Ken Ham's Blog, page 408

Reporting from Afghanistan

We received an email from a person in the U.S. military* deployed in Afghanistan. I was so taken by what this serviceman wrote as a comment on the Ark Encounter blog (where we discuss the building of a full-size, evangelistic Noah’s Ark in northern Kentucky), that I believed I should share this with all of you:

As a recent supporter I was encouraged to see the update to the Ark Encounter Thermometer.

It will have to suffice to say that I have been richly blessed through God’s action on my life through the ministry of Answers in Genesis. In response to that blessing, I had a desire to display obedience to the teaching of Jesus that a worker deserves his pay (Luke 10:7). I also desire that the blessings God has given through this ministry will stay long on my house and my family.

In the decision to purchase a charter membership [for the Ark Encounter] I was motivated to set before my children a picture of Christ. Every time my children see an advertisement or article from Answers in Genesis I want them to know that they have free admission to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter because the price has already been paid by their father. I want that knowledge to serve to remind them that Jesus Christ has paid the price of admission to the Father. I also want my children to know that I place a very high value on their instruction in the scripture.

After discussion and prayer, my wife and I recently purchased a charter membership for the Ark Encounter. … Less than a week later she took our children and her mother to the creation museum for the first time. Though I am currently in Afghanistan, I was able to see pictures and video of their visit. Hearing the stories my wife told of the visit brought literal tears of joy to my eyes. Even this joy was surpassed by hearing my wife affirm the decision to purchase the lifetime passes for our family. I rejoice in the fact that though separated by many miles, my wife and I are walking side by side in the goal of training our children in the knowledge of God.

To the AIG team: thank you for your faithful ministry in providing daily encouragement to me during my current deployment and for instructing my family in my absence. I continue to visit your website and to pray that God will continue to work through you.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

*Based on what we know, including the writer’s use of the words “current deployment,” AiG believes this person is in military service in Afghanistan and is not a contract worker for the military. Please pray for his safety.

Cave Witnessing

One of the families that attended the AiG Mega Conference in Branson last week sent us this email:

Friday, after the conference had ended, I took my family down to [one of the cave attractions] … the girl at the … gift shop … said, “Oh, [you’re] from that Answers in Genesis group.  Someone from your group came here on Wednesday, and gave me one of those BEGIN books, and I really love it.  I just started reading it and I can’t wait to finish it.  I had never heard of Ken Ham before, or Answers in Genesis,  but I’m going to go and look them up on the internet as soon as I get the chance and see what I can learn.”

She was totally excited about what she was reading in the BEGIN book, and her desire to learn more was evident … We were able to give them a copy of the “eye-catching” brochure on cave formation edited by Andrew Snelling.  May the Lord use these opportunities to increase His kingdom.

More and more people are using AiG resources to make a difference in the culture! How we praise the Lord for that.

Kids Love Buddy

Kids just love AiG’s singer and dinosaur sculptor Buddy Davis. See below for some photos of Buddy after the special children’s programs yesterday in Cary, North Carolina. Families gathered in a long line to meet Buddy! What a thrill to see so many young kids who love Buddy’s songs and so love the AiG ministry.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Overflow Crowds in North Carolina

Well it really was an exciting time last night as an overflow crowd packed into Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina. Here are some photographs to give you an idea of what we experienced.

Here is a panoramic photo of the main auditorium. Note the people standing at the sides.

In this photograph you can see people sitting in the choir section and on the stage because there were so many people in attendance.

Buddy Davis had standing room only for his concert.

The resource area was packed.

We praise the Lord for the incredible interest in AiG and the messages the Lord has called us to give. I received so many testimonies from people who have been powerfully changed by this ministry. One young lady told me last night, “What I was taught at school caused me to totally reject the Bible, but your videos were used by the Lord to save me.”

The conference continues today with school assemblies this morning and the final two sessions tonight. For further information, go to the event page.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

One Blood

Here is a practical example of how what we teach through AiG is bearing fruit in other parts of the world. We received this email this past week about our book One Race One Blood (the title comes from Acts 17:26):

I am trying to share a story with Ken Ham concerning his book “One Blood”.  I work as a missionary in W. Africa in a predominately Muslim area.  I was sitting with some older men last week and one of them asked me the question: Ifyou were in an accident here and they took you to the hospital and they had no white man’s blood, only black man’s blood, would you receive it? I was so grateful that I had read Ham’s book [One Race One Blood] years back and was able to share the story of Noah and how all peoples spread over the earth after the confusion at the tower, and how.

The missionary then told how he explained our skin color (that we are all the same color—just different shades depending on the combination of genes we receive from our parents).

The missionary concluded his email:

I finished it by quoting Brother Ken: “Friend, we are all One Blood!”  The man jumped up and shook my hand and said he would not eat or drink the rest of the day.  The food I gave him would satisfy him.  Bless you brother for writing the book.

How we praise the Lord for testimonies like this. The message of One Race One Blood needs to be given in every church in America! There is still racism and prejudice even in some churches because people don’t build their thinking on the Word of God and believe the true history of the world as given in Genesis.

If you have never read One Race One Blood, please consider obtaining the book and reading it carefully. You can order it at this link.

In North Carolina

Today we began our AiG conference in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina at Colonial Baptist Church. Dr. Gary Parker, Buddy Davis, and I will be making a number of presentations—and Buddy will also give a couple of concerts. This is going to be a special time for those who can attend. You can find out more information on the event page.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Lots of “Wow” Happenings!

In the past week, lots of what I call “WOW” things have happened at the Creation Museum:

1.  The Big Book of History (that just won a prestigious award at the International Christian Booksellers Convention) has now been installed with our other History time-line just outside the museum’s Dragon Hall Bookstore:

Here are two members of the graphic design team as they were installing this new exhibit:

2.  A special window display featuring samples of Creation Museum billboards now seen across the country has been installed in the Portico of the Museum:

3.  New products featuring the spectacular artwork of the museum’s billboard campaign have arrived in the Dragon Hall Bookstore:

4.  A new section has been added to the museum’s Legacy Hall lobby featuring the phenomenal (and unashamedly biblically creationist/six literal day young earth) Christian school/homeschool textbooks from BJU Press.  This is like an exhibit in itself and features this first-class line of Christian texts that AiG is endorsing and selling at the Creation Museum:

AiG and the Creation Museum continue to move ahead with new exhibits and resources to reach the population with the message of the truth of God’s Word and the gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying.

Ken

Celebrating a 20-Year Video Anniversary!

In 1992, I spoke at a seminar in the St. Louis area. A young ministerial student, not yet married, purchased a set of videos featuring Dr. Gary Parker and me called Understanding Genesis. That video set—plus the seminar he attended—gave him a very strong foundation for his future pastoral ministry.

Earlier this month, I was very happy to welcome Pastor Mark Byars and his family to the museum. (See the photo below taken in my office.) There is more to the story about the videos he purchased 20 years ago. In the mid-90s, Mark’s father-in-law, Floyd Coates of Indiana, visited Mark’s house in Illinois, and Floyd noticed the yellow-jacketed Understanding Genesis VHS series. Floyd started to watch them, and very soon, Floyd was hooked on biblical apologetics. Over the years that followed, Floyd gave over 300 creation presentations to young people and adults, including in smaller communities. He also brought along a lot of AiG materials. Floyd reached several thousand people at his live events.

I am sad to report that this wonderful “creation evangelist” passed away earlier this year. During the memorial service, attended by two of our staff, it was mentioned many times that Floyd, though heading up a large business, made it a high priority to speak wherever and whenever he could on the book of Genesis.

Floyd and his wife Anne visited the Creation Museum many times. In this photo taken earlier this month, you can see Anne standing with her daughter (Becky), son-in-law Mark (who bought the video set in 1992), and their five children. What a wonderful legacy of apologetics that Mark, Floyd, and Anne are passing on to another generation, starting with videos 20 years ago that Mark bought.

Left to right are Mark and Becky Byars, me, Tyler, and Anne Coates; front row: Savannah, Bailey, Mariah, and Brooklyn.

I gave a copy of our new DVD series to Mark so he could replace the VHS set. For more information about the Foundations DVD series, visit our online resource store.

Praise the Lord for the several thousand people that Floyd personally touched with the message that the Bible is true from the very first verse, all because of a seminar 20 years ago that Pastor Mark attended!

Wordsower Ministries Here

When many of our AiG speakers are out on the road at the same time, such as this week for our national conference in Branson, Missouri, it leaves some gaps to fill back at the Creation Museum for our special lectures that are held at noon and 3 PM. For the past three summers we have welcomed Tom Meyer of Wordsower Ministries to conduct some of his special programs at the museum while many staff are away. Tom has memorized huge portions of Scripture, and this past week, he recited all of the book of Revelation from memory for our museum guests at five presentations, alternating with reciting Genesis chapters 1–11. Tom travels the United States to give his Bible recitations to churches and groups, and he also teaches at Shasta Bible College in Northern California. For months at a time, he can sometimes be found studying in Israel.

Find out more about Tom’s unique ministry by going to www.theScriptureCannotBeBroken.com

On Wednesday here at the museum, he was paid a surprise visit by the Wordsower president, Jason Nightingale, who attended Tom’s 3 PM presentation in Legacy Hall. Here is a photo of Tom and Jason inside the museum.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Your Work Is Making a Difference

It is good to be reminded of the tremendous amount of positive feedback we receive at AiG, for which we praise the Lord.

Here is a letter received this past week:

Hello! My husband … and I just wanted to write to thank you for your hard work and determination to stand on the authority of Scripture and to teach others how to base all their thinking on it (rather than trying to make it fit their thinking).

We recently … spent 2 days at the Creation Museum, saw the Lucy exhibit unveiling, and heard you speak a few times. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and our faith (of decades) was further strengthened with the scientific evidence that supports the Bible!

We are so thankful for your ministry, the truth it presents and the clarity of the Gospel throughout the Museum. We pray for God to continually strengthen you.

We thank you for sharing your recent debate with Hugh Ross on TBN via your AiG email. We have poor internet where we are, so we drove almost 20 miles … to get a strong enough signal to watch the 2 hour show! We pray for you even more now, after seeing what you face even with fellow Christians – who seem to deny the authority of the Word.

Take care and may God continue to lead, direct and help you in all that you do. Your work is making a difference!

Yes, as God is blessing, the ministry of AiG is making a difference in many lives across this nation and around world. Let’s praise the Lord for the way He uses AiG to equip and challenge people concerning biblical authority and the gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

AiG Resources at Retailing Show

The leading publisher of creation apologetics books in the world is Master Books. Many AiG resources are published through Master Books. In fact, these AiG resources are by far the biggest selling and most popular such apologetics resources in the world.

This week, Master Books is featuring their products, including AiG resources, at the International Christian Retailing Show being held this week in Florida. Master Books has won many awards over the years for its excellent publications.

Here are some photographs taken of parts of the Master Books booth at the show featuring some of AiG’s new resources including The True Account of Adam and Eve (a new book for kids I have written that will be available around September), an updated and revised 25th anniversary edition of my book The Lie (available October this year), the updated, revised and modernized A is for Adam and D is for Dinosaur books. AiG’s extremely popular books The New Answers Books (and The Kids Answers Books) are also featured.

This year, the Big Book of History (of which AiG’s Bodie Hodge is an author) won first place in the Christian Retailing “Retailers Choice” awards in the Christian Education category. Congratulations to Master Books for another excellent publication.

You can find out information about this fantastic book on our online store.

We praise the Lord for the numerous resources AiG has been able to produce over the years.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Was Noah an Environmentalist?

A new Noah movie is being produced by Hollywood and is set for release in Spring. Russell Crowe will star as Noah. But how biblically accurate will this movie really be?

In one news report, we read the following quote from the filmmaker:

“I think it’s really timely because it’s about environmental apocalypse which is the biggest theme, for me, right now for what’s going on on this planet. So I think it’s got these big, big themes that connect with us. Noah was the first environmentalist. He’s a really interesting character,” Aronofsky said, explaining the relevancy of the film and Noah’s story in this day and age. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/first-photo-of-noahs-ark-from-darren-aronofsky-movie-released-78112/)

Here are just a few thoughts on just this one statement.

The theme of Noah’s Flood and the Ark is not environmentalism, but judgment of sin and God providing an Ark of salvation (which is also a picture of Jesus who is our “Ark” of salvation and who is the “door”).
I smiled at the statement that “Noah was the first environmentalist.” Can you imagine what today’s environmentalists would say about that? Imagine all the trees Noah had to cut down to get all the gopher wood—and he had no replanting program!
Two of each kind of land animal (seven of some) came to Noah. Can you imagine Noah today getting permission to take all these animals on board this boat? Imagine what today’s environmentalists would have to say about that!
And can you imagine the health inspectors today going through the Ark? And what about the fire inspections? And would the building authorities give him a permit to construct it?
The relevancy of what happened in Noah’s time to us today is that God will once again judge the wickedness of man—but next time by fire and not by water. This will be the final judgment, which is why we all need to ensure our heart is right with God. We must be born again, as the Bible says, knowing we will then not suffer the “second death,” which is eternal separation from God.

The point is, the account of the Flood and the Ark has nothing to do with environmentalism as this filmmaker is suggesting. It has everything to do with judgment because of man’s rebellion and God’s provision of salvation for those who obeyed Him and went through the door to be saved.

By the way, Christians do need to have a Christian worldview in regard to environmentalism based on the Bible. We must understand that we live in a sin-cursed universe and that man was given dominion to use the environment for man’s good and God’s glory. Modern environmentalism for the most part is built on an evolutionary view of history with the creation having dominion over man!

AiG has articles dealing with a Christian approach to environmentalism on the AiG website such as “Creation and Conservation” and “Go (Truly) Green—by Starting with Genesis.”

Here is the real message of the Ark (which is to be the ultimate message of the Ark Encounter project). In John 10:9, Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Once the movie is released, it will be interesting to compare the script with the truth of God’s Word in Genesis. I have this strong suspicion it won’t hold up.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Creationist in Hall of Fame

Congratulations David Wheaton!

I am thrilled to announce that our good friend David Wheaton, head of an excellent ministry called The Christian Worldview, has just been elected into the Hall of Fame by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. In a “previous life,” David was a top-ranked international tennis player—he won a double’s tournament at Wimbledon in 2004 (in the over 35 category), and in college he was once the number-one ranked player in America. As a pro, he was ranked as high as number 12 in the world.

David’s father recorded a part of his Hall of Fame ITA induction. As you watch the video, notice how David gives glory to God. At about 3:40 of the video, he begins to expound on the word “grace.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, you can listen to one of my interviews with David on his national radio program The Christian Worldview.

Spirit Song Outreach

Earlier this month, the Creation Museum had a presence at the Spirit Song musical event at the King’s Island theme park north of Cincinnati—a three-day Christian music festival. A few pictures are below.

Our museum was able to brand the “Meet and Greet” tent as well as the autograph tent. We even had some time on the stage to promote the museum. Creation Museum brochures were available at the autograph tent.The museum also had branding on the event schedule, as well as on the festival website.

John Eytchison of our staff represented us, and from the stage he asked, “Who has been to the Creation Museum?” and perhaps half or so of the large crowd raised their hands and cheered! After talking a little about the museum, John had some Creation Museum t-shirts thrown into the crowd. John told me later “that it really created a ruckus.”

An additional benefit the public didn’t see was the ability by John to invite the Spirit Song musicians to the museum, as well as to give each artist a gift bag that contained the New Answers Book 1, my “Relevance” video from the Foundations DVD set, and a copy of the Journey through the Creation Museum DVD.

Line waiting at the autograph tent for the group Family Force 5. The long line wrapped around the amphitheater.

Family Force 5 getting ready for the autographs session (it lasted about an hour).

Another band doing an autograph session (John thinks it was called Nine Lashes).

John was able to talk to musicians like Jeremy Camp and the group Need to Breath, and he personally invited them to the museum. Tim Chaffey of AiG filled in one day at the booth and was also able to talk to well-known musician Toby Mac.

John shared with me that “it was a great event and a great opportunity to reach all attendees.”

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken