Creation Science Rebuttals
Answers in Genesis Daily Feature
Creation Museum Media Mania
30 March 2007
Review by Greg Neyman
With the opening of the Creation Museum only a few months away, Answers in Genesis is stepping up their media frenzy to draw attention to the museum.1 Several media outlets have already covered the museum, and more plan to in the coming weeks. This makes it an opportune time for Old Earth Ministries to give its view of the impact of the museum. We have already had media requests for comments, and we will be contacting the media outlets that give coverage to the museum.
The museum will undoubtedly have an impact upon people. Those who will benefit most from it are church members who are already young earth creationists. They will have their faith strengthened, and they will use the museum as an evangelism tool, inviting their non-Christian friends to come and see the museum. As a Christian, I will rejoice with Answers in Genesis when someone commits their life to Christ because of the museum...even if they are doing so based on the false pretenses of young earth creationism.
Those who will benefit least from the museum are the non-Christians, who are firmly grounded in their belief through modern science that the earth is billions of years old. They will see the museum, and recognize its faulty science, and will be turned away from the church. This will increase the already widening gap between the unchurched and the churched. This gap is the direct result of young earth creationism.
Because of the outspokenness of young earth ministries, many non-Christians perceive that the Bible claims that the earth is young. Based on this perception, they view the church to be full of backwards, anti-scientific people, who reject the obvious discoveries of modern science.
This stereotyping of the church occurs because of organizations like Answers in Genesis, which constantly promotes a young earth in the name of Christianity. They encourage people to dispute the claims of modern science, and provide their followers with material that is supposedly based upon science. Unfortunately, non-Christians view the very vocal young earth creationists, and presume that the young earth view is the majority view of the church.
From Answers In Creation's perspective, the museum will add to this stereotyping, and in the long run it will do more harm to the church than it will do good. Young earth creationists are unknowingly pushing the church further and further into a corner. Atheistic people and organizations are increasingly attacking the church, because they perceive that the findings of modern science cannot be reconciled with the Bible. And who can blame them?
It is true that modern science cannot be reconciled with the theory of a young earth. When you examine the claims made by Answers in Genesis, none of their arguments for a young earth are valid. Their claims are based on half-truths, deceptions, omissions, and most of all emotions. The claims are so transparent that they only evoke laughter in the scientific community. When young earth creationists claim that a person can either believe the Bible, or believe in billions of years, the choice is obvious to the non-Christian...they must reject the Bible.
However, it does not need to be this way. The main purpose of Answers In Creation is to provide rebuttals to the bad science used by Answers in Genesis and the other young earth ministries, and to demonstrate that science (with an old earth) can be harmonized with the Bible.
You may remember Galileo, and his idea that the earth was not the center of the universe (geocentrism). Although the church ridiculed him, he was eventually proven right, and the church adapted. In the same way, the church today needs to overcome the idea that the earth is young. In time, the church will adapt and survive, and we will no longer be seen as anti-scientific people with closed minds. Just like geocentrism, young earth creationism will eventually go away.
Today, the church is comprised of many individuals who accept an old earth. Most mainline denominations allow people to adopt whatever form of belief in creationism that they choose. The church is already moving away from young earth creationism, and the purpose of Old Earth Ministries is to educate people that the Bible and science is not an either/or choice...you can choose both.
NOTE: Media personnel may feel free to use anything in this article. If you require further information, please contact us via email.
1 Museum Media Mania, published at http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2007/0330museum.asp
Answers In Genesis 2007 Daily Features
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