Just before Christmas, a national newspaper in Australia

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Irma Morris
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1 A monthly newsletter equipping Christians to uphold the authority of the Bible from the very first verse Current headquarters FEBRUARY 2001 Shopping for God continued next page VOLUME 8 ISSUE 2 Just before Christmas, a national newspaper in Australia (The Weekend Australian) ran a series of editorials/ letters/interviews concerning God, Christianity, the church, and religion in general under a number of headings, including one saying: Shopping for God. My heart ached as I read through these pages that millions would also read. I also realized that these articles represented the general state of those nations once influenced by Christianity whether it be the UK, USA, Australia etc. I must admit: it only further increased my fervor to see the messages proclaimed through AiG spread more actively through our literature, future Creation Museum, seminars, and other vehicles. Let me quote from these articles to show you the recurring theme spelled out loud and clear: Young people in general have abandoned the mainstream churches. There are voices, however, that attribute our lack of values to a lowering of respect for our institutions, including the churches. For it is increasingly evident that the old and frequent appeal to what we have termed the Judaeo- Christian ethic exercises little or no power over most of us. Meanwhile, with fewer marriages, baptisms and even funerals conducted by the clergy, secularism has become a religion. by AiG Executive Director Ken Ham

2 Page 2 Page 3 continued from page 1 Religion has become a commodity on the shelves, just like any other. The recurring theme: Christianity has lost its hold on the culture and the church is by and large irrelevant. What, then, is seen as the reason for the declining influence of the church? In a very telling editorial by the paper s religious affairs editor, it is stated that the basic reason for the church s existence, the proclamation of a saving faith, falls on increasingly deaf ears because there seems a tenuous touch with reality, a reality vastly affected by advances in science. (emphasis ours) Further on, this same author in referring to the church and obviously the account of Creation in the Bible refers to a discredited cosmology. And in the same section of the newspaper, there is an article that attempts to glorify science, as if to say that man is well on the way to discovering everything there is to know: This year mankind pushed the envelope in its understanding of both the entirety of our universe and the minute interiors of our bodies, gaining unprecedented insight into the genes that provide the template for who we are and the proteins that play the key role in making us. It is so obvious from these printed pages that the world sees what they define as science (which includes a collage of real scientific discoveries and evolutionary beliefs) as supposedly discrediting the Bible. As a result, people are shopping for their religious experiences in all sorts of alternative areas, including New Age mysticism and the like. To me, the climax of man s attempt to deify science in these articles is summed up in the statement from the editorial referred to above: The cloning of a perfect human being is now easier to believe than a perfect baby in a manger in Bethlehem. The virginal conception of Jesus pales into insignificance in the face of in-vitro fertilization [IVF] interventions. At the same time, this same writer makes a fascinating statement. Do you know what topic (and who) gets specific mention in regard to this battle raging as we start the 21 st century? The creation/evolution issue and those in the creation movement! The writer states: If Charles Darwin and his On the Origin of Species confronted a church unready for the challenge in the mid 19 th century, the same struggle between science and Christianity indeed, all religions is under way at the start of the 21 st. The battle with Darwin was led by biblical literalists who believed On the Origin of Species denied God and put biblical revelation under suspicion Creationism, which is hydra headed, continues to defend literal interpretations of the Book of Genesis and the story of creation. And sadly, the influence of Darwin and the popularization of the belief in billions of years has put biblical revelation under suspicion. The very reason for the continuing erosion of Biblical Christianity in the Western world is that Biblical revelation has been undermined. Thus, the absolute authority necessary for the Christian morality that once pervaded these nations has been all but removed as trustworthy and infallible. That s why this editor can write: The churches response [to ethical issues associated with such things as IVF] is usually prohibitive, negative and justified by an appeal to an unchanging morality derived from a divine authority few people still recognize. Thus, one of the writers in this series of articles states, Relativism choosing our own individual values without much reference to others is a current philosophy. This author goes on: We sense a crisis in our society but have no idea how to meet it. There is a crisis, and there is a way to meet it! The church needs to proclaim the authority of God s Word present it as REAL history and show it doesn t contradict REAL science. The world needs to learn of the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas and the belief in billions of years of history. In shopping for God, man wants to make himself god. This is nothing new this was the temptation given in the Garden at the beginning. But to do this, man has to discredit God s Word in his own eyes. Answers in Genesis, through its various vehicles and soon-to-be-built-creation Museum, upholds the authority of the Word of God and proclaims the message of the only true God the Creator God of the Bible. We will increasingly be on the cutting edge in the 21 st century battle against the forces of evolutionary humanism that have falsely indoctrinated so many today for whom the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it (Jeremiah 6:10). Ken Ham

3 Page 4 Page 5 Our daily radio program Answers with Ken Ham has been a blessing to many listeners on our 450 radio outlets. A physician s wife in northwestern Ohio contacted us recently with a wonderful story. She had purchased some secular dinosaur materials for her son, but the books placed dinosaurs within an evolutionary context and millions of years. She knew that the information was wrong, but didn t know how to refute it. Very soon after, she listened to WCRF radio (Cleveland) on her car radio, and heard Ken Ham of AiG give answers about dinosaurs! She told us that she nearly drove off the road as Ken went point by point on how dinosaurs connect with the Bible, and not evolution! You see, she had just prayed to God that she would find real answers about Stewardship and Trust Services When you give know well the doctrine of the ministries you support. Many people think that if a ministry just says Jesus a lot, then giving to it is good stewardship. But remember the lesson of Matthew 7: Here we are told that not everyone who says Lord, Lord is doing the will of the Father. Therefore, they should not receive our financial support. As Christians, we have an obligation to examine the doctrine of the ministries we help. Do the ministries you support view the Bible as the inerrant Radio blessings! dinosaurs to share with her son! After reading our materials, she and her family no longer have any doubts about the accuracy of the Bible. They are now teaching AiG s faith-building information to young people in Sunday school and AWANA. Our Answers radio program is now heard on more than 400 outlets in America and dozens more around the world. For a list of those stations, go to our Web site Genesis.org and click on the button AnswersMedia and then Radio Stations. You can also listen to our daily program right on the Web at the AnswersMedia section if you have RealPlayer on your computer. Word of God and believe it is the final authority in life and faith? I don t know what your answer would be to this question. I know for me, my discernment used to be woefully lacking. But now, when I give, I know my gifts are being used to get out the uncompromised Word of God. Consider I Cor. 4:1,2. So, when you give, pray for discernment, and then take the time to make yourself aware of the doctrines you are supporting. If you don t, the kingdom may not be advanced, your (God s) money may have been wasted, and you may even suffer loss. Paul Laude (AiG volunteer CFP), ext Museum project on target! $1 million donation to Creation Museum! An anonymous Cincinnati businessman and his family who have a passion for proclaiming Biblical truths are donating the largest gift yet to the future $14 million Creation Museum and Family Discovery Center: $1 million. As a result, AiG has been able to raise enough money to start the 95,000-square-foot building project (including a headquarters building). Therefore, groundbreaking will occur on March 17 on the 47 acres west of the Cincinnati Airport in N. Kentucky. For the past few weeks, God s people throughout America and even overseas have caught the importance of this future international outreach, reported Ken Ham, AiG executive director. Combined with thousands of other gifts, we now have enough money in the bank to begin phase 1 of the building project, and hire contractors, order some materials, and so on. Ham continued: Over the next few months, we will work to continue to raise the additional $11 million in donations. We are not taking out a mortgage this will be donor built. The Creation Museum will provide visitors from around the globe with a walk through history of the world, starting from the Bible s very first verse. Dinosaur models, dioramas, and other exciting exhibits many already collected will give families a dramatic visual tour of Biblical history, with the Gospel presented. To follow the progress of the building project, visit our regularly updated Web site Creation Museum & Family Discover Center gifts as of mid-january Each piece of this 56-piece jig-saw puzzle represents $250,000 raised/faith-promised for the $14 million Creation Museum. Follow the progress monthly in this newsletter!

Page 6 Page 7 AiG hires cave man! AiG s newest employee, Dr Emil Silvestru of Romania, is one of the world s leading authorities on the geology of caves.

Dr Silvestru, who holds a Ph.D. from the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, where he worked as an associate professor, has published more than 20 scientific papers.

4 Page 6 Page 7 AiG hires cave man! AiG s newest employee, Dr Emil Silvestru of Romania, is one of the world s leading authorities on the geology of caves. Both the American and Australian offices of Answers in Genesis are sharing in paying his salary to continue his ground-breaking research and lecture tours in Eastern Europe. Dr Silvestru, who holds a Ph.D. from the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, where he worked as an associate professor, has published more than 20 scientific papers. Until recently, he was the head scientist at the world s first speleological institute (speleology is the study of caves). In our Creation magazine interview with Dr Silvestru,* he declared that he once believed the atheistic dogma I had been taught. It was through my Subscribers save! There is now another reason scientific work that I came to realize that the order and beauty with which the world is built couldn t possibly come from chaos and randomness I was sure there was a Designer. His wife, a prominent Romanian athlete, was a believer, and Dr Silvestru started attending his wife s church. In church one day, he received the Lord as his Savior, and the long years of his wife s prayers were answered. Once he became a Christian, he knew that he had to, as he puts it, tune up his scientific knowledge with the Bible. He quickly gave up the idea that the Earth was billions of years old. Creation magazine and other written materials (especially our Technical Journal see p.15) helped him realize that geological features we see around the world today could have happened rather quickly (e.g., caves did not require millions of years to form). Dr Silvestru declares that caves (such as the famous Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico) are post-flood in origin, meaning that, at the most, they can be 4,500 years in age (not 60 million years old). He has also shown through his research that stalagmites in caves do not require a long time to form. In addition to his research and writing duties for AiG, he is finding additional opportunities to spread the Creation/ Gospel message. In a recent to AiG, he reported on a current lecture tour of Romanian universities, muse- ums, libraries, and Bible schools: I remembered that in communist times, the regime had organized regular lectures by various academics aiming to save the poorly educated peasants from Christian(ity). I told myself it was about time to start a reverse crusade going into the main academic towns and talking about scientific creationism and how the evolutionary fraud was, and still is, forced upon young people. I had the enormous joy of discovering how much young people in Romania are attracted by the absolutely new (for them) ideas of creationism there was a conscience left under the evolutionist brain-prosthesis! None of this would have been possible if AiG wouldn t have provided this entirely new kind of life for me full-time creationist researcher and now lecturer. I hope you can (sense) the joy/hope that all of this is bringing to my heart. Dr Emil Silvestru Editor s note: Any financial support to help us go on funding Dr Silvestru s important research can be forwarded to AiG-US, with checks made payable to AiG, and will be earmarked for his research and personal support. *To read the full interview with Dr. Silvestru in Creation magazine, go to home/area/magazines/docs/v21n3_emil.asp. Dear AiG: I had never even heard of you until today when I popped open your Web site.* I am a 20 year old college student, and as you can imagine, I have been through the evolution onslaught in the public school system. I was even more happy to see that you have an evangelistic side. I pray much blessings for you. Your organization is amazing! M.M. (by ) Hooray for a wonderful Web site!* What a wonderful site for parents and grandparents to have available for helping us! A.H., Jacksonville, FL *

Page 8 Page 9 That s the intriguing theme of the fifth national Multi-ethnic/Cross-cultural Ministry Conference May 1-4: empowering the New Testament Church (i.e., The Bride ) to help solve the problem of racism in our society (which also exists even in the church).

Ken is one of the authors of the groundbreaking book One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism (see p.6).

5 Page 8 Page 9 That s the intriguing theme of the fifth national Multi-ethnic/Cross-cultural Ministry Conference May 1-4: empowering the New Testament Church (i.e., The Bride ) to help solve the problem of racism in our society (which also exists even in the church). Ken Ham will be joining a number of well-known speakers as they gather at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington (near Seattle). Ken is one of the authors of the groundbreaking book One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism (see p.6). This book also answers one of the most-asked questions being received at AiG do we believe in an original couple, Adam and Eve, and if so, how do we explain the different races today? Joining Ken at this national conference will be: Dr Charles Ware, president Ministry friend Dr Charles Ware President of Crossroads Bible College will be joining Ken Ham next May for a national Bible conference on racial reconciliation. Here comes the bride of Crossroads Bible College of Indianapolis; Pastor Ken Hutcherson, senior pastor at Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington (and a former professional football player); Dr Tony Evans, pastor of OakCliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas and president of Urban Alternative; and Rev Alex Montoya, pastor of the First Fundamental Bible Church of Monterey Park, California. A substantial conference discount can be obtained by registering by March 1 st. The fee includes some meals, a book by Pastor Hutcherson, and the opportunity to listen to eleven Bible-believing speakers from across America! For information, call (866) , or go to this Web site: abchurch.org. Prayer points Please pray that God will bless the construction team of the Creation Museum as it prepares for a March 17 groundbreaking on 47 acres west of the Cincinnati Airport. that AiG s various seminars and family camps (see p. 14) will be a blessing to those attending. Didyaknow? Did you know that the Book of Genesis is absolutely vital to a full understanding of New Testament doctrine? We once spoke to a pastor who proudly proclaimed that his was a New Testament church. He said that he didn t have to worry about the Old Testament. So we asked him, Pastor, do you believe in marriage? Why yes, he replied. Why do you believe in marriage? we asked. He said: Because Paul talks about marriage in the New Testament. Well that s interesting, we replied, because when Paul talks about marriage, such as in Ephesians, he goes back to Genesis to give the foundation for marriage. Then we asked, Do you believe in original sin? Why yes, he said. Well, we went on, in I Corinthians 15 where Paul is writing about the message of Jesus on the Cross and His death and Resurrection he goes back to Genesis to justify why Jesus died on the Cross. We continued, It s all very well to be a New Testament church, but you must realize that all of the New Testament is based in the Old Testament, and ultimately all of this is founded on Genesis 1 through 11. The first 11 chapters are the key to understanding the rest of Scripture. This is how we can fully understand the meaning of New Testament doctrine! (Taken from the February 16, 2001 broadcast of the Answers with Ken Ham radio program.) Answers for the critics! A recent Creation magazine article on the unreliability of C-14 dating has been roundly attacked by evolutionists. Creation had reported that fossil wood had been found with a C-14 age of thousands of years, but the basalt surrounding it was dated in the millions. In our current CEN Technical Journal, a detailed scientific analysis by Dr Andrew Snelling answers these critics. It also further buttresses a devastating challenge to evolutionary geologic dating methods. Also in this science journal: Exploding stellar evolutionary theory Phoenix Galaxy stars! Junk DNA: evolutionary discards or tools of God? Do we have vestigial structures? An article on the important research of AiG s Dr Emil Silvestru of Romania (see p.12 for related story). A one-year subscription (3 issues) is $37. Each journal contains at least 100 pages. Subscribe by calling, tollfree, (9-5 ET).

Whose word do you tremble at?

Whose word do you tremble at? A monthly newsletter equipping Christians to uphold the authority of the Bible from the very first verse Current headquarters CREATION MUSEUM GIFTS Figure includes cash in hand, faith-promise gifts, and