Reference
- CreationismUnderstood as a particular interpretation of the doctrine of creation, creationism refers to the belief that all species were created immediately by God rather than arising through evolution from pre-existing species, as taught by the scientific theory of natural selection. Young-Earth Creationists like H. Morris (1918–2006) defend a literal interpretation of Genesis as providing an accurate account of life’s origins, arguing that all species were created simultaneously no more than 10,000 years ago. Old-Earth Creationists like P. Johnson (b. 1940) do not take a definite position on the age of the earth and do not object to the idea that the creation of species was sequential rather than completed at one time. Creationist objections to the idea of evolution by natural selection centre on the charge that the theory is incompatible with the Christian doctrine of providence, since it views the emergence of species as a matter of chance rather than the product of deliberate divine action. Young-Earth Creationists supplement this objection with a commitment to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Perspectives
God vs. Darwin
In God vs. Darwin, Mano Singham dissects the legal battle between evolution and creationism in the classroom beginning with the Scopes Monkey trial in 1925 and ending with an intelligent design trial in Dover, Pennsylvania, in 2005. A publicity stunt, the Scopes Monkey trial had less to do with legal precedence than with generating tourism dollars for a rural Tennessee town. But the trial did successfully spark a debate that has lasted more than 80 years and simply will not be quelled despite a succession of seemingly definitive court decisions. In the greatest demonstration of survival, opposition to the teaching of evolution has itself evolved. Attempts to completely eliminate the teaching of evolution from public schools have given way to the recognition that evolution is here to stay, that explicitly religious ideas will never be allowed in public schools, and that the best that can be hoped for is to chip away at the credibility of the theory of evolution. Dr. Singham deftly answers complex questions: Why is there such intense antagonism to the teaching of evolution in the United States? What have the courts said about the various attempts to oppose it? Sprinkled with interesting tidbits about Charles Darwin and the major players of the evolution vs. creationism debate, God vs. Darwin is charming in its embrace of the strong passions aroused from the topic of teaching evolution in schools.
Coming to Grips with Genesis
Fourteen theological scholars address key topics related to the age of the earth, which is the crucial issue of debate in the church today regarding origins. Bringing to bear rigorous biblical, theological, and historical arguments in favor of a six-day creation, the global Flood, and a young earth, they also provide much-needed critiques of a number of contemporary old-earth interpretations of the book of Genesis.
Evolution vs. Creationism
More than eighty years after the Scopes trial, the debate over teaching evolution continues in spite of the emptiness of the creationist positions. This accessible resource, now completely revised and updated, provides an essential introduction to the ongoing dispute's many facets--the scientific evidence for evolution, the legal and educational basis for its teaching, and the various religious points of view--as well as a concise history of the evolution-creationism controversy. This second edition also contains a discussion of the legal history, updated to include the seminal case of Kitzmiller v. Dover as well as a new chapter on public opinion and media coverage.
Genesis Kinds
Mission statement - coresci.org Series Editor: Todd Charles Wood Core Academy of Science encourages young Christian scholars to explore the hardest problems in creation. Engineers sometimes classify problems as easy, hard, and impossible. Easy problems are trivial because they can be solved merely by applying known principles. Impossible problems cannot be solved no matter how hard we try. Hard problems are the problems in between that require the most work but yield the greatest rewards. Sometimes hard problems are accumulations of many easy problems, and sometimes they turn out to be impossible. When a hard problem is solved, though, it is widely celebrated. For Christians and especially young-age creationists, understanding creation has many "hard problems." Evidences of the great age of the universe and earth can be difficult to explain. Likewise with evidences of evolution. Creationists reject the conventional explanations that involve millions of years and humans evolving from animals, but alternative explanations that satisfy our scientific curiosity and our desire to remain true to the revealed Word of God are much rarer and not widely accepted. It is much easier to focus on the detection of error rather than the more difficult discovery of truth. This focus on error rather than truth pervades evangelical Christianity, because it's relatively easy. We all like the easy and impossible. We teach our children to recite verses from the Bible and answers to our catechisms, but when they ask difficult questions, we say, "Only God knows." We might even scold them for being impertinent or irreverent. Core Academy equips the next generation to tackle these great mysteries by first and most importantly helping young scholars to develop a bold, confident faith. All too often, scholars who face challenging puzzles become disillusioned and stray from the faith. Our first goal, then, must be enriching and nurturing strong faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Creator.
Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics
The last decade saw the arrival of a new player in the creation/evolution debate--the intelligent design creationism (IDC) movement, whose strategy is to act as "the wedge" to overturn Darwinism and scientific naturalism. This anthology of writings by prominent creationists and their critics focuses on what is novel about the new movement. It serves as a companion to Robert Pennock's Tower of Babel, in which he criticizes the wedge movement, as well as other new varieties of creationism. The book contains articles previously published in specialized, hard-to-find journals, as well as new contributions. Each section contains introductory background information, articles by influential creationists and their critics, and in some cases responses by the creationists. The discussions cover IDC as a political movement, IDC's philosophical attack on evolution, the theological debate over the apparent conflict between evolution and the Bible, IDC's scientific claims, and philosopher Alvin Plantinga's critique of naturalism and evolution. The book concludes with Pennock's "Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught in the Public Schools."
The Creationists
In light of the embattled status of evolutionary theory, particularly as "intelligent design" makes headway against Darwinism in the schools and in the courts, this now classic account of the roots of creationism assumes new relevance. Expanded and updated to account for the appeal of intelligent design and the global spread of creationism, The Creationists offers a thorough, clear, and balanced overview of the arguments and figures at the heart of the debate. Praised by both creationists and evolutionists for its comprehensiveness, the book meticulously traces the dramatic shift among Christian fundamentalists from acceptance of the earth's antiquity to the insistence of present-day scientific creationists that most fossils date back to Noah's flood and its aftermath. Focusing especially on the rise of this "flood geology," Ronald L. Numbers chronicles the remarkable resurgence of antievolutionism since the 1960s, as well as the creationist movement's tangled religious roots in the theologies of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Adventists, among others. His book offers valuable insight into the origins of various "creation science" think tanks and the people behind them. It also goes a long way toward explaining how creationism, until recently viewed as a "peculiarly American" phenomenon, has quietly but dynamically spread internationally--and found its expression outside Christianity in Judaism and Islam.
Biblical Creationism
The leading author/apologist for young-earth creationism surveys Bible passages relating to events or themes recorded in Genesis 1-11, and summarizes and organizes biblical and noncanonical Jewish works. Morris also defends the view that records were kept from the time of Adam and includes implications for scripture use not commonly considered.
Creation vs. Evolution: Is Genesis Relevant? with Bryan Osborne
- Creation vs. Evolution: Is Genesis Relevant? with Bryan OsborneWhat is happening in America? Even though there are more Christian resources, ministries, and schools in America today than ever before, it only takes a brief look at our culture to see that it is becoming less “Christian” every day. And it’s not just America; it’s the entire Western world.
Creationism
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
In the 1970s, fundamentalists developed Creationism, presenting it as science. The Creation Museum in Kentucky presents dinosaurs as coexisting with humans.
Creation: The Earth is a Witness
- Creation: The Earth is a WitnessWatch "The Creation: The Earth is a Witness," a day-by-day account of the biblical creation week, beginning with darkness before God created light and ending with Moses, the author of the Genesis account of creation, and his son, worshipping God on the seventh-day Sabbath.
Online Reference
- Arguments Christians Shouldn’t UseWhy would we advise against using some arguments that appear to support creation? Simply put, some arguments are wrong, even if what they are arguing for is ultimately right.
- Can Teachers Teach Creation Legally?Darwinists promote the myth that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned the teaching of creation. Yet the National Center for Science Education, the leading advocate of teaching evolution in government schools, admits that the courts have established only five basic standards:
- Did Jesus Say He Created in Six Literal Days?A very important question we must ask is, “What was Jesus’ view of the days of creation? Did He say that He created in six literal days?”
- Genesis—The Original Myth BusterGod gave us His account of creation, the Fall, and early history for a purpose. But what is it—another well-told myth, a sly story with a theological twist, or true history that demolishes all alternatives? The contrast between Ancient Near Eastern myths and Scripture leaves us with no doubts.
- The Lie: Evolution/Millions of YearsTwenty-five years ago, Ken Ham, president and founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, published The Lie: Evolution. In The Lie, Ken drew attention to the destructive effects that evolutionary ideas and millions of years have on the gospel, the church, and scriptural authority in the culture as a whole. This year, Ken decided to revise, expand, and update this bestselling book. He also retitled it to The Lie: Evolution/Millions of Years. But the question still stands: What exactly is the lie?
- Old-Earth CreationismWhen believers attempt to add evolution and millions of years to Genesis, they lay down a foundation of death and suffering on which to build their worldview. If Christians believe the lie that Genesis cannot be trusted, they are paving the way for the trustworthiness of the gospel message to be called into question.
- Young-Earth CreationismScripture plainly teaches that salvation is conditioned upon faith in Christ, with no requirement for what one believes about the age of the earth or universe. Even though it is not a salvation issue, the belief that earth history spans millions of years has very severe consequences.
Six Days, the Age of the Earth, and the Authority of Scripture with Ken Ham
- Six Days, the Age of the Earth, and the Authority of Scripture with Ken HamWhere Did a Young-earth Worldview Come From? Simply put, it came from the Bible. Of course, the Bible doesn’t say explicitly anywhere, “The earth is 6,000 years old.” Good thing it doesn’t; otherwise it would be out of date the following year.