InSite, September 2009

A Fair Use of Science

We love science. From electrons to pulsars to erythrocytes, the staff at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum hope to instill the love for science in adults and children alike. After all, God gave us the ability to discover how amazing His handiwork is.

Despite this excitement for research, creationists often receive little recognition for the science that they do—no matter how important the discoveries may be.

We’d like to change that for Christian students.

If you are a student in grades 7–12, we invite you to participate in our upcoming Science Fair at the Creation Museum. Whether you attend a public or private school or are homeschooled, show us what you know.

This event is designed to teach students more about the scientific method and to allow them to present their research to creation scientists. You’ll be rewarded for your hard work—and you’ll learn more about God’s amazing creation along the way.

To be considered, you’ll need to submit a proposal for your work (including your hypothesis and methodology) by September 30, 2009. Before you start planning, make sure you take a moment to view our guidelines and read our FAQ.

If your project is selected, you’ll present your findings at the Creation Museum to a panel of judges for a chance at some exciting prizes during a live awards ceremony. You’ll also spend time with other students and families during workshops and live animal demonstrations.

To get the complete description, visit the Science Fair page on the Creation Museum site. We hope it encourages you to love science as much as we do.

What’s in Store for this Month?

The newest issue of Answers magazine is almost ready to ship! We’ve already run two sneak peeks (The Human Body—Wired for Extremes and Brain), so be sure to check them out and the just-posted table of contents for the issue. Look into your subscription options in our online bookstore and decide if the traditional hard copy is for you, or if you'd like to take the digital version for a test-drive.

Some people like their answers visual. And we want to make that happen.

Over the years, readers have given some pretty great feedback concerning the New Answers Book 1 and 2, and we thank you for it. But written text isn’t always the best medium—especially for groups—and some of us prefer to get our information via the TV screen rather than reading.

So, if reading just isn’t possible—or preferred—we’ll be offering the New Answers DVD 1 and 2 beginning this month in our online store. These informative videos hit all the biggest questions you may have asked or been asked: Where did Cain get his wife? How did dinosaurs fit on the Ark?

But you won’t find lectures here. These 48-minute DVDs feature highly stylized and engaging interviews with the authors themselves. Their answers are in short segments that are perfect for small group study, Sunday school class, or home discussions. Instead of just tossing out facts, the interviews help you understand the issue so that you can give brief, informed answers to the same questions when asked.

While the DVDs don’t replace the New Answers Books, they will give you another tool to build and nourish a biblical worldview. And that’s something worth watching.

Question of the Month

I’ve found statements on Wikipedia that are anti-creationist and grossly inaccurate. Can you fix these errors?

Wikipedia is a site that is maintained, written, and edited by Internet users under the supervision of mostly unpaid administrators. While content can be updated by anyone, the views expressed are reflective of the editors of any specific page. They are generally free to edit the content so long as their changes are backed by citations.

According to Wikipedia’s content guidelines, creation science is pseudoscience and a fringe belief, which means that, while information and descriptions are presented about creationists and creation research, those descriptions are biased against anything that is not naturalism and generally accepted by the secular scientific community.

As such, Answers in Genesis does not change information on Wikipedia, since our corrections would not be in line with the beliefs of many of those who provide content for the site within scientific and religious disciplines and because such changes would violate Wikipedia’s content guidelines for conflicts of interest. We have no desire to waste ministry time and resources (which are provided mainly through donations) to play a content “tug-of-war” with those who do not agree with us.

Instead, we would rather put our resources and time into producing excellent content for our own ministry websites. Our prayer is that God will use these articles to inform others who will also produce great content—which may one day have an effect on Wikipedia.

If you are passionate about the misinformation you’ve found, we certainly encourage you to get involved with Wikipedia to help enact changes to the site’s policies. The progress may be slow, but perhaps one day our supporters can change the content guidelines so that the the Darwin-only dogma gives way to balanced articles.

Finally, there are similar websites to Wikipedia that offer alternative perspectives on various issues (though, of course, with different starting beliefs):

• New World Encyclopedia
• Conservapedia
• CreationWiki
• Citizendium

(Have a question for InSite? Let us know! Be sure to mention that your question is intended for InSite.)

Did You Know?

Did you know that almost every month Answers in Genesis presents a featured answer on the front page of our site? These articles always cover timely and important topics—from Noah’s Ark (our most popular feature) to global warming. Not only do these featured answers provide you with an introduction to a far-reaching topic, they also provide you the opportunity to share answers with others. Take a look at the archive for more.