How Is AiG Reaching into Public Schools?

As you may be aware, Answers in Genesis filed a discrimination suit in federal court earlier this month against Kentucky government officials. It is a stand we believe we had to take, for the sake of freedom of religion and the free exercise of religion as offered by the US Constitution.

Already there are moves in this nation to limit Christianity to within the walls of a church or people’s homes.

You see, the battle for religious freedom has already been lost in many areas in various parts of America, and if we don’t take a bold stand now, Christians will continue to lose more and more of their freedoms. Already there are moves in this nation to limit Christianity to within the walls of a church or people’s homes. It’s all part of a secularist campaign that has been slowly sweeping the culture. Many in our churches have been asleep.

Really, this battle has by and large already been lost in the public schools. The teaching of creation, reading of the Bible, and praying to the God of the Bible were once considered the norm in public schools in America (and much of the Western world), but now for all intents and purposes they are basically barred.

What happened to bring about this monumental shift? Well, a powerful minority of secularists with an anti-God agenda has used false propaganda while also capitalizing on a lack of biblical teaching in the culture. And within many churches, Christians have been convinced that any teaching in schools associated with the Bible was forcing a religion on students.

Sadly, most Christians do not understand that there is no neutral position in regard to these matters. The secularists have successfully indoctrinated generations of young people into believing that their naturalistic religion of evolution was on a par with the science that has built our wonderful technology. As a result, the intolerant secularists have largely been able to throw Christianity out of the public school system and replace it with the religion of naturalism (or atheism).

But this switch wasn’t just occurring in the public schools. The secularist wave has swept over state and federal governments, and also the court systems. Secularism is now overtaking the culture as a whole.

So when officials from the state of Kentucky denied Answers in Genesis the opportunity to participate in its tourism incentive program for the Ark Encounter because of our Christian message—an incentive that has been given to many companies and is available for any tourist facility that fulfills the requirements regardless of the message—we believed it was vital that we take a stand!

If Christians don’t make a bold stand against the increasing viewpoint intolerance of political leaders in this nation, more and more of our freedoms will be lost.

Because of the nature of the lawsuit Answers in Genesis has lodged against the state of Kentucky (with the governor of Kentucky as one of the defendants), we believe this will be a high-profile case that will set a very public precedent.

By taking the stand we have, AiG is praying that more and more Christians (especially Christian leaders) will also take a very public and bold position against the increasing intolerance of the secularists. In fact, these very secularists put tremendous pressure on state officials to deny the tourism tax incentive program to AiG, for they are so aggressively against any Christian facility that will disseminate the truth of God’s Word and the gospel to its visitors—and indeed the Ark Encounter will touch millions of lives.

Think about it! The secularists have been able to influence legislation and have by and large removed Christianity from public schools and have successfully eliminated many reminders of the Christian message (e.g., by getting crosses, Nativity scenes, and Ten Commandments displays removed from public places).

In addition to public schools, the secularists control much of the media (especially the major TV networks) and most of the natural history museums. One strategic way they have been imposing their anti-God religion on generations is to control the information people are allowed to receive.

At Answers in Genesis, we have been boldly and unashamedly doing our very best to be a resource to enable a flow of information concerning the truth of God’s Word.

At Answers in Genesis, we have been boldly and unashamedly doing our very best to be a resource to enable a flow of information concerning the truth of God’s Word—including the gospel—out to America and around the world.

Just over a year ago, we stepped out in faith to debate Bill Nye (TV’s “The Science Guy”) at the Creation Museum. In what I can only describe as miraculous, the world’s media gathered on site for this event. It’s been conservatively estimated that at least 15 million people have now watched my debate with Mr. Nye. As a result, there has been a greater flow of creation/gospel information through our website and resources to equip millions of people in apologetics.

Many people have told me how this debate opened up conversations with non-Christian friends that previously were not possible. And many young people have let me know that the debate emboldened them to stand publicly for the truth of God’s Word and to defend the Christian faith, so others would hear vital information previously censored from them.

Answers in Genesis is an information-rich ministry. The Lord has raised up many specialists in various branches of science and theology to counter the schemes of the devil to censor the truth being held back from generations of children.

I look on the ministry of Answers in Genesis as a reservoir. It’s a reservoir filled with faith-building information that confirms the truth of God’s Word in areas like geology, biology, astronomy, anthropology, theology, and so on. I’m reminded of this verse:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)

From this AiG reservoir, we have many “pipes” that allow a free flow of information to the people! These pipes include the AiG website (2.2 million users a month), hundreds of books, DVDs, and curricula. We also disseminate information through the Creation Museum (more than 2.3 million visitors in over 7 years), and we will be reaching an estimated 1.2 to 2 million visitors a year through the life-size Ark (open sometime in 2016).

Yes, the secularists may have been able to block millions of children from learning the truth. But God has raised up ministries like Answers in Genesis to keep the information flowing. For instance, while we may not be in the public school systems, AiG can still reach students through other pipes.

I was reminded of how children and teens are being censored from information while on a national radio talk show. The week I was writing this letter to you, I was interviewed on a large Christian radio network and answered questions from callers. Here is the transcript of what one lady said during her call to me on this national radio program:

Hi. I teach Sunday school class so I have a lot of his [Ken Ham’s] books that I have been using . . . I had a comment to tell you what happened to my granddaughter last week. She came home [from public school] . . . my granddaughter, eleven years old, was asked at school who their favorite person was. And of course they all went around the room and everyone told who their favorite person was . . . when they got to [my granddaughter] she said “God is my favorite person.”

And the teacher said, wait a minute. Stop it right there. He is not a real person, he is a just a mythological fictitious creature created by man’s mind . . . She [my granddaughter] just told the teacher that is not what she believes. She said I believe that God is real and that Jesus is real. And then I thought of this: you know, I am going to send one of those movies that I have, ‘cause I ordered 10 of them, those ones about . . . evolution vs creation [Evolution vs. God DVD] and I was going to have her [my granddaughter] take one of those to the teacher as a gift . . .

About 85–90% of kids from Christian families in America go to public school. Information is being censored from them in their classrooms—places that in most cases are churches of atheism. But through various means, Answers in Genesis is able to provide a flow of information to reach people (parents as well as students) so they will be equipped

with knowledge of the truth. In the radio caller’s situation above, this lady was going to use a DVD we provide to witness to the teacher.

Thank you for being part of our Answers in Genesis family and for your support of our many unique outreaches. We are excited that the Ark Encounter will open next year (and please pray we reach the needed funding goal)—and we are excited the Lord is enabling AiG to reach so many adults, teens, and children every day with the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis!