Ken Ham's Blog, page 426

Children Are Our Future

Yes, it might be a bit cliché to say that "children are our future," but it is true, of course. Everyone who has a passion for working with children knows this, and they invest their lives to make sure that the children's future is bright. As Christians, we need to make sure that we are obedient to Scripture as we seek to train the next generation. Scripture has a lot to say about training children—one of the common themes in the Bible about instructing children is diligence.

In Deuteronomy 6, God pleads with His people to pass his commandments and statutes along to the next generations. He then goes on to give them some guidelines to help them remember that God should be first in their lives and that we are called to teach constantly! A staff member observed, "In modern language, we might say that we are to be teaching while we eat our Cheerios, while we drive to the supermarket, after soccer practice, and on Sunday morning. If you are working in children's ministry on a Sunday morning, you are only a small part of the training that should be happening constantly in each child's life."

But this doesn't mean that a worker in children's ministry is not important. If you're thinking biblically, it should disappoint you to know that if you are the only one pouring Jesus into their lives, you have a challenge. You should desire for the children's parents and friends (and grandparents) to be doing what you do on a Sunday morning every day of their lives!

Rather than seeing a church ministry as the main venue for teaching young people, children's ministry workers should be seeking to come alongside parents, equipping them to continue the teaching through the week. Of course, this isn't always possible, but that should be the goal since that is what God clearly teaches us in Scripture. Working together, the body of Christ can function as it was intended to, and the children that are "our future" can be equipped with Scripture.

As we all work together to teach our children diligently from the Word of God, let us remember that as Christians we need to work as a community and not isolated individuals.

AiG staff, including me, will share more at our upcoming Children's Ministry Leaders' Conference.

I have a passion for seeing God honored through the teaching that occurs in the body of Christ. In fact, in addition to the March conference, our new Answers Bible Curriculum (to be released in a few months) seeks to incorporate some of these ideas, and all of us at Answers in Genesis are excited to see how God will use this project to glorify Himself.

Let us pray that we can be faithful to teach the next generation just as God is faithful to us.

"Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides" (Psalm 119:89–90).

Over 6,000 So Far in New Jersery

Not including the two school programs and the evening sessions Monday night, we have already seen over 6,000 in attendance at the Saturday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday evening sessions at Calvary Chapel in Old Bridge, New Jersey, for the Answers in Genesis conference where Dr. Gary Parker and I are speaking.

It was exciting to see all the cars parked on the streets for the two sessions with overflow crowds.

The auditorium for the second service Sunday.

Dr. Gary spoke to groups of youth for each of the three service times.

Dr. Gary Parker gave his testimony of how he changed from being an evolutionary atheist to a Bible believing creationist last night.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Great Response in New Jersey

Praise the Lord for a great start to the AiG conference at Calvary Chapel in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

The following are examples of the many types of testimonies I received as people spoke to me afterwards:

One young man told me he believed in millions of years, but after hearing my presentation last night, he said he no longer believes in an old earth. He said he needed to the hear the challenge I gave in regards to millions of years being incompatible with Scripture (e.g., there was no suffering and death for millions of years before sin).
A couple told me "our eyes have been opened." (I get that response a lot.)
I had a man tell me his life was changed as a result of hearing me speak at a homeschool conference in New Jersey about 17 years ago! He said he has never looked back and gone on for the Lord ever since.
I had a young girl (around 11 years old) tell me she wants to be a creation paleontologist.

I heard lots more testimonies like that, and I praise the Lord for such encouragement.

Before the service, the pastor, Lloyd Pulley, conducted a series of TV interviews with me for the church's website.  Here is a photo of the pastor and me during the video recording.

Here are some photos taken during the evening.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

"ABC" Test Gets Rave Review—Download Sample Lesson

As I've shared many times already, I'm thrilled that we are getting very close to the release of our unique new apologetics-based Sunday school curriculum (Answers Bible Curriculum) that we plan to begin shipping this June. A teacher of 4th – 6th graders at a church in the Midwest—whom we asked to test Answers Bible Curriculum in his class—sent us an email yesterday (see below). The ABC curriculum covers the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation, chronologically, in 3 years, and has beautifully illustrated age-graded lessons for everyone from pre-school to adults. There is nothing else like this and I expect ABC will be used of our God to capture the hearts of many thousands of children who would otherwise be swept away from church as those of the "Already Gone" generation have been already.

Here's a quote from the teacher. I hope you are as encouraged as I am.

Just wanted to drop you a note to get an update on the curriculum. I personally taught the one quarter of curriculum that you provided to me . . . the children were very disappointed when I told them we were switching back to our other curriculum. I asked them what they liked about the ABC. . . . one of the things I picked up on was they said they learned more things. Things they hadn't known before. Remember that this is coming from students who have been "churched" their whole life! . . . I would like to use ABC. Obviously I would like to get my hands on it ASAP – what is the earliest I could at least purchase the teacher books so I could start reviewing those?

Although it is still nearly five months before we will be able to start shipping Answers Bible Curriculum, you can visit the very basic website www.AnswersInGenesis.org/Answers-Bible-Curriculum that we have put up—and even download a sample lesson.  A new, full-featured ABC website will be launched in a month or so, but get the basics now and help us make your church aware that Answers Bible Curriculum will be available soon!

AiG in New Jersey Today through Monday

Dr. Gary Parker and I will be giving various presentations (including two special students for kids and teens) throughout the next three days in New Jersey—south of New York City.  For details go to this link:

www.AnswersInGenesis.org/outreach/event/OldBridge2012/

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Entertainment that Promotes Evolution

Cirque du Soleil on Evolution

First of all—what is Cirque du Soleil?

From Wikipedia (not always reliable, but this description seems accurate) we read, "Cirque du Soleil ("Circus of the Sun") is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a 'dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment.' Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada."

It is currently presenting a program in the United Kingdom and USA called, "Totem: a fascinating journey into the evolution of mankind."

And what is "Totem?"

Here is their program description (from their website).

TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations. Inspired by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species. Somewhere between science and legend TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.

They also state the program is scheduled to open in San Jose, CA on March 2, San Diego on April 25, and in Washington, DC and Atlanta, Georgia in the future.

Here's the home page for this show; they have 22 unique productions showing throughout the world! You also can see a preview video of what the show is like from that page.

The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom published a review of this program.  The reviewer stated the following:

You can't fault Cirque du Soleil for spectacle. I was impressed when the Charles Darwin character stepped inside what looked like a huge funnel and started juggling illuminated balls. I wouldn't say juggling is part of the average biologist's daily work, but it did demonstrate the fact that molecules are continually in motion.

The performers' acrobatic feats were amazing, too. Totem's evolutionary theme—the show is meant to trace "the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly"—is less solid, but there were some interesting moments.

It certainly started promisingly. Before the main show, several performers moved among the audience, entertaining us. I assumed that one of them, with his grey beard, was meant to be Darwin: he even had a tail, which is how cartoonists of the time depicted him. He was there for most of the performance, watching. I thought it might be a loose evocation of the fact that Darwin founded his career on observing evolutionary processes.

Glimpses of evolutionary theory appeared elsewhere: in the first scene, a man dressed in silver appeared from the ceiling, as if to represent the spark of life, and the stage heaved with performers and pulsing music, as if to show the primordial broth. Another act with hoops obviously evoked the circle of life, but some scenes seemed complete nonsequiturs. We went straight from the hoops to a couple sitting on a beach. I was thinking: is this Adam and Eve? Have we hopped into creationism?

You can read the entire review at the this link.

This is just another example of how evolution is just accepted as fact and is being promoted in the culture.  The acrobats may be excellent in their performance, but what a shame they are using their talents to promote an anti-God philosophy.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

A "Love Note" from Our Creator

You probably know this passage.

"Though the mountains be shaken

and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor my covenant of peace be removed,"

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

(Isaiah 54:10)

It's been called a "love note" from our Creator and Savior. Joetta Schmitt, music leader and vocalist at our upcoming teaching conference, "Answers for Women," shared the following with me:

We can sing praises to Him in any and every situation of our lives, and that He will be faithful—no matter what. We are called to offer our hearts in praise to Him because He has heard us before we even ask, and He has filled the need before we knew it was there. When we understand this truth and begin to live it out, our hearts will naturally long to praise Him!

I hope all women will join AiG as we worship our Creator and study His Word at the "Answers for Women" conference, coming to the Creation Museum's Legacy Hall, April 19–20. See www.answersforwomen.org for more information.

Message from Habakkuk

One of the wonderful experiences we have at AiG each week is to hear a Christian leader—typically a local pastor—who speaks at a staff chapel. It helps us start the ministry day on the right footing.

Last week we heard an excellent message on the book of Habakkuk from Pastor Jason Brown of El Bethel Church in Owenton, Kentucky (about 45 minutes away). He came to speak at the suggestion of Kevin Bridgers of our staff—if you've called AiG to place orders, it's possible you've spoken to this very friendly and knowledgeable staff member.

Here is a photo of this six-foot-seven-inch pastor (though from the photo it's hard to tell how tall he is).

I'm so grateful that there are so many pastors in our region who preach God's Word with fervor and are on-side with us.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Flood Event Does in a Day What Mother Nature Would Take Hundreds of Years to Do

This was a headline in a newspaper in Australia this past November. Many of us probably remember the devastating floods that occurred in Australia last year, as they received headline news around the world. There were many local flood events—some more catastrophic than many had seen before in their lives. One such catastrophic event occurred not far from my home city of Brisbane in Queensland. I was sent a newspaper item about this flood, and I thought was worth bringing to your attention.

Those of you who have seen AiG videos or attended some of our presentations may have heard our speakers giving information on the results of the catastrophic eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. As a result of this volcanic eruption, hundreds of feet of sedimentary layers were formed rapidly, and canyons were formed very quickly, and some were carved through hard rock in just a few years. Such catastrophic processes occurring in the present give us just a tiny inkling of the sorts of processes that could have occurred during the global Flood of Noah's day. This really helps people understand the utter devastation a global Flood would cause. Many people don't understand the incredible erosion power of water. AiG geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling often speaks on his research at the Grand Canyon, showing where enormous boulders were carried along by the Flood waters, and layers of rock were sheared off.

Well, once again, a "tiny" catastrophe in the present has given us a glimpse of the power of water in a Flood situation. Read this news report about what happened in a valley west of the city of Brisbane, Australia last year.

A creek bed in the Lockyer Valley has revealed two metres of solid sandstone carved away in a 24-hour period, a feat that would take hundreds of thousands of years to achieve under normal water flow conditions.

Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said the site is a significant scientific find as it not only highlights the sheer ferocity of the water flow in the area, but also shows events such as this are more common than we believe.

"Estimates by scientists from the University of Queensland have put the flow of water in the normally quiet creek somewhere between 100 and 200 kilometres an hour," Cr Jones said.

"Enormous boulders, some the size of four or five cars were literally picked up and moved.

"The boulders weren't just rolled along, they were suspended in the water and moved kilometres from where they were picked up. …

"The sheer scale and magnitude of what occurred at this site is nothing short of astounding.

"To think water did in a day what should have taken hundreds of thousands of years under normal water conditions is astonishing."

You can read the entire article on Gatton Star's website.

Isn't it interesting that people look at layers like those at the Grand Canyon or river valleys and canyons in Australia, and they think it terms of very long time periods (thousands or millions of years)? Yet we have observed catastrophic conditions in the present that could form such valleys and canyons quickly! Problem is, most people don't think in terms of a global Flood in the past, because they've been indoctrinated to believe that the Bible's account of history is not true.

We need to use such events as this news report to begin talking about the Flood of Noah's day and what it would have done, so people we can challenge others that such an event really did occur. The history presented in the Bible's is true, and because it is true, we can be sure that the gospel based in that history is also true.

AiG Oceanside Report

We were thrilled at the response to the AiG conference at Calvary Chapel in Oceanside, California. Dr. Gary Parker and I spoke Saturday evening, Sunday morning and evening, and Monday morning and evening. As well as the normal church services and the AiG conference program, Dr. Parker spoke to the youth, I gave presentations to kids and teens at special programs Monday morning, and the services on Sunday were translated into Spanish. Also, the presentations were broadcast live over the internet.

Here are some photographs taken during that time to gives you a bit of a feel for this wonderful event.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Flood Event Does in a Day what Mother Nature Would Take Hundreds of Years to Do

This was a headline in a newspaper in Australia this past November. Many of us probably remember the devastating floods that occurred in Australia last year, as they received headline news around the world. There were many local flood events—some more catastrophic than many had seen before in their lives. One such catastrophic event occurred not far from my home city of Brisbane in Queensland. I was sent a newspaper item about this flood, and I thought was worth bringing to your attention.

Those of you who have seen AiG videos or attended some of our presentations may have heard our speakers giving information on the results of the catastrophic eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. As a result of this volcanic eruption, hundreds of feet of sedimentary layers were formed rapidly, and canyons were formed very quickly, and some were carved through hard rock in just a few years. Such catastrophic processes occurring in the present give us just a tiny inkling of the sorts of processes that could have occurred during the global Flood of Noah's day. This really helps people understand the utter devastation a global Flood would cause. Many people don't understand the incredible erosion power of water. AiG geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling often speaks on his research at the Grand Canyon, showing where enormous boulders were carried along by the Flood waters, and layers of rock were sheared off.

Well, once again, a "tiny" catastrophe in the present has given us a glimpse of the power of water in a Flood situation. Read this news report about what happened in a valley west of the city of Brisbane, Australia last year.

A creek bed in the Lockyer Valley has revealed two metres of solid sandstone carved away in a 24-hour period, a feat that would take hundreds of thousands of years to achieve under normal water flow conditions.

Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said the site is a significant scientific find as it not only highlights the sheer ferocity of the water flow in the area, but also shows events such as this are more common than we believe.

"Estimates by scientists from the University of Queensland have put the flow of water in the normally quiet creek somewhere between 100 and 200 kilometres an hour," Cr Jones said.

"Enormous boulders, some the size of four or five cars were literally picked up and moved.

"The boulders weren't just rolled along, they were suspended in the water and moved kilometres from where they were picked up. …

"The sheer scale and magnitude of what occurred at this site is nothing short of astounding.

"To think water did in a day what should have taken hundreds of thousands of years under normal water conditions is astonishing."

You can read the entire article on Gatton Star's website.

Isn't it interesting that people look at layers like those at the Grand Canyon or river valleys and canyons in Australia, and they think it terms of very long time periods (thousands or millions of years)? Yet we have observed catastrophic conditions in the present that could form such valleys and canyons quickly! Problem is, most people don't think in terms of a global Flood in the past, because they've been indoctrinated to believe that the Bible's account of history is not true.

We need to use such events as this news report to begin talking about the Flood of Noah's day and what it would have done, so people we can challenge others that such an event really did occur. The history presented in the Bible's is true, and because it is true, we can be sure that the gospel based in that history is also true.

AiG Oceanside Report

We were thrilled at the response to the AiG conference at Calvary Chapel in Oceanside, California. Dr. Gary Parker and I spoke Saturday evening, Sunday morning and evening, and Monday morning and evening. As well as the normal church services and the AiG conference program, Dr. Parker spoke to the youth, I gave presentations to kids and teens at special programs Monday morning, and the services on Sunday were translated into Spanish. Also, the presentations were broadcast live over the internet.

Here are some photographs taken during that time to gives you a bit of a feel for this wonderful event.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Where Is Baker Publishing Group Heading?

Years ago, I always thought of Baker Publishing Group (originally known as Baker Book House) as a place that published a number of the best biblical creation books available (for instance, books by the late Dr. Henry M. Morris).

But just as we see compromise permeating the church, we also see the same compromise existing in many once-solid Christian publishing companies.

Just recently, I wrote a review for our AiG website on the book The Evolution of Adam, published by Brazos Press (a division of Baker Publishing Group). It is so sad that this heretical book denies a literal Adam, literal Eve, and literal Fall and claims the apostle Paul was not referencing a literal Adam in 1 Corinthians 15 or Romans 5. You can read the review on our website.

I also wrote a recent blog post (entitled "Will Pastors Miss the 'Millions of Years' Point?") in which I commented on a recent survey by LifeWay showing the number of pastors who believe in evolution and millions of years.

Well, recently I received an email from an AiG supporter, commenting on a sad blog post by Louis McBride. McBride describes himself as "the Bible and Academic Book Buyer here at Baker Book House, a family owned independent Christian Bookstore which started in 1939 (our parent company is Baker Publishing Group). I'm also on the Church Relations Team which specializes in working with our local churches."

What a sad day when the Academic Book Buyer for Baker Book House, and a member of its Church Relations Team, would write the following in commenting on the LifeWay research and Peter Enns' new book:

[McBride:] So if I were answering this poll here's how I would answer (at least for the time being):

"I believe Adam and Eve were literal people." Strongly agree (but with more room for doubt than a year ago).

"I believe God used evolution to create people." Somewhat agree (and leaning towards "strongly agree")

"I believe the earth is approximately 6,000 years old." Strongly disagree (and extremely unlikely to change) …

I have just started Peter Enns' new book The Evolution of Adam. In the Introduction he talks about who is primary audience is. It is written to Christians "of whatever tradition or stripe . . . [who] are convinced, for whatever reason, that evolution must be taken seriously." (x) He continues, "My aim is to speak to those who feel that a synthesis between a biblically conversant Christian faith and evolution is a pressing concern." (x) That's me!  For far too many this path I'm on will be viewed as an inevitable road to unrestrained liberalism. I just want to say the conversation is worth having.

You may read the entire blog post at this link. I believe the following email I received from the AiG supporter sums up the situation with Baker Publishing Group and Dr. Enns:

You probably have already read the blog of Louis, who reviews books for Baker Book House (including The Evolution of Adam by Peter Enns), but I found it interesting to see the steps to apostasy eroding at this man's (Louis) faith as well as the LifeWay Research chart he included.  The link is:  http://bbhchurchconnection.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/new-poll-shows-protestant-pastors-still-strongly-hold-to-literal-adam-and-eve/.  The AIG article "Will Pastors Miss the 'Millions of Years' Point?" brought this home as the devastation these authors have brought on pastors and Christians whose faith had been based solely on the Word of God.  Although I hate to see this happening before my eyes, I am reminded of the original sin where Satan tempted Eve with the heretical and evolutionary ideas of becoming like God and not trusting the words of God completely.  We are still falling for these "lies" today.  Even solid pastors have failed to see this.  If only we would all take heed of the verse quoted in this article:  "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25).

We can clearly see the seeds of doubt leading to unbelief operating in this employee at a Christian book publisher as the influence of compromising with evolution and millions of years takes its toll. We already see the sad result of compromise with a once theologically conservative Christian book publisher now publishing a heretical book like that of Peter Enns.

Yes, it's a sad day for the church and a sad day for Christian book publishing.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Designing for the Lord

Last week, a number of our designers who work on the Creation Museum exhibits and the Ark Encounter project decided to attend a special traveling dinosaur exhibition in our area. I asked the Creation Museum head designer (Doug Henderson) to write me a report on this event. We'll have a fuller review later on the AiG website about the exhibition's evolutionary content, but I thought this would make a great blog item for you as Doug really challenges all of us as Christians regarding what we do for the Lord in excellence. Doug (and his wife Cathy) wrote the following:

Thursday night I was delighted to hear a radio ad for "Discover the Dinosaurs" at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. It sounded like a lot of fun. "They've been extinct for 65 million years," the announcer said, "but now they're here, in Northern Kentucky!" As the head of the Creation Museum design department, I thought this would be a great opportunity for the crew to get out and find artistic inspiration. You know, check out the competition. I thought it would be a valuable learning experience, certainly worth the $14 price of admission ($8 for kids). Of course I knew it would be an evolution promoting, propaganda machine, which it was, but as designers I thought we might see some innovative techniques and technologies we could apply to future museum exhibits. Well, we did learn a lot. However, what we learned was more about what not to do.

The interactive animatronics were good, but they were surrounded by a collection of very home-made looking fiberglass dinosaur sculptures. The place was dark, lit mostly with splashes of blue and green and purple and pink colored light, like a dinosaur disco haunted house. What they lacked in quality, they made up for in quantity. They had piles and piles of randomly arranged, low-end dinosaur sculptures, set up less like a traveling dinosaur museum and more like a dinosaur flea market. There was no standard of quality.

Sadly, the room was full of guests who paid a lot of money to get in. To get to the exit, they had to walk past a host of activities geared to kids, where the average cost was another $6 for each additional activity. From a consumer point of view, I thought it was over-hyped, over-priced and very amateur. But from a Bible-believing artist's point of view, I was dismayed that the lie of evolution can be foisted on kids at such a cheesy level, without question. If we were to host a dinosaur exhibition with this low of a standard at the Creation Museum, we would be mocked and ridiculed by the guests and media.

What we took away from the experience was this: They can get away with it, but we can't. As Christian designers, we can't let up on quality. We can't let guests dismiss the message because we present it in a sub-standard way. We can't say, "Oh well, it's just for the church crowd," or "We don't have time to do it better." We have to strive for excellence in all that we do. The message is too important: God's Word is true and souls are at stake. But we have to speak the language of the culture if we want to reach them. Our passion as designers is to use the gifts that God has given us to produce displays of the highest standards with the resources that God has given us—not to draw attention to ourselves—but to draw people to Christ, our Creator and Savior. He deserves nothing less than our very best.

And by the way, if you are not a designer, you're not off the hook. As followers of Christ, God has called all of us to the mission field of "right here, right now." We are to use the gifts and resources that God has given us, to the best of the abilities that God has given us, to reach out to the people in our sphere of influence. The mission field is not someplace far away that you have to board a plane to get to, its where your standing, right here, right now.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:17)

Here are some photographs taken at this event.

Notice the millions of years indoctrination in the signs.

Some of the not-so-professional signage.

More signage.

Here is the kind of fiberglass-looking model Doug alluded to.

Another dinosaur model.

Here are some photos of kids riding dinosaurs. I have included these because at the Creation Museum, we have a photographic opportunity for kids to sit on a dinosaur sculpture. However, secularists (even famed evolutionist Richard Dawkins, as seen on a YouTube video) have time and time again taken this out of context (it is not a part of any exhibit) and tried to make it seem that we believe people rode dinosaurs around. Just like the secular world, we can give kids a fun time by sitting on a dinosaur. Of course when the secular world does this, nothing is said. But when the Creation Museum has a dinosaur available for kids to ride, we are maligned.

A kid riding a dinosaur.

Another dinosaur ride.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

A Touch of Winter at the Creation Museum

I thought today you would like to see a touch of winter at the Creation Museum as captured by AiG photographer, Deb Minnard.

AiG Conference in Oceanside California

Last night, I spoke at the evening service of Calvary Chapel of Oceanside California. This was the beginning of an AiG conference where Dr. Parker and I will be speaking over the next two days. (Last session is on Monday evening.) Here are some photographs taken Saturday night, including one of the senior pastor, Mike Reed, and me.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken