Into the Lion’s Den

Thousands of public school educators from every state in the USA descended upon the Los Angeles Convention Center (in California, USA) for the National Education Association (NEA) annual convention in July 2001. Along with many other caucuses, the NEA-Creation Science Educators’ Caucus (CSEC) met for the sixth year in a row with support from hundreds of concerned citizens (many of whom are educators). Answers in Genesis (AiG) and the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) support the CSEC by providing creation resources to pass out to any educator willing to receive materials. This year, ICR donated 1,500 Mount St Helens: Explosive Evidence for Catastrophe videos and AiG donated 2,500 copies of Answers to the 4 Big Questions, along with several cases of Creation: Facts of Life, The Revised and Expanded Answers Book, Refuting Evolution (of which we passed out 1,700 copies two years prior) and The Lie: Evolution, plus thousands of copies of the X-Nilo Files and many other outstanding creation/science resources.

Amazingly, in the first three hours of the convention, the caucus staff passed out 1,000 review copies of the Mount St Helens video–all they haad on hand! The videos were eagerly received by individuals stopping by the booth. One of the caucus staffers called ICR and asked for an emergency shipment of 500 more Mount St Helens videos. Their general manager transported the videos himself, meeting caucus representatives half way between Los Angeles and their Santee, CA home base.

T-Rex a “big hit” at NEA Convention.

Every year the CSEC has an interesting and eye-catching booth. This year, it was stylishly decorated with a scale model of Noah’s Ark, and impressive sculptures of a Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus rex head. The dinosaur models are always a hit, with many people wanting their pictures taken with the models. In fact, last year the NEA newspaper had a photo of an AiG dinosaur model featured on the front page (without acknowledging the CSEC, though!).

Over the past three years, the opposition to the CSEC has been strong and vituperative. Strangely, this year there was no vehement vocal opposition. Although there was opposition, no one wanted to engage in debate or discussion of ideas or issues. Many merely walked by the booth, dogmatically asserting their belief in evolution without engaging in discourse with any of the caucus representatives. The caucus staff would never turn down the opportunity to debate evolutionists and defend creation at the NEA Convention. Many times those who are witnessing the debate learn far more than the skeptics who are being debated. The key is to be ready to be used of God in the defense and articulation of the faith and the Gospel of Grace!

The lack of opposition was never-the-less beneficial, as the caucus had more time to talk to people with honest questions. The CSEC representatives were able to encourage Christian educators in the public schools to stand for and teach good science, interpreting the data within the correct, Biblical framework of history, and expose evolutionism and long-ages belief as false.

We appreciate those who pray for the CSEC each year (next year, Deo volente, the NEA convention will be held in Dallas, Texas) and wish to thank AiG and ICR for their generous donations. Many of the books and booklets handed out at the convention clearly explain the Gospel–the Mount St Helens video points people to Christ, too! Wonderfully, the Gospel of grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ was shared through the materials and also personally by caucus members. Please continue to pray that God will use the materials handed out to impact the USA with the truth of God’s Word!