'Evangelist Divides Town'
(Or should that be:
Anti-Creationists Expose Totalitarian Streak,
Make Fools of Themselves?)
By AIG Executive Director Ken Ham, by permission as granted in the Answers In Genesis newsletter, January 1997, volume 4, issue 1.
Note: My comments in brackets [like this] - EJB.
[The article is referring to the plan to build a privately funded, world class, natural history museum complex, tentatively named "Genesis Park," based on a biblical framework for scientific interpretation, relying on privately raised charitable donations rather than coercive government taxation to support itself.]
News of the humanist opposition to our creation museum even reached the Australian newspapers, with headlines such as "Evangelist divides town," and "Aussie preacher divides U.S. county."
[In a survey 96% of the county supported the privately funded museum, the only "division" is with the totalitarian humanists shrieking in the media.]
[Mr. Ham is a former public school science teacher, and while he refers to himself as a "creation evangelist," he is not a "preacher." He is not a pastor nor does he have degrees in theology or ministry, despite his ample knowledge of Scripture and theology vis-a-vis creation.]
But wait: it gets worse! The report stated: "Some fear [apparently the media is relying here on mental institution inmates] that AIG plans to build a compound similar to the Free Men who were involved in a stand-off with the FBI in Montana earlier this year!" [Talk about less-than-subtle propaganda.] The report then stated that AIG has been accused of using "heavy-handed, even threatening tactics..."
[Like what? Asking supporters to send letters of support for the museum to the county commissioners?? What about the blatant lies and crass propaganda (as just mentioned) by their opponents and the media? What about the heavy-handed legal threats of the ACLU and others? What about the satanists who declared they would plant satanic symbols around the property if approval was given? What about the hate mail and death threats and abusive faxes (see item #2 under "Comic Relief" at the bottom of the Anti-Creationism page)?]
And it gets worse still: "Mr. Ham admits he was under investigation for fraud by the Australian police." Well, I have NEVER been under any such investigation. What is true is that Australian humanists made false allegations of fraud against our sister organization in Australia, but the Australian police totally exonerated them!
[The humanists in Australia (who are presumably behind the dishonest and absurd statements Ken is quoting) persist in lying and making foundationless claims in attempts to discredit creationists. They are apparently the darlings of the media since no matter how outrageous their lies the media continues to listen to them! For more information regarding these claims and one of the men behind them, see information here, and this list of rebuttals, and here as well.]
The day these newspaper reports appeared, I was called from Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) for a live interview during the national news. As well as accusing me of splitting a rural community [96% support is a "split"?], the reporter asked about our "compound" [nice to know all of Australia had a chance to witness the delusional character of some of their television press] and whether it would be similar to the Free Men of Montana!
This sort of publicity in America as well as Australia, particularly fueled by the secular press, has certainly resulted in a lot of misinformation here in the Cincinnati metropolitan area about AIG and the museum project.
Even though the professionals on the zone change committee of the planning commission of Boone County unanimously recommended our zone change request, declaring that our proposed development was actually an improvement on the country's plan, the Fiscal Court, claiming our request didn't fit with the plan, voted against the proposal. We accept this as God's direction, and excitedly anticipate His leading as we examine other locations.
Running Scared
During an interview on a San Francisco radio station concerning the vote by the Fiscal Court against our rezoning request for Genesis Park, the interviewer stated it well:
"It seems to me that for the humanists to rally such opposition to your project, they must be running scared of what you have to say. The Christian arguments must be very powerful for them to react this way."
After the negative vote, one of the local television stations interviewed various people including the atheist/humanist lawyer who vehemently opposed our project. His comments were broadcast on evening news:
"I think this is a good example of how citizens can band together to defeat outsiders [sic] coming in to try to impose their own agenda on the people of this county." He didn't say, of course, that he wants HIS agenda imposed.
[FACT: Ken and the AIG staff lives in and around Boone County themselves. Many of the staff are no doubt longtime locals. How long do you have to live there to not be an "outsider"? It is the totalitarian humanists who are imposing their own agenda when they will not allow AIG to spend its own money on its own land in a manner that violates no law. And don't tell me the ivory tower types and satanists who drove an hour or more to disrupt the hearings for the proposed rezoning were "insiders".]
[If someone in the county doesn't like it, they don't have to visit the museum. Unlike the humanists, Christians will not coercively force entire student populations to attend religious propaganda exhibits as our public schools nearly universally do now. As an aside, everyone knows that the museum would be a major economic boon to Boone county (pardon the pun :-). If I was a Boone County merchant, I'd be about ready to sue the ACLU and its control-freak lackeys right about now!]
The Church needs to wake up to the fact that it's not just the public schools where humanists have censored Christianity, but now they are attempting to do this in the culture as a whole.
So why are these humanists "running scared" of ministries like ours? Why are they so opposed to us?
I want to remind you of two diagrams that we often use in our talks and publications to summarize the real battle between humanism and Christianity. We call these the "castle diagrams." Also keep in mind (although it is obvious) that the "guns" on these diagrams represent the battle of minds and ideas. (I say this because I was accused on a television program by the person quoted above as one who was promoting guns and violence beause of these diagrams.) [Isn't it interesting how some anti-Christians falsely accuse us of stupid "literalism" regarding the Bible, while exhibiting it themselves?]
The Problem
When people build their thinking on evolution (i.e., that man decides truth independent of revelation), then ultimately a person can defend any idea he wants to. In other words, someone could justify abortion or homosexual behavior for instance. This is NOT to say that evolution causes these things; but if there is no absolute authority, then people can logically build any lifestyle they want if they can get away with it in their culture.
When people build their thinking on the Word of God, then the structure of Christianity and its doctrines such as sin, marriage, clothing and so on , can be built.
The humanists recognize the foundational nature of the battle. They are out to destroy the foundation of the authority of the Word of God beginning with Genesis, which is foundational to the rest of the Bible.
Sadly, much of the Church recognizes that something is wrong with the culture, and they "shoot" at the issues, and even at their own foundation, because many have compromised with evolutionary ideas. Most don't seem to realize that the reason for the erosion of Christianity and the increase in humanist philosophy is because of this foundational battle.
Many Christians think that what are illustrated in the balloons are PROBLEMS in our culture, but in reality they are the SYMPTOMS of the foundational problem.
The Solution
The reason the humanists so oppose the creation ministry and run scared of our proposed museum is because the message the message we bring hits at the very foundation of humanism! They recognize the enormous threat this is to their movement, and thus they will do their utmost -- or say anything -- to oppose us.
With all the opposition and publicity this project and our ministry received, we believe God has something special in store for us. The museum, God willing, will go ahead! After all, as Joseph said, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Genesis 50:20).
Sincerely,
Ken Ham
Return to Anti-Creationism Page
Return
to Creation Science