Ken Ham's Blog, page 424

He Makes Dreams Out of Nothing

In September 1994, I first met Buddy and Kay Davis at one of the first conference Answers in Genesis conducted. It was in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. After the conference, Buddy and Kay took a few of us back to their log cabin. That's where we first saw the dinosaurs Buddy had sculpted. After seeing these, and learning that Buddy and Kay also had a burden to see their dinosaurs used in a Creation Museum, we determined we were definitely going to build the Creation Museum and use the dinosaurs as a major feature.

Well, as you know, the vision for the Creation Museum expanded much over the years to be what it is today. But that meeting in Buddy and Kay's log cabin was an integral part of the Lord bringing special people together so this facility would be realized.

At that time in Buddy and Kay's cabin, I saw a guitar hanging on the wall and found out Buddy could play it and sing! I asked Buddy to sing a song, and after some coaxing, he did. He sang "He Makes Dreams Out of Nothing." After hearing it, I said to Buddy, "I want you to sing that song at the opening of the Creation Museum." And that is exactly what happened on Memorial Day weekend in 2007.

At the AiG staff chapel this past week, I had the privilege of giving Buddy his 15-year service award—15 years as a staff member of AiG. Here is a photo of Buddy as I explained how Buddy came on staff and his role in the vision of the Creation Museum:

I then presented Buddy with his 15-year service award (we make presentations to staff at 5, 10, and 15 years). Here is Buddy as I present him with this award:

I asked Buddy to sing the song "He Makes Dreams Out of Nothing" as a reminder of that special time nearly 18 years ago.

Birthdays

Also, we celebrated two special birthdays at the same staff chapel. Charlie Mills (who works in shipping and also with Creation Museum guest services) turned 70, so for this milestone we presented him with a gift certificate to the AiG bookstore.

Renee Looy, wife of Mark Looy (a co-founder of AiG), turned 55, so all the staff joined in singing happy birthday to the both of them.

It's the Economy, Stupid!

Well, sorry for that blunt headline. It was suggested by our outreach department so that it would grab your attention (it's a phrase heard a lot in the past 20 years in politics) and let you know about a special event—and the "economical" savings you can enjoy if you act soon. Here's what else our outreach dept. had to say:

As Christians we know that the most important investments are not economic ones but eternal investing that really matter. For families, this summer offers a little of both worlds: eternal investment in strengthening the faith of your family as well as a great economic value to your pocket book.

The "Proclaiming the Faith" family conference in Branson, Missouri—July, 16–20, 2012—will offer great teaching, family fun, and economic value. In fact this year's conference pricing is less than our 2007 Answers family camp! If you register before April 11 and take advantage of the "early-bird" pricing, an adult registration is 35 percent less, and a family of four is 30 percent less than it was in 2007! That's great news in the these tough economic times!

This makes the 2012 "Proclaiming the Faith" family conference a great value even in challenging times.

Add in the fact of superb speakers including Ken Ham, Todd Friel, Mark Spence, and many others along with special music from John Elliott and our own Buddy Davis; this is a great family value with eternal dividends.

Register today for Proclaiming the Faith and enjoy a week in Branson that last a lifetime.

I recall that over 2,500 people attended our Branson conference last time. With all the family attractions in the area plus the Bible-upholding teaching at our national event, our last conference became a wonderful vacation for hundreds of families. See  www.proclaimingthefaith.org and sign up now.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Another Opportunity for the Ladies

If you missed the wonderful "Evening To Remember" dinner/theater event here at the Creation Museum last week, you'll be  pleased to know that Geri Campbell will be offering an encore performance of  The Story of Gomer—a beautiful love story adapted from the Old Testament book of Hosea. It's a big part of one of the evening sessions of our national women's conference "Answers for Women" coming in April.

After a day of biblical teaching especially for women by well-known speakers like Dr. Georgia Purdom of AiG and Mary Mohler, conference attendees can relax and enjoy a special evening of Christ-centered theater. Geri shared with me that: "I think women in general really struggle with the issue of forgiveness.  The enemy loves to bring up the past. I have been portraying Gomer, a woman who is forgiven and loved, for eight  years now, and it still brings me to tears when I get to the end where Hosea buys her back.  That is what Christ did for me, even when I didn't deserve His mercy. "

Geri added: "Come and be prepared to experience God's love in a deeply personal way during the Thursday evening session as we present The Story of Gomer.

Register for our early-bird discount by February 29 and you will save 15%. And you will save an additional $10 per person when registering as a group from the same church. Go to: www.answersforwomen.org

Premier Christian Film Festival

Several years ago Doug Phillips and his team at Vision Forum Ministries launched what has now become the premier Christian film festival in the world. Next week in San Antonio, Texas, over 2,500 Christians will converge just blocks from the famous Alamo in central Texas to take part in the "San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival" (SAICFF).

One of our ministry VPs, Dale Mason, shared with me that: "This exclusively Christian-worldview festival features entries from a wide variety of Christian filmmakers, in wide-ranging areas, including; feature films, documentaries, Creation films, Great Commission films, short films, promotional media, commercial advertisements, and even a very special category exclusively for Young Filmmakers. SAICFF ends with a gala awards ceremony with thousands in attendance at the historic Cockrell Theater on Saturday evening, February 25."

Answers in Genesis is blessed to have five different productions reach the semi-finalist level. But Dale informs me "the field of competing films is truly stiff! We have already seen several of the dozens of other films which have also made semi-finalist level, and I assure you there are a number that are top-notch—as good as what you would see on PBS and in a few cases even at the movie theater!"

There is still time to plan to attend the film festival, and even the popular 3-day film academy that precedes the festival . (The academy itself will be attended by about 500 zealous–amateur and professional—producers, directors, actors and writers.) Dale tells me this is an amazing event for Christians who are looking for contacts, encouragement, and to learn from people who are top-level in the field.

Here is a listing of the AiG productions that are in the running for an award. Check here to see the full list and images of the films that have progressed to semi-finalist status!

"Check This Out" six short animated films (Creation, Short Film)
"Foundations: One Blood One Race" featuring me (Documentary, Creation)
"I Dig Dinosaurs" featuring Buddy Davis (Documentary, Creation)
"Answers Bible Curriculum" 3-minute informational video (Promotional Media)
"Gold Rush VBS" (Promotional Media)

I praise the Lord for people like Doug Philips who had the vision for such an important festival for Christians.

In Nashville

I am in Nashville, Tennessee, for the next few days for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.  We are being blessed with a major national award from the NRB (it's made up of 1,200 media ministries). I will send updates on this to my FACEBOOK, including the kind of special award AiG is receiving.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

AiG Radio Program Receives Overhaul

Almost since the inception of Answers in Genesis, AiG co-founder Mark Looy and I have been producing a 90-second radio program that is played on hundreds of stations in the USA and around the world.

To coincide with the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention that will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday through Tuesday, AiG will be releasing samples of our new 60-second radio spot to replace the current 90-second one. This is a somewhat different style to our current program to give it a very fresh sound. Although it will probably still be tweaked a little, I thought you might enjoy listening to the ten sample new programs that will be given out at the coming NRB convention this weekend.

You can listen to the ten 60-second sample programs below:

http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-1.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-2.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-3.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-4.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-5.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-6.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-7.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-8.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-9.mp3
http://media.answersingenesis.org/Blog/radio-program-10.mp3

I would urge you to find out if your local Christian station carries this program—if not you can encourage them to do so. You can find out more about how to obtain the program by  emailing us;  the phone number is (859) 727-5405.

Also, some people will pay to sponsor this program on a local commercial Christian or secular station.

By the way, at the NRB convention, AiG will be receiving the award for the best Christian website!

Noah's Ark Update

This week, AiG sent out a news release about the Noah's Ark project (Ark Encounter) and the exciting news that we have now closed on the final property, so we can continue the move ahead as the Lord leads. You can find out more about this by reading the news release on the front page.

Also, check out our recently modified Ark Encounter website, with a well-produced video on the project right there on the landing page of the site.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Atheists Use Unethical Tactics to Attack Creation Museum

For atheists, there really is no basis for their ethics, therefore they believe they can do whatever they want if they can get away with it. What is "right" or "wrong" to such people is all relative. So, to them, their tactics aren't "unethical," and their actions against AiG and our Creation Museum are just what atheists are inclined to do because they are so intolerant of Christians. It is a part of their "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1) as they try to censor those they disagree with—especially Christians.

These are the same people who are largely behind efforts to stop students even hearing evidence against evolution in the classroom or being allowed to hear the Bible's account of history. As they attack our Creation Museum by attempting to crash an on-line poll, these atheists have shown their disdain for Christianity. Let me explain.

A travel website—Budget Travel (which is also a magazine)—sent out an email stating the following:

In 2011 we picked 15 places every kid should see before 15 from Ellis Island to Redwood National Park. Now it's time to revisit that list with your input! What makes a monument worthy of inclusion? It needs to be fun, educational, and especially magical through the eyes of a child. Of course, it should be enjoyable for parents too. Submit your nomination and vote on existing nominations to move them higher in the list. Voting closes on February 21, at which time we'll doour homework on your favorites and put together the new list. Check back in March for the results!

People did nominate the Creation Museum in huge numbers. It was not only in the top five picks when I viewed it, but the museum actually had the largest number of votes. However, atheists found out about this poll. Here is what one of them said.

Keep the Children Out of Here … The website Budget Travel is taking nominations for a list of "15 places every kid should see before 15" — they'll eventually feature their list (culled from the nominations) in the magazine of the same name.Currently at the top of the list? The Creation Museum … Of all the places kids ought to visit at a young age, the Creation Museum should be faaaaaaar down on the list. It's much more entertaining when you're older and know enough about how the world works to realize the whole thing's a sham. So go vote for the current #2, the US Space & Rocket Center in Alabama. All you have to do is click on the Thumbs Up sign next to the site's name. In fact, go vote for anything so that the museum gets kicked off the list. Then tell your friends to vote, too …

Not surprisingly, as atheists (who have no interest in this travel website at all except to attack the Creation Museum) crashed this poll, the US Space & Rocket Center votes escalated (and by the way, this may be a good place to take kids). The sad thing is, a number of those voting for this center are not so much voting for the rocket facility as they are actually voting against the Creation Museum—all because of their intolerant atheist religion. So the atheists are ruining this poll. Granted, it is not a scientific poll as statistical researchers would do; nonetheless, such polls can be an interesting indicator.

Then another atheist (a university professor with the University of Minnesota-Morris), who is so committed to his atheist religion that he arrogantly blasphemes and vehemently attacks Christians, also attempted to rally his "religious atheist" devotees (yes, atheism is a religion—it's a whole worldview) to vote against the Creation Museum. He stated the following:

This is an awful poll: it's trying to build a list of 15 Places Kids Should See Before 15, and here are the top 5 so far:

#1:U.S. Space and Rocket Center, AL

#2:Creation Museum, KY

#3:Smithsonian Museum of American History, DC

#4:Alabama Space and Rocket Center, AL

#5:Yellowstone National Park, WY

The Creation "Museum" was at #1 earlier, but it has begun to slide downward. How about pushing it further? There is the problem that there are so many options that it'll be hard to focus and knock out the Creation "Museum" — it has 700 votes already — so you might want to peruse the list and vote for any choice that has a chance at passing it by.

What is interesting is that when you view the several initial comments made about the Creation Museum at this travel website, they are overwhelming positive … until they suddenly turn very negative, and it was right when the evolutionist anti-museum campaign kicked in!

Also, we know that an atheist camp for young people has been nominated by a web visitor and added to the Budget Travel attraction list, but a camp does not really qualify in this listing of attractions and landmarks.

Also, some of the atheists obviously listed names to mock/spoof the Creation Museum (the website, though, has since removed these) and also dilute votes from the real Creation Museum. Here are a few names that were used.

Creation Musuem, KY (note the slight misspelling, designed to draw unwary web voters away from the real listing and keeping its tally low)
Creatard Museum, KY
Creeashun Muzm, KY
Crustacean Museum, KY

Here is the link to the travel website where people vote for attractions.

Here are the links to the two atheist websites. However, I urge you not to go to these links, as I have to warn you they often use foul language, blasphemy, sexually explicit content, etc.—best not to even go to them (and I haven't made the links active for those reasons).

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendly...
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/

It's a reminder that we are engaged in a spiritual battle for hearts and minds.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Keeping Up with Technology

Can you imagine talking to the apostle Paul and saying something like, "I bought my wife a Kindle, and I have an iPad with a Kindle app, so we can download books and read them whenever we need to. I also like to download videos to my mobile device! Even my iPhone has a a Kindle app and an iBook app."

We certainly live in an interesting age of technology. One of the challenges we have had as a ministry is to make sure we remain cutting edge technologically so we can provide AiG resources in ways people can use them.

AiG and our publisher Master Books have been working hard so we can eventually provide all our books in electronic format and also have all our videos available for download. We already have a large number of resources available in our digital download section on the AiG website. There one can find eBook downloads, video downloads, audio downloads, and PDF downloads.

I encourage you to check out this section of our website, but come back regularly as we are continually adding new resources. And this section will explode over the summer as we have interns devoted to putting up many more resources.

Also, make sure you receive our email newsletter as we will have extra special download specials regularly, such as this one—the Logic & Faith Pocket Guide eBook for only 99 cents.

If you don't receive AiG's email newsletter, I encourage you to sign up so you can receive the latest special offers and keep up to date on the latest resources.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Should Christians Plan Ahead?

Yesterday morning, AiG staff had the privilege of hearing a special guest speaker expound Proverbs 16:9, "A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."

Pastor Don Green

Our guest speaker was Don Green, Managing Director of Grace to You, where he oversees the daily operations of John MacArthur's international media and radio ministry. According to his bio, Don was a litigation attorney in Chicago for several years before leaving his law practice to attend The Master's Seminary, where he completed his M.Div. and Th.M. degrees with highest honors. As an ordained elder at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California (just north of Los Angeles), Don pastors GraceLife, a group of more than 600 adults. He has published several articles on biblical themes.

Don was in the area to meet with a local group that has called him to pastor a church plant in Northern Kentucky—he has accepted that call.

As many of you have expressed interest in being able to listen to presentations given to our staff at their special chapel time, I do make a number of these available to you throughout the year. I encourage you to listen to this challenging and uplifting message from Pastor Don Green. You can listen to this 20-minute powerful message below:

Listen.

AiG staff are often privileged to hear presentations from many well-known Christian leaders at their weekly chapel times.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

AiG Reaching into Russia

Recently, AiG speaker Dr. Terry Mortenson returned from a very busy 17-day trip (January 13–30) to Russia and Albania, speaking on creation (almost always through a translator). Terry wrote a report for his blog from which I have included some excerpts here to excite us about how AiG is reaching around the world.

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

Photo, with caption: Dr. Mortenson being interviewed on Russian TV with Pastor Victor Ryanguzov (back to camera) of Transfiguration Baptist Church in Samara, Russia.

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

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

Well—I'm tired already, just thinking about all the traveling and speaking—I know how draining that is! Terry continues as follows:

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

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

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

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

You can read Terry's entire report by going to his blog.

Here is a sample of one of my slides that has been translated into Russian and was shown by Dr. Mortenson at his talks throughout Russia.

College President and AiG Friend Retiring

Over the years, AiG has been pleased to partner with Pensacola Christian College in Florida on a number of things. For example, many of our speakers (including myself) have given talks on this attractive campus to Christian educators and pastors who use the campus for specialized conferences.

One of our staff members, closely affiliated with PCC, has informed me that the school's founder and long-time president, Dr. Arlin Horton, at the age of 85, is retiring effective May 10.

The Hortons have been heavily involved in producing Christian textbooks for the past 40 years. Back in the 1970s, a Christian school administrator working with the Hortons helped create a Christian publishing group, called A Beka Book—the administrator named it after Mrs. Beka Horton, Arlin's wife. At least 100,000 homeschoolers are using their textbooks today, and many Christian schools are as well. Soon after the publishing group started, Pensacola Christian College opened, and today, there are almost 4,000 students enrolled (including those at its graduate school and seminary).

Dr. Troy Shoemaker will be the next PCC president, and I ask you to pray for him as he will take on this large responsibility in May.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Who Has a Birthday Today?

Yes, Abraham Lincoln was born on this day, but today, secular humanists and compromising and liberal clergy are more likely to be celebrating Darwin's birthday. Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. He published his book On the Origin of the Species in 1859 and 12 years later released The Descent of Man. Darwin's ideas of biological evolution, built on his belief in geological evolution (millions of years), have permeated the world and sadly  much of the church.

Last week I wrote a blog post on a project called "Evolution Weekend," directed by an atheist. This atheist is working to get as many churches as possible to celebrate Darwin around his birthday date.

The Sacramento Bee newspaper in California wrote about one church that will be celebrating Darwin. The article stated the following:

As pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church, the Rev. Betsey Monnot believes in both the word of God and the work of Darwin. This Sunday, her congregation will hear a message about both.

"Belief in one enhances the other," Monnot said.

The pastor studied physics in college and does not believe the theory of evolution contradicts the teachings of her faith. She said the Bible was not intended as a science book but rather is essential for telling "stories that help us understand who we are." …

This weekend, Monnot's congregation will join hundreds of other churches across the country – including about half a dozen in the Sacramento area – with sermons about the compatibility of science and faith. It's all part of the seventh annual Evolution Weekend, a program by the Clergy Letter Project that promotes science and religion.

The reporter who wrote this article called me and asked a number of questions. She asked me what was wrong with believing in both evolution and God. She did not quote much of what I said but did state the following:

Ken Ham disagrees. He is the founder of the Creation Museum in Kentucky, which opened four years ago and has had more than 1 million visitors. He is currently working on his next project, a replica of Noah's Ark. He criticized Evolution Weekend, calling it "insignificant."

"Basically only the most liberal churches have signed up to participate," Ham said. "If you are a Christian and you believe in evolution, then you are undermining biblical authority."

To Ham, it is clear. "Darwin said man comes from ape," he said. "The Bible makes it clear that man comes from dust."

(Actually I say that Darwinian evolution has man coming from an ape-like creature and woman from an ape-like creature, which is different than was reported; whereas the Bible teaches man came from dust and woman from his side, which is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 19 as the basis of the doctrine of marriage.)

I did tell the reporter that the list of churches that have signed up for Evolution Weekend are mainly theologically liberal churches, and I added, with an inordinate number of women clergy. The particular Sacramento-area church the writer reported on has a woman pastor—who obviously doesn't understand the difference between operational (observational) science and historical science. When clergy like this make the comment "science and faith," they really mean that "biological, geological, and cosmological evolutionary belief" is supposedly compatible with God's Word. However, that is simply not true, as dozens of articles on this website show—see http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/lie/genesis-evolution-not-mix for an example.

You can read the entire report on the newspaper's website.

Adding man's religion of evolutionary belief and millions of years to the Bible and reinterpreting God's Word is an attack on the Word (an attack on Christ, who is the Word) and an attack that undermines the authority of the written Word—the Bible.

To me, what is happening in the church—as church leaders compromise Darwin's pagan ideas with God's Word—can be summed up with the photograph below of Darwin's grave:

Darwin was buried in the floor of Westminster Abbey, the impressive church in London. He was effectively buried in the foundations of the church—honored by the church. Yes, a man who popularized an idea to explain life without God is honored by the church and buried in the foundations of the church. A similar thing is happening to the church today. Many churches have in essence buried Darwin in the foundation of their church, and as Psalm 11:3 states, "If he foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?"

God's people need to repent of compromise and return to the foundation of the inerrant Word of God instead of building on the foundation of fallible sinful man.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Church Needs "to Return to the True Meaning of the Bible"

We are already receiving wonderful testimonials from the AiG conference in Bermuda. It was thrilling to meet two young people who are frequent visitors to the AiG website. They told me they could say, "Billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth." So I asked them to say it in front of the audience, which they did. Here is a photo as they are speaking into the microphone:

Well here is an email one of these children sent me, showing he understands the problem in the church today more than many pastors:

We met at the Answers Conference in Bermuda. My sister and I said the phrase you often say when speaking about the fossils: "Billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth." I greatly enjoyed hearing a Christian person speak about the true age of the earth and the issues concerning it. I love the way you present the Bible and how you show the need for the church to return to the true meaning of the Bible.

I am home-schooled, and my mother chose a Christian curriculum that has benefited me greatly. I am grateful for all Christian ministries and evangelists who believe in the six literal day creation week.

I hope to see the Creation Museum one day and meet you again.

Here is another encouraging testimony:

We met at your Answers in Genesis conference in Bermuda this past weekend. I am a home schooled teen who enjoys visiting your ministry's website weekly. I have learned a lot by watching many of the videos there; so it was a real pleasure to meet you in person. I really enjoy the way you present the truth in a simple and straight-forward way. Some of my favourite subjects that you speak on is the Grand Canyon, Ice Age and the young age of the Earth. I like the way you expose the faults of dating methods like carbon dating, and the guesswork involved in those methods. I think Bermuda needed some one like you to come and share the truth about Genesis 1-11 so we can share it with others.

Praise the Lord!

Here is a photo of staff member Jim Stiles, his wife Carolyn, Mally, and me—the AiG team who visited Bermuda last weekend:

I have already shared in previous blog posts some photos from the conference, but here is one final photo of this exciting meeting in Bermuda:

The following photos were taken during our last day in Bermuda when we got to see the Island:

Pastors Preaching for Evolution on Sunday

Lastly, I want you to see today's News to Note web article that comments each week on recent news of the day and read about "Evolution Weekend" going on right now in some churches across America, with pastors actually preaching pro-evolution messages tomorrow. I encourage you to read about this shocking compromise in the church.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Evolution Weekend in Churches—An Atheist's Fizzle

This weekend is "Evolution Weekend" or so proclaims atheist Michael Zimmerman. This atheist has been working with certain clergy to influence church and culture to believe evolution and millions of years. But is this project really that successful? Who are these pastors who have joined with an atheist?

According to Wikipedia (sometimes you have to take it with a grain of salt), "Michael Zimmerman (born 1953) is an American biologist and Vice President for Academic Affairs / Provost at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He previously served in a number of academic and administrative positions including Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Butler University in Indianapolis and Dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh for 14 years. Before moving to Wisconsin, Zimmerman spent 12 years at Oberlin College as a professor of biology and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to that he worked at The College of William and Mary as well as Hampshire College."

Zimmerman's involvement in the creation vs. evolution controversy goes back to the 1980s. He was writing against creationists while working with a group called "Ohio Center for Science Education" and editing their newsletter. The National Center for Science Education (headed up by atheist Eugenie Scott) awarded Zimmerman their "Friend of Darwin Award" in 2007. He currently writes for the left-leaning Huffington Post website (where we often read articles that vehemently attack those who take God's Word as written). Zimmerman lists the evolutionist and liberal BioLogos  as a website of interest along with NCSE and other pro-evolution organizations.

Let's read what Michael Zimmerman claims about himself in his own words; he states, "In fact, I too am an atheist. And I've been one for 40-years but what I think is important is that we recognize that people can believe what they want, that there are lots of different kinds of worldviews, there are lots of questions that are asked. Science, as powerful as it is, can only answer a subset of the questions that are of critical importance to humans" (Conversations with Christian and Atheist Activists: Michael Zimmerman).

Zimmerman started what he called "The Clergy Letter Project." He states the following on this page:

For too long, the misperception that science and religion are inevitably in conflict has created unnecessary division and confusion, especially concerning the teaching of evolution. I wanted to let the public know that numerous clergy from most denominations have tremendous respect for evolutionary theory and have embraced it as a core component of human knowledge, fully harmonious with religious faith.

In the fall of 2004, I worked with clergy throughout Wisconsin to prepare a statement in support of teaching evolution. We were called to action by a series of anti-evolution policies passed by the school board in Grantsburg, WI. The response was overwhelming. In a few weeks, nearly 200 clergy signed the statement, which we sent to the Grantsburg school board on December 16, 2004. Additionally, groups of educators and scientists sent letters to the Grantsburg School Board and to the Superintendent of Schools protesting these policies. In response to all of this attention, as well as the efforts of others, the Grantsburg School Board retracted their policies.

The outpouring of support from clergy around the country encouraged me to make this a nationwide project. If you want to read more about it or join us in sharing this important  perspective, click here.  Encourage your clergy to consider signing the statement and please feel free to link to these webpages.

The Clergy Letter Project has also sponsored annual Evolution Weekend events.  These events provide an opportunity for congregations around the world to come together, in the way each feels most comfortable, to discuss the compatibility of religion and science.  By doing so, we are educating thousands and elevating the world-wide discussion of this important topic. If your congregation would like to participate in an Evolution Weekend event, please contact me.

Most recently, The Clergy Letter Project has created a data base of scientists interested in working with clergy members to answer questions about all aspects of evolution. To view this growing list, click here (If you are a scientist and would like to be added to our data base, please send me a note.)

Sincerely,

Michael Zimmerman

Founder and Executive Director

The Clergy Letter Project   

The Clergy Letter Project is cosponsoring a website with the "Center for Inquiry Austin" (a secular humanist organization) to promote evolution in Texas schools.

But who really are these clergy who sign this letter? Is the project really successful in this atheist's attempt to infiltrate the church with his anti-God beliefs? Well, the majority of those signing the "Christian Clergy Letter" are from liberal denominations that include an inordinate number of female pastors and churches of secular humanism (Universalist, for example).

The Clergy Letter Project resulted in an annual event to promote evolution in churches. It was originally called "Evolution Sunday" (2006 and 2007), but in 2008, it was changed to "Evolution Weekend" to accommodate Jewish congregations and those churches that meet on Saturday.

Now let's look at some statistics since 2006 concerning the number of congregations that participated in this evolution promoting weekend:

2006 Evolution Sunday—462 congregations
2007 Evolution Sunday—618 congregations
2008 Evolution Weekend—841 congregations
2009 Evolution Weekend—1049 congregations
2010 Evolution Weekend—861 congregations
2011 Evolution Weekend—652 congregations
2012 Evolution Weekend—554 congregations (as of the writing of this blog post)

It must be discouraging for this atheist and his liberal clergy friends to see a major downward trend in participation since 2009. He's lost almost 50% of participating congregations since the 2009 Darwin celebrations.

Now consider the following list of the primary denominations and organizations participating in Evolution Weekend (these numbers are subject to change):

Unitarian Universalist (79)
United Church of Christ  (74)
Episcopal (58)
Lutheran (58—mainly ELCA)
Methodist (52—virtually all United Methodist)
Presbyterian (45—mainly PC-USA)
Jewish (43)
Baptist (9—American Baptist for the most part)
Unity Church (7)
Friends (6—Quaker)
Metropolitan Community  (3—homosexual churches)
Gnostic Churches (2)
Muslim (1)

Other interesting participants include the following:

Suncoast Hospice (What kind of message do you give dying people based on evolution?)
Gardenia Center—"Bringing the metaphysical community together"
Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago
Center for Spiritual Living Long Island
Osher Institute for Life Long Learning
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (Nashville Chapter)
Machar—The Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism, D.C.
Officers of Avalon ("We seek to provide a community and network for Pagan first responders and to serve as a voice for them.")
Religious Science of Greater Milwaukee

Now what do you notice about these churches and organizations? They are mostly either very liberal theologically or well known anti-Christian organizations. Not surprising at all is that the leaders of these Institutions would decide to yoke with an atheist! (It is also interesting to note that Crooked Creek Baptist Church of Indianapolis gives mention of Dr. James McGrath—anti-creation blogger and ardent AiG opponent at Butler University whom I have written about a number of times. I gather this may mean McGrath will either preach or teach a class on evolution this weekend.)

Now, after looking at the list of churches above that are part of this Evolution Weekend project, consider the following statistics from 2000 reported by the Association of Religion Data Archives concerning the number of churches in the USA:

Baptist: 62,649
Lutheran: 18,327
Methodist/Wesleyan: 38,535
Orthodox: 2,039
Presbyterian: 13,952
Reformed: 1,764

Here are the individual denominations:

Southern Baptist: 41,514 (included in 62,649 Baptists above)
Catholic: 21,791
Churches of Christ: 13,027
Assemblies of God: 11,880
Mormon: 11,515
Episcopal: 7,314
United Church of Christ: 5,863

This source claimed that there were 268,240 congregations in the USA, including Buddhist, Hindi, Muslim, Mormons, Zoroastrians, etc.

So what does this mean? As would be expected, a small number of very liberal churches and a number of secular humanist organizations are promoting "Evolution Weekend."  But, by far the majority of churches in the USA have nothing to do with this atheist-founded project.

So, we do praise the Lord that this atheist's efforts to infiltrate the church have largely failed!

But, the church needs to be warned about the spiritual battle that is going on around us. And sadly, even though Zimmerman's "Evolution Weekend" is a fizzle (though the secular media often make out that it is a major impacting project), much of the church has already been infiltrated by those who compromise evolution and millions of years with the Bible. In one sense, many churches have an "Evolution and/or Millions of years Weekend" every weekend as they don't take the stand they should on the authority of the Word of God.

Let's pray that Christian leaders will stand up and be counted in this nation for their stand on the authority of God's Word beginning in Genesis.

And let's pray that churches who do preach the Word of God as they should would never yoke themselves with an unbeliever like Zimmerman.

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

By the way, on Saturday morning in our News to Note web articles, we will look at "Evolution Weekend" even further.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken