Arizona State University Professor Accuses Christians of “Child Abuse”

Are you committing a form of “child abuse”? If you are teaching your child that God’s Word in Genesis is true, then Dr. Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics and director of the Origins program at Arizona State University, believes you are indeed committing child abuse. Actually, this is not the first time this charge has been leveled against creationists. We have seen increasing attempts by atheists (like Krauss) to malign and marginalize Bible-believing Christians by making such outrageous accusations. Because these secularists cannot prove their atheistic beliefs about origins scientifically, the best tactic they can come up with is to malign Christians through emotionally charged and baseless accusations.

In an interview with Big Think, a group that describes itself as “a knowledge forum featuring the ideas, lessons, stories and advice of leading experts from around the world,” Dr. Krauss explained his remarkably negative view of teaching biblical creation.1 He goes to the point of calling the teaching of biblical creation a form of “child abuse” and makes the fallacious claim that if children are not taught evolution, technological advancement will cease. Such a charge is ridiculous. This is yet another example of a university professor who just does not fully understand science, or if he does, he does not want the public to know how he is portraying science incorrectly. By attempting to connect evolution (meaning “big-bang”-molecules-to-man evolution) with “technological advancement,” he is mixing historical science (beliefs about the past) with operational (observational) science, which is what is used to develop our modern technology.

Dr. Krauss is a prolific author and a respected cosmologist in the secular world. Sadly, he operates from an atheistic worldview and thus accepts evolutionary ideas as fact. He has become known for his book A Universe from Nothing, in which he makes his beliefs clear:

In the interests of full disclosure right at the outset I must admit that I am not sympathetic to the conviction that creation requires a creator, which is at the basis of all the world’s religions.2

In other words, for complete clarity—he is an atheist. Knowing that Krauss is “not sympathetic” to the idea that there is a Creator God, it comes as no surprise that he also opposes outright the goal of parents who wish to educate their children that God created the universe and everything in it.

Wild “Scientific” Ideas

Dr. Krauss argues against Christianity and biblical creation in A Universe from Nothing and also in his lectures, claiming that the universe already had the potential for creation on its own. He explains that he is not concerned about the implications of there being no God:

Defining away the question by arguing that the buck stops with God may seem to obviate the issue of infinite regression, but here I invoke my mantra: The universe is the way it is, whether we like it or not. The existence or nonexistence of a creator is independent of our desires. A world without God or purpose may seem harsh or pointless, but that alone doesn’t require God to actually exist.3

For Krauss, it is evolutionary ideas that play the role of “god” in the universe. We at Answers in Genesis have noted many times before how the evolutionary worldview is really a religion, for it is a set of beliefs intended to explain the world we live in and how it operates without God. Some secularists vehemently voice their opposition to our assertion, but Dr. Krauss’s statements praising evolutionary ideas make it all the more clear that evolutionary beliefs comprise a form of religion for those who hold them. By the way, if this is a world “without God or purpose,” why does Krauss even bother to spend so much time and energy attacking Christians, even travelling to the Creation Museum to stand outside its gates to protest its opening in 2007? What “purpose” is there in all that activity?

In the beginning of the Big Think interview, Dr. Krauss claims, “It amazes me that people have preexisting notions that defy the evidence of reality … and one of them is the notion of creationism.” In other words, he believes that biblical creation is absurd. So he puts forth what he considers to be his superior idea.

During a lecture a couple of years ago, Krauss presented his belief about human origins in a quote that has been widely circulated. Of course, his view is best described as wild and blasphemous, rather than as a viable alternative to the clear historical account provided in Genesis:

Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn't be here if stars hadn't exploded, because the elements—the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life—weren't created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode.4

We are all “stardust,” he argues—the result of stars “kind enough to explode.” That explanation, for Krauss, supposedly makes more sense than an infinite Creator God who not only created the universe but also left an eyewitness account for us in His Word. But Dr. Krauss goes a step further—he ends his statements with outright blasphemy (which was met with collegial laughter from the audience):

So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.5

Not only has Dr. Krauss attacked the God of the Bible, denying His existence and His creative work, but he has also directly attacked the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In fact, his view treats stars as though they are objects of worship because he believes they have given life to humanity. Stars that are “kind enough” to give human beings life; Krauss seriously considers this to be a more reasoned belief about origins than what the Bible has to say. There is a verse that sums up Krauss and his beliefs:

Professing to be wise, they became fools. (Romans 1:22).

While Dr. Krauss’s mocking statements about Christianity are infuriating to believers, his ardent atheism makes them an expected (albeit unfortunate) outcome. And, really what he claims only reinforces the truth of Romans 1:18, that there is a real spiritual battle going on:

. . . who suppressthe truth in unrighteousness [emphasis added].

The Bible makes it clear that the enemies of God will actively suppress the truth. They will fight with all their might against what they know in their hearts to be true! If this truly were a universe without purpose, why would these atheists bother to fight like this? Why would it matter at all to them?

Following the Crowd

There has been a rash of statements from evolutionists claiming (falsely) that technological advancement is tied to a belief in evolution and millions of years. In his Big Think interview, Dr. Krauss claimed that teaching biblical creation to students would cost them their competitiveness in the workforce:

Technology and biotechnology will be the basis of our economic future, and if we allow nonsense to be promulgated in the schools, we do a disservice to our students, a disservice to our children. And we’re guaranteeing that they will fall behind in a competitive world that depends upon a skilled workforce able to understand and manipulate technology and science.6

Krauss’s fallacious idea is not uncommon. Last year, for instance, former children’s TV show host Bill Nye “The Science Guy” pleaded with parents during a Big Think video not to teach their children creation, because it would inhibit scientific progress:

And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine, but don't make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can—we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.7

Similarly, Jacob Tanenbaum, a fourth- and fifth-grade science teacher and writer for Scientific American, recently claimed that Americans are losing their edge scientifically because of a disbelief in evolutionary ideas:

The danger is that 40 percent of the American electorate [referring to his earlier claim that 40 percent of US adults believe that Genesis is literal] seems to have forgotten what science is. Considering that our nation put a man on the moon and invented the airplane and the Internet, this development is extraordinary. 8

Even college students are espousing this erroneous connection between evolutionary beliefs and operational science. Zack Kopplin, the 19-year-old Louisiana activist now studying in Texas who is intent upon keeping biblical creation out of public schools, made this claim in a recent interview:

He worries that, if Louisiana (and Tennessee, which also has a similar law) insists on teaching students creationism, students will not be the ones discover the cure to AIDS or cancer. “We won’t be the ones to repair our own damaged wetlands and protect ourselves from more hurricanes like Katrina,” he says.9

So Dr. Krauss is rather late to the game on this one. Indeed, it seems as though he is just trying to fit in with others who have already made a name for themselves with this outlandishly false evolution-technology connection. But what exactly makes assertions like these problematic? In short, they demonstrate a general ignorance of the difference between operational (observational) science and historical science, as we stated above.

Operational science is observable, testable, and falsifiable. It is the kind of science one practices when engineering buildings or bridges, or when designing computers or space shuttles. Operational science is what advances society technologically. And whether a person is a Christian or an atheist, that person can be a great scientist when using operational science.

Since “big-bang”-molecules-to-man evolution is not observable, testable, or falsifiable, it is very different from operational science. Instead, the evolutionary worldview falls under the umbrella of historical science (or origins science)—ideas about the origin of the universe. Biblical creation is also historical science, but the evidence that we have available to us in the present day and is gathered through operational science actually confirms the biblical creation-based worldview and does not confirm evolutionary beliefs.

Secularists like Krauss, however, want the word science applied generally to both operational and historical science, without making the distinction. This results in confusion and much misunderstanding, which we believe is a very deliberate attempt by secularists to deceive the public into falsely thinking that the belief in evolution and technology go hand in hand. Furthermore, they relegate biblical creation only to the category of “religion.” That way, Krauss and others can try to convince people that believing in creation means rejecting “science.” Ultimately, this is a massive propaganda campaign to promote the religion of atheism.

Who’s Doing the Real Damage?

Lawrence Krauss may falsely claim that educating children on the history presented in the Bible is a form of “child abuse,” but who is really being abusive here? The Word of God not only gives us the true history of the universe, but it also reveals the one and only hope for humanity: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr. Krauss is so opposed to a belief in God that he would very likely wish to see the gospel withheld from children and adults, and instead see them educated in the anti-God religion of evolution and millions of years. In exchange for hope and true life, children (and adults) would be taught they are just living a purposeless existence, believing that they are no different from the animals (and nothing but stardust). That view is much closer to any form of “child abuse” than the teaching of biblical creation.

Indeed, Dr. Krauss will continue his crusade against biblical creation specifically and the God of the Bible generally in a new documentary called The Unbelievers, set for release this year. In the film, he works alongside Richard Dawkins, another well-known atheist, to “explore the importance of science and reason in the modern world—while taking aim at religion.”10

Dr. Krauss will be held to account by the Creator of the universe for his blasphemous words and his intentional misleading of generations of children. Please pray that he repents before he faces that judgment.

Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:29–31)