate his thinking. Even though I only used a few of my translated talks in Albania, I left all 10 of the PowerPoint talks in Albania, and I know of at least one man who wants them all to use in his own budding creation ministry.

Not only did many Christians tell me that the talks were informative and encouraging, but several non-Christians also thanked me for the thought-provoking lectures. One was an economics professor (and his wife) and another was an Italian man (and his wife) who works with INTERPOL (the international policy organization). Ylli and Nikki have witnessed to all of these four in the past and will continue to follow-up with them. After the church service Ylli, Nikki and I went out for lunch with the Italian couple and we had further opportunity to talk to them further about creation, the truth of the Bible and the gospel. Later I learned from Nikki that this all had made quite an impact on the husband so that he is much more open to consider the gospel than he was in the past.

So here is a summary of the known results of the trip.

• 28 lectures and 10 Q and A sessions
• All my translated PPT slides in two languages left in five cities for people to copy and use (including Albanian ITS guy)
• Eight lectures videotaped in Russian and streamed on Internet. These will be made into a DVD set for sale hopefully in June (with all the video talks, all my PPT slides, three published papers that have been previously translated into Russian, and a link to the Ukrainian creationist website where people can purchase the Russian version of Coming to Grips with Genesis)
• One TV interview taped for an potential audience of 300,000
• Two videotaped interviews for two Russian Christian web sites
• One talk videotaped and two radio programs recorded for Albanian CCC
• Many non-believers challenged in their thinking
• Many Christians (including some missionaries and many pastors and seminary students) encouraged, challenged, and equipped
• Russians and Albanians want to translate more AiG literature and DVDs to get more truth into the hands of believers for strengthening their own faith and for witnessing to the lost.

Before joining AiG in 2001, I spent almost 20 years ministering in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. That part of the world has a special place in my heart, and I praise God for the privilege of serving Him there this past month. To Him be the glory for what He did and will do through these efforts! Now it’s back to work on a myriad of things related to a full spring schedule here in the U.S.

Terry

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

As I finish my last few days of Christmas vacation, I look back on 2011 and realize what an amazing year it was.

I traveled over 50,000 miles and participated in 36 conferences and events. There were pastor’s lunches and speaker sessions at the Creation Museum. I met countless people who gave testimony about how their Christian walk was strengthened by the ministry of Answers in Genesis. These things all make me realize how blessed I am to be a part of this ministry.

I was able to achieve a personal goal in 2011. I was able to visit my five favorite places in the same calendar year! Of course, my favorite place is the Creation Museum so that one was easy. The other four took a little planning.

In January, I took an extra day at the end of an event in Pennsylvania and spent a morning touring the Martin Guitar factory. It had been 10 years since my first visit to the factory, and it was a blast. A great start to 2011.

In April, I made my fifth trip to Augusta National Golf club, where I (and three of my best buddies) attended a practice round before the start of the Masters Tournament. I am not much of a golfer, but I love walking around Augusta National. It is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth.

In May, Liz and I traveled to Nashville, where we went to see Paul Simon at the Ryman Auditorium. This was absolutely the best concert I have ever attended! One of my musical heroes playing at the finest concert hall in the world—it doesn’t get much better than that.

Then in November, I completed my quest by visiting Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. For the true Mac lover this is almost a mandatory trip. Imagine, the place where Mac OSX, iPods, iPhones, and iPad were born! Needless to say, I spent way too much money at the company store, but I did come home with some great souvenirs.

All five places in 2011—I won’t call this a bucket list but it was way cool!

All my travels kept me away more than I would like, and I often found myself quite homesick. I really don’t travel that well. But I did get to have some very special times with Liz. We went to Disney World for two days in September (using 22-year-old left-over tickets), and after my Northern Ireland tour, we had four days together in London. I even took Liz to see Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theater while were there (it wasn’t Paul Simon, but Liz thoroughly enjoyed it!).

It looks like 2012 is going to be even busier than 2011. I already have over 30 events booked on my schedule., including our AiG Family Conference in Branson, homeschool conferences, and several pastor’s conferences.

I have begun work on volume two of the Answers Book for Teens, and there are two other book projects I am working on, including a series of books on the human body. We will also be preparing a new video series early next year. So I guess you could say I have more than enough to do.

But I can’t wait to get started!

Thank you all for your prayers over the course of 2011. I appreciate your cards and letters, your emails, and your kind words of encouragement. Let’s all pray for lives to be changed in 2012!

By Buddy Davis

It has been a while since we last posted, but we wanted to update you on what’s been going on here. I spent the first two weeks of December in Florida. We had a couple of days of vacation, then we spent the rest of the time working on filming our next Amazing Adventures DVD, which is all about swamps. If you haven’t gotten the first in this series, I Dig Dinosaurs, it is available through Answers in Genesis.

Doing the filming was really cool and also a lot of hard work. One day we used an airboat, and another day we went kayaking in the Everglades wilderness. We also got to do some close work with dolphins and manatees. It was strange coming home from warm southern Florida to snowy Ohio. We’re not finished with the DVD yet, as we still have to complete the opening and closing, a ton of editing, and sound tracks, etc. We have gotten a lot accomplished though, and we’re excited about it. The entire Media Team at Answers in Genesis is extremely gifted, and we are happy to get to work with them.

This fall, we also got two horses. We spent a lot of time putting up fence and getting the barn ready for them. The horses are green broke, but still need work, lots of love, and handling to fully gain their trust.

We are really excited that my song, “Singing with the Saints” (from the CD, I Am Not Ashamed), hit the Inspirational Country Charts, and is Number 22 in the nation. We just released, “The Bible Is A Gold Mine” (from the Soar CD) as our second national radio release. We are thrilled at the response and give God all the glory.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for our ministry! We appreciate you very much. We hope you have a Happy New Year and a great 2012. You can find out more about what we’re up to if you check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aigbuddydavis.

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

I am now in London, taking a few days with Liz to see the sights. Feeling very tired, but very encouraged by all that happened on our Northern Ireland tour. As I think back . . .

I was privileged to speak in every county in Northern Ireland and slept in all but one. We drove hundreds of miles, although an exact count was not kept. I met loads of wonderful, dedicated Christians. I experienced the hospitality of pastors and missionaries who opened their homes to Neil and me. I never went hungry. I consumed more tea than I ever imagined (there is not a break in any activity in Northern Ireland that is not accompanied by the consumption of tea or coffee, all in all, not a bad tradition).

I drove by historic golf courses, saw beautiful coastlines, and got terribly homesick. One of the most amazing events of the week was that I got a ride in a $250,000 supercar. A member of one of the churches where I spoke was a member of a supercar club, and he took me for a ride. So this is what I did that morning instead of preaching (don’t tell Ken Ham):

A wee drive in the country . . .

So here we are—the tour is complete. I am very encouraged by the testimonies I received from those who came to the events. I am certain that many things will come to mind over the next few weeks as I have time to contemplate all the happened during our tour. It was an amazing adventure and a time of great blessing for both Neil and me.

Thanks for all your prayers! I really need a nap.

Lisburn

Driving in Omagh

Raining...and cold

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

On December 2 we actually had a morning off, and I got to play tourist. We drove along the north coast of Northern Ireland and ended at the Giant’s Causeway. It was very windy and cold that day, but we all had a great time. I had lots of time there to be educated about how many million years it took for these formations to form. Fascinating.

At Giant's Causeway

That night I spoke at the Old Courthouse in Markethill. This talk was open to the public, and even though the weather was terrible, the folks who attended were enthusiastic about the message.

Markethill Courthouse

The only problem with the Markethill event was that I managed to fall down a stairwell. I was trying to adjust the volume on the PA system, and I stepped past a ledge and fell. The next day I was very sore, but luckily I suffered no permanent damage (except perhaps to my pride).

Saturday found me in a living room with nine young people having a question and answer apologetics session. They had lots of questions, and I tried to provide them with lots of answers. After we finished I bought each of these young people a copy of Dr. Jason Lisle’s book Ultimate Proof of Creation (which they all promised to read).

Saturday night was to be a planned night off, but as usual, that changed. We got word from a church in Magherafelt that their young people’s group wanted us to come and speak. This youth group had gotten a copy of the UK Answers Update newsletter and noticed that my Saturday night appeared open. They begged the pastor to call and ask if I could come to their meeting. I was told that they were planning on showing a Ken Han video that night, but hoped they could get me instead. Well, when I heard these poor young people might be stuck with Ken Ham, there was only one thing for me to do. We drove for an hour and half and met with them. The usual attendance for the meeting is 20, but there were over 60 at the meeting! It was a genuine blessing to meet them. They obviously love AiG!

Link Youth Group

Our final day of ministry was Sunday, December 4. I spoke at a home church in the morning and traveled to Ballygowan for the evening. The two sessions that night completed our UK tour.

I don’t remember ever being this tired, but at the same time there was tremendous ministry done over the course of our time in Northern Ireland. We drove for hours every day, and I felt like we were constantly loading and unload the resources from the van. We got up early and went to bed late, but I would not change a minute of it.

The Lord really blessed in Northern Ireland.

By Dr. David Menton

While the typical visitor to the Creation Museum is a Christian who probably already believes in creation, we do get visitors who are highly skeptical of creation and the Bible. This year, I had the opportunity to conduct a special workshop at the museum for about 50 students and their teachers involved in a class on evolution at Ohio State University. They were respectful and attentive, but most were clearly disinclined to consider even the possibility of creation. They seemed absolutely and unalterably convinced that random genetic change and natural selection explain the chance origin of everything in the biosphere.

I apparently failed to dissuade them of their views by pointing out the statistical improbability of evolution or the logical weaknesses of evolutionary claims and assumptions.  They didn’t seem particularly impressed when I described the profound integrated complexity of various organs of our body. They didn’t even bother to challenge my claim that evolution contributes nothing to the understanding and advancement of empirical science. Evolutionism was their worldview, and I doubt any scientific arguments are likely to change this.

How, we might ask, can these bright young students and their teachers be so absolutely certain that unguided and goalless natural processes have produced everything in the cosmos? The answer is quite simple and can be summed up in two words: how else? After all, there can be no more compelling evidence for something than to be convinced there is no other way. Thus, if one is dead certain that everything that is real is material (matter, energy, time and space), then what other explanation for the origin of the cosmos and the biosphere is there than it all just happened by the intrinsic properties of nature? Since creation involves divine intervention and thus is not a purely naturalistic process, the very possibility of its occurrence is out of the question for the materialist.

I wasn’t surprised by the sort of questions I got from the group, but I was a bit surprised by one of their claims. It appeared to be a widely held opinion among them that evolution is completely compatible with Christianity. This gave me the opportunity to briefly compare and contrast the essence of evolutionism with the essence of biblical Christianity. I explained to them how Christianity critically depends on the real history of both the first Adam and the second Adam. I told them how Adam’s fall into sin led to suffering and death and how our salvation was achieved through the redemptive work of Christ. I concluded that any worldview that makes death both natural and permanent fundamentally undermines the very essence of Christianity.

I wish I could tell you of a mass conversion after my brief testimony, but such was not the case. Rather, they explained to me that the compatibility of evolution and Christianity should be obvious to anyone who understands that the Bible was written by pre-scientific people and is thus a collection of myths that should not be confused with science (i.e., evolution). They seemed puzzled that some Christians don’t understand this. They pointed out with great satisfaction all the Christians who do understand that the Bible is a book of myths. Didn’t I see, they asked, that once Christians understand that Christianity is just one of thousands of religions that have stemmed from the imagination of man, it removes all conflict between Christianity and evolution? What a terrible price to pay for compatibility!

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

Day Six of the tour of Northern Ireland began with a welcome change, a morning off! A couple extra hours of sleep and a leisurely breakfast was a change from the very hectic pace we had been keeping the previous few days.

Our destination for the evening was the Straid Congregational Church in, of all places, Straid. The pastor was expecting an average attendance, but before the first talk began, we were putting out several extra rows of chairs. I really enjoyed the time with all the folks who came out. I even met a man who had visited the Creation Museum last summer!

Day seven began with a school talk for about 30 young men. I spoke on evolution and medicine. These students were really engaged with the talk, and there were many great questions.

In this particular class there was one young man who seemed especially unhappy with what I was presenting. He challenged me on many points (very respectfully) and did not seem to accept anything I said. I later found out that he openly described himself as an atheist, which did not surprise me. He approached me after the session and told me he did not agree with anything I said, but he appreciated my trying to answers his questions. We need to keep this young man in prayer.

That night we were at Hebron Free Presbyterian Church in Ballymoney for two sessions. There we had another packed house. I especially enjoyed these two talks because I got to use my iPad as a remote control for my Keynote presentations. This is something that I have to do on occasion when there is no VGA connection at the pulpit.

I do want to mention several very special people. I would like to thank William and Rosalind Brown who were so gracious to open their home to Neil and I on days four and five of our trip. Also, I want to extend a special thanks to Pastor Paul Bradley and his wife Jacki for putting us up on our trip to Straid. We were made most welcome in both of these homes, and I will keep fond memories of my time there.

We continue to be very encouraged on this tour. In fact, several of the churches have indicated that they would welcome us back anytime we are in the area.

We plan to do a little sight seeing in the AM, and then we will be off again!

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

We are still having great ministry here in Northern Ireland.

On Sunday morning Lisburn Free Presbyterian Church hosted us. The pastor there is the Rev. Thomas Martin. He and I seemed to hit it off immediately. We are apparently birds of a feather. He has been an AiG supporter for years and gave his congregation a strong word of recommendation for our ministry.

After the morning service, we were taken away fed an incredible lunch that was followed a few hours later by tea, biscuits, and a birthday cake for our host’s wife.

Sunday night found us back at Hillsborough Free Presbyterian Church. On our return there we continued to hear testimonies from the congregation about how blessed they were by the session on Friday night. It was humbling to hear such nice things said about the message.

After the service, we were again taken for a great meal. In fact, we were fed so well on that Sunday that I finally uttered words that I never thought I would say. I finally had to admit, “I’m full!” (That is very difficult for me.)

Monday was the first break we had from the rain. The sun was actually out for a couple of hours before the rains came again—it was nice while it lasted. On Monday afternoon I had the privilege of speaking to the Scripture Union at Portora Royal School. Sixty or so student attended the lecture, and there was a spirited time of questions and answers afterwards. In speaking to several faculty members, I found out that this school is over 400 years old. Both Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde were students at this school. Pretty neat, huh?

That night, we moved on to Enniskillen Independent Methodist Church. Rev. William Park is the pastor there, and it was immediately obvious that he, too, loves AiG’s ministry. Not only is he enthusiastic about Answers in Genesis, but he also makes a great cup of tea!

On Tuesday the rains came again in earnest, but we pressed on. There were two school sessions Tuesday, both in Omagh. The second session was especially well attended, as 70 students and 12 faculty came to a lunch meeting of the school Scripture Union. There were questions and answers in both student meetings.

At the evening meeting on Tuesday, one of the faculty members from Portora Royal School was in attendance. He told me that one young man in particular had been struck by what had been presented the day before, and he had lunch with him that day. The young man had many questions answered by my presentation, and he was anxious to share these things with his teacher. We praise God that the message has been touching the hearts of the youth!

I must admit that as I am writing this blog, I am very tired. I hope to be able to get a little more sleep tonight in preparation for another very busy five days here in the UK. Please pray that not only my body, but my voice holds out as we continue a very full ministry schedule.

Me and Rev. Thomas Martin

Sunday night in Hillsborough

School Session

Driving in Omagh

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

Ministry began in Northern Ireland on the evening of November 25. I was speaking at Hillsborough Free Presbyterian Church. This was to be primarily a youth meeting, but the attendees were about half youth and half adults. I spoke on the topic of death and suffering, and there was an incredible response from both young and old alike. Several people spoke to me about their own personal experiences with death of friends and family members. It really did seem to strike a chord in this church.

The next morning, the pastor told me that everyone was still “buzzing” about the talk from the night before. That is always great news. The pastor, in particular, seemed pleased with the message. As it turns out, the pastor, Gary Goodes, is a native Australian. I think I understood him particularly well.

Later on that Saturday morning, I was to participate in an “open air” session in the center of Lisburn. Basically an “open air” is street evangelism. This was to be held at the Lisburn town center. As this is not really my strong suit, I was very apprehensive about the whole thing. Frankly, I can’t remember ever being that nervous. When we arrived, it was windy, cold, and raining. I remember thinking, “Oh, perfect!” I did manage to pull it off, I think without embarrassing myself too much. It is merciful that I was so scared because I really don’t remember much about it.

On the Saturday night, I spoke at the Dunamis Youth Event in Craigavon. There were about 200 in attendance. I did a two-part talk entitled “Do you Really Have Answers?” The group seemed attentive but was not terribly interactive. There was a praise band playing between my two talks, and most likely the youth were there more to hear the band than my talks. By the time we got all the resources packed and put in the van, it was past 11 PM. I did not get back to my room until after midnight.

All in all, it has been a pretty good start to our Northern Ireland ministry. Here are some photos:

Me speaking at Hillsborough Free Presbyterian Church

At the "open air" in Lisburn

The Dunamis Youth Event

By Dr. Tommy Mitchell

Well, I am finally in the UK!

I flew from Cincinnati to Detroit to London-Heathrow to Belfast. It was a lot of time in the air, but it passed fairly quickly. The best surprise was that the seat next to me on the London flight was unoccupied, so I had a lot of room to stretch, and I did manage to get a little sleep.

The line at customs at Heathrow took about an hour and a half, but I got through without any difficulty, collected my suitcase and proceeded to Terminal One for my Belfast flight. Things did not go as well there.

When I went thought that security checkpoint, they confiscated my laser pointer. My very own, extra-special, super-duper, extra-sharp, had-my-name-engraved-on-it-and-everything laser pointer. I had traveled with it for several years, both domestic and international, without it even being questioned. Apparently regulations have changed. Through my sadness, I did eventually get to Belfast and had fish and chips for supper, which did make my day brighter.

I’ll be at a very nice little hotel for the next four days, where I will have Internet access. After that I will be staying in private homes, so I am unsure of Internet access in those settings. We will be going to an early men’s prayer meeting in the morning (Friday) and will hold a youth rally tomorrow night.

Now I’m gonna make Ken buy me a new laser pointer . . . .

I’ll keep you posted!

By Dr. David Menton

I was recently invited to speak for a special event at the Creation and Earth History Museum in Santee, California. This museum incorporates the building and exhibits of the former Institute for Creation Research (ICR) museum. When ICR moved its operations to Dallas, Texas, their facilities in Santee were purchased by Tom Cantor, president of Scantibodies Laboratory—a major producer of antibodies, serums, and test kits for medical use. You will be pleased to learn that Mr. Cantor, a dedicated Christian and distinguished scientist, has not only kept the ICR museum open to the public, but has substantially increased its space and number of exhibits.

Prior to flying out to Santee, I learned that the museum and its invited speakers (Duane Gish, Steve Austin, David Hillaker and I) were to be the object of a protest by an organization known as the San Diego New Atheists (SDNA). The organizer of the protest was John Viggiano, an atheist who considers creationists to be “delusional.” Viggiano, who is an employee of Scantibodies Laboratory, is quoted in the East County Magazine (November 15, 2011) as saying that Cantor, a brilliant biochemist, founder and owner of Scantibodies Laboratory, is “providing bad science to the public.” This sort of thing gives arrogance a bad name.

In an announcement of the museum protest posted on Meetup.com (and quoted in Christianpost.com), Viggiano claimed that he hoped to “focus more on improving the public image of science than on criticizing creationism.” Confusing his perceived image of science with that of atheists, he claimed to be put off by “the angry atheist thing” and invited his fellow atheists to “come join me in a positive, upbeat protest.” During the course of the day, nearly 20 “positive” atheists showed up at the museum, though one had to be asked to leave when he repeatedly turned off the video monitors for the museum exhibits.

Most of the demonstrators never entered the museum to see the exhibits or hear the lectures, but rather stood on the sidewalk out front arguing with museum visitors. Many of the visitors, including some homeschooled children, seemed to genuinely enjoy arguing with the atheists. To the credit of all concerned (especially the security guards), the arguments remained intense but peaceful. I suspect that were it not for the well-publicized promise of a protest by atheists, the museum might not have attracted such an unexpectedly large overflow crowd.

A protest just wouldn’t be a protest without signs and placards, and they were much in evidence. One indignant atheist bore a sign asking, “Can we teach evolution in your church?” You can indeed teach evolution in a lot of liberal churches, but I gather he was miffed that conservative Christians would dare to teach creation in what he considers to be the atheist’s private domain of science. It is noteworthy that no atheist felt it necessary to carry a sign asking, “Can we teach evolution in your tax-supported public schools?” In an effort to correct the “angry atheist” image, other protestors waved signs with such “upbeat” and “positive” messages as “No to organized ignorance” and “Thou shalt not lie”—and this from the sort of folks who oppose public display of the Ten Commandments!

I guess it is not easy for atheists to be positive when they chose to be identified by what they don’t believe. But most people are more interested in what folks do believe than what they don’t believe. I assume that the atheist protestors do in fact believe in empirical science, but then so do Mr. Cantor and his invited creationist speakers, who hold earned degrees in science from top universities such as the University of California San Diego, University of California Berkeley, Penn State, and Brown.

Still, I almost have to admire the zeal of the atheists who stood out in the hot sun all day long on a sunny Saturday in southern California, determined in their purpose of convincing folks that there is no purpose. Sadly, there are many Christians who seem to lack such zeal, though they have a marvelous purpose in the redemptive work of Christ to share with everyone—including atheists—that will be to their great benefit both here and in eternity.

By Buddy Davis

I got back from fly fishing in Colorado a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I have spent my weekends building fence.

I was a guest on a video series, Samuel L. Collins and the Search for Biblical Truths, that was filmed at the Creation Museum. I had a lot of fun working with the cast and crew. Here is a photo of one of the scenes in the Garden of Eden room at the museum. We also filmed in the dinosaur den and many other rooms in the museum. It took two days to complete all of our part of the filming.

My song “Singing with the Saints” on the “I Am Not Ashamed” CD is in the national charts on Inspiration Country.

I am getting ready to film the next Buddy’s Amazing Adventures DVD on the Florida Everglades. Check out our first DVD in the series, I Dig Dinosaurs—filmed on a real dinosaur dig in Montana. It is a DVD you can enjoy with the whole family.

This week I am at the museum doing the “African Animal Adventure” workshop and a music concert Monday through Friday.

By Buddy Davis

This month has been very busy. The photos I have included are of the first Dinosaur Dig in Glendive, Montana during the second week of July. We had 21 people from all over the country join me for the week. We found lots of dinosaur bones, fossilized turtle shell, alligator teeth, and some fossilized figs.

Going to the dig site

Hard at work

Another dig site

Taking some overburden off

Last week, I did 11 concerts, five workshops, and two family dinosaur tours at the museum. I was home for one day and then I flew to Montana to start our second Dinosaur Dig.

I work in conjunction with the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum. We are praying for good weather this week. If it rains in the badlands, the slopes are too slippery to climb to get to the dig site.

I have also been busy writing new music and working on the script for our new show. I was very happy to see my newest DVD, I Dig Dinosaurs on the shelf of the bookstore. It is a family show and covers lots of information about digging up dinosaur bones. It is also full of information with facts on dinosaurs from a biblical point of view. We did it in a fun way, and this is the pilot show for 13 episodes. The next DVD will be on life in the swamp.

My newest DVD!

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

An enlightening July 20th blog on global warming by Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, reveals inadvertently what creationists are up against in the battle for truth over the question of origins. I’ve interspersed comments about creation and evolution into her indented remarks about global warming.

Her article begins as follows:

I am open-mouthed. The BBC Trust is recommending that its journalists ditch balance for propaganda.

A report being published today has apparently decided that the BBC no longer needs to interview man-made global warming sceptics because there is a consensus on this issue that the theory is true.

Its conclusions are said to be based in part on recommendations by the geneticist Professor Steve Jones. Astonishingly, he is said not only to have found no evidence of bias in the BBC’s output on climate change, but suggests that on issues like this where he says there is a “scientific consensus” – also including the MMR vaccination and genetically modified crops – there should be no need for the BBC to find opponents of the mainstream view.

This is as terrifying as it is outrageous. First of all, the claim that there is a consensus on man-made global warming is itself false. The wickedly cynical propaganda strategy to promote this false belief in a consensus was described in an eye-opening blog post by James Delingpole in the Telegraph last year . . .

The media and scientific establishment’s leadership are not only suppressing scientific evidence that refutes the global warming agenda. They are doing the same to any scientists (young-earth creationists or Intelligent Design proponents) who raise biological and genetic scientific objections to microbe-to-microbiologist evolution. And they are trying to silence or slander any scientists (young-earth creationists) who raise geological and astronomical scientific objections against the consensus view that the earth and universe are billions of years old. It is a complete myth, generated by the media and scientific establishment, that young-earth creationists are not real scientists with real and significant scientific reasons for rejecting evolution and millions of years.

There is no consensus on man-made global warming. There are in fact hundreds of scientists at the very least, amongst them some of the most distinguished in their field, who are sceptical about the theory. Some of them, such as the meteorologist Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT, have testified to the outright fraud and intimidation used to support the climate change scam. Some have been subjected to professional ostracism, loss of grant funding, vilification and even death threats because they have stood up for scientific evidence against the gross perversion of science involved in what is probably the most intellectually corrupt episode in scientific history. Such wholesale intimidation means that without a shadow of a doubt many more scientists are climate change sceptics than are registered in public debate.

There is also no scientific consensus about evolution and millions of years. There are in fact thousands of MS and PhD scientists around the world who are young-earth creationists. Many thousands more reject molecules-to-man evolution. But most of them remain silent because of the professional and occupational dangers of doing otherwise. As shown by the movie Expelled and Jerry Bergman’s book, there is tremendous persecution of those who make public their skepticism about evolution and even greater opposition to those who deny evolution and millions of years.

This is nothing less than a totalitarian agenda. Indeed, why stop at science? If “consensus” dictates what is to be reported, and consensus is itself subjectively determined on the basis of the presumed weight of expert opinion (which can never be truly known) or the presumed agreement of the population (which can never be truly known), then it follows that on issues such as abortion, membership of the EU or immigration (on which even the BBC has been forced to admit it got public opinion terribly wrong) the BBC would similarly see ‘no need’ to allow alternatives to chattering-class opinion to be heard.

A free society requires toleration of dissent. Progress depends upon the recognition that today’s dissent may turn into tomorrow’s orthodoxy. Science is littered with examples of this, from Galileo onwards. Indeed, the idea that a presumed consensus should wipe out dissenting voices is positively anti-science. If science doesn’t have an open-mind, it is no longer science but propaganda. And that is what the BBC Trust is proposing.

The BBC Trust is supposed to be the guardian of the public interest. Its role is to ensure that the BBC adheres to the high standards of its charter. But with this recommendation, the Trust has shown that it will destroy the BBC’s duty of fairness and impartiality and replace it by an Orwellian double-speak on the grounds that there are certain ideas which cannot be challenged. This is not guarding the sacred flame of journalistic integrity. It is a secular Inquisition.

The totalitarian, secular inquisition against young-earth creation scientists has been going on for 200 years, ever since the Scriptural geologists were effectively ignored and eventually silenced in their opposition to old-earth geological theory—which laid the foundation for old-universe, big bang astronomical theory—and Darwinian evolutionary theory.

And why is all this happening? Because science is not the objective unbiased pursuit of truth that most people think it is. Every scientist has a worldview that he brings to his work. And for the last 200 years scientists have been dominated for the most part by an anti-biblical, atheistic, naturalistic worldview. As a result, most of the world has believed a gross lie: millions of years of evolution. And millions of Christians, including most Christian leaders and Bible scholars, have abandoned the clear teaching of Genesis about a literal, six-day creation about 6,000 years ago followed by a global, catastrophic Flood at the time of Noah.

Christians need to wake up to the powerful anti-God bias in science that is turning science into vehicle of double-speak propaganda to manipulate the masses and take away our freedoms. They need to wake up to the “newspeak” going on in most Christian colleges and seminaries that are compromised with evolution and millions of years, as this eye-opening book documents.

We need to stand on the authority of God’s Word and become informed about the scientific evidences that confirm His Word, so that our children and grandchildren, lost neighbors, friends, and co-workers are not deceived by the propaganda and so reject the Bible’s message of salvation in Jesus Christ.

By Buddy Davis

We recently finished our annual canoe adventure through the Okefenokee Swamp. We saw lots of cool plants, a variety of birds, and over 150 alligators and other reptiles. We canoed 45 miles total with two groups of guests. It was a lot of fun.

Here at the Creation Museum, I have started my new African Animal Adventure workshop. It includes teaching about God’s design of African animals, drawing a cartoon lion, and sculpting a realistic African elephant head. At 3:00, I do a music concert for the museum guests.

I am gone on the weekends, but you can check my schedule when I am at the events page of the Creation Museum website.

I have also started a Face book page. Every day, I include a scripture verse and feature an animal as well as updates on what I am doing. Check it out at www.facebook.com/ aigbuddydavis.

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Tomorrow I drive to northwest Indiana to do a seminar at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hebron (http://www.answersingenesis.org/outreach/event/6949/). I will speak six times before coming home on Tuesday.

For the first time in my ministry experience, someone has written an article warning people not to attend my seminar. Here’s what this atheist had to say:

On Sunday, Feb. 13, the fundamentalist Christian organization Answers in Genesis will be giving multiple presentations at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hebron. This organization spreads pseudo scientific ideas such as the teaching of a 6,000-year-old universe/Earth and a belief that man coexisted peacefully with dinosaurs until very recent times.

Apart from their extreme literal interpretation of Genesis, they also claim that merely teaching the scientific theory of evolution to children results in genocide, abortion, racism, drug use and many other social ills. They even go so far as to claim it responsible for the Holocaust, which is beyond absurd.

This is an organization that actively spreads anti-science propaganda and is strongly denounced by the scientific community as well as many prominent Christian organizations. The information they advance is harmful to the minds of children and is directly opposite to established scientific consensus. They have the most basic tenants of evolution completely wrong and are not in any way academically qualified to speak on such matters.

While I am an atheist, my intention isn’t to silence the group’s right to free speech. I have no problem with religious groups speaking on matters that pertain to religion. However, when a group goes to the extreme lengths that Answers in Genesis does to discredit science by spreading false, anti-evolution propaganda, I have a problem.

Children have a right to an unbiased scientific education from reputable sources. The best thing you can do is this: if you were planning on attending, do not. Encourage others to skip it as well.

Trust me when I say that they’re not giving you the truth. There are multiple volumes of literature you can read if you truly want an thorough understanding of evolution. The best way to deal with this organization is to simply not attend their presentations.

– Riley Reynolds, Wheatfield

Riley is evidently a 21-year-old college student (http://www.flickr.com/people/45266712@N03/) with a love for photography and tattoos but no apparent expertise in science. So why should anyone “Trust [him] when [he says] that [I] am not giving [people in northwest Indiana] the truth”? On what grounds does he know that I and AiG are “discrediting science” and feeding people “pseudo-science” and “anti-science propaganda”? If I were a betting man, I would bet that he is just parroting what his high school teachers and university professors have told him, without any critical analysis on his own of the arguments for and against evolution.

Certainly we creationists are “denounced” by the atheist-controlled scientific majority. But most evolutionists are grossly ignorant about what creationists actually say, because they have done exactly what Riley is advocating—don’t even listen to or read what creationists say. I know because I have listened to or read what many, many evolutionists say about us.

Furthermore, truth (scientific or any other kind of truth) is not determined by majority vote or “scientific consensus” or by just hearing one side of an argument. Truth is determined by carefully weighing the evidence and arguments for and against a truth claim. But most people have only been brainwashed with the evolutionary propaganda dished out in the schools, science programs on TV, state and national parks, naturalist history programs, etc.

Notice Riley’s elephant-size claim that I and AiG “have the most basic tenants of evolution completely wrong.” Bold claim, but without a specific example of evidence to support the claim. And we are not “in any way academically qualified to speak on such matters”? Hmm. I wonder what his academic qualifications are to make that statement.

As for me, I have a Master of Divinity degree from a leading evangelical seminary, am a very active member of the Evangelical Theological Society, and have a PhD in history of geology from a secular evolutionist-controlled university in England. In my six presentations at the church this weekend, I will speak a lot about what the Bible has to say on the question of origins because I have given quite a bit of study to that subject. I will give a lecture based on my PhD thesis and a talk on the biblical and geological evidence for a global Flood at the time of Noah. I’ve also done a considerable amount of independent study of evolutionist literature on the question of biological evolution in general and human evolution in particular (my last two topics of the seminar).

As for my colleagues at Answers in Genesis, one has a PhD in geology, one has a PhD in astrophysics, one has a PhD in biology with an emphasis on cell structure, one has a PhD in molecular genetics, and one has an MD in internal medicine. All of those degrees were earned from secular, evolutionist-controlled universities. Thousands of other creationists around the world are just as equally qualified, and some of them are described here.

Isn’t it interesting that the atheists essentially control the whole public education system in this country (and most other countries) and yet their decades of graduates are apparently so poorly trained in how to think carefully that it is dangerous for them to hear creationist criticisms of evolution because they simply don’t have the mental skills to see through all our “bad, anti-scientific arguments”?

I’m not afraid to go hear an evolutionist or read evolutionist writings or be in a debate with a PhD evolutionary scientist (as I have done seven times in four countries) or speak in a secular university classroom where most of my audience strongly disagrees with me. In fact, I do these things on a regular basis because I want to know first-hand exactly what the evolutionists are saying (so I don’t misrepresent them or their arguments) and because I learn all kinds of truths in their writings and speaking that actually help me to refute evolution and millions of years and to confirm the truth of Genesis.

If the evolutionary view was really the truth, evolutionists wouldn’t be so afraid of creationists, could have calm respectful discourse with us (I have talked to a few evolutionists who can), and would actually benefit from listening to us so that they could write better refutations of our views. Instead they generally resort to ad hominem attacks, gross misrepresentations of what creationists teach, fear tactics and legal threats to try to stop people from hearing and considering the truth. That alone, without even considering the scientific arguments, should tell any thoughtful person that the evolutionary view must be false.

Riley says “children have a right to an unbiased scientific education from reputable sources.” I agree. But the only way to get an unbiased education is for the teachers to expose the students to the arguments on both sides and to teach the students to think critically and examine the biases (or presuppositions) behind the arguments they hear. I seriously doubt that Riley has gotten that kind of education, and neither have most children in America, so I hope that he and many other children (with their parents) will come to my lectures or other creationist lectures and think carefully in pursuit of the truth. Unlike most evolutionists, creationists are fully aware of their presuppositions and don’t hide them from the audience and they welcome questions and objections. I certainly do.

So, pray for me this weekend, that I will speak the truth clearly, boldly and graciously, and that the truth will challenge and encourage and change lives. And pray that God will use this atheist article in the local media to draw more people (even just one lost soul) to come to my seminar than would have otherwise come. Pray, in fact, that Riley will come. I’ve written to his two email addresses and invited him.

Thanks for praying,

Terry

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Here’s an enlightening article on the problem of trying to be acceptable to and respected by the scientific establishment (which is controlled by atheist evolutionists): http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=34515.

Dr. Mohler (president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is absolutely right. Compromise with evolution and millions of years never makes a person respectable in the eyes of the secularists.

And it certainly doesn’t make non-believers be more open to the gospel and more trusting of the Bible. Proof of that is the last 200 years of history, when most of the church has compromised with millions of years and increasingly in recent times has compromised with Neo-Darwinian evolution. During this time the church in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America has increasingly drifted away from the truth and authority of the Word of God and the culture in those countries has become increasingly godless, immoral and hostile to Christianity. Whereas increasingly over the last 50 years, those Christians who have returned to faith in God’s Word in Genesis 1–11 have been revived in their faith and obedience to the Word and their boldness and confidence in evangelism that has led many evolutionized unbelievers to faith in Christ.

Also, I would add to Dr. Mohler’s critique that Karl Giberson’s comments in the web article reveal that as a biologist he is absolutely clueless about how astronomers and geologists measure the age of the earth or universe. “The measurements that scientists make to determine the age of the earth and the universe” are hardly simple. But more importantly, when they observe things such as tree-rings, red-shift of starlight, thickness or position of rock layers or the fossils in them, and radioactive isotopes used in dating methods, they are using anti-biblical, atheistic, uniformitarian presuppositions (assumptions) to interpret those observations to mean that millions of years of history have elapsed.

Without those anti-biblical, atheistic, uniformitarian assumptions, there would be no evidence of millions of years. Rather, creation scientists using biblical assumptions based on the history recorded in Genesis (i.e., as they are wearing “biblical glasses”) are increasingly seeing the abundant evidence of Noah’s Flood and a young earth and young universe, just as the Bible clear teaches. This is no surprise, for creation must confirm the truth of God’s Word because God’s Word (as an eye-witness testimony of God) tells us what truly happened in the past to produce what we see in the present.

Dr. Derek Ager was a prominent evolutionary geologist in the United Kingdom before his death in 1993. He was an ardent anti-creationist, even warning creationist readers in his last book (published posthumously) that they had better not try to use anything in his book to support their view. But he’s dead now, so I do it anyway, because what he said is so true.

As a result of studying geological formations in over 50 countries, Dr. Ager had come to largely reject the uniformitarian assumptions dominating geology (and so became a “neo-catastrophist”). In his book, which discusses numerous examples (with pictures) of geological formations that could not possibly have formed over millions of years (as conventional geologists have been brainwashed to believe), but rather show evidence that they were formed catastrophically in hours, days, weeks, months or a few years. He stated the following:

I should, perhaps, say something about the title of this book. Just as politicians rewrite human history, so geologists rewrite earth history. For a century and a half the geological world has been dominated, one might even say brain-washed, by the gradualistic uniformitarianism of Charles Lyell. Any suggestion of “catastrophic” events has been rejected as old-fashioned, unscientific and even laughable. . . .

Derek Ager, The New Catastrophism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), p. xi.

Later in the book he adds the following:

Perhaps I am becoming a cynic in my old age, but I cannot help thinking that people find things that they expect to find. As Sir Edward Bailey (1953) said, “to find a thing you have to believe it to be possible”.

Derek Ager, The New Catastrophism (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993), pp. 190-91.

The majority of scientists (including the majority of Christian scientists, such as Dr. Giberson and Dr. Francis Collins) have been brainwashed with “smoke and mirrors” evolutionary arguments during their education from grade school all the way through their PhD programs (as well as by science programs on TV, the natural history museums, and the state and national parks) so that they can’t see the overwhelming evidence in the creation that confirms the literal truth of Genesis.

The Christian compromise with evolution started with the church’s acceptance of subtly atheistic and deistic interpretations of the rocks and fossils and its simultaneous rejection of the biblical teaching about the Flood and the age of the creation, which took place way back in the early nineteenth century (50 years before Darwin published On the Origin of the Species), as I explain and document in The Great Turning Point. Compromise with error always leads to more compromise with error.

We can expect to see more theological and moral corruption of the church as Christians become deceived by the false arguments coming out of BioLogos, Reasons to Believe (headed by Hugh Ross), Discovery Institute (leading the Intelligent Design movement), and other old-earth (progressive creationist) or theistic evolutionist organizations that claim to be “evangelical” or at least believing in God. And we can also expect that wherever individual Christians, churches, schools, universities, and seminaries return to faith in the literal truth of Genesis 1–11 and get equipped with solid apologetic answers (from groups such as AiG) to defend their faith, we will find believers on fire for the Lord and His Word, growing in godliness and motivated to lovingly, graciously, and boldly share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost, evolutionized world.

For the glory of God,

Terry

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Last week at Northland Int’l University in frigid, snowy northern Wisconsin, first I and then Dr. Jason Lisle each gave 14 hours of lectures to 34 men and a couple of women in full-time ministry. Most of them were pastors (from all over the USA) and a few were missionaries in Latin America or the South Pacific. This course was part of their studies to get an M.Min. or D.Min. degree.

Many of them had not studied the question of origins much before they started reading the 1100–1500 pages of books we assigned them to read before the lecture week. They were very attentive and asked good questions. Most of them grew up believing Genesis and many commented that they had no idea how much compromise there is in the church today regarding Genesis 1–11. They were also shocked to see some of the video clips or quotes from compromised theologians and Bible scholars by whose writings they have previously been helped.

A youth pastor who had not studied this issue before said that he now realized that he had a lot to learn and he needs to teach his youth on this subject.

A Christian school principal who also teaches AP biology likewise said that, although he has taught his kids some on this topic, he needs to do a lot more and make sure the other teachers do the same to equip the kids with the knowledge to defend against the false ideas they will get in Christian and secular universities. He shared that one of their school’s brightest students had gone off to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he lost his faith in Genesis (he had not been taught adequately to defend that faith). Then he went to Bethel Seminary, where he got more compromise. Now his life calling seems to be to show that “young-earth fundamentalists” are wrong.

A missionary in Latin America told me that he is training national pastors who are the fruit of CI Scofield’s ministry and that he has a task in weaning these national pastors from Scofield’s compromise via the gap theory, which he taught in the marginal notes of his famous study Bible.

So, these grad students in ministry are better equipped to teach the kids and adults in their ministries, and it is exciting to think of the ripple effects of this course in their diverse ministries scattered around America and the world.

Thanks for praying for this ministry as we equip others to proclaim and defend the truth of God’s Word,

Terry

By Dr. David Menton

One of the “perks” of working at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum is that when you get sick you have a lot of people praying for your recovery. I few weeks ago, I woke up with what seemed at first to be an upset stomach, but as the day went on it became much worse. I went to the emergency room that afternoon, and the next day was committed to the hospital for a couple days of tests. By this time the Lord had been “pestered” with a lot of prayers (Luke 18:2–8) and my pain began to subside. I feel just fine now but it is still not clear what my problem was. It occurs to me that a lot of time and money was spent in an effort to determine just what it was that the Lord had healed me from. Still, I appreciate the wonderful care and concern I received in the hospital and I am well aware that the Lord often uses such means to accomplish His will for us.

While in the hospital, I was often asked what brought me to Kentucky (all my medical records were from St. Louis Missouri). This gave me an opportunity to discuss the mission of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum. I was amazed at how many of the nurses, medical technicians and other hospital personnel had either visited the museum or were planning to do so. It was clear that the vast majority, if not all, of the people caring for me were Christians. Of the four physicians that saw me while in the hospital, two openly expressed their belief in a Creator. Even the hospital itself was founded by Christians and is named after a Christian. This got me thinking—are there any atheist hospitals, built by atheists and staffed almost entirely by atheists? If so, I doubt they would measure up to a Christian hospital.

A recent study by Thomson Reuters, known for their “100 top hospitals” program, shows that church-run hospitals provide better quality care, and do so more efficiently than secular hospitals. Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president of the “100 Top Hospitals” programs at Thomson Reuters, says, “Our data suggest that the leadership of health systems owned by churches may be the most active in aligning quality goals and monitoring achievement of mission across the system.”

While I have been well served in the past by physicians who were unbelievers, I am thankful that at least for now in America I have the opportunity to choose Christian hospitals and physicians. Above all I am thankful that no one can ever take from me the Great Physician who heals both body and soul.

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

A few days ago, I got an encouraging email from one of the OT professors on the Grand Canyon trip last year. I had asked all the men on that trip to share any ways that they have been helped by the resources we sent them after the trip. This man replied:

Good to hear from you. Coming to Grips with Genesis is a constant reference material for me now. I had read it before the 2010 Grand Canyon trip, and it is a most scholarly written book. Thank you so much for your part in putting it together. It is a recommended book by me now. Also, The Battle for the Beginning by MacArthur was a good read. I have watched many of the DVDs and read some, if not all, of the other material as well, having particularly enjoyed Thousands…Not Billions. I “check-in” on the website of answersingenesis.org frequently and do some research there on questions I have or that have been asked me. What a wonderful source of information at the fingertips! I am reading through the Answers books at this time.

After this opening paragraph, he then told me about three questions that have come up after he has taught on Genesis recently. He wanted my help in answering them, which I gladly did. It is exciting to see what speaking at his seminary in October 2009 and then his participation in the Grand Canyon trip has done in his life. He is so excited about the truth of God’s Word and is influencing many who, like him in the past, have been led to embrace the compromised view of the gap theory.

Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support that makes possible this ministry to scholars and key Christian leaders.

Terry

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

Recently I came across a web article by a biology professor and a chemistry professor from an Assembly of God university. They gave a “Brief Overview of Pentecostal Views on Origins.” Several things in the article are worthy of comment.

First, they tell us that since the Pentecostal movement was born at the beginning of the 20th century until the late 1900s, Pentecostals almost universally rejected evolution and most also rejected the millions of years. They believed that Genesis is a scientifically accurate historical narrative.

But times have changed. Today, based on their survey of faculty and students at AoG institutions of higher learning, these two professors say that only 35% hold to the young-earth creationist view, 31% favor one of the old-earth views that accept millions of years but reject evolution, and 16% are embracing theistic evolution. (They don’t say what the other 18% believe.) Why the change? They tell state the following:

. . . today many people who are technologically savvy and immersed in the popular media’s representation of science are members of our congregations. Many of them are uncomfortable rejecting out-of-hand the findings of science that seem to conflict with traditional interpretations of the Genesis creation account. They are increasingly interested in fostering an integrated view of Christian faith and natural sciences.

But here we encounter problems. It is not the “findings of science” that seem to contradict “traditional interpretations” of Genesis 1–11. Science has not found anything that contradicts the straightforward, literal understanding of Genesis, and it is remarkable that a Christian chemist and biologist would say that science has. Science has not found a living cell spontaneously evolving into existence by chance from non-living matter, as evolutionists claim has happened 3.5 billion years ago. Science has not found transitional forms between different kinds of plants and animals, either living or in the fossil record, to support evolutionist claims that all life is descended from a common ancestor—the first living cell.  And science has not found millions of years of time in the rocks or a gas cloud collapsing to form a star. None of those things has ever been observed by any scientist, so they are not findings of science.

Rather, evolutionary scientists using anti-biblical (naturalistic and uniformitarian) assumptions and imagination have interpreted some of the observations of the natural world (while ignoring other observations) to invent a story about the past that contradicts the time-tested, historically orthodox and exegetically sound interpretation of God’s inerrant Word. It is not a conflict between the “findings of science” and “traditional interpretations” of the Bible. It is rather the conflict between the atheistic and deistic interpretations of God’s creation by people who are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18–20) versus the sound interpretation of God’s Word by godly leaders and pastors in the church down through history.

Furthermore, “technologically savvy” people should realize that if the technologies that they enjoy using (cell phones, ipods, computers, telescopes, MRI machines, etc.) are the result of intelligent design, it is the height of absurdity to think that the almost infinitely more complex living and reproducing bacteria, plants and animals came into existence by time and chance and the laws of nature. That these Christians don’t see this absurdity shows that they indeed have been “immersed in [i.e., brainwashed by] the popular media’s representation of science,” which fails to distinguish between operation science and origin science and deceives people by propagating the evolutionists’ “smoke and mirrors” arguments, such as equating natural selection with evolution or discussing beneficial mutations as an explanation for the origin of genetic information.

But there is one more example of faulty thinking in this article, which sadly is widespread in the church today. The authors state the following:

As science teachers, we believe pastors need to seek coherence between these two realms and provide ways for their congregations to see truth in both the general revelation (the world) and the special revelation (the Word). Pastors can use the origins debate to help people more thoroughly integrate these two divine revelations.

The Bible nowhere teaches that by studying the creation (while ignoring God’s special revelation, the Bible) man can work out the history and origin of the creation. As Dr. Richard Mayhue has so thoroughly demonstrated in his chapter in Coming to Grips with Genesis, what the Bible says is that the creation clearly reveals the existence and nature of the Creator (Romans 1:18-20), the very thing that most evolutionists vehemently deny. What these two professors are calling “general revelation” is simply the evolutionists’ stories about the unobserved past. That is not “the world” or “the creation” that God says reveals Himself to us. The only way to accurately interpret the creation for understanding of our past is to do so with the starting-point assumptions of the Biblical worldview, which is grounded in the literal truth of Genesis 1–11.

These AoG scientists end their article this way:

In conclusion, we find conservative, Bible-believing, Pentecostal Christians (including Assemblies of God adherents) in all three theistic camps (YEC, OEC, EC). With this in mind, we think our attitude needs to reflect the Reformation “Peace Statement” (often erroneously attributed to St. Augustine): “In essentials, unity. In nonessentials, liberty. In all things, love.”

But we must object that Christians who accept evolution and/or millions of years are not “Bible-believing” when it comes to Genesis 1–11 and all the other passages of Scripture in the OT and NT that confirm the literal truth of Genesis. They are instead believing the faulty interpretations of God’s creation by people who in their sinful rebellion against God are suppressing the truth, rather than believing God’s Word. The authority of the Word of God over the words of men is what is at stake here.

And since Genesis is absolutely foundational to the Bible’s teaching on death, the character of God and the redemptive work of Christ, then the truth of Genesis 1–11 falls in the category of “essentials,” not “nonessentials.” Certainly, we must be loving as we confront error in the church, but we simply cannot “just agree to disagree.” The spiritual health of the church, the lost souls of people, and the glory of God are at stake. We must believe Genesis to be faithful to God and His Word.

Terry

P.S. As an endnote, the authors of the article appear to be out of touch with recent YEC literature. In their list of “origin resources” they point to recent works by atheists and compromised Christians, but under “young-earth creation” they cite only Morris and Whitcomb’s The Genesis Flood (1961) and a section of a 1999 debate-format book written by two men who are not mainstream YECs, and in their section of the book do not adequately represent the YEC position. Much stronger scientific and biblical YEC arguments have been published in recent years: Earth’s Catastrophic Past (2008), The Great Turning Point (2004), Coming to Grips with Genesis (2008), Evolution: the Grand Experiment (2007), Genetic Entropy (2005), Creation: Facts of Life (2006), The Fossil Record (2010).

By Dr. Terry Mortenson

The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is made up of evangelical seminary and Christian college professors and others with advanced degrees in theology. The ETS annual meeting attracts over 2,500 people (ETS members along with pastors and other Christian leaders). As an ETS member, I have attended the annual meeting for over 10 years. Besides helping to man the AiG booth in the exhibitors hall, I am also a leader within the ETS Creation Fellowship, a group of ETS members who are young-earth creationists.

The ETS annual meeting in mid-November in Atlanta was, as usual, a mixture of joy and sadness. On the encouraging side, 35 people attended our private ETS Creation Fellowship meeting—the most that have ever attended. We had very good discussions about the growing compromise with evolution at ETS and our need to speak out more against it through papers. We also found four or five men who will likely come on our by-invitation-only Grand Canyon trip next summer for seminary and Christian college professors and other key Christian leaders. We now have 11 “yes” replies, so there are only 13 more seats to fill.

Before the first plenary session, a few other young-earth creationists and I placed on the chairs about 2,000 copies of a leaflet that drew people’s attention to a young-earth creation geologist’s refutation of an article by old-earth geologists. We also encouraged the theologians to purchase and read our book Coming to Grips with Genesis, which is a defense of young-earth creationism at a level that can be used in seminary but is also understandable to serious-minded lay people. If you haven’t read Dr. Reed’s excellent critique, I would strongly encourage you to do so. We did sell about 30 copies of this book, including to two men manning the booths of two other organizations. One of those men was a young seminary student who attends a prominent seminary that is compromised with millions of years.

At the presidential banquet, a young pastor at our table recognized me and told me how much AiG has been such a blessing to him and his church. We had a great conversation, and it is possible that I may be able to speak at his church next spring when I am in his city for another meeting. The out-going president of ETS this year is a young-earth Old Testament professor; his presidential address was excellent and gently defended the truth of Genesis 1–11. I thanked him afterward and offered to send him a copy of my book, The Great Turning Point, as it would complement some of the historical points he made in his paper. He said he would be delighted to read it.

On the discouraging side was the evidence of a growing rejection of the truth of Genesis. In our Creation Consultation sessions (which are required to represent all views), Dr. Bruce Waltke presented what I would say was a very poorly reasoned paper defending theistic evolution. He very clearly stated that he is “trying to go along with mainstream science as much as possible.” And that is the very heart of the problem. The evolutionist majority view in the scientific world is hostile to Christ and His Word, and the evolutionary stories about the past are being believed and used to distort and deny the clear teaching of God’s Word.

Dr. Waltke also indicated that in a survey of evangelical seminary professors he conducted last year, about 45% said they would have no biblical objections to the acceptance of theistic evolution. Evidently a good number of the 250 people attending the session where his paper was presented were in agreement, though some others were also strongly opposed. Of course, mainstream science says that virgins don’t have babies and dead men don’t rise from the dead. So Dr. Waltke and other theistic evolutionists are being grossly inconsistent when they believe in the virgin birth and resurrection of Jesus but deny the literal historical truth of Genesis 1–11.

This year, a new group had a booth at ETS. It was manned by a PhD geologist advocating millions of years, along with two assistants. The geologist has come to several of my seminars in the past. At the last one in Norman, Oklahoma, he talked to the pastor and tried to set up an appointment later to talk to him and counter what I had taught at the seminar. He came to our AiG booth and said he wanted to talk to me, which frankly I really didn’t want to do. In the past, I have had face-to-face conversations with him and several email exchanges.

While he says on his business card that he believes in the inspiration and authority of Scripture, it is obvious that he really doesn’t. Rather, “science” (especially radiometric dating methods) is his final authority. I challenged him in my last email to him some months ago and again at the ETS meeting to show me from Scripture that the Flood of Noah was localized in the Mesopotamian Valley and that millions of years of death, violence, disease, and extinction in the animal world occurred before Adam (as he believes). He never answered my email, and at ETS he tried to evade the challenge and said that he was not a Hebrew scholar. But I told him that is no excuse and repeated my challenge. He never even attempted to give an answer. So I told him he really doesn’t believe God’s Word.

So the battle for truth rages. While AiG and the Creation Museum are reaching many kids, adults, and pastors with the truth of Genesis and apologetic resources to equip them to defend the truth, the “tribe of the intellectuals” (evangelical theologians) is much harder to reach.

Thanks for your prayers and financial support of AiG that enables us to be involved in this battle.

Terry

By Buddy Davis

I have had a busy October. During the first week, I was at the Creation Museum doing concerts and children’s workshops. From there, I flew to Word of Life in Schroon Lake, New York, for a conference along with Ken Ham. We have visited Schroon Lake several years in a row, and it is always a pleasure to go there.

We got to meet friends from years past, and make some new friends as well. Dr. John Whitcomb and his wife, Norma, were speaking at the World of Life Bible Institute. It was a real treat for us to see them again—they are special people. During the second day there, I gave my talk, “Dinosaurs—Separating Fact from Fiction” to the entire group. In the evening, I did an hour-long music concert with songs from my two new CDs, “Come on Aboard” and “I Am Not Ashamed.” I also included some of my popular songs, such as “SOAR,” “Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty” and of course, “Billions of Dead Things.”

The next day, I did a children’s workshop with about 60 children, teaching them about Pterosaurs and how to defend their faith. I showed the children how to sculpture a pterodactyl head which they loved to do. We had a great time in the workshop.

During our free afternoons, we traveled to Lake Placid, New York, and also took a ferry across Lake Champlain to Vermont. The trees were in their peak fall colors and the weather was beautiful.

After Schroon Lake, I traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Calvary Chapel with Ken, Dr. Menton, and Dr. Lisle. I did four sessions with about 1,000 children during their Sunday school hour. I spoke on dinosaurs, teaching the kids how to defend their faith on this issue. Dinosaurs are used by evolutionists more than any other animal to try to pull children away from God’s Word. On Sunday evening, I did a mini-concert for the entire congregation. I did songs from my newest CDs, including “Already Gone.” On Monday, Ken and I did a children’s session. I taught the children some of my songs and brought out my pet dinosaur, Levi. I also brought along a fire-breathing dragon and some other visual props.

I am getting ready to go on a missions trip to Kenya, Africa, in a couple of days. I will be there until November 18, speaking and doing classes at the Rift Valley Academy, which is the largest Christian school in Africa. I will also be working with three orphanages. Please pray for our trip that God will use my words to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

By Dr. David Menton

I often hear folks attending my workshops at the Creation Museum comment that “it takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in creation.” But “faith” may not be the right word for belief in either evolution or creation. Perhaps it would be better to say that “it takes more credulity to believe in evolution than creation.” The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines credulity as “readiness or willingness to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence.” The word credulity seems to perfectly fit belief in bacteria-to-man evolution. Faith, on the other hand, generally involves belief or trust in something or someone who has proven faithful.

The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is surprising to see nouns like “substance” and “evidence” used for things “hoped for” and “not seen.” But it requires just such a confident faith to believe that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Bible tells us how we gain a saving faith in this marvelous Gospel: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

But is faith required to believe in creation? For example, does it require faith for me to believe that the human eye is a product of intelligent design and that the designer is God? The only two candidates for this designer is God or man—and I know man didn’t do it. Indeed, man’s best effort so far at designing a total eyeball replacement is known as a “glass eye.”

The Bible tells us that the evidence for God’s handiwork in creation has been made so obvious to everyone that it can only be denied by suppressing what we know to be true:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18–20)

The hummingbirds that hover around the feeder outside my bedroom window every morning are all the physical evidence I need to know for a certainty the eternal power of God. Yet on my clock radio, the Ninety-Second Naturalist confidently assures me that the hummingbird is the smallest dinosaur ever to have evolved on earth—now to believe that takes credulity.

By Dr. David Menton

I have discovered that all the speakers here at AiG are blogging except me, and I am starting to feel guilty about it. So this is my first effort at blogging. My problem is that I love to speak but I hate to write. Speaking comes easily to me, but I find writing to be slow and painful. My wife (who is an excellent writer) advises me to write the same way I speak. But that isn’t going to work, is it? For starters, what do I do with my outrageous sense of humor? I may have to sit on that a bit.

One problem I won’t have is finding something to write about. When you get to be my age, you have had a lot of experiences in life and tend to become a raconteur. But I don’t just want to write about the past. Working here at the Creation Museum provides me with new and interesting experiences every, day and I will certainly try to keep you posted on some of these. In general, I will try to share my take on things related to creation, evolution, science, and theology. For my first blog, I have decided to write on this topic:

Retirement

I remember when I decided to retire in the year 2000, after 34 years on the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine; my colleagues asked me what I was going to do in my retirement. I told them that I was going to do absolutely nothing, and that I wouldn’t even start that until afternoon. Well that turned out to be nowhere near as enjoyable as I thought it would be, and thanks be to God, it didn’t last very long. You see, shortly after I retired, I got a life-changing phone call from Ken Ham.

Somehow, Ken had heard about my retirement and invited me to work for Answers in Genesis and to be part of the Creation Museum, which at the time was still in the planning stages. At first, I worked part-time traveling and speaking for Answers in Genesis out of St. Louis. But how was I to know that working part-time for Ken meant working 23 hours a day? After a few years of that, I figured I might as well go for the extra hour and work full-time. That involved selling my home in St. Louis, leaving my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren behind (they lived 10 minutes from my home), and moving to Petersburg, Kentucky.

Looking back, I really enjoyed all the years I spent on the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine. There I learned far more from my wonderful colleagues and students than I ever did from attending college and graduate school. I enjoyed a measure of success in both my teaching and my research. But I truly believe that all my years in science, education, and research were meant by God to prepare me for what I do now with Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum.

I have been told that the Bible doesn’t say anything about retirement, but we have to be careful here—the Bible doesn’t say anything about vacations either. Still, I have discovered that, for me, the secret to a happy retirement is to keep working as long as I am able. Some Christians seem to go through life worrying about what God’s plan is for their life, not realizing that they are already experiencing it. All God-pleasing work in the service of our family and our fellow man is God’s plan for us. I am just delighted that the Lord has saved the best for the last—both in this life and the next.

By Buddy Davis

I have been busy traveling and working at the museum. I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week and part of the next, where I’m recording two new CDs. Today is the first day where the musicians are all here and I’ll working with them to get the music down. These guys are top professional musicians, and great to work with. We are so excited about these CDs, and I can’t wait for the finished product to come out. These will probably be available sometime in July.

I just got back from speaking Sunday through Wednesday in Niles, Ohio. We’ve been to Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio during the past few weekends doing ministry.

In the first part of April, we went to Okeefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia with 12 others from the Creation Museum. We canoed for three days through the swamp and spent two nights camping out on wooden platforms built to hold about 14 people! We canoed a total of 32 miles through beautiful waterways lined with cypress trees. We are going to offer this trip through the Creation Museum. It was a lot of fun!

In July, I’m going to be on a dinosaur dig in Montana sponsored by the Creation Museum. The museum has a lot of programs and exciting trips planned. Keep checking the website!

By Mike Riddle

On Friday, March 5, AiG’s Paul Taylor of the UK took us to Southhampton, England, to catch a plane to Glasgow, Scotland. Paul then drove back to Leicester, the home base for AiG–UK. Then our new driver, guide, and friend, Gary Burchnall, drove the van to Glasgow and arrived later that evening. Gary works in the AiG office primarily as the person who answers the phone and such, but we came to learn that they all do whatever needs to be done regardless of what their role is.

When we got to Glasgow, Gavin Chittick, a pastor at Bridge Christian Fellowship in Erskine, Scotland, took us to lunch by a most beautiful lake with a famous song—so we got to eat by the “Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Lock Lomond.”

Mike and Gavin at Lock Lomond

Then we had the pleasure of going to dinner with Lucien Tuinstra, an ardent AiG supporter and creationist. Lucien was born in the Netherlands and is now working in Glasgow. On Saturday morning, Lucien took Mike, Gary, and me to see Stirling Castle, which was first mentioned in history in the 12th century. Mary, Queen of the Scotts, was crowned there in 1543.

Stirling Castle

We also visited the Wallace monument which was erected in 1869 to honor Sir William Wallace. If you saw the movie, Braveheart, you know the Hollywood version of how Wallace fits into Scottish history.

Wallace Monument

On Saturday evening, Mike spoke at Bridge Christian Fellowship in Erskine, Scotland, close to Glasgow. His talks were: “Four Power Questions to Ask an Evolutionist” and “Thinking Biblically about Dinosaurs.” There was a small but wonderful group of people who were excited to hear the truth of God’s Word.

By Mike Riddle

I am going to take a day off blogs about the UK tour to tell you about our time in Spokane, Washington. Mike taught a full day of Teacher Training on Saturday, March 20, at Turning Point Open Bible Church. We had a class of 40 with 8 observers. The class was organized by Pastor Brad Goeman, and we send our thanks to him.

Teacher Training in Spokane

Who could have guessed that it would fall on the same day as the Gonzaga men’s basketball game in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Gongaza is a small school very close to the church, and the game was in Spokane. Here is a picture of Brad paying attention to Mike, but keeping up with the score.

Brad Goeman checking the basketball game score

We even had a family that drove down from Canada and stayed in their trailer so they could attend the entire weekend. Dr. Tom Davidson (PhD, Soil Chemistry), a longtime friend of ours and of Answers in Genesis, came from Idaho, and several others traveled to get this teaching. One special man, David Losey, is a member of Turning Point Church. He has taken youth from his church to the Creation Museum more than once, and is planning another trip. So many who live close to the Creation Museum say, “I just have not gotten around to coming yet.” David has made the journey across the nation just to bring youth. Thanks, David, for your dedication.

On Sunday, March 21, Mike spoke at this exciting church at 9:30 a.m. and for youth at 11:00. Pastor Monte LeLaCheur and his famous gymnast wife, Amy Jo, took us to lunch after church. They made us feel so welcomed. Amy Jo made the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team in 1980. Unfortunately, that was the year it was in Moscow and President Carter boycotted the Olympics. We were excited because our granddaughters are gymnasts.

Mike at the evening service

Mike spoke again on Sunday evening and twice on Monday evening. There was a “hard-core” evolutionist who came to all of the talks and brought several youth with him. He debated Mike after each session, but would never answer Mike’s questions. He accused all Creationists of lying. Finally, after the last session, he answered Mike’s question, “Why is lying wrong?” His answer was, “It’s my opinion.” There was always a large group of people listening, and they understood the meaning of his answer. Many of them remarked that they learned a lot just by observing the exchange.

By Mike Riddle

On Wednesday, March 3, we left London for the south of England and our first two meetings. Paul Taylor, our fearless driver and guide, asked if we wanted to leave early and stop by Stonehenge. Of course we said yes, so we got up at the crack of dawn (not really) and arrived at the stones early. We were surprised that the road goes right next to the site. It was very cold, and we were the first ones to enter the area. We enjoyed seeing this monument we had heard so much about.

Mike and Lesley at Stonehenge

That evening we had our first event. Kings Church sponsored the evening, and we met at the Ringwood Methodist church. There was a nice group of people, and Mike spoke on “Is Evolution Possible?” It is a talk that shows evolution is impossible by using probability and design in God’s amazing creation. We want to thank Ken Turner for organizing this event.

Ringwood, England

On Thursday, March 4, Mike spoke on the topic of apologetics. We met at Parkstone Christian Centre in Poole, Dorset, England. Pastor David King arranged the meeting. He is the pastor of Vine Christian Fellowship. There were several people who had come on the night before who came again to hear more. That was an encouragement to us. We stayed with David and Linda King and had a wonderful home-cooked English dinner (or locally called “Tea”). Afterward, we had “pudding.” If you have never been to England, you need to know that pudding basically means dessert—so we learned something new. We were expecting vanilla or chocolate pudding, but instead had a wonderful fruit crisp.

Parkstone Christian Centre, Poole, Dorset

On Friday we flew to Glasgow, Scotland. I will post more on that in a couple of days.

By Mike Riddle

On March 1, Mike and I traveled to London on a very fast train (150 miles per hour) that went in a tunnel under the English Channel called the chunnel. Paul Taylor, Senior Speaker for the UK and Europe AiG, met us at the train station and we immediately drove to the Genesis/Revelation TV studios for an interview with Gordon Pettie that was broadcast all over the UK for a week.

On Tuesday, March 2, we had a wonderful day of sight-seeing in London with Paul. We went to the British Museum and specifically focused on the exhibits that referred to the Old Testament.

There were reliefs from Nineveh showing the Assyrians’ victory at Lachish (700-692 BC). They depicted the Judaean prisoners taking their goods and animals into exile. We saw many other exhibits, but I will show you two that Mike especially liked.

The first is the Flood Tablet. The caption says: “This is perhaps the most famous of all cuneiform tablets. It is the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic, and describes how the gods sent a flood to destroy the world. Like Noah, Utnapishtim was forewarned and built an ark to house and preserve living things. After the flood he sent out birds to look for dry land.”

The Flood Tablet

We saw the Rosetta Stone but did not get a very good picture, so instead I’m putting in the Taylor Prism. Its caption reads: “This terracotta foundation record, named after a previous owner, lists the campaigns of the Assyrian king Sennacharib. It begins with his accession in 705 BC until the start of his final war against Babylon and includes a description of the tribute received from Hezekiah, king of Judah, in 701 BC. (691 BC from Nineveh)”

The Taylor Prism

We felt encouraged to see the Bible being verified right there in the British Museum! We’re so thankful to Paul Taylor for escorting us around. We started our speaking portion of the tour on Wednesday, March 3. I will tell you about that tomorrow.

By Mike Riddle

Our third day in France was scheduled to be another day of sightseeing, but the Lord had a different plan. We woke up to a terrible storm. The wind was so strong that the Eiffel Tower was closed. We later heard that over 40 people in France died that day due to the storm. So, Mike worked on his presentations for the UK and we rested—and we ate. Boy, did we eat. The hotel had a room that served meals all day long for people like us who travel all the time. We enjoyed the French food in a relaxed way and had conversations with three different people during the day.

First, we met a couple from Scotland and we chatted about where we would be in Scotland on our trip, the weather, and their children. Then we challenged them about their relationship with their Creator. They listened but did not say too much. Next, we met a very attractive, well-dressed young woman from New York City. She was in Paris on business. After some conversation about places we had both been, we talked to her about the impossibility of evolution—especially in the area of the orgin of life and DNA. She was genuinely interested and was considering what we said. I finally said, “It doesn’t matter how successful or wealthy you become in this life. Each of us will breathe our last breath and enter into eternity. You have no idea when that will be.” Mike did what he often does—he gave her a homework assignment to read the books of John and I John. She got a phone call and said she had to leave for a few minutes but would be back.

She returned with a colleague who was a young man from Boston. She had told him of our conversation. We talked to him for a bit and then they had to go to a meeting. We prayed that our words would be fruitful. Well, the next morning we were walking through the lobby and there—all by himself—sat the young man from Boston. We were able to share the gospel with him, and praised God that we had had a day of rest and the opportunity to meet these people at our hotel.

On the next blog, I will share with you our trip to London and the beginning of our time in the UK. Thanks for reading.

By Mike Riddle

On Saturday, February 27, Mike and I took a train from Paris to Normandy where we visited the American Cemetery, as well as three of the five beaches (Gold, Omaha, and Utah) where the Allied forces landed on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). It was the largest single invasion in all known history. 150,000 Allied troops landed the first day with an estimated 10,000 casualties.

Mike at Omaha Beach

As we stood on Omaha Beach, we contemplated the feelings of those men as their landing vessels approached the beach. Many of them were in their late teens or early twenties. How many of them said their last prayers that day? We wondered what they thought as they stormed the beach and witnessed the sights and sounds of their comrades dying around them, of the bombs dropping, and the machine guns firing. We began to understand why our World War 2 veterans don’t want to remember that day. They say they were just doing their job, but they really are war heroes who paid the price for the freedoms we have today. It was not the politicians nor the lawyers, but these men who protected our freedom.

It was humbling to walk among the crosses at the American Cemetery and see the names inscribed on them. When you see the names, it brings their sacrifice to a personal level. Just as these brave men fought to preserve our freedoms, so we as Christians need to hold to the authority of Scripture and be in prayer to protect the freedoms that come from our Creator God.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

By Mike Riddle

Mike and I (Mike’s wife, Lesley) have just returned from an unforgettable tour of the UK. Paul Taylor, AiG senior Speaker for the UK and Europe, organized it and accompanied us for much of the tour. First, though, we stopped in Paris. I’ll tell you about our first three days in France with the next few blogs, and then continue to post reports with photos of the sights and Mike’s speaking events.

We arrived in Paris on the morning of Friday, February 26. We found our way to the hotel, and then jumped right into the tourist thing. First, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and tried to imagine being there as the U.S. troops marched to the Arc as they helped liberate France from the Nazis in August of 1944. What an impressive monument!

From there we braved the Paris Underground and traveled to the Sacre Coeur Basilica, which is situated at the highest point in Paris. It had been raining, but the sun came just as we got there. This picture was taken from one of the streets leading up to it. It was beautiful!

Then we got back on the Underground to the Louvre. We were getting a bit tired, so we didn’t actually go in, but enjoyed the outside none the less. The next morning we took the train to Normandy—our main reason for stopping off in France. I will tell you about that in the next blog.

By Mike Riddle

This blog is written by Lesley, Mike’s wife. I travel with Mike on almost all of his speaking engagements. He asked me to tell you about our trip to Artesia, New Mexico, last week. We arrived on Friday night, January 29, after having to re-book flights due to weather (that happens sometimes), and met Linda and Bill Greenhaw, longtime supporters of Answers in Genesis, as well as Pastor Rick and Carol Sullivan. That was the start of a week of great fellowship and four trips to one Mexican restaurant that we really enjoyed. If you have ever been around Mike, you know that he loves hot food.

On Saturday Mike taught his 20^th Teacher Training class at First Baptist Church in Artesia with 41 students attending. It is an all-day class that helps students learn to teach creation from a biblical worldview. On Sunday he spoke twice in the morning and again in the evening. On Monday through Wednesday, First Baptist sponsored a lunch each day for business and lay people, during which Mike got to teach even more. Then there were also two lectures each night. We appreciate Pastor Rick and his staff for giving the people of Artesia so many opportunities to hear the truth of God’s Word from the very first verse.

We had several testimonies from people who had never thought about biblical creationism as truth. The common response was, “When I heard the part about no death before sin, I was convinced.”

Next we are off to Columbia, South Carolina. I will report on that trip next week.

By Mike Riddle

(Romans 1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

I had the privilege of speaking at the Chapel by the Sea in Melbourne Beach, Florida, this past Sunday, January 17. It was a beautiful setting in which to talk about the Creator of everything, including the ocean—we were right on the Atlantic Ocean and close to the Kennedy Space Center. We enjoyed our time at the church and felt very welcome there.

My wife, Lesley, and I had an uplifting experience when we visited the Kennedy Space Center. We went to a briefing on current NASA missions given by a man named Bill (see his picture below). He asked us where we were from, and then we asked him if he had heard of the Creation Museum. We were encouraged when he responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes.”

It turns out that he is “not ashamed” of the gospel or the biblical account of Creation. There were others in the audience who heard the entire conversation. Thank God for men like Bill who proclaim the Lord no matter the audience.

In my next blog I will tell you about the Christian school where I taught on Monday and the way the students are being trained in apologetics.