Ken Ham's Blog, page 374

Supreme Court Defies God’s Clear Teaching on Marriage

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 to strike down the key elements of the Defense of Marriage Act and deemed them as unconstitutional. In another 5-4 vote, Justices ruled that a federal judge’s decision to strike down the California amendment known as Prop 8 would remain. This amendment was approved by the voters and had banned same-sex marriage, but this ruling now makes it possible for California to resume performing same-sex marriages in the coming weeks.

Our nation is clearly in open rebellion against God. Scripture warns us of what happens when we give up God’s Word for the lie:

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, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:20–25)

Sadly, we’re witnessing first-hand the effects of giving up the truth for a lie. The Supreme Court decisions are just another confirmation of how God is giving up our nation to judgment because of the way the culture has eroded biblical authority. Today’s lead article on the Answers in Genesis website is a full analysis of these decisions, written by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell. I’ve included the introductory paragraphs below.

 In a pair of landmark decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States yesterday laid the groundwork for the creation of a new civil right to same-sex “marriage.” In one case, the Court overturned a decisive section of a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In a second case, it refused to uphold the rights of American citizens who had, in their own state of California, exercised their right to create a law defending that definition. While the Supreme Court did not declare that same-sex marriage is a civil right or overturn state laws prohibiting it, it did prepare the way for state-by-state battles leading to that end.

Once in Defense of Marriage

The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed in 1996 at a time when no states permitted same-sex marriage. The law preserved the rights of individual states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages sanctioned by other states. That section of DOMA still stands—so far.

Section 3 of DOMA—now declared unconstitutional by a 5–4 decision—defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and specified that spouse “refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife” for the purposes of “determining the meaning” of any federal law. As such, DOMA effectively prevented same-sex couples from obtaining federal marriage benefits by simply moving to a state recognizing same-sex marriage. Those marriage benefits primarily include the financial benefits that accrue to married couples, such as Social Security survivor benefits, the option of filing joint tax returns, and governmental employees’ insurance benefits.

I urge you to read the entire article so you understand the implications of the Supreme Court’s decisions and can also better respond to skeptics on the issue of homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage.

The justices who have openly shaken their fists in rebellion against God will one day give an account to the Creator they are defying. I sincerely pray they repent and that the unbelieving justices will believe the gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Totally New App Launched Today—with iPhone, Android, and Web Versions

I have an exciting announcement. The new Answers in Genesis mobile application is now available! Our web team has worked incredibly hard on this app to bring you some great resources. Below I have shared the article that our team has written announcing the new mobile app—available for iPhone, Android, and also as a web based app. AiG has had an app available, but this is a totally new app available in these three ways. Here is the AiG announcement:

Calling all mobile users! Do you like apps—especially free ones? Answers in Genesis is excited to announce our new mobile application for Android and Apple. (No worries for those people with a different platform—this content is also accessible on any mobile device with a web browser.)

Of course, this new app, “Get Answers,” doesn’t replace our website, www.answersingenesis.org. Instead, the Get Answers app provides additional tools to aid users in evangelism and personal spiritual growth. You can also easily access our digital content to help you stay up-to-date with Answers in Genesis.

The Get answers app is now available in Google Play and the iTunes App store as well as a web version at www.GetAnswers.org!

Check out what this nifty app can do:

The “get answers” feature provides answers to 61 of our most common biblical authority questions.
Check “our latest” to stay current with our most recent blog posts, podcasts, articles, and videos. All of these are located in one spot, conveniently formatted for your mobile device.
Our app’s “Answers in Genesis events” feature has all of our upcoming events—around the world. You can select any event to get details and directions on your mobile device.
“My library” synchronizes all the content you have previously purchased or will purchase in the future using your Answers in Genesis web account. For Apple devices, it also shows content from in-app purchases. All of the digital books have been formatted specifically for use in our mobile app.
The “shop” feature allows you to purchase digital content on an Apple device or anything in our web store on all other mobile devices.
“For kids” is a feature designed to engage a wide range of young people. From videos to articles to cartoons, kids can keep coming back for answers.

Did we mention that all of the above features and content are totally free? We hope these tools will be a blessing to all who use them. Additionally, upgrade to the premium version to unlock two great witnessing tools for a low, one-time price of $1.99.

The Check This Out video series is a great tool to show someone a brief video on one of six topics. If you would like to use these videos outside of the mobile app, the download price of these digital videos is $12.99 in our web store.
Our digital tract feature allows you to send an email of any item in the “get answers” section as a digital witnessing tract—providing you with an opportunity to acquire a person’s email address. How often do you get to give someone a tract that answers his exact question—and then follow up later to start a dialogue? This premium feature makes it easier than ever.

For witnessing, learning, engaging kids, and finding our events or latest communications, add this app to your home screen to find and share answers!

I urge you to take advantage of this great resource. The new Get Answers app will put excellent apologetics material right at your fingertips.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

AiG Responds to Petition on White House Website to Ban Creationism

Recently a petition appeared on a White House website calling for a ban on creationism in the classroom. I wrote a blog post last week on the issue, sharing some of my responses to a reporter who asked for my comment. (To see the responses, read my blog post.)

Today on the Answers in Genesis website, our official response to the petition to ban creationism appears as the lead article. Now, we realize that this response, coauthored by Answers in Genesis CCO Mark Looy and me, will very likely draw attention to the petition and gain new signatures (as a result of secularists reading our article on this well-trafficked website). However, I believe it’s much more important to point out the hypocrisy and intolerance of secularists on this issue. I’ve included some paragraphs of our response below:

This web article is largely an adaptation of our replies to the news agencies. The question posed by both reporters representing Christian news agencies was something on the order of the following: Since we live in an age known for tolerance, why are evolutionists so intolerantly seeking to ban an opposing view?

AiG responded that the anti-creationist petition is just one more example of the intolerance of secularists who want to censor any challenge to their evolution-based worldview. For all their claims that the pursuit of science should be done with free inquiry and tolerance for dissenting ideas, these same people are often the ones most intolerant of alternative beliefs. For these secularists the issue of creation vs. evolution is a part of their worldview system, for evolution is one their excuses for not believing in a God and allows them to live their lives how they want—unaccountable to an absolute Authority and His absolute moral standards.

AiG pointed out to the news services that the idea of a petition to “Ban Creationism and Intelligent Design in the science classroom” through a federal law is silly anyway. First, the reality is that creation or intelligent design (ID) is not taught as part of the formal curriculum in any public schools we know of, though there are a small percentage of courageous teachers in the classroom who (legally) let their students know of some of the scientific objections to evolution. Second, if teachers or school boards attempt to incorporate ID into the curriculum, secular groups like the ACLU promise lawsuits. School districts are aware of this threat. . . .

At the same time we explained that, contrary to what is commonly believed, science instructors do have the freedom to bring up evidence that supports a Designer. The well-known 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning creation in schools dealt with the issue of whether states can mandate that creation be taught along with evolution. But the Court did not say that teachers were not permitted to bring up alternative scientific ideas to evolution—just that they could not be forced to.

I encourage you to read Answers in Genesis’ entire response to this petition so that you will be better equipped to respond to those who make similar claims.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Homosexuality and Gay Marriage

The topic of homosexual behavior and “gay” marriage has certainly been one of the major news headlines in recent times—particularly driven by the agenda of the president of the United States. Because these topics are being discussed in various ways (for instance in relation to the Boy Scouts of America), it is important to remember God’s authoritative Word on this subject.

There are many passages of Scripture that make it very clear that marriage is only between one man and one woman. The following are two key passages:

And He [Jesus] 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’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4–6)

“Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.” (Malachi 2:14–15)

Here we see one of the primary reasons God made marriage: to produce godly offspring. And to do this, a reference is made to “one”—the “one flesh” in Genesis 2:24, which is based on the fact the woman (wife) was made from the man (Genesis 2:21–23).

I also thought it would be good to link to an article that deals with particular aspects of this topic. For example, in the following paragraph, Kevin DeYoung, a pastor in Michigan, addresses the oft-repeated argument that since Jesus never said anything against homosexuality, we shouldn’t make “a big deal out of something Jesus hardly cared about”:

First, an evangelical understanding of inspiration does not allow us to prize instructions in the gospel more than instructions elsewhere in Scripture. If we read about homosexuality from the pen of Paul in Romans it has no less than authority or relevance than if we read it from the lips of Jesus in Matthew. All Scripture is breathed out by God, not just the red letters. God’s gracious self-disclosure comes to us through the Word made flesh and by the inscripturated word of God. These two modes of revelation reveal to us one God, one truth, one way, and one coherent set of promises, threats, and commands to live by. We must not seek to know the Word who is divine apart from the divine words of the Bible, and we ought not read the words of the Bible without an eye to the Word incarnate. When it comes to seeing God and his truth in Christ and in Holy Scripture, one is not more reliable, more trustworthy, or more relevant than the other.

I love the reminder that the words of Jesus are not just those in red in the so-called “red letter” editions of the Bible! The entire Bible is the Word of God—the words of Jesus. I encourage you to read the entire article titled “Common Fault Lines in Maintaining an Evangelical Approach to Homosexuality.”

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

And Now—Global Cooling

Answers magazine, published by our ministry of Answers in Genesis, is a fantastic creation-based worldview magazine packed with information—all from the biblical perspective. The newest issue is going out soon, and I wanted to give you all a special sneak peek at one of the articles in it.

Now, global warming and climate change have been hot-button issues over the past few years. And in the Perspectives section of Answers, we have a special article dealing with climate change. I’ve included it below:

Global Cooling?

Some proponents of catastrophic global warming are finally admitting that the actual global temperature is not rising as fast as their models predict. In fact, data published recently by the British Met  Office* may actually indicate the beginning of a cooling trend. The official global temperatures published by the Met Office appear to be dropping out of the range predicted with 90% confidence by computer climate models.

Piers Forster, climate change professor at Leeds University, notes, “Global surface temperatures haven’t risen in the past fifteen years. . . . [They] make the high estimates unlikely.” professor Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of technology agrees that “[climate] models are running too hot” and says the “current flat trend may continue for two more decades.”

Most of the scientists who believe the earth is heating up at catastrophic rates believe the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from human activity is the primary cause of increasing global temperature for the past half century. According to creation meteorologist Dr. Larry Vardiman, “They have not considered some of the long-term changes in solar activity as a possible explanation for this divergence from their predictions.”

For years, some creation scientists who specialize in climate have maintained that global warming is driven by cyclical solar effects that the Creator apparently put in place. Over the past five years, Dr. Vardiman has been predicting that the global temperature should have started declining sometime after 2000, based on complex statistical studies of the Central England Temperature (CET) records and solar activity. Such data appear to confirm those predictions, although the downturn has taken longer than predicted to begin.

The British Met Office has now released strong evidence for this global cooling trend.

Based on observations of the solar effects that drive global temperature, Dr. Vardiman and others believe temperatures should continue to decline for several decades to come.

Unfortunately, Western governments have invested so much capital and reputation into the carbon dioxide theory that they are unlikely to give up on it anytime soon. This seems to be another sad case where people who reject the Bible’s revelation are chasing costly errors. If only they would recognize that we live on a young earth that has undergone radical climate changes as a result of the Flood, they would spend their efforts more wisely on understanding climate problems and solving them!

These climate variations should not surprise us or cause undue alarm. We know that God is holding the earth together until the day of His final judgment, and nothing can destroy it until He dissolves it Himself.

By the way, Mark Looy, our CCO, pointed out to me that when he took a college class in the 1970s, his instructor warned his class about future global cooling, not warming. The professor had his students read a book about global cooling and other dangers to the world. Now, global cooling may not have been the unanimous belief of all climatologists in the 1970s, but a significant number of researchers did believe in it—so much so that even the major weekly news magazines of the day time covered the possibility of a cooling planet. Bottom line: climate studies are not an exact science, though scientists like Dr. Vardiman have more data to examine today, and his studies suggest a cooling planet, not a warming one.

Answers magazine is the most popular creationist worldview magazine available. I urge you to subscribe today. With your subscription, you’ll also get access to many great online resources, including web-only exclusives, downloads for kids and subscribers, and the full online version of the magazine. Don’t miss out on this great resource!  The article above is just a tiny fraction of the wealth of information in the next Answers magazine.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

*The British weather service

Nazarenes Defending Evolution

Blatant compromise in the church today sadly continues to be encouraged by many Nazarene university professors. Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, has been the headquarters for BioLogos (probably the leading group promoting compromise on Genesis in the USA). The former president of BioLogos, Dr. Darrel Falk, is a professor of biology at Point Loma.

Well, Point Loma Nazarene University is hosting a conference next year called “Nazarenes Exploring Evolution.” On the conference website, the description states, “The Nazarenes Exploring Evolution conference will explore the compatibility or incompatibility of evolution and Christian theology in the Wesleyan tradition.” But are the conference speakers really interested in looking at the obvious incompatibility of evolution, millions of years, and the Bible? Well, judge for yourself—I’ve found and included quotes from each of the speakers (at least, the ones who have been announced so far) on their view of evolutionary ideas.

Mark Mann, associate professor of theology at Point Loma, writes in an essay that he accepts evolution—and that other Christians should too:

I believe that this is the case with evolution—that the time has come for Christians to come to see that their opposition to evolutionary theory is based upon an incorrect reading of Scripture. . . . Nevertheless, what I think is clear is that evolutionary theory not only can be demonstrated to be commensurate with Scripture, but can also give us deeper insight to what Scripture has to say about how God is at work within creation. (Mark Mann, “Creation, Incarnation, and Evolution,” Nazarenes Exploring Evolution, exploringevolution.com/essays/2013/02/20/creation-incarnation-and-evolution.)

Thomas Oord, professor of theology and philosophy at Northwest Nazarene University, writes about evolution and the Bible on his blog. In one post, titled “Evangelicals Accept Evolution,” he exhorts evangelical Christians to do just that—accept evolution:

We Evangelicals are adamant that we seek truth. Simply put, the general theory of evolution best accounts for the biological evidence we find in our world. Not accepting evolution means not accepting the best overall theory available to account for the data we find. . . . But Evangelicals can and should believe that God works through various evolutionary mechanisms as the initial and ongoing Creator of all things. There is no scientific reason to reject that God creates through evolution. I believe God works through or alongside natural selection, genetic mutation, self-organization, and other evolutionary mechanisms. . . . The key to seeing the Bible as consonant with evolution, therefore, is to ask about the purpose of Scripture. Evangelicals regard the Bible as reliable for revealing God’s will concerning salvation. They should not consider the Bible a scientific textbook against which contemporary science—including evolution—be judged. (Thomas Oord, “Evangelicals Accept Evolution,” For the Love of Wisdom, thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/evangelicals_accept_evolution.)

Michael Lodahl, professor of theology and world religions at Point Loma, explains his view of evolution and the image of God in an essay on the Exploring Evolution website:

I still believe that God, revealed in the history of Israel – and revealed supremely in the person and works of Jesus – is the Creator of all things. I still believe that God has created human beings in the divine image. I also assume that God’s mode or method of creating is through the painstakingly gradual processes that we call ‘evolution.’ . . . This would mean that Genesis 1 does not encourage us to think of our being created in God’s image in terms of hierarchical superiority or absolute difference from all of the rest of God’s creatures. Instead, we are entrusted with a task that roots us deeply in this world with our fellow creatures. That task, to be sure, requires intelligence, creativity, and imagination. But there is no reason to assume that these capabilities could not have developed slowly and gradually through the processes we now identify as ‘evolution.’ (Michael Lodahl, “Humanity in the Image of God,” Nazarenes Exploring Evolution, exploringevolution.com/essays/2013/05/20/humanity-in-the-image-of-god.)

Another speaker at the conference is Richard Colling, a former biology professor at Olivet Nazarene University (another Christian college). In a BioLogos documentary, Colling talks about how sad it is that children are taught by their parents and pastors that “believing in evolution is sort of like denying the Christian faith. And so then they come to college and in that setting they learn that evolution is real, and that it’s part of God’s grand design. It literally broke my heart to see so many young students sometimes in my office in tears because their parents are telling them and their pastors are telling them that you’ve got to reject the science to be a Christian. And I just didn’t see that that was necessary.” Colling wrote a book called Random Designer, in which he asserts that “life began apparently 3.8 billion years ago” (p. 93).

Karl Giberson, who was formerly with BioLogos and Eastern Nazarene College but left BioLogos to pursue writing, is also one of the main speakers for the conference. Now, Giberson has written a number of books, including one where he rewrites Genesis to fit in with evolution and millions of years. (For more, read my blog post on Giberson’s book.)

During a discussion with Michael Shermer, the founder of Skeptic Magazine, Shermer asked Giberson how he reconciles Christianity and evolution. Giberson responded, “It’s only if we get distracted by the first couple of chapters of Genesis and elevate them in importance beyond what’s appropriate that we have a real conflict” (Karl Giberson, “Clip 1: How do you reconcile Christianity and evolution?” Templeton Foundation, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNU9y-hgLJI).

What a low view of Scripture! So here is another example of a professing Christian teaching people that they can mix evolution and millions of years with Scripture. Of course, as I’ve said many times before, believing in a young earth and six literal days of creation is not a salvation issue—but it is an authority issue. And it’s a gospel-related issue, for believing in death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering before sin undermines the gospel! What Giberson and all these other men are teaching is that fallible, finite, sinful man’s opinion on origins is far more trustworthy than the infallible, omniscient, sinless God’s account of our origins in Genesis. (See my previous blog on Giberson for a fuller explanation of what he believes.)

Finally, Dr. Darrel Falk is speaking at the conference. Dr. Falk, like all of the men above, holds to a form of theistic evolution (BioLogos refers to it as “evolutionary creationism”). Parents, I want you to see what Dr. Falk would say to your children if they were students in his biology courses and wanted to know about the age of the universe:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did you hear that in the video? A universe that’s billions of years old, an earth that’s millions of years old, the rocks tell us how old the earth is—basically, fallible man’s opinions are greater than God’s  infallible Word. This issue really comes down to an authority issue—what will we believe? Man’s word or God’s Word? It’s not likely that the speakers at this conference will be highlighting the incompatibility of evolution with the Bible, since all the major speakers so far are convinced that the two can be mixed. Now, one of our scientists and a former professor at a Nazarene college, Dr. Georgia Purdom, has been invited to be a panelist at a session during this conference. I also understand that there is “a call for papers,” and if a paper is accepted, the author (e.g., an evolutionist or non-evolutionist) will get to give a short presentation during the conference. But as I look at the current schedule, it appears the event is dominated by evolutionists.

I urge you to pray for these compromising men, and for the people who attend this conference who may be lead astray by their blatant compromise of God’s Word in Genesis.  Pray that these teachers (whom God will one day hold accountable for what they have taught) would change their minds and see how their evolutionary/millions of years view of origins undermines God’s Word and the gospel. Because without a literal Genesis, a literal Adam and Eve, and a literal Fall—if death and sin have always been in the world—then there was no reason for Christ to die. But as the Apostle Paul says in Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Make sure you begin your search for a college for your children by starting with the list at www.creationcolleges.com.  At least the colleges on this list have stated they agree with the stand of Answers in Genesis regarding the historicity of the Bible’s first book.

And if your child goes to a compromising Christian college like Point Loma Nazarene, don’t be surprised if they begin to doubt and ultimately reject the Word of God!  God hates compromise—and so should you!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Steve Golden assisted in the writing of this blog.

 

Zip Around the Creation Museum

Yesterday was the grand opening of the impressive new zip line course at the Creation Museum—the biggest and best zip lines in the Midwest! The new zip line course includes 23 zip lines (eventually 27) and 10 sky bridges. We’re very excited about the evangelistic opportunities we’ll have at the Creation Museum as a result of the new zip line course, as it will certainly draw a broader range of people to the museum complex.

Recently I’ve been interviewed by several members of the media about the zip lines, resulting in some great coverage of the Creation Museum and our new adventure course. Cincinnati.com posted an article and a great video of the course. Another news organization, Channel 5 TV in Cincinnati, ran an article and posted a video not long ago announcing the zip line course. And our new course was featured in an article on the popular international website, The Christian Post.

Just yesterday, I had an interview with another local news station, Channel 9.

In the past week or so staff members from Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter experienced the zip line and sky bridge course:

Now, in just a couple of weeks a new museum billboard campaign will start in our tri-state area (Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky) for the zip line course, with billboards appearing along major interstates in Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Lexington.

I urge you to bring your friends and family members to the Creation Museum and the spectacular new zip line course today! Through July 31, we are offering a discounted rate of $79 (originally $89) for the Adventure Tour (2.5–3 hours). And for just an additional $10, each participant can purchase admission to the museum as well. For more information, visit the Creation Museum website.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Secularists Ask President to Ban Creationism

Many of you have heard of the Christian Post, an online, evangelical newspaper that has covered Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum very fairly in the past. Well, recently a reporter from the Christian Post ran across a petition on the White House’s website that calls for the president to ban creationism in the classroom.

Now, anyone can start a petition on the White House website for just about anything. For example, a petition on the site around the time that the Hostess bakery company was going out of business called for the federal government to nationalize Hostess in order to save the Twinkie, its famous junk food.

The reporter who found the petition calling for a ban on creationism contacted me for a response. You can read the article on the Christian Post with some of my response.

As with most news articles, we did not expect our entire response to be printed. So I’ve included the questions I was asked, and my answers below. I encourage you to read them so that you can better understand how intolerant of Christianity our culture has become.

Question: What is your overall opinion of this petition?

Answer: First, Answers in Genesis is not in favor of mandating that either creation or intelligent design be taught in public school science classes. However, we believe that teachers already possess the academic freedom to point out the problems with the evolution model. In addition, they have the academic freedom to discuss the evidence that points away from evolution and to creation. By the way, all the leading creationist and intelligent design groups we are aware of do not believe it is wise to force instructors to teach something like creation/ID that they may not believe in.

Question: Do you believe that there are plenty of public school science classes that are teaching creationism and/or intelligent design?

Answer: Occasionally, we come across public school teachers who tell us that they present creation or intelligent design in their science classes. But we don’t have any percentages, just anecdotal accounts.

Question: Do you believe the petition will influence the debate over teaching Creationism and/or Intelligent Design in schools?

Answer: We believe the White House petition will not have any impact on how the teaching of origins is presented in public schools. For one, presidents don’t issue executive orders to ban certain kinds of teachings in schools. The development of science curriculum is largely the domain of local school districts and state educators, not the executive branch of the U.S. government.

We view this petition as frivolous and as another attempt to ridicule the thousands of scientists across the U.S. and millions of Americans who reject evolution and accept the Genesis creation account instead. Contrary to what is commonly believed, science instructors can also bring up evidence that supports a Designer. The well-known 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning creation in schools dealt with the issue of whether states can mandate that creation be taught along with evolution. But the Court did not say that teachers were not permitted to bring up alternative ideas to evolution—just that they could not be forced to.

The online petition program set up by the White House was designed to encourage civic participation. But silly petitions like this one (and we note that there was even a petition on the White House site to demand the nationalization of the Twinkie industry so that this junk food would continue to be produced*) discourages serious discussion about such an important worldview topic: where did we all come from, was it by creation or evolution? This anti-creationist petition is yet another example of the intolerance of evolutionist activists who do want to see any challenge to their deeply held secularist worldview.

The reality is that creation/ID is not taught in most public schools, and even if teachers or school boards attempt to incorporate it into the curriculum, various secular groups like the ACLU threaten them with lawsuits.

The petition does not specifically mention public schools, so it can also be viewed as opposing the teaching of creation/ID in Christian schools and homeschools. Once again we see the intolerance of secularists against Christians and their freedom to teach creation/ID—even in private settings.

You see, people are now so anti-Christian that they’re even asking the executive branch of our government, which shouldn’t be involved in the development of school curricula, to step in and squelch creationism. The secularists are just trying to rescue their evolutionary agenda!

Dr. Terry Mortenson (AiG–U.S.) weighed in on this petition as well, saying that if evolution is true, secularists shouldn’t just tolerate criticism, but welcome it:

Imagine if a student came to his high school math teacher and said, “Could I have time in class to present an argument that a mathematician has made that two plus two equals five?” The wise teacher would say, “Sure,” because it would be a great teaching experience for the students to learn how to spot faulty arguments. The foolish, fearful teacher would use abusive, authoritarian language against the student or call the ACLU and threaten to sue the kid for daring to suggest such nonsense.

Evolutionists should welcome scientific criticisms in the classroom because if evolution is really true, then the exercise of helping the students see the fallacies in the criticisms will strengthen the students’ understanding of—and convictions about—evolution, thereby making them better thinkers, leading to higher math and science scores on tests, and raising America’s position in the international standings. They would only fear scientific criticisms of evolution if the idea is not proven fact but instead a massive deception.

Dr. Mortenson is absolutely right—if evolutionary ideas are true, then they’ll hold up to criticism in the classroom. But petitions like this are just more evidence of man’s willful rebellion against God as he continues to exchange the truth for a lie:

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, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:20–23)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Biblical Creation Ministry to Arabic-Speaking Peoples

Recently Dr. Terry Mortenson (AiG–U.S.) returned from a series of speaking engagements in the UK. While there he was able to spend time with my good friends, Drs.  Nagy and Nashwa Iskander—Egyptian-born doctors now living in Scotland. (For more information on the Iskander’s ministry in Scotland, see my blog post from earlier this year.)

Dr. Nagy Iskander and Dr. Fareed Zaki have produced a series of new TV programs in Arabic in order to reach people in the Arabic-speaking world with the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis and the gospel. Now, Dr. Zaki is a Christian psychiatrist who is in full-time ministry in Egypt and the Middle East. He visited the Creation Museum to attend the Answers for Pastors conference in 2011, and he is very committed to biblical creation.

You can see the high quality of the programs from the two-minute clip below (in Arabic). Even if you don’t speak Arabic, I encourage you to watch this clip to see the production standards of what is being done for Christianity to reach the Arabic-speaking people.

The Arabic creation program is recorded for broadcast on satellite TV and the internet. Each episode is 40 minutes, and Dr. Iskander and Dr. Zaki have already recorded 26 episodes. The program is very professionally done, with a high-quality set designed to resemble Noah’s Ark. The goal is to record 100 programs total.

The first 20 minutes features Dr. Zaki interviewing Dr. Iskander about various subjects in creation in front of a studio audience of 14 young people. The remaining 20 minutes is a question-and-answer time with the young people attending the recording session. The students ask deep, searching questions from Genesis 1 to 11.

I have been told that Dr. Iskander and Dr. Zaki are able to really go in-depth on subjects while still keeping them at a level that the average person can understand. When these programs start airing in the next few months, they will potentially reach 350 million people in the Arabic-speaking world. In July, people will be able to start watching online at www.malakootsat.com.

I urge you to pray that God will use these programs in a mighty way to strengthen the compromised churches in the Arabic-speaking world and also to call many to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. I also encourage you to share this video with those you may know who minister to Arabic-speaking peoples.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Humming for Creation

I’ve always been fascinated by hummingbirds, and I have been known to take many photos of them—see the pictures below. I often see them in my backyard. Their beauty and energy always bring me back to the glory of our Creator.

This week on PBS TV in America, the network will be re-airing an episode of Nature on hummingbirds. Now, hummingbirds are spectacular creatures, but these incredibly fast birds are very small, making it hard to observe them in the wild. But this episode of Nature contains footage and information on hummingbirds that will only increase your appreciation for God’s creation—when you examine the world from the biblical perspective. I encourage you to view this episode on hummingbirds either on PBS this week or on the PBS website.

What’s more, we have many articles on the Answers in Genesis website on hummingbirds, and how their design clearly defies evolutionary ideas. Share this information with your entire family, with articles written specifically for children and adults.

For Children

Hummingbirds—Designed to Catch Bugs


Hummingbird—Created on Day 5


A Humdinger of a Challenge

For Adults

The Hummingbird: God’s Tiny Miracle

I’ve also recorded an episode about hummingbirds for my radio program, Answers . . . with Ken Ham.

Truly those who reject the God of creation are without excuse:

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 1:20)

Be sure to explore answersingenesis.org and take advantage of the thousands of free articles, audio recordings, and video resources we have made available to you. We want to show you the wonders of God’s creation because it all declares His glory!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken