Creationists Hold ‘Answers for Darwin’ Conference on ‘Darwin Day’

By The Christian Post on January 30th, 2009

imagesbannerscp_120x60Reprinted by permission of the Christian Post

By Elena Garcia
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jan. 30 2009 08:32 AM EST

While hundreds of celebrations worldwide will be marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth beginning in February, one creationist ministry will be holding conferences to refute the famed scientist’s theory of evolution.

Answers in Genesis, which runs the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ky., will host two free national conferences to help Christians defend their faith against a theory that the ministry sees as running counter to Scripture.

The two conferences, dubbed “Answers for Darwin,” will take place at two churches – one held on the West Coast and one on the East Coast – to provide training and education for Christians regarding evolution and creation.

The West Coast gathering is scheduled for Feb. 6-7 at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif. The East Coast event is set for Feb. 15-17 at Thomas Rd. Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va.

“So many Christians have been convinced by the academic elite that there is some validity to Darwin’s beliefs regarding evolution, and they try to find ways to compromise, and fit creation and evolution together,” said Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, who will be a key speaker at both conferences.

“We want to help them understand that Darwinian evolution is wrong, and that it has undermined the Christian faith and has fueled social ills like racism and abortion,” he said in a statement.

Other speakers at the California-based conference include Dr. Andrew Snelling, a scientist with Answers in Genesis who holds a Ph.D. in geology, and Dr. David Menton, a staff scientist with Answers in Genesis who holds a Ph.D. in biology.

Conference topics will include “Answer from Genesis on Darwin and the Culture Wars,” “Answers for Racism,” “Answers from Science and Scripture on the Real Age of the Earth” and “Answers from the Fossil Record – Creation vs. Darwinian Evolution.”

Speakers at the East Coast meeting will include Ham and Snelling as well as Liberty University professors Dr. David DeWitt, a Ph.D. scientist in neuroscience, and Dr. Marcus Ross, who holds a Ph.D. in geoscience. In addition to topics covered at the West Coast conference, the Virginia event will also address the topic “Answers about the ‘Ape-Men.’”

Ham, a Young Earth Creationist, believes in the literal interpretation of the six-day creation story in Genesis. The Creation Museum, which he founded, features exhibits that claim the world is only 6,000 years old, dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals, and geologic features such as the Grand Canyon and fossils were created in a global flood during the time of Noah.

“Many Christians are surprised when they learn that valid science confirms the biblical accounts of creation and Noah’s Flood,” added Ham. “Our mission at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum is to spread that message in order to uphold all of Scripture and therefore reach non-believers with the gospel.”

A Newsweek poll last March found that evangelical Protestants (73 percent) were more likely than non-evangelical protestants (39 percent) to agree that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. Catholics (41 percent) were more likely than non-evangelical protestants to agree with the statement.

Many Christians and most members of the Catholic Church accept a brand of evolution known as “theistic evolution,” which teaches that evolution was a tool used by God in the creation process.

Not all Christians will shun “Darwin Day.”

Some will join in events taking place this year that mark both the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his published work, The Origin of Species.

Pope Benedict XVI plans to attend a March conference celebrating the Origin of the Species in Rome. The pontiff has maintained that the theory of evolution is compatible with the Bible.

According to a website devoted to celebrations (darwinday.org) there are 322 events taking place in 31 countries to commemorate “Darwin Day.”

Copyright 2009 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 

Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.

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  • john
    it is he who thinks he knows the most that is decieved the greatest, it is all about faith, either you accept God at his word or you dont, no gray area, no arguing, no debating, accept or denie, in the end the answers will be there.
  • cinemaphile85
    How easy it must be to live in a world of absolutes.
  • You should give it a try sometime.
  • cinemaphile85
    Sorry, but I much prefer living in the real world, which is not in black and white.
  • No, you're confusing the real world with the liberal fantasy world. The liberal fantasy world is a gray one where there are no rights (except what liberals claim they are) and no wrongs (except to call a liberal wrong--that is wrong), where people are free to be as immoral as they like without being bothered by judgments and consequences.

    That is an illusory world, the mist of which will disappear when one passes from this one into the next and faces the Ultimate judgment and consequences.
  • LZE
    Catholics are more likely to hold to "theistic evolution" because of the gag order their black robed masters imposed on them AGAINST reading the Bible for themselves ... LEST they THINK!!. Its ever so much easier to feel "holy" by kissing the Pope's ring and just genuflecting instead.

    Maybe the "sola scriptura" fo the Protestant Reformation explains the reason why evangelical non-Catholics are more likely to believe what the scriptures actually say. That is, if they take their eyes and minds off of football on Sundays long enough to read a few verses.

    The trouble with American "christians" nowadays is that most of them don't know any scripture. That's why AIG had to build a Museum -- to teach CHRISTIANS what it means, in pictures, like babies in kindergarten. "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat"
  • An very good point, LZE, and a scriptural quote that shows that the problem is not a new one (and not invented by the Roman Church). In a recent study reported by the Baptist Press it was deduced from polls that only about 11% of Protestants of all denominations fit a fundamentalist's (i.e., scriptural) definition of "evangelical."

    While Protestants may read the Bible at twice the rate of Catholics, twice a very small number is still a small number. I don't hink this is a Protestant/Catholic problem, as you have tried to make it, LZE.
  • Theistic evolution is a spineless position. It is an attempt to bring a belief in God into accord with the foolish musings of men. The credibility of the entire Bible rests upon the accounts in Genesis. Accept it or not, there is no middle ground. God's Word is true or we (Christians) are deluded and "striving after the wind."

    The fact is the Genesis account has much more supporting scientific evidence than does the naturalistic accounts. Those that refuse to see have made a decision of faith. To deny God one has to grab hold of even the smallest straw in an attempt to stay afloat.
  • cinemaphile85
    Dr. Theo,

    Remember that article about the conservative lawmakers who want to have disclaimers about evolution in science textbooks? In response to one of my comments there, you wrote, "I know of no serious Christian movement that wants Genesis taught in public schools."

    Yet here you use the phrase "Genesis account," suggesting that the only legitimate way to study, understand, or even discuss creationism is within a Judeo-Christian framework.

    I find that very interesting, given the comment you made on that previous article. If Genesis is as important for creation theory as you say it is (so important that the entire Christian religion depends on it!), and if it does indeed contain vast amounts of supporting scientific evidence, then how could any creation-based science curriculum avoid teaching from Genesis?

    Even more interesting is that the creationist movement's response to "Darwin Day," as reported here, is predicated entirely on the book of Genesis. Heck, they even named their conference after it! And I'm supposed to believe that Christians don't want Genesis to be taught in public schools?
  • Cinemaphile, you make a huge presumptive leap in suggesting that I want Genesis taught in public schools and that my previous claims to the contrary were disingenuous.

    To clarify my position on education: 1) The federal government should have no role in public education. None. 2) Public education should be designed and controlled at the level most near the families being served; that is, neighborhood and community schools and local school boards made up principally of parents and relatives of students served in that district. 3) Any religious references in the public schools should be decided upon by local boards and parents. Strict Darwinism or Genesis accounts should be the decision of parents. And finally, 4) Vouchers. Parents should have the power to change their children to another school if their interests are not being served.

    Now, all that may be difficult to implement, so, in a perfect world, I would want no public education. Education of children should be controlled by parents; those who have the best interests of their children at heart, not by government agents that have to balance the wishes of several competing interests: parents, teachers, unions, administrators, legislatures, special interest groups, etc.

    In the real world of education, as it is currently implemented, I would want no mention of Genesis in the curriculum. I would be quite happy to have schools teach the facts honestly and leave the conclusions to students and their parents. Your phrase "creation-based science curriculum" is an anathema to me. I want only a fact-based science curriculum.
  • cinemaphile85
    Dr. Theo,

    Thank you for the explanation! I agree with many of your points.

    However, I never said or implied that YOU yourself want Genesis taught in public schools. I'm sorry if I gave that impression. And I was not refuting your claim that you don't know of any Christian movements that want Genesis taught in public schools. But "I don't know of any" is not the same as "there aren't any."

    I personally know lots of Christians who would be thrilled if public schools started teaching from Genesis as a way of exposing students to creationism. And I would be extremely surprised if other Christians, such as the ones attending a conference called "Answers in Genesis," did not feel the same way.
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