I recently enjoyed a delightful, unexpected, but providential meeting with Ken Ham of Answers In Genesis during an airport layover. We visited on a number of timely issues and briefly discussed strategy for the future. During our meeting, I was reminded that Ken’s Answers In Genesis Creation Museum will be opening in just a few months. From my perspective, this will be one of the most significant and hope-inspiring events of the year for the body of Christ. Christians owe a debt of gratitude to Ken and his staff for fearlessly advancing the enormously important creation agenda. I expect that the museum will be one of their crowning achievements and that it will bring the highest standards of excellence to the creation message.

As one might guess, both Ken and I are deeply indebted to men like Dr. Henry Morris and Dr. John Whitcomb—the two defenders of God’s Word who launched the modern creation movement with the publication of the Genesis Flood nearly a half a century ago. We discussed this point and I shared with Ken the blessing that Vision Forum Ministries had received when we gave Dr. Morris our “Man of the Century Award” last year. Dr. Whitcomb delivered the keynote for the occasion. I was gratified to learn that the new AIG musuem would be honoring Dr. Whitcomb with a special bust.

The impact of ministries like the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis is ultimately measured not only in terms of the spiritual encouragement, apologetic witness and Gospel defense they bring to millions, but also by the amount of work they create for the Enemy. By defining the agenda, these organizations have forced evolutionists to dedicate a tremendous amount of resources to counter the goodwork of these Christians. It is simply stunning to consider the hundreds of millions of dollars—perhaps billions—that the NEA, PBS, and numerous other institutions have devoted to shutting up and shutting down creationists.

Note, for example the recent, utterly absurd effort by enemies of the Gospel (including Unitarians and various oher Trinity-denying denominations and organizations) to rally American churches to devote an entire Sunday to the memory of Charles Darwin.

We should not be surprised that the basic tactic of those behind this effort is a strawman. And after all, isn’t that almost always the tactic? Those who seek to trouble the body of Christ with division and confusion inevitably resort to half-truths and strawmen to make their case for them. This is true whether the issue is creation science, biblical patriarchy, or home education.

Here, the straw man is this: “There is no conflict between science and faith.”

“On 11 February 2007 hundreds of congregations from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.” Click here for the rest of the article.

Of course, the strident voices that these “pastors” oppose are men like Henry Morris, John Whitcomb, and Ken Ham. The fact that these men have built their entire ministries proclaiming the harmony between science and faith is irrelevant. The fact that one can not cite a single example of a credible creation scientist or preacher who believes that tension exists between science and faith is irrelevant.

On a personal note: For the better part of a decade I have been honored with numerous opportunities to co-teach with Dr. John Morris at ICR “Back To Genesis” conferences. This principle—the harmony of science and faith—has always been one of the bedrock propositions of the conferences which often begin with an explanation of the harmony between science and faith, on the one hand, and the theological and intellectual dishonesty of fideism, agnosticism, etc., on the other. Of course, the harmony of science and faith has always been the position of the faculty of ICR, AIG, and every other legitimate creationist organization or ministry in the world. No exceptions.

Someone might say: “Yes, but I just feel in my heart that Creation scientists hold to a science/faith dichotomy.” Perhaps another might say: “A Creation scientist looked at me funny once, therefore the movement lacks love, and I am inclined to believe their opponents caricaturization of them and of the facts.” Perhaps another might say: “Well, there are no “true” scientists who hold to biblcial creationism, therefore the Creation movement is anti-scientific.”

The fact that these arguments are illogical, false, and sometimes even circular appears to make no difference. Even worse, I have seen otherwise fine men and women ensnared by such nonsense. Incredibly, I have witnessed Evangelical Christians who hold to various evolutionary compromises unwittingly borrow these arguments from the Enemy and use them in public debates and in their writings. (I once received a letter from the wife of such a man praising the Vision Forum catalog, but then asking why we did not believe in science. Didn’t we know that “God is the God of science?”)

Caricature, emotional manipulation, playing fast and loose with the facts and, of course, strawmen are never an acceptable form of argumentation. True, in a television-trained society where men and women become Pavlovian experiments in emotions and illogic, anything goes. Consequently, such nonsense can be effective. But it is effective, like any other lie. At first it seems to carry the day. In the end, however, it is exposed for the fraud that it is. And the false prophets of these frauds are defeated along with their false arguments.

For some refreshing biblical antithesis, read the late Dr. Henry Morris’ account of “The Long War Against God”.