While the typical visitor to the Creation Museum is a Christian who probably already believes in creation, we do get visitors who are highly skeptical of creation and the Bible. This year, I had the opportunity to conduct a special workshop at the museum for about 50 students and their teachers involved in a class on evolution at Ohio State University. They were respectful and attentive, but most were clearly disinclined to consider even the possibility of creation. They seemed absolutely and unalterably convinced that random genetic change and natural selection explain the chance origin of everything in the biosphere.

I apparently failed to dissuade them of their views by pointing out the statistical improbability of evolution or the logical weaknesses of evolutionary claims and assumptions. They didn’t seem particularly impressed when I described the profound integrated complexity of various organs of our body. They didn’t even bother to challenge my claim that evolution contributes nothing to the understanding and advancement of empirical science. Evolutionism was their worldview, and I doubt any scientific arguments are likely to change this.

How, we might ask, can these bright young students and their teachers be so absolutely certain that unguided and goalless natural processes have produced everything in the cosmos? The answer is quite simple and can be summed up in two words: how else? After all, there can be no more compelling evidence for something than to be convinced there is no other way. Thus, if one is dead certain that everything that is real is material (matter, energy, time and space), then what other explanation for the origin of the cosmos and the biosphere is there than it all just happened by the intrinsic properties of nature? Since creation involves divine intervention and thus is not a purely naturalistic process, the very possibility of its occurrence is out of the question for the materialist.

I wasn’t surprised by the sort of questions I got from the group, but I was a bit surprised by one of their claims. It appeared to be a widely held opinion among them that evolution is completely compatible with Christianity. This gave me the opportunity to briefly compare and contrast the essence of evolutionism with the essence of biblical Christianity. I explained to them how Christianity critically depends on the real history of both the first Adam and the second Adam. I told them how Adam’s fall into sin led to suffering and death and how our salvation was achieved through the redemptive work of Christ. I concluded that any worldview that makes death both natural and permanent fundamentally undermines the very essence of Christianity.

I wish I could tell you of a mass conversion after my brief testimony, but such was not the case. Rather, they explained to me that the compatibility of evolution and Christianity should be obvious to anyone who understands that the Bible was written by pre-scientific people and is thus a collection of myths that should not be confused with science (i.e., evolution). They seemed puzzled that some Christians don’t understand this. They pointed out with great satisfaction all the Christians who do understand that the Bible is a book of myths. Didn’t I see, they asked, that once Christians understand that Christianity is just one of thousands of religions that have stemmed from the imagination of man, it removes all conflict between Christianity and evolution? What a terrible price to pay for compatibility!

I was recently invited to speak for a special event at the Creation and Earth History Museum in Santee, California. This museum incorporates the building and exhibits of the former Institute for Creation Research (ICR) museum. When ICR moved its operations to Dallas, Texas, their facilities in Santee were purchased by Tom Cantor, president of Scantibodies Laboratory—a major producer of antibodies, serums, and test kits for medical use. You will be pleased to learn that Mr. Cantor, a dedicated Christian and distinguished scientist, has not only kept the ICR museum open to the public, but has substantially increased its space and number of exhibits.

Prior to flying out to Santee, I learned that the museum and its invited speakers (Duane Gish, Steve Austin, David Hillaker and I) were to be the object of a protest by an organization known as the San Diego New Atheists (SDNA). The organizer of the protest was John Viggiano, an atheist who considers creationists to be “delusional.” Viggiano, who is an employee of Scantibodies Laboratory, is quoted in the East County Magazine (November 15, 2011) as saying that Cantor, a brilliant biochemist, founder and owner of Scantibodies Laboratory, is “providing bad science to the public.” This sort of thing gives arrogance a bad name.

In an announcement of the museum protest posted on Meetup.com (and quoted in Christianpost.com), Viggiano claimed that he hoped to “focus more on improving the public image of science than on criticizing creationism.” Confusing his perceived image of science with that of atheists, he claimed to be put off by “the angry atheist thing” and invited his fellow atheists to “come join me in a positive, upbeat protest.” During the course of the day, nearly 20 “positive” atheists showed up at the museum, though one had to be asked to leave when he repeatedly turned off the video monitors for the museum exhibits.

Most of the demonstrators never entered the museum to see the exhibits or hear the lectures, but rather stood on the sidewalk out front arguing with museum visitors. Many of the visitors, including some homeschooled children, seemed to genuinely enjoy arguing with the atheists. To the credit of all concerned (especially the security guards), the arguments remained intense but peaceful. I suspect that were it not for the well-publicized promise of a protest by atheists, the museum might not have attracted such an unexpectedly large overflow crowd.

A protest just wouldn’t be a protest without signs and placards, and they were much in evidence. One indignant atheist bore a sign asking, “Can we teach evolution in your church?” You can indeed teach evolution in a lot of liberal churches, but I gather he was miffed that conservative Christians would dare to teach creation in what he considers to be the atheist’s private domain of science. It is noteworthy that no atheist felt it necessary to carry a sign asking, “Can we teach evolution in your tax-supported public schools?” In an effort to correct the “angry atheist” image, other protestors waved signs with such “upbeat” and “positive” messages as “No to organized ignorance” and “Thou shalt not lie”—and this from the sort of folks who oppose public display of the Ten Commandments!

I guess it is not easy for atheists to be positive when they chose to be identified by what they don’t believe. But most people are more interested in what folks do believe than what they don’t believe. I assume that the atheist protestors do in fact believe in empirical science, but then so do Mr. Cantor and his invited creationist speakers, who hold earned degrees in science from top universities such as the University of California San Diego, University of California Berkeley, Penn State, and Brown.

Still, I almost have to admire the zeal of the atheists who stood out in the hot sun all day long on a sunny Saturday in southern California, determined in their purpose of convincing folks that there is no purpose. Sadly, there are many Christians who seem to lack such zeal, though they have a marvelous purpose in the redemptive work of Christ to share with everyone—including atheists—that will be to their great benefit both here and in eternity.

One of the “perks” of working at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum is that when you get sick you have a lot of people praying for your recovery. I few weeks ago, I woke up with what seemed at first to be an upset stomach, but as the day went on it became much worse. I went to the emergency room that afternoon, and the next day was committed to the hospital for a couple days of tests. By this time the Lord had been “pestered” with a lot of prayers (Luke 18:2–8) and my pain began to subside. I feel just fine now but it is still not clear what my problem was. It occurs to me that a lot of time and money was spent in an effort to determine just what it was that the Lord had healed me from. Still, I appreciate the wonderful care and concern I received in the hospital and I am well aware that the Lord often uses such means to accomplish His will for us.

While in the hospital, I was often asked what brought me to Kentucky (all my medical records were from St. Louis Missouri). This gave me an opportunity to discuss the mission of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum. I was amazed at how many of the nurses, medical technicians and other hospital personnel had either visited the museum or were planning to do so. It was clear that the vast majority, if not all, of the people caring for me were Christians. Of the four physicians that saw me while in the hospital, two openly expressed their belief in a Creator. Even the hospital itself was founded by Christians and is named after a Christian. This got me thinking—are there any atheist hospitals, built by atheists and staffed almost entirely by atheists? If so, I doubt they would measure up to a Christian hospital.

A recent study by Thomson Reuters, known for their “100 top hospitals” program, shows that church-run hospitals provide better quality care, and do so more efficiently than secular hospitals. Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president of the “100 Top Hospitals” programs at Thomson Reuters, says, “Our data suggest that the leadership of health systems owned by churches may be the most active in aligning quality goals and monitoring achievement of mission across the system.”

While I have been well served in the past by physicians who were unbelievers, I am thankful that at least for now in America I have the opportunity to choose Christian hospitals and physicians. Above all I am thankful that no one can ever take from me the Great Physician who heals both body and soul.

I often hear folks attending my workshops at the Creation Museum comment that “it takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in creation.” But “faith” may not be the right word for belief in either evolution or creation. Perhaps it would be better to say that “it takes more credulity to believe in evolution than creation.” The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines credulity as “readiness or willingness to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence.” The word credulity seems to perfectly fit belief in bacteria-to-man evolution. Faith, on the other hand, generally involves belief or trust in something or someone who has proven faithful.

The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is surprising to see nouns like “substance” and “evidence” used for things “hoped for” and “not seen.” But it requires just such a confident faith to believe that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Bible tells us how we gain a saving faith in this marvelous Gospel: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

But is faith required to believe in creation? For example, does it require faith for me to believe that the human eye is a product of intelligent design and that the designer is God? The only two candidates for this designer is God or man—and I know man didn’t do it. Indeed, man’s best effort so far at designing a total eyeball replacement is known as a “glass eye.”

The Bible tells us that the evidence for God’s handiwork in creation has been made so obvious to everyone that it can only be denied by suppressing what we know to be true:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18–20)

The hummingbirds that hover around the feeder outside my bedroom window every morning are all the physical evidence I need to know for a certainty the eternal power of God. Yet on my clock radio, the Ninety-Second Naturalist confidently assures me that the hummingbird is the smallest dinosaur ever to have evolved on earth—now to believe that takes credulity.

I have discovered that all the speakers here at AiG are blogging except me, and I am starting to feel guilty about it. So this is my first effort at blogging. My problem is that I love to speak but I hate to write. Speaking comes easily to me, but I find writing to be slow and painful. My wife (who is an excellent writer) advises me to write the same way I speak. But that isn’t going to work, is it? For starters, what do I do with my outrageous sense of humor? I may have to sit on that a bit.

One problem I won’t have is finding something to write about. When you get to be my age, you have had a lot of experiences in life and tend to become a raconteur. But I don’t just want to write about the past. Working here at the Creation Museum provides me with new and interesting experiences every, day and I will certainly try to keep you posted on some of these. In general, I will try to share my take on things related to creation, evolution, science, and theology. For my first blog, I have decided to write on this topic:

Retirement

Somehow, Ken had heard about my retirement and invited me to work for Answers in Genesis and to be part of the Creation Museum, which at the time was still in the planning stages. At first, I worked part-time traveling and speaking for Answers in Genesis out of St. Louis. But how was I to know that working part-time for Ken meant working 23 hours a day? After a few years of that, I figured I might as well go for the extra hour and work full-time. That involved selling my home in St. Louis, leaving my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren behind (they lived 10 minutes from my home), and moving to Petersburg, Kentucky.

Looking back, I really enjoyed all the years I spent on the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine. There I learned far more from my wonderful colleagues and students than I ever did from attending college and graduate school. I enjoyed a measure of success in both my teaching and my research. But I truly believe that all my years in science, education, and research were meant by God to prepare me for what I do now with Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum.

I have been told that the Bible doesn’t say anything about retirement, but we have to be careful here—the Bible doesn’t say anything about vacations either. Still, I have discovered that, for me, the secret to a happy retirement is to keep working as long as I am able. Some Christians seem to go through life worrying about what God’s plan is for their life, not realizing that they are already experiencing it. All God-pleasing work in the service of our family and our fellow man is God’s plan for us. I am just delighted that the Lord has saved the best for the last—both in this life and the next.