Creation Science Rebuttals

Answers in Genesis Daily Feature

A Tour of the Creation Museum: Biblical Authority and Relevance Rooms

Published as an AiG Daily Feature on 5 February 2013. This review published on 15 Feb 2013

This article by "AiG Staff" writers promotes the young earth message contained in two rooms of the Creation Museum, the Biblical Authority and Relevance rooms.¹(To view these rooms, or any other area of the museum, see Answers in Genesis virtual tour page.)

Biblical Authority Room

First the author highlights the entrance to the room, where the visitor examines a display about "two different starting points - God's Word or man's word." This is the first flaw in this part of the museum. Young earth creationists often state that they stand on God's Word, not man's. However, God's Word means different things, depending on who is reading and interpreting it. The interpretation of God's Word, which YECs understand to mean a young earth, is not actually what God's Word says, it's the way young earth people interpret it. When a YEC states that they stand on God's Word, that's not true...they are actually standing on their interpretation of the Word, therefore they are in reality standing on man's word.

I also like to say that I stand on God's Word, yet I believe in an old earth. It's the same Word, but a different interpretation. I recognize that my interpretation is open to error, since I am a man, and I'm not perfect. Yet YEC's feel that their interpretation is perfect, therefore they have raised their interpretation to the level of God's Word...the Word is perfect and inerrant, and so is their interpretation of it.

Most of the rest of this room's description is good. They give examples of how many people throughout history have relied upon the Word. This is also an inspiration to me as an old earth creationist. As guests move toward the next room, they are told of some attacks upon the Scriptures. They state that one of the greatest attacks today is about the age of the earth. They state, "Christians need to recognize that the teaching of millions of years is actually an attack on the Word of God and an attempt to undermine its authority." As a Christian who believes in both the Bible and millions of years, I fully accept the authority of the Bible, and find this statement to be one of arrogance. Again, they view people who don't believe in a young earth to be ones who reject the authority of the Bible. Sorry, I'm not rejecting the authority of the Bible, I'm rejecting their interpretation of the Bible...I'm rejecting the word of man (YEC's), not the Word of God. After all, that's what they tell their visitors to do when they enter the room, to believe God, not man. I'm actually following AiG's instructions...too bad AiG doesn't follow their own words.

Biblical Relevance Room

This room shows a "partial history of how the Scriptures have been compromised through the ages." Again, properly viewed, this should be understood as "how the YEC interpretation has been compromised." The first part of the room contains a display about Luther, and Gutenberg's printing press, which need no comment. The final portion of the room gets to the 'compromising' of the Word.

They state "As visitors exit this room, they are left with a somber reminder of the dangers of compromising God’s Word with man’s ideas." Since YEC is an idea from man's interpretation of the Word, that would also mean that YEC itself is a compromise position. Unfortunately, Answers in Genesis and their followers are blind to this truth, as their arrogance about being right prevents them from considering anything contrary to their interpretation. If only they would defend the Word, in the same way that they defend their "interpretation" of it.

The final example is that of Charles Templeton, who left the Christian faith because of evolution and millions of years. The reason he left the church is the same reason that young people from young earth church's leave the church today...they find out that the earth is indeed billions of years old, and they feel they have no choice but to abandon Christianity. When they were young, they are told the earth is young, and there is no other alternative. How different would Templeton's life have been, and the many young people today who are abandoning YEC, if they were explained an alternative way of interpreting the Scriptures, in which you can accept millions of years, and believe in the Bible. Clearly, the YEC position of, "Either you believe in a young earth, or you don't believe the Bible," is a failure, and the church is paying the price today.

Conclusion

The author ends by calling the church to a reformation, by making "Scripture alone the authority for every believer's life." However, in AiG's eyes, this is not true unless you believe their interpretation. A person like me, who believes in the authority of the Bible, and inerrancy, and an old earth, is a heretic who in their minds rejects the authority of the Bible. The reformation they are calling for will never happen, as more and more people abandon young earth creationism.

¹ Answers in Genesis website - http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2013/02/05/creation-museum-biblical-authority-relevance

If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.

Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.

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