Ken Ham's Blog, page 409

They Pulled an “All Nighter”

Recently a group of teens and church leaders from Piney Grove Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, came to the Creation Museum. They had traveled all through the night to arrive in the morning, but you wouldn’t have known it from their enthusiasm when they arrived. They were so excited to visit the museum for the first time.

The church leaders have been using AiG resources to teach their youth over the years. They are a small church with only about 35 families, but they used our VBS curriculum The Egypt File recently with great responses from about 50 children. They also set a mission goal of raising $100 during the VBS for the Ark Encounter project (a full-size, evangelistic Noah’s Ark) and ended up raising $300, which they gave us last week! Attached is a photo of AiG’s Advancement Director, Joe Boone (far left), with their group after Joe presented them with an Ark Encounter sponsorship certificate.

Kid’s Mail

I receive lots of mail from children who just love AiG and AiG resources. Here are a couple I received recently:

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Christian Leader Criticizes Creation Museum

Many of you may have heard of Jay Wile.  He is the original author and owner of the science textbooks sold under the name Apologia, which is now under different ownership.  On a recent blog, Jay Wile made this statement:

While there are things in the Creation Museum with which I strongly disagree, overall, I found it to be significantly more scientifically accurate than most museums, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

As a result of this statement, one person wrote a comment on his blog, with a question:

Can you give some examples of things the Creation Museum is wrong on? My family is planning to visit in the near future, so I would appreciate some forewarning.

Wile on July 10, 2012 replied, stating this:

Grace, I would be interested to hear what YOU think is good and bad about the museum after you go. Here are the two things that bothered me most about the Creation Museum:

1) In the part of the Museum that tries to portray what happened to the U.S. when the Bible was abandoned, there is a wrecked church. It has been hit by a wrecking ball, and the phrase on the wrecking ball is “millions of years.” According to the museum, then, an old earth is what has destroyed the church. I see that as nonsense. There are a lot of things that have harmed the church, and an old earth doesn’t even make my top 20 list. In my mind, the number one thing that has harmed the church in the U.S. is the way most Christians in the U.S. (including many young-earth creationists) behave.

2) There are several places where the signs say that no animal died before the Fall. It is stated as fact when, at best, such an idea is an extraBiblical notion. Nowhere does the Bible even imply that animals did not die before the Fall.

What saddened me most about this posting was that a Christian leader—one that many in the homeschool movement and other theologically conservative Christians look up to—would not represent the Creation Museum correctly. And his unfair criticism might keep people from coming to the museum and getting blessed—perhaps even some Christians who are struggling in their faith due to doubts about the Bible’s accuracy in Genesis and who need answers.

Wile’s two criticisms above were not a part of his article (although he wrote in that article that there are things in our Creation Museum “with which I strongly disagree,”  a slap against us). He was primarily writing about how the Smithsonian Institution made a gaffe about using one of our Creation Museum’s dinosaurs in its advertising (see our weekly news digest, News to Note, today for more information on that) But his negative statements about our museum, now seen in the comments section of his blog posting, will, in this electronic and viral age, be seen by many people.

First, the “wrecking ball” he is referring to is found in the exhibit room we call “Culture and Crisis.”  Wile states that “according to the museum, then, an old earth is what has destroyed the church.”  He then says: “I see that as nonsense.”

Actually, he has missed the whole context of the wrecking ball knocking against the church and the message the room is presenting. My guess is that Wile breezed through without watching the exhibit’s videos and getting the full, real message there. The context is in regard to how the young generations in the church (2/3rds of whom are walking away from the church when they reach college age) are responding to the undermining of biblical authority because of compromise coming from the pulpit.

There is a video shown inside the exhibit that depicts a church service, and there are other videos depicting events inside a home. The home sits across from the church and its worship service.  The wrecking ball symbolizes the effect that the teaching of millions of years on the younger generation in the church has on their view of biblical authority.  The more that church leaders teach young people (in the exhibit’s video, teens are seen in the video attending a church service) that man’s fallible ideas about the age of the earth or evolution can be used to reinterpret the clear Word of God in Genesis, the more many of them will doubt the Bible.  They begin on a slippery slide of unbelief.  In the home across from the church, we depict various scenes of what can happen when young people begin to doubt the Bible as the absolute authority of the Word of God—eventually they end up like those in the world, not having a Christian worldview but holding more of one that’s is morally relativistic.

Our book Already Gone details actual research carried out nationally by respected researcher Britt Beemer and his America’s Research Group into why 2/3rds of the next generation are leaving the church by college age.  There were a number of reasons, but there is no doubt the teaching of millions of years and evolution by church leaders is a significant contributing factor to the exodus of youth.

Sad that Jay Wile did not correctly explain the context of this exhibit, but instead has misinformed people with an obvious jab at the Creation Museum.

His second criticism relates to the issue of death, and namely the origin of animal death.  It’s the old question: did such death occur before the Fall of Adam or after the Fall? Actually, this topic is not covered that much at all in the museum—there is, for example, a reference to animal death in the “Corruption Valley” exhibit.  But it is important to understand that the Bible has very little to say about animals—the Bible, of course, is about man and his relationship to his Creator.  It is about man’s problem (sin), the consequence of sin (death), and God’s solution in Jesus Christ.

Now we have written many articles on the AiG website (see links below to just a few) that deal with the issue of sin, death, and a “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31)—and when animal death first happened.  First, I want to point out that the fossil record is a record of animal death—and also of diseases in animal bones (like cancer, brain tumors, arthritis, abscesses, etc.), and evidence of animals eating each other. The Bible makes it clear in Genesis 1:29 and 30 that animals were vegetarian before sin (as humans were).  Also, God described the original creation as “very good.”  God certainly would never call brain tumors “very good.”  The point is, the fossil record that is full of animal death could not have existed before Adam’s sin. Animal death happened after Adam’s Fall. There could not have been millions of years of animal death and cancer in the “very good” creation before Adam, or the Bible’s connection of sin and death becomes meaningless.

In one of the articles linked to below, the topic of the first animal death is discussed: when God killed animals and made clothes out of skins for Adam and Eve—the first blood sacrifice as a covering for their sin.

Contrary to Wile, we believe it is strongly implied by Scripture that death of animals with nephesh (the Hebrew term for “life spirit” that is used for animals and man) occurred after sin, not before.

I suggest you read the following articles:

Biblically, Could Death Have Existed before Sin?
Was Filet Mignon on Eden’s Menu?
The “Disease” of Millions of Years
Dino Diet Excludes Millions of Years

I hope Jay Wile’s unjustified criticisms of the Creation Museum do not deter the person who responded to his claims (or their family) from coming to the Creation Museum.  Sad that he has probably now put a damper on a visit by this family.

We praise the Lord that so many people who have visited the Creation Museum have been emboldened to proclaim the gospel and defend the Christian faith against secular attacks.  Many people have been saved at the Creation Museum.  None of us are perfect here, but at AiG we continue to strive to do our best to honor the Scriptures in all we do.

By the way, AiG extended very gracious hospitality to Dr. Wile when he visited us several months ago.  We get enough criticism from those who oppose the Creation Museum—which we expect—but it’s sad when it comes publicly from those who should be our friends in defending the Bible’s accuracy.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Go Behind the Scenes with Ark Encounter

I’m inviting you and your family to our special “Behind the Scenes” event here in northern Kentucky to discover more about the exciting Ark Encounter project. On July 28 (a Saturday), the designers of the Ark and I will be meeting supporters inside our Creation Museum and the new Legacy Hall. Our talented design team—including Patrick Marsh, the creative genius behind the Creation Museum design—will share its vision for our highly evangelistic, full-scale Noah’s Ark, to be built off I-75 south of Cincinnati (800 acres were purchased earlier this year).

At both 12 noon and 3 PM (ET), we will give identical briefings. It’s a free event at the museum that will give you an opportunity to meet the gifted Ark Encounter design team (all of them worked on the Creation Museum), and also to learn about the exhibits and concepts they are developing for the Ark Encounter.

Catch the vision and find out how you can be part of this thrilling gospel project by getting a sneak preview of the Ark’s design, and there may be some surprises in store for you on July 28!

You need to RSVP (including the number of people who will be attending) by sending an email to  advancementevents@answersingenesis.org.

By the way, admission to the museum is not required for this event, but discounted tickets will be available for purchase if you would like to tour the museum after the behind the scenes event.

For more information on the Ark Encounter and this event, go to www.arkencounter.com.

No Riddle What This Man Stands For!

Mike Riddle has been an AiG speaker for several years. He’s been traveling the world to present the creation/gospel message. Mike remains an adjunct speaker for us today, but his full-time ministry is called Creation Training Initiative (CTI). We don’t see Mike often (or his wife Lesley, who is fully immersed in the CTI ministry as well), so we had him come by and give us an update on his CTI speaking ministry during one of our staff chapels.

Mike indicates that perhaps half of his speaking engagements come through Answers in Genesis. They are from churches, Christian schools, etc. who are looking for in-depth workshop training. Mike credits his several years of working with AiG as improving his talks and writings, especially in the area of biblical presuppositions. As a result, his talks, which were always centered on the Bible’s first book to begin with, are even more rich in biblical content.

When Mike was sharing with us at chapel, he said that the mission of CTI is to equip Christians worldwide to be effective teachers and speakers on biblical creation and to equip young people to stand firm in their faith.

Mike offers a one-day training course at a layperson’s level on how to defend biblical creation. ACSI has approved it for one Continuing Education Unit (CEU). For Christian educators, he holds a one-day workshop on how to teach biblical creation effectively. Plans are underway for conducting an “advanced apologetics course,” for a few days of instruction.

Mike used to be a workshop presenter for Microsoft, and what he charges for his workshops today is a fraction of what Microsoft charged when he was with that huge company.

To find out more about Mike and Lesley’s ministry, go to www.creationtraining.org.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying.

Ken

Meyer “The Memory Man” Returns to the Museum

We affectionately call Tom Meyer the “Bible Memory Man.” He has memorized many books of Scripture. The first time we ran into him was when AiG conducted a tour of Israel in 2009. During an evening program in Jerusalem,  our tired group of tourists—after a long day of sightseeing—sat mesmerized as Tom recited the entire book of Revelation (22 chapters) from memory. Ever since, we’ve had him here at the Creation Museum to bless our visitors with God’s Word spoken from memory.

Tom, of Wordsower Ministries, will be returning to the museum next week, July 16–20 (Monday–Friday). He will be presenting Genesis chapters 1–11 and Revelation each day (at noon and 3:00 PM).

Tom has lived as both a student and teacher in Jerusalem. Currently he and his wife are traveling America and also teaching in California part of the year. See the Creation Museum’s event calendar for more information about his live presentations next week. Tom will also be speaking during two different staff chapel sessions.

I would definitely encourage you to make an effort to see and hear Tom when he is at the museum next week. Tom’s commitment to biblical truths and accuracy is wonderful to witness. We also recommend his Bible-proclaiming ministry, Wordsower, because we know that God’s Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). You will be blessed.

I want to remind you that admission tickets are now good for two days (consecutive days). If you don’t have time for everything the museum has to offer in one day, come back the next day and hear Tom’s second presentation—or listen to one again.  Tom offers tremendous passion as he recites the Scriptures.

We have written about Tom’s unique ministry before—see, for example, our recent Answers magazine article.

Sadness in our Family

Next week, my friend and former coworker Joy Rizor of San Diego is being remembered at a memorial service for her life of ministry. She passed away over the weekend. When I lived in San Diego and worked with ICR, she was my assistant; she and her husband Tim helped us organize the popular “Back to Genesis” seminars. This couple went out ahead of me and the others speakers to set up the conferences and then ran them during the conference. Joy came to be known by my children as “Auntie Joy,” that’s how close she was to our family. Both Joy and her husband Tim often volunteered at the Creation Museum during the construction phase—they lived 2,000 miles away in California.

I know that Joy would not have wanted me to break away from the Missouri conference I am doing next week and fly to the service. Knowing Joy so well, she would have wanted me to remain in Missouri and speak to the hundreds of people who will gather from around the country to be at the conference. But one of my sons will fly to San Diego to represent AiG and our family.

Pray for Tim and their daughter Nancy (and the rest of the family) during this time of loss, and also that the gospel will be powerfully preached at her memorial service next week by my former pastor, Tom Chesko.

Here is a photo of Tim and Joy taken about a year ago:

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying.

Ken

The Return of the Robots

AiG board member Dan Wooster, who has such a heart for reaching people with the gospel at the Creation Museum, wrote this blog item about a very special opportunity coming up at the Creation Museum.

Parents, want some help preparing your children for the 21st-century job market while maintaining a solid biblical worldview? I have the perfect combination to tell you about – robotics and Answers in Genesis’ amazing Creation Museum!

STEM is an acronym found in education circles that means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It represents the academic rigors needed to compete in today’s high-tech, global economy. One of the best industry examples which pulls from all four of these disciplines is robotics.

Having taught college computer science the past 30 years, I saw a need to creatively engage pre-college students to consider going into one of these disciplines. So about 10 years ago I assembled a STEM Team at Bob Jones University. The team was designed to use Lego Mindstorm Robotics Kits and travel around to high schools showing young people that robotics is an excellent platform from which to gain insights into God’s Creation. I want young people to understand that technology exists to help mankind postpone the affects of the Curse in order that they might have more time to respond to the gospel, God’s permanent cure for the Curse.

One of the most exciting places the team goes is to the Creation Museum, a ministry of Answers in Genesis, located near the Cincinnati International Airport on I-275 in Northern KY. Now is the time to register your young people, grades 5–12, as well as 3rd and 4th graders as long as they attend with older siblings. The BJU STEM Team will be doing the robotics workshops at the museum August 13–18.

August 13 is a [Creation Museum] Members-Only day.

August 14–18 is for the public.

10:00 [AM] each day is a 2.5 hour program (the full workshop) for $5 with museum admission (museum members get 10% off).

2:00 [PM] each day is the abridged 1-hour program for $3.50 with museum admission (museum members get 10% off).

If you are looking for an exciting event that will expose your young person to the engaging field of robotics from a biblical worldview, pre-register for this outstanding workshop sponsored by Bob Jones University and The Creation Museum.

To pre-register simply call [the museum’s] Customer Service [line]: (800) 778-3390

Zak and Rebecca, two of this year’s team members, taught robotics at a home school conference at the Creation Museum in May.

Intense learning and excitement mark these workshops.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Hypocrisy Among the Secularists

Over a week ago, articles began appearing in various news sources about how a Christian school textbook is teaching that dinosaurs are still alive today. This particular textbook mentions “Nessie,” the alleged Loch Ness monster of Scotland, claiming it is a plesiosaur alive today. (The word dinosaur only refers to a particular group of land animals, so a plesiosaur is not technically a dinosaur at all.) The Washington Post quoted the textbook on Nessie:

“Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ in Scotland? ‘Nessie’ for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/loch-ness-monster-real-in-biology-textbook/2012/06/26/gJQAPhwr4V_blog.html)

As I wrote on Facebook last week, there is no textbook, whether Christian or secular, that is perfect! But what’s more is that the secular world has often put forth numerous scientifically untenable theories. Some examples follow:

Aliens seeded life on earth (known as directed panspermia). Francis Crick, a codiscoverer of the structure of DNA, promoted this idea.
Birds are essentially modern, short-tailed feathered dinosaurs.
Life arose from non-life. (This goes against what biologists call the Law of Biogenesis, which says that living things can only come from other living things.)
Humans evolved from an ape-like ancestor (which really means humans are just apes).
Aliens from outer space built the pyramids.

And the list goes on! Many secular science textbooks still teach outdated and debunked ideas like the supposed “horse evolution” series or the idea that archaeopteryx is a transitional form between birds and reptiles—both of these claims are now rejected by many secularists. (See, for example, Dr. Georgia Purdom’s discussion of reasons why some Korean textbook publishers are opting to finally remove the iconic horse evolution series from their books.)

But instead of examining these issues, the news outlets make a big news item of one particular statement in a Christian school textbook about the supposed Loch Ness monster. And, actually, it is a comment that AiG would not make for a number of reasons. One of our News to Note columns explains some of our reasoning:

The existence of modern-day plesiosaurs, presumably hiding in such places as the ocean deep and even Loch Ness, is sometimes discussed in creationist circles. A living plesiosaur would certainly be a surprise to secular science, which considers them to have gone extinctwith the dinosaurs (although plesiosaurs were not actually dinosaurs, but aquatic reptiles). A carcass reeled in by the Japanese fishing trawler Zuiyo-maru in 1977 was for years the object of plesiosaur-centric speculation, but the carcass was in all likelihood the remains of a basking shark (based on detailed analysis). For these reasons, we recommend against creationists using the story as evidence for extant plesiosaurs. (http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/10/13/news-to-note-10132007 )

For those reasons, we would advise the textbook’s comment be deleted (though the text’s statement itself is tentative nonetheless).

Scientists over the years have found animals and plants living on earth that were previously not known to live in our present world (“living fossils,” they are often called, in that they seem unchanged despite millions of years). There are many reports of mysterious creatures in various lakes (like the Loch Ness monster) and other places—there is always the possibility there could be a creature somewhere out there that has not yet been documented living in our world today. So there are times one can speculate on possibilities, but such speculation of course should not be used as confirming evidence—it is just that, speculation.

However, the news media acts as though the comment in this textbook is a devastating blow to students’ educations. One report out of Australia quoted Professor MacDonald, the director of Victoria University’s Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching, who criticized homeschooling families using this textbook:

“My concern as always is giving kids a fair chance and it’s such a difficult issue. Parents want to bring kids up according to their beliefs… but do the kids ever get a chance to make a real decision? … The school system at least exposes kids to greater variety.Schooling forces you to confront a greater variety of ideas and people. Is that good for society?” (http://www.news.com.au/national/home-fooled-the-loch-ness-monster-is-real/story-e6frfkvr-1226411722331)

That’s an interesting statement considering that—much like in America—the public education system in Australia has pretty much thrown out creationism and teaches only evolutionary ideas (although we at AiG do not advocate government-mandated teaching of creation in schools).

Secularists can often say outlandish or wrong things—and get away with it. For instance, noted evolutionist Richard Dawkins admitted in an interview with Ben Stein that life could have been “seeded” on earth by aliens. And yet Christians are highly scrutinized in this very secular world.

This scrutiny is one reason why AiG employs scientists, plus people with theological qualifications, and other specialists (and why we have a long list of qualified and experienced people as consultants). These people help us maintain the highest of standards in regard to the content we produce. (That does not mean we won’t make mistakes, as we are fallible human beings—but we do have a number of levels of checks and balances to do our best in producing accurate, God-honoring resources).

Regardless of the way we are treated by secularists, we always should do our best to maintain the highest of standards in regard to what we communicate to people. And, above all, we must be prepared to give a defense of the faith by answering questions, to share the gospel, and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)—all founded on the authority of the Word of the Creator God.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

(Steve Golden assisted in the writing of this blog post.)

The Warning Continues (Part Three)

WSU Homeschool Curriculum Part Three: Evolution Board Game

I recently blogged about the content of a free online homeschool curriculum offered by Washington State University. The curriculum teaches evolutionary biology. It not only uses refuted evidences in an attempt to make its case, but it also directly attacks biblical creation. In the final part of this review series, I want to have a look at the board game the writers created, called “Evolutionary Pathways: A Game of Evolution.”

Students playing the game start at the spot marked “The Origin: Start Evolving Here.” Using “bricks” (e.g., Legos or some other available game markers) to represent a starting population, students progress through the game and try to survive catastrophes and “Extinction” squares. Students may draw “Chance” and “Advance” cards, which give various benefits and disadvantages to their populations. The game is over when a player’s population “Achieve[s] Adaptive Success.”

Evolution boardgame

The game is founded on the assumption that evolutionary ideas are fact. The game does not really teach or explain the idea of evolution. Instead, students must assume it is true and answer questions and make decisions based on an evolutionary worldview. This is not surprising, as the secular world teaches students in public schools and the media that evolution is fact!

For example, one of the “Advance” cards asks the player to define a “mutation.” The definition is simply, “A change in the genetic makeup, or DNA, of an organism.” In the “Chance” stack, the player may draw a card that says, “Beneficial mutation!” This card allows their population to double. There is no discussion of the lack of scientific evidence for alleged “beneficial” mutations; students are simply led to believe that these kinds of mutations are possible and are of great benefit to any population!

The “Advance” cards ask players to “give an example of an adaptation to living in the ocean” (other cards ask for examples regarding flight, living in the desert, avoiding predators, etc.). Possible answers include “swimming, tolerating salt, having gills or blowholes, baleen (for filtering plankton),” and so on. Once again, students are expected to assume that evolutionary ideas are fact and that animals had to slowly develop these characteristics over time.

What does the Bible say about this? Genesis 1:21 states, “So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind.” The sea creatures were created already having the characteristics that allow them to survive in the water. They did not have to wait until they developed an “adaptation” for swimming—animals were created according to their kinds. And of course, such an account of the origin of the sea creatures is the only one that does make sense. They were all designed to do what they do!

Students may also draw a card that asks them, “How old (about) is Earth?” The answer? 4.6 billion years. The billions of years age is assumed to be true and obviously goes against what the Genesis account of creation teaches.

The game also asks students about fossils. “Which fossils would you expect to be older: those close to the surface of the earth or those buried deep down?” The answer is that the fossils buried deeper down are the older ones. Now actually, creationists do believe that many of the fossils buried deeper are the older ones, but they are older by maybe a few months—not millions of years, as this game is meant to teach!

You see, if we look at the fossil record from the perspective of God’s Word, we find that the layers of sediment and fossils are largely a result of the global Flood of Noah’s time, and the deeper sediments, in most instances, would be the ones first deposited. (For more information on fossils and the Flood, read Dr. Andrew Snelling’s article, “All the World’s a Graveyard.”

And, of course, as I mentioned in my first post on WSU’s curriculum, students are asked in this game about alleged “transitional forms,” Archaeopteryx and Tiktaalik. “What do fossils like Tiktaalik and Archaeopteryx tell us about evolution?” The answer: “These fossils are transitional forms—that is, they show features of both older and younger species—and they support the idea that organisms evolve through various stages over time.” But these supposed transitional forms have been thoroughly refuted! (See “Did Dinosaurs Turn into Birds?” and “Tiktaalik and the Fishy Story of Walking Fish.”)

Once again, the curriculum writers are attempting to indoctrinate homeschool students into a false view using debunked “evidences.”

All the above examples and the examples in my other two posts on this homeschool curriculum demonstrate the kind of indoctrination that secularists attempt on our children.

We must be aware of what is being taught in such curricula, so that we can prepare our children to recognize the error that pervades this particular curriculum. Thus they will be able to be a witness to those who will be indoctrinated by the brainwashing in evolution.

We must raise the next generation on the foundation built on the Word of God, with no uncertainty about its trustworthiness. As parents, we need to teach authoritatively that the answers to the earth’s origins and history are in the Word of God, which makes sense of what we find in the world, and not in man’s fallible opinions. And we need to equip the next generation with answers—lots of answers—so they will be able to stand boldly on the truth of God’s Word and proclaim the gospel and contend for the faith.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

National Speaking Opportunities—Missouri and South Carolina

It seems like I’m traveling more than ever in 35 years of speaking ministry. The opportunities to present the important creation/gospel message are increasing. A part of that rise is due to the popularity of our Creation Museum, which draws about 300,000 people a year—many museum visitors eventually inquire about having an AiG speaker in their area.

There are two major conferences to bring to your attention on today’s blog post.

Missouri

Our national family conference is coming to family-friendly Branson, Missouri, quite soon—July 16–20. Now, don’t worry about not having registered for this exciting conference—with a great line-up of speakers, like Dr. Voddie Baucham and several AiG staff. Just sign up at the door at the beautiful Tri-Lakes conference facility. Simple. Also, to find lodging in the area and to see what family attractions can be found in Branson, go to http://www.answersingenesis.org/outreach/proclaiming-the-faith/ . I hope to see you there starting Monday, July 16.

South Carolina

Second, I will be speaking at the “Truth for a New Generation” conference in two months in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Although some of the speakers do not agree with our straightforward view of Genesis as literal history, I welcome the opportunity to have our message be heard September 28–29 (I speak on Saturday). Dr. Terry Mortenson of our staff will also be there, and he’ll be doing a break-out session. If you have never heard Dr. Mortenson speak (who right now is leading a raft trip through the Grand Canyon with 20 Christian leaders on board for several days), then here is your opportunity.

I do praise the Lord for the open doors to be invited to such conferences.

See the ad below, which appeared in World magazine, and then go to the following website for the full conference schedule: http://truthforanewgeneration.com/

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Young Girl Discovers: Smithsonian Is Using a Creation Museum Dinosaur!

Secularists openly and frequently mock the Creation Museum. With name calling and all sorts of false accusations, they attempt  (futilely) to discredit this high-quality professional facility.  Many secularists label it a “pseudo” museum compared to the supposed real museums like the Smithsonian facilities in Washington, DC (that teach evolution and millions of years as fact, like its National Museum of Natural History).

Well, here is something ironic!  The Smithsonian (unknowingly, I’m sure) has used a photograph of one of the dinosaurs inside our Creation Museum on a major promotional brochure for its popular IMAX shows:

That phenomenally sculpted dinosaur was designed and built at the Creation Museum by AiG sculptors/designers. We can understand why the Smithsonian (or its ad agency) chose this photo of the dinosaur—the dinosaur is so well done.

I’m sure the Smithsonian will be horrified when they find out where this photo was taken. (We just alerted officials there about its copyright violation.)  Now, AiG/Creation Museum does own the copyright on this dinosaur of ours, and the Smithsonian or its ad agency obtained it from a commercial site that is not licensed to sell this photo.  Now, we would be happy to give permission to the Smithsonian to use this photo if they request it, but I’m sure once the word is out that this photo is of a dinosaur at the Creation Museum—well, I wonder what they will do?  After all, we are accused by the secularists of not doing real science—yet the Smithsonian chose one of our dinosaurs (albeit unwittingly) to feature on a major promotional piece. (By the way, under what is called fair use in copyright law, we can post this Smithsonian brochure without prior permission as long as we are commenting on it.) Now, we are prepared to offer the Smithsonian a license for free, though it would require our copyright notice near the dinosaurs. Regardless, we are not asking the Smithsonian to throw out all their brochures with our dinosaur on them.

So how did we find out about this?  Well, an eight-year-old girl recognized the dinosaur in the photo and told us!

AiG staff member Dan Lietha and his family were in Washington, DC, a few days ago to help man the booth at the NEA where we assisted in handing out free resources to hundreds of educators at this, the world’s largest educators’ conference.  Dan sent me this report:

The hotel we were staying at had a display rack of cards and flyers advertising local attractions for tourists. As my 8-year-old daughter, Hannah, and I looked through the cards, my daughter pointed to one and says, “that’s the dinosaur at the Creation Museum.” As soon as I saw it, I recognized the dinosaur as well. Of course the Creation Museum isn’t a local attraction in Washington, DC. This bit of advertising was actually for the IMAX Smithsonian Theaters! The Smithsonian was using a Creation Museum dinosaur for their advertising purposes!

Here is Hannah showing the promotional brochure:

Dan continued:

When we arrived home in Kentucky a couple days later, I did a search to see if I could find how the photo of this dinosaur sculpture, which is unique to the Creation Museum, ended up on advertising for the Smithsonian. Google has a feature that will search for images using images and not words. Take an image you wish to search for and drag and drop it into a search window. I did this with the dinosaur image from the ad card, and I found a few exact copies of this dinosaur photo. The source for this particular photo appears to be from a stock photo website … .

[This website] describes its royalty-free stock photo service this way: “Over 2.6 million royalty-free photos and illustrations to choose from, and a variety of plans to suit every project and budget.”

The graphic artist that produced the ad card could be either a Smithsonian staff member or a freelance artist. Whatever the case may be, they apparently did a search for “dinosaur” on the [stock photo] site. The exact photo image of the Creation Museum dino used on the ad card is the first dinosaur image that is displayed out of 1,161 possible results for this search on their site.

To obtain the photo from the [stock photos] site, you can either pay a one-time fee and buy image packs that start at one image and go up to fifty images. A single image costs $7.99 for print use. Or the artist can have a subscription to the site. If they use a lot of photos, this is very likely because this route saves lots of money.

I searched around on the web for info on submitting photos to stock photo sites and found this instruction to photographers about copyrighted items in photos they submit (keep in mind this is not from [the stock photos website], but it is a rule of thumb for these photo sites in general):

“Remove all copyrighted material from your photos prior submission to any Royalty Free stock agency. Logos, trademarks, license plates, copyrighted designs, drawings or photos if not yours or if you don’t own rights to them, and so on.”

[The stock photos website] must have let this dinosaur image pass through its screening process to allow it to be offered on their site.

Considering that this photo is of a dinosaur from the Creation Museum, It’s interesting that the keywords listed with this photo to help you find it in a search includes: “Jurassic.”

I would doubt that the Smithsonian even knows that the dino has ANY connection to the Creation Museum. Obviously, the photographer took the photo at the Creation Museum. She submitted the photo to [stock photo website]. It was accepted and made available to anybody that wants to use it. A graphic artist doing a job for the Smithsonian most likely found and purchased the dino photo from [stock photo website] for use in the Smithsonian advertising card.

There’s no doubt the Creation Museum’s sculptors/designers do great work and at a highly professional and scientific level! And people are noticing.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Refreshing News from Northern Ireland: But Would Secularists in the USA Be This Tolerant?

A news item from Northern Ireland will, I’m sure, create a lot of buzz among the intolerant secularists in the UK and America—the same people who frequently blast AiG and the Creation Museum with nasty name calling and false allegations because of their hatred of any organization that disseminates a creationist viewpoint to the public.

The news headline and article from Northern Ireland begins this way:

Causeway centre gives creationist view

An exhibit in the new Giants’ Causeway Visitors’ Centre acknowledges the creationist view of how the world-famous stones were formed.

The National Trust said it wanted to “reflect and respect” the fact that some people contest the views of mainstream science.

Its state-of-the-art new complex, which opened on Tuesday, features an interactive audio exhibition showcasing the stories and the science behind the Giants’ Causeway.

It looks at the origins of the basaltic columns on the Co Antrim coastline.

The trust said that the exhibit gives recognition to the fact that, for creationists, the debate about the age of the Earth is still ongoing.

A statement read: “The Giants’ Causeway has always prompted debate about how it was formed and how old it is.

“One of the exhibits in the Giants’ Causeway Visitors’ Centre interpretation tells the story of the part the Giants’ Causeway played in the debate about how the Earth’s rocks were formed and the age of the Earth.

“This is an interactive audio exhibition in which visitors can hear some of the different debates from historical characters.

“In this exhibition we also acknowledge that for some people, this debate continues today and we reflect and respect the fact that creationists today have a different perspective on the age of the Earth from that of mainstream science.”

Now while the phrase “mainstream science” is misleading, which implies that the creationist view is not “science” and the secularist one is (both are accounts about the past when no human observer was there—so both are different accounts of historical science), it is refreshing to see an exhibit at a major tourist attraction acknowledging the creationist view. I doubt anyone would ever see that happen in the USA!

In fact, a few years ago, there was a major furor over the fact that the Grand Canyon park bookstore sold one creationist book titled Grand Canyon:  A different view. In fact, the secularists were so upset, the issue ascended to very high places in the government concerning the National Parks. However, when you visit our Creation Museum, you will find we do discuss the evolutionist view (particularly in the Starting Points room) and even document evolutionary papers (e.g., in the new Lucy exhibit).

You can read the entire news item about the Giant’s Causeway and the inclusion of the creationist view at this link.

A Free Offer Regarding the Giant’s Causeway

AiG has a number of special creationist brochures on some well-known tourist areas, including one on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. We would like to offer you a download of that brochure free. Go to the link below where you will see a number of brochures available as a PDF download. Scroll down to the one on the Giant’s Causeway and click on that. You can then order it and use the code I will give you in a moment. The only way currently to do this on our website is that you will have to create an account if you don’t already have one, and you will have to put in your credit card number even though you will not be charged for the Giant’s Causeway brochure. You type in this word (where it asks for a code) to receive the Giant’s Causeway brochure free: CAUSEWAY.

If you order other brochures, DVDs, books, etc., you will be charged for them, but the Giant’s Causeway brochure is free with the code CAUSEWAY. The free offer expires July 31, 2012. Here is the link to the brochures.

Secularists Up in Arms

Not surprisingly, secularists are up in arms about what the National Trust included at the Giant’s Causeway exhibit. For instance, from the UK’s National Secular Society site you can read the following:

Stephen Evans at the National Secular Society said: “It’s extremely disappointing to see the National Trust giving credence to bogus creationist explanations for this world famous heritage site. Visitors, many of whom will be children on school trips, expect to be informed at the new Centre, not presented with religious propaganda.

But what is actually said at the site really doesn’t give the “creationist explanations”—it just acknowledges there is a debate. This is the actual wording from the exhibit:

Like many natural phenomena around the world, the Giant’s Causeway has raised questions and prompted debate about how it was formed.

This debate has ebbed and flowed since the discovery of the Causeway to science and, historically, the Causeway became part of a global debate about how the earth’s rocks were formed.

This debate continues today for some people, who have an understanding of the formation of the earth which is different from that of current mainstream science.

Young Earth Creationists believe that the earth was created some 6000 years ago. This is based on a specific interpretation of the Bible and in particular the account of creation in the book of Genesis.

Some people around the world, and specifically here in Northern Ireland, share this perspective.

Young Earth Creationists continue to debate questions about the age of the earth. As we have seen from the past, and understand today, perhaps the Giant’s Causeway will continue to prompt awe and wonder, and arouse debate and challenging questions for as long as visitors come to see it.

Secularists, of course, claim there is no debate, as the millions of years of earth history is fact in their minds—no discussion and no debate! The ironic thing is that on the National Secular Society site, the group actually gives more details about creationist beliefs than the National Trust does in its exhibit! We read the following on the secularist site:

Creationists believe the stones, which emerged from the sea-bed following intense volcanic and geological activity 60 million years ago, were formed around just 4,500 years ago as a result of Noah’s Flood.

So if you do want the details of what creationists believe and how observational (operational) science confirms the creationist view, then you do need the booklet we are offering free!

I Will Be Speaking in Northern Ireland Soon

Here is my itinerary for my speaking engagements in England and Northern Ireland in August:

Creation Fest in Wadebridge, Cornwall—August 5, 2012
St. John the Baptist Church in Ipswich, Suffolk—August 8, 2012
2nd Broughshane Presbyterian church in Ballymena, Co. Antrim—August 10, 2012
Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast, Ulster—August 11, 2012
Ballygowand Free Presbyterian Church in Ballygowan, Co. Down—August 12, 2012
Newtownbreda Baptist Church in Belfast, Co. Antrim—August 12, 2012
Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, Co. Antrim—August 13, 2012

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken