Ken Ham's Blog, page 371

A Challenge to Rescue Our Kids

The Answers Mega Conference has finished in Tennessee, but its purpose has not. The goal of the conference was to equip believers with truth so that they can defend their faith in this world that is attacking the authority of God’s Word at its very foundation.  In my first keynote address, I asserted that America was under judgment, and we needed to look at those in charge of the government (e.g., the U.S. President) in that light.  See below for link to watch this video free.

In the final keynote address for the Mega Conference, it was my assertion that the church is under judgment in America.  I explained that we needed to rescue our kids from: the evil one; the secularists; this evil culture;  churches that don’t teach apologetics; churches that compromise God’s Word; many Sunday schools and their “fluff and stuff” curricula, and compromising Christian institutions. I challenged Christians to help begin a new Reformation and to be “Nehemiah angry” (you will have to watch the video to know what I meant by that!).

My talk “Rescuing Our Kids” is now available for free viewing on YouTube (see below).

I urge everyone to share this video with their families, friends, and churches. Two-thirds of our children are walking away from the church, as explained in my co-authored book Already Gone, and something must be done lest we lose our children to the evil one.

If you were unable to attend the conference and would like to watch the other presentations, you can still purchase access to watch all of them at answerslive.org (available until September 1).

You can watch both my keynote presentations for free on YouTube at these links:

1.  The Great Delusion—The Spiritual State of the Nation

2.  Rescuing Our Kids (and helping start a new Reformation)

Please pray many will come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and that many would trust in God’s Word as their authority rather than trusting man’s fallible ideas.

Thanks for praying and thanks for stopping by,

Ken

Hundreds of Kids Armed for Battle in the World

Hundreds of children attended AiG’s special kids program at the AiG Mega Conference in Tennessee this week. It is so thrilling to see more and more kids being armed with the truth of God’s Word. They are learning how to defend the Christian faith so they will be ready for the spiritual battle raging around them.

There was something for everyone this past week at the Mega Conference in Sevierville, on the north end of the famed Great Smoky Mountains. Hundreds of children traveled through “Our Majesty’s Kingdom” as they participated in the Answers in Genesis Kingdom Chronicles VBS program. On their journey they learned how to become part of the Good Kingdom and to avoid the traps of the Bad Kingdom as they put on the full armor of God. Using Ephesians 6:11–18 as their guide and applying the passage through memorization, exciting games, tasty snacks, creative crafts, drama presentations, and Bible time, the kids learned how to stand for Christ in the face of worldly opposition.

Each day’s program included presentations by Sir John Tricks-a-Lot (John Swomley) and his wife Ynita (of JandY Ministries). With his humorous antics, Sir John reinforced the lesson and Bible verse of the day in a way the children anticipated and learned from.

[image error]

For the conclusion of each session, Buddy Davis led the children in a time of singing and teaching them a hymn.

The kids were given the opportunity to show off all they had learned as they joined their parents for a closing assembly in the main hall. Enthusiastically reciting their verses, sharing their troupe cheers, and singing “Stand Up for Jesus,” the children shared their lessons with the rest of the conference attendees.

Parents were grateful for the children’s sessions. We heard over and over again, “My kids have really enjoyed this VBS program.” One commented, “My son has enjoyed this so much.” Another parent shared, “My kids are so excited. I’ve never seen them so excited. They weren’t certain at first, but now they’ve made friends.” Early in the week one mom expressed, “My daughter has learned more in the first two days of this program than she did in the entire week of the VBS program she just finished.”

One story was a special blessing to us. A mom shared the story of how her family recently changed churches because they realized that they weren’t being taught biblical truth. Last summer they sent their kids to the church camp associated with their former church and they came home more worldly than when they left. It was at that point that they decided something had to change. Rather than send their kids to church camp this year, they saved their money to come to our Mega Conference. She shared that they were so spiritually fed by the conference that it brought home to them just how much they had been “starving” in their old church.

Arming children with the Word of God will properly equip them to stand firm as they move forward in their lives into a world of ever-increasing opposition to biblical authority. That’s what this week with the kids was all about.

Here are some photographs taken of other aspects of the children’s program at the 2013 Mega Conference:

Praise the Lord for all the kids like those above that AiG is influencing day after day.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

N is for Noah

At the Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis, we teach that the account of Noah is factual history as the Bible records it and not fairy tale! But it’s time that our children had a fun book that treats all the most important elements of the Flood and Ark as real and true.  For instance, it’s sad that so many children’s books on Noah’s Flood picture the Ark like an oversized bathtub with giraffes sticking out of the chimney—about to sink at any moment!  This teaches kids that Noah’s Ark was a fairy tale instead of teaching that it was a real ship built for a real global Flood.

To help fill this need, my newest book, N is for Noah, adds to the series of children’s books including A is for Adam and D is for Dinosaur.

N is for Noah is the account of the Ark, the Flood, and the man of faith at the heart of the biblical account. And the whole account is told in memorable, rhyming verse written by my wife Mally and me—kids love it!  And as we always do, of course, we point children to the message of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you can see, the illustrations for this new book are at the same high level of quality as the A is for Adam and D is for Dinosaur books. And the benefit of combining these beautiful illustrations with rhyming verse is that children will develop skills like memorization and comprehension while creating a strong biblical foundation. It also helps reinforce their understanding of the true history of Noah, the Ark, and the great Flood.

This new book is especially helpful for teachers, parents, and homeschooling families, as it includes tips on how to present important Christian concepts to children and to enhance their understanding. Each illustrated page includes a lesson guide on the back, with activities and steps for ensuring that children understand what’s happening.  Kids can read it as a book—and parents can read it to them as well as teach it to them!

N is for Noah provides structured learning enhanced with important words, biblical concepts, and verses. The book’s easel-style format makes it easy to read or teach to your child. With colorful illustrations and a delightful rhyme, the book is sure to be a favorite.

Don’t miss out on this great resource! It’s available to order in the Answers in Genesis online store, or you can pick it up in the Creation Museum bookstore on your next visit. Use N is for Noah as a tool to teach your children that they can trust God’s Word, from the very first verse.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Watch “The Great Delusion—The Spiritual State of the Nation” for Free

The Answers Mega Conference continues through Friday here in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. We have many speakers giving talks related to the decline of the culture and how you can be equipped to give answers to those who attack the authority of God’s Word.

My presentation on Monday evening titled “The Great Delusion” focused on the spiritual state of this nation. God’s Word is being attacked at its very foundation, and most Christians do not understand the problem or how to combat it. It is also my assertion that this culture is under judgment—under the wrath of God as described in Romans chapter 1. In many ways, I believe Romans 1 describes the state of the culture in America. How then should we view the leaders (including the president) that govern this nation? You may be surprised at the answer.

It is vital for everyone to understand the delusion—the great lie against God and His Word that has swept the nation and is sweeping the world. Yes, the news is depressing! God is judging America for its rebellion, its wickedness. But the good news is we can do something about this.

Watch this short video below recapping my talk on “The Great Delusion—The Spiritual State of the Nation” and giving a preview of my next talk. I will speaking on “Rescuing Our Kids” this coming Thursday at 11:30 AM (Eastern Time) at our national conference.

You can watch the entire video of “The Great Delusion—The Spiritual State of the Nation” for free under the Video on Demand section of the www.answersingenesis.org website.

I encourage everyone to watch this video about America under judgment and the place of its leaders in this judgment—but also what we can do about it.

Make sure to catch the evening sessions of the Answers Mega Conference, which are available to watch online for free at answerslive.org. Access to view the morning sessions can be purchased in our online store.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Hundreds of Families Attend Mega Conference

We started our national conference last night—the Answers Mega Conference—in Sevierville, Tennessee, located in the foothills of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains. We held our national conference here three years ago, and people raved about the great family things to do in the area—plus they raved about the excellent apologetics teaching they received at our conference.

I wanted to share some photos taken yesterday as several hundred families traveled to this great family vacation destination. Here is a photo of the adults during the main session, while hundreds of young people met in a separate hall.

Before the conference started, one of our keynote speakers, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, did his live radio program Washington Watch next to our meeting hall. Here is a photo of Tony interviewing me about moral issues of the day and how they relate to biblical authority. Tony’s website is www.frc.org.

Also before the conference, I met with dozens of supporters and gave them an Ark Encounter briefing.

Last night, the public premiere of Ray Comfort’s new film Evolution vs. God was held for conference attendees. This excellent film lets prominent evolutionists speak for themselves about the supposed observational evidence for evolution that shows one kind of animal turning into another kind. The answers from these scientists will astound you. You can order this powerful film from our online store. I do believe it will rock the evolution world!

Here is a photo of me with Ray, who flew all the way from California to be with us and to introduce his well-produced, new film. The DVDs of Evolution vs. God went like hotcakes here at the conference.

My good friend Todd Friel is also speaking at the conference. Here he is talking to conference attendees. His website is www.wretchedradio.com.

Here I am with some people who wanted to meet me after my first talk. We know of a few attendees who flew all the way out from California.

We’re holding many teaching sessions for children and teens at the Answers Mega Conference while the adults are in the main hall. Here is the VBS program Kingdom Chronicles children attended last night while their parents were meeting in another auditorium.

To watch the Answers Mega Conference live from your computer, see how you can order the live streaming.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Back to the Lion’s Den of the NEA Convention

Plus—the Mega Conference Live Streamed

As I head to Tennessee this morning for our Answers Mega Conference that starts tonight, I am giving most of my blog space today to a report on our recent NEA ministry in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you can’t to attend the Mega Conference, you can—for a nominal subscription fee for the four-day meeting—view much of it online. Through the marvels of technology we will be live streaming several sessions of the event.

In this blog post I wanted to bring to your attention AiG’s recent outreach to thousands of public school teachers and administrators in America. Once again this year, AiG donated multiple thousands of dollars’ worth of books, DVDs, magazines, and other resources (all paid for by specific donations designated to this event) to be freely given away to educators attending the annual NEA (National Education Association) conference. The NEA is the biggest such conference of secular educators in America (and the world). This teachers’ union is one of the most humanistic, pro-abortion, pro-“gay” marriage, anti-creation organizations in the USA. Its members are in dire need of the creation-gospel message (though we praise God for the Christian teachers who are something like “missionaries” in the public school systems).

AiG sent a team of volunteers to this convention earlier this month to challenge teachers and other educators with the creation-gospel message. One of the volunteers was Dr. Jobe Martin of Biblical Discipleship Ministries, producer of the DVD series Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution and his newer Creation Proclaims DVD series. These series (three parts each) proclaim the wonders of God’s creativity as seen through the animal world. Dr. Martin’s testimony of going from a Zen Buddhist agnostic evolutionist to becoming a biblical creationist is found in his book The Evolution of a Creationist (available for free download).

Some of our volunteers at the NEA convention

Dr. Martin and his family have volunteered at the NEA outreach for over ten years. I really appreciate their heart for the lost, their love for the truth, and their willingness to challenge false worldviews using biblical authority. As I head off to Tennessee this morning for our Answers Mega Conference that starts tonight, I am giving most of my blog space today to a report by Dr. Martin on our recent NEA ministry in Atlanta, Georgia.

NEA 2013 Report

by Dr. Jobe Martin (excerpted from a longer report)

Dr. Martin with wife Jenna Dee

Answers in Genesis is able to participate at the annual National Education Association (NEA) conference because it donates resources and manpower to an official caucus called the “NEA Creation Science Educators’ Caucus.” This highly secular and humanistic convention is the meeting place of America’s public school teachers’ union. Our family has been blessed to be a part of this outreach for over ten years.

. . .

Our main goal is to share the gospel. The creation topic is a great platform from which to spring off into the gospel. If we can get people thinking about the fact that there is a Creator, then they can better understand that He, as Creator (the Lord Jesus Christ), has the authority to be their Redeemer (Colossians 1:16–20).

The theme this year for the caucus and AiG booth was “Evolution is Blind Faith Disguised as Science.” As 2 Peter 3:5 states, “They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the Word of God the heavens exist.” Because of generous donations to a special “Education Outreach” fund, AiG was able to provide multiple thousands of dollars’ worth of creation DVDs, books, and magazines to pass out for free to the NEA delegates.

. . .

In the past, many negative things have happened to our group, including teachers giving us “the finger,” calling us names, equating us with the Taliban, calling us stupid, being extremely condescending, laughing hysterically in our faces, and even throwing the resources we have given them back into our booth or into trash cans. One year, someone at the NEA was offended by the AiG tract dealing with “gay” marriage and sent the authorities to tell us to remove the “offensive booklet” (we didn’t remove it). Last year, a man made a sign and marched up and down in front of the booth to protest our presence there.

This year a man walked all the way around the booth, saying in a loud voice with a determined look on his face: “Lies! Lies! Lies!” A woman (who called herself a Christian) came by yelling that she was going to have us “kicked out” of the NEA convention. Many teachers passed by us with a comment that they seemed to think is original with them, but we hear this smug remark every year:  “No thank you, I teach science.”

There are times when we are tempted to get upset with these people. But then we remember that we are the ones who have the Truth, and that they are caught up in their sins, headed for a terrible eternity. It is sobering and sad to know that their end is eternal separation from God unless they repent. While we never know what to expect from these NEA teachers, we are always encouraged by the following verses:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven. (Luke 6:22–23, KJV)

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. (1 Peter 4:14, KJV)

Thankfully we do not get all bad responses, and actually, for such a “pagan” convention, we get a surprising amount of encouragement. Many Christian teachers made it a point to stop by our booth and sincerely thank us for being there, and filled their bags with the free creation resources.

The topic this year was that evolution requires blind faith. When we had teachers question us about our banner’s message, we told them that evolution is historical science because no human was around “in the beginning” and so we cannot rely on provable or testable science (which is observational/operational science) to give us the answer to the question of origins. Evolution and creation must be taken by faith—either people believe by faith in “Eternal God” or by faith in “eternal matter.” We, as Christians, attest to the fact that operational science supports a young earth perspective. Observational science does not support an old earth idea—therefore, evolution is blind faith.

With empirical science, we were able to share with many delegates the discovery of soft tissue and red blood cells found in dinosaur bones—which points to the fact that these animals could not be millions of years old. We were also able to present the scientific fact that Carbon 14 has been found in diamonds. Of course, we are always ready to share about the specified, irreducible complexity that God has put into the design of His creatures.

This year, we shared these arguments with a man associated with the pro-evolution booth. We confronted him with all three arguments above. He had never heard about the soft tissue and red blood cells found in dinosaur bones (even though this science discovery is now over ten years old), and he did not seem familiar with the fact that Carbon 14 has been found in diamonds.

He did seem very interested when I started talking to him about my journey from being an agnostic, Zen Buddhist, evolutionist, to a Christian young-earth creationist. I told this man that at one time I taught evolution, teaching my students that fish scales moved into the mouth and became teeth. The man was listening intently at this point. I then explained how I finally started looking at the assumptions in evolutionary literature after being challenged by two of my dental students, and realized that evolution was based on assumptions.

Finally I was able to start talking about the specified, irreducible complexity in the giraffe with this man and how design demands a Designer. I told the man that he had come to understand and believe that the Designer is Jesus Christ. While this man listened for a long time, soon after hearing about the giraffe, he abruptly left. We were very thankful that the Lord kept him around long enough to hear some arguments pointing toward Jesus as the Creator.

The Name of the Lord Jesus is being heard in hard places because of this ministry at the NEA!

. . .

Please pray that the teachers will take notice of the creation resources they were given and be driven to watch the DVDs or read the materials. Pray that many will receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior, or be pulled closer to Him as a result. Also, please pray for the Christians we talked to who do not want to believe the pure Biblical account of creation, but would rather accept evolution. Pray that they will be convicted that they can take the Bible literally and thus be able to stand on the authority of the Word of God.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, KJV)

Volunteer Kurt Streutker flew all the way from California to Georgia to share his faith with NEA attendees.

We praise the Lord that for over 15 years now, AiG supporters have donated specifically toward this outreach so that we can do our best to reach these educators in the secular system with the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

 

Bees Did Not Evolve

After reading your Scriptures this morning, I suggest you read the recent web article on the incredible bees by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell. Fascinating! Just more evidence that if people don’t believe in the Creator God they are without excuse.

The article begins as follows:

Honeybees depend on their right antennae to differentiate friends from foes, scientists have learned. Previous studies have shown that bees use their right antennae to process short-term memories and their left for long-term memories. Therefore, explains neuroscientist Giorgio Vallortigara, “We tried to investigate whether the left and the right antennae play different roles in social interactions in bees.”

Read the entire article at this link.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

The Need to Rescue the Kids

One of the major outreaches of the Answers in Genesis ministry is to reach kids with the truth of God’s Word and the gospel. We work hard to make sure they hear the truth about who they are and where they came from so they won’t be led astray by the secularists who want to teach them they are just animals as part of an evolutionary process—in a purposeless and meaningless existence. No! They are special—they are made in the image of God. And because they are sons and daughter of Adam, they are also sinners in need of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ loves these kids so much, He paid the penalty for their sin, so those who receive the free gift of salvation will live with Him in heaven forever.

At the AiG Answers Mega conference this coming week in Sevierville, Tennessee (near the Great Smoky Mountains), hundreds of kids will have the opportunity of coming under AiG’s ministry as they attend the special children’s program. As my final keynote for this conference on Thursday, I will be speaking on “Rescuing Our Kids.” This talk is based on the AiG theme for the year: “Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids” (Galatians 1:4). I have divided the talk into these sections:

Rescuing our kids from this evil world
Rescuing the kids from much of the church and its compromise
Rescuing the kids from many Sunday school programs
Rescuing our kids from many Christian institutions

Find out more about the Mega Conference (you can sign up at the door) on the event site.

Here are some photographs of just some of the hundreds of kids I had the privilege of teaching in Florida this past Sunday and Monday at the AiG conference at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz (Tampa), Florida.

Please pray for us as we do the best we can to help parents raise up godly generations who will influence the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Disciplining Children God’s Way

A contentious issue facing many Christians today is how to discipline their children. The public education system in America and in other countries has failed to come up with disciplinary measures that work—and even many parents don’t exercise effective and biblical discipline.

The lead article on our website today covers the topic of disciplining our children in the way Scripture tells us to. While there is great disagreement on this topic in the secular world (and even in Christian circles), God’s Word offers the foundation for what discipline should look like in the Christian home. I’ve included a few paragraphs from the article:

Parents in American culture, like in Australia, do not discipline children God’s way. They are not teaching their children respect for authority, and that has left us with many problems. Just as the culture has abandoned the foundation of God’s Word for its worldview regarding such issues as marriage and the sanctity of life, so also it has abandoned the authority of Scripture in discipline of children.

Secular psychology rejects that children are sinners and instead teaches that children are basically “good.” This is a false premise and it will never lead to the exercise of biblical discipline of children. Children are no different than adults when it comes to sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, emphasis added).

Many people, including some Christians, fail to realize that one God-given aspect of biblical discipline is corporal punishment—and God tells parents to use it in disciplining their children. Of course, there are some people who have abused children with force, and we at Answers in Genesis reject this misuse of corporal punishment.

I urge you to read the full article.

It is important that Christian parents exercise biblical discipline, as the culture benefits from our disciplining God’s way. That’s why I recommend that you look into getting our Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World pack.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Is Monogamy Unnatural?

The moral decay continues in our Western culture! As shown again with the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding same-sex “marriage,” there has been a rise in the number of people promoting polygamous lifestyles and behavior.

Recently, CNN featured an opinion column by journalist and author Meghan Laslocky titled “Face it: Monogamy is unnatural.” In the column, Laslocky asserts that “monogamy is not natural for many, or probably even most, humans.” She continues as follows:

With people living longer than ever before, a greater tolerance toward the human impulse to experience sexual variety is needed. Whether a person succeeds at being sexually monogamous depends as much on biology as environment.

Because she believes in evolution, she uses that belief as the foundation for her ideas. But, a false foundation results in false beliefs. Laslocky writes the following:

Biologically, we humans are animals. So it makes sense to look to the animal kingdom for clues as to what we are built for. Let’s start with birds. For some time, bird species such as lovebirds and penguins were celebrated among humans for their seemingly monogamous ways. About 90% of birds were thought to be strictly monogamous.”

Laslocky appeals to genetic studies of birds by saying, “Analysis of avian DNA indicates  that many nestlings’ fathers are not their biological fathers.” She then considers the prevalence of monogamy among mammals and  makes the following observation:

Only 3% to 5% of all the mammal species on Earth “practice any form of monogamy.” In fact, no mammal has been proven to be truly monogamous.

So monogamy evidently does not characterize the animal kingdom. That shouldn’t surprise us—after all, these are just animals programmed to live and reproduce after their kind. We should expect them to act according to God’s design and plan for them.

Now, Laslocky is arguing for more freedom in the area of sexuality for humans. How does she prove her ideas? Basically, she claims that humans are captives of their chemical impulses:

Sexual monogamy depends not just on particular hormones that are released in the brain, but on receptors for these hormones.

Among humans, here’s the rub: we have the chemicals and the receptors, but it varies from person to person how much we have. Based on brain wiring alone, inclination toward fidelity can vary dramatically from one individual to another.

In other words, “once a cheater, always a cheater,” might have as much to do with brain wiring as with a person’s moral compass, upbringing or culture.

This may sound like a convincing argument to some, but what Laslocky really wants is a way to justify sinful behavior. Based on practices in the animal kingdom and in chemical and biological factors, she believes that remaining faithful to one’s spouse is “a lofty but perhaps fundamentally doomed aspiration.”

Now, Scripture is clear that we are not slaves to chemical impulses. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote the following to believers who once practiced sinful sexual behaviors (among other sins):

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, emphasis added)

These believers in ancient Corinth—a city filled with all sorts of moral filth—received salvation and they gave up their sinful behaviors. So change is not only possible, it is to be expected.

What’s more, Scripture reveals that God created us for monogamous marriages. Adam and Eve entered the first marriage—one man and one woman for life is the standard that God gives us in His Word. Jesus Christ reaffirmed this divine design and decree of marriage in Matthew’s Gospel:

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4–5, quoting Genesis 1:27 and 2:24)

For more on the issue of polygamy in the Bible, see Roger Patterson’s articles, “What About Polygamy in the Bible?” and “Contradictions: A Man of Many Wives.”

Secularists’ desire to normalize behavior that God is contrary to God’s will is just another manifestation of unbelievers suppressing the truth of God’s Word (Romans 1). I urge you to pray that these people will repent and believe the gospel of Christ before it’s too late.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

 

Steve Golden assisted in writing this blog post.