The next frontier of discovery in the ever-forward mission of the Church to “take every thought captive” and outflank the enemy in the cultural battle for the day is paleontology. Last year, a team of home school paleontologists, Creation Expeditions, invited Vision Forum to join them in search of the skull of a world-class Allosaurus (the follow-up to a prior dig they had conducted which unearthed the articulated remains of most of this monster). The remarkable discovery of that skull and its partial restoration, documented in our feature film Raising the Allosaur, is a testimony to the power of God to bless those families with a vision for discipleship and dominion.

Day after day, Vision Forum has received a deluge of comments and letters from some of the thousands of children who have watched the film and wrote to share their utter delight, their gratitude before the Lord, and newly-inspired vision to be a dinosaur discoverer for the glory of God. (One very young, lisping boy recently told me: “I watch it over and over. It is my favorite film ever.”)

Mark and Peter work on the Allosaur skull

Two central figures in the film Raising the Allosaur are Mark and Peter DeRosa. These boys are genuine prodigies and future leaders. Before reaching their twenty-first birthdays, these boys have distinguished themselves and experienced splendid victories in this remote, but oh-so-important field of science — victories which include the discovery and excavation of an Allosaur; the discovery, excavation, and restoration of a significant Columbian Mammoth Jaw; and most recently, the discovery of an Edmontosaurus, complete with skin imprints. Many paleontologists twice their age might only hope to experience such finds in a lifetime.

But these boys represent a different type of prodigy than the type we are accustomed to seeing: Schooled in solid reformed theology, trained since their childhood in the field with their father, well-read, and self-motivated, these boys are articulate, able spokesmen for the cause of creationism. More importantly, they are men of honor, committed to keeping covenant with their family. They are devoted to, and in every respect honor their mother and father.

It is because of young men like these that home educators are on the front lines of the battle in our cultural war. The best of them are innovative, flexible, principled, and creative. Not content to eat the dregs from the table the world has to offer, they are pressing forth the Crown rights of Christ in areas long occupied by the enemy. Most importantly, they understand that advancing the Kingdom begins first at home, before one is even qualified or capable of bringing it to the field.

Home educators bring state-of-the-art technology to their field work. Here, a home school father and GPS professional places the Colorado dig site on a professional grid system

And few areas of creation studies need principled and capable leadership as badly as that of paleontology. One-part preacher, one-part Indiana Jones, this new breed of boy is going to set the world on fire for the glory of God. These are the men who will be our future leaders, the boys who will inherit a legacy of leadership from the past generation and who must build the temples that their fathers conceived, but never completed. They are boys who must bring ever-higher ethical standards to their field of work and not yield to the lure of lucre or compromise on the ground of philosophical expediency. (This is crucial: Sadly, creationism — like everything else out there in this fallen world — has its fair share of hucksters and charlatans more interested in making a buck through sensationalism, than advancing the kingdom of God.)

But whenever God raises up such a generation, there always arises a breed of men — envious and consumed with greed — who would stand and revile the great work of God in these young men. Over the past few months, we have heard as some of the more unscrupulous of these individuals shout (paraphrase): “It’s a lie, how could a bunch of home school kids do this;” and “Give it to us, not these kids, they will destroy the Allosaur, they already have.”

What makes these charges especially preposterous is the fact that the lab work done on the Allosaur has been examined by at least one renowned, world-class expert in the field of dinosaur restoration who declared the work of these young home schooled scientists to be excellent and consistent in every way with industry standards. He was so impressed that he tried to recruit the boys to come and assist him on some projects of his own, not only because of the excellence of their work, but because of their character.

Yes, God vindicates His own. He does it His way and in His timing. He “smashes the teeth” of the wicked, we need not do so ourselves. The same God who has raised up the best and the brightest of this generation will fight their battles for them. He will strengthen them and vindicate them before the scoffers of the world. How glorious to see the Lord defend His servants in His time and His way.

Home educators, you had better get used to the persecution, the scoffing, and the ridicule. This is the lot of all who will walk the narrow path and dream great dreams for the glory of God. The Lord means to make you into hearty men and women! To the extent you continue to honor your parents, to focus on Christ, and to think outside the box of pragmatism and small-mindedness which has enslaved the spirit of so many of your generation, you will be the future.