by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
Biblical creation science is in a special niche of evangelical Christianity, and is not extremely popular. Many people who do follow it are enthusiastic and attentive. Because creation science is more intellectual than other areas that interest professing Christians, many people have little use for it.
Take a look at the name: It has Bible, creation, and science. Another name that is commonly used is young-earth creation (YEC), but many of us are using that much less than before because we follow what the Bible teaches, and are not trying to force-fit science into Scripture.
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| Creation, Pixabay / Karin Henseler |
What follows is not exhaustive, and several things are drawn from my own observations and experiences.
Pride
Identifying as a creationist (or YEC) is not a badge of honor. It may work in some Christian circles, but don't be surprise if your announcement is greeted with indifference or hostility — from professing Christians and atheists alike.
Different Kinds of Creationists
One reason to specify biblical creationist (or YEC) is that there are different groups that can call themselves creationists. Definitions matter. Interestingly, I saw someone on Fakebook who was pressed on his beliefs, and said that he was a creationist but not a Christian. Never did find out what he was.
There are people who became creationists before they became Christians, but there are Jews and Mohammedans who reject evolution and may identify as creationists. Some adherents of the Sacred Name cult are creationists. In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses oppose evolution and believe the earth is old. Going further, there are also old-earth creationists. One Admin of a Page with over 20,000 followers (and other Pages, I think) was actually a Trinity-Denying modalist! Now, which kind of creationist are you?
Biblical Ignorance
A guest speaker who is a biblical creationist may be brought in to speak at a church, or people may attend a biblical creation science conference. They get excited about teachings that are new to them and want to learn more. Perhaps they seek out and follow creationists on social(ist) media.
There is an unexpected bonus: biblical instruction. Creation ministries emphasize teachings from the Bible and how scientific observations can be interpreted from a biblical perspective. Regular readers of Piltdown Superman and Radaractive have seen how various ministries not only refute erroneous interpretations of science by Darwin's disciples and believers in deep time, but also how the Bible is affirmed by proper understandings of science.
Introductory creation science talks (sometimes called relevance talks) are enlightening, and I remember being excited about my newfound knowledge. As people progress in biblical creation science, they are also exposed to teachings from Scripture. When they lose interest and do not continue to learn, they just "know" that they are right, but when attempting to defend creation, evolutionists who know their talking points will clean their clocks.
Functional Heretics
To go further with the above point, many professing Christians are functional heretics. Most of us do not know what and why we believe, and then some are shocked by biblical creationists who explain origins science from a biblical perspective and uphold the authority of the Bible. People should examine themselves to see if they are indeed in the faith!
In my Page administration on Facebook, I have seen some appalling comments from people that are ignorant or even opposed to what the Bible says. This is one reason why I have widened the focus of those Pages to include more theology. Most of it is rather basic, even including things that many Christians may wonder about. I am hoping that some people will read (or watch the videos) and learn Christian basics.
Similarly, here is an excerpt from a post by Dr. Jason Lisle:
. . . I have noticed an increase in professing Christians that have been objecting to certain essential Christian doctrines – those core principles of the Faith that are definitional. These include the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the resurrection, the future second coming of Christ, and eternal life for the righteous and eternal hell for the unrepentant. No Christian should object to these clear and biblical teachings. Therefore, we will be exploring these fundamentals of the Faith and how to defend them. Let 2023 be the year of refuting heresy.
Identifying as a biblical creationist but being biblically ignorant (or worse, rejecting major elements of the faith) is akin to false advertising. Don't misunderstand, nobody is an expert in everything. We all learn and grow, and being underinformed in some areas does not disqualify someone from promoting biblical creation science. But we need to be willing to admit ignorance if necessary, continue to learn, and uphold the authority of Scripture.
Scientific Ignorance
Similar to the previous topics, people who stick with creation science are exposed to many areas of science. After all, there are many creationist scientists with advanced degrees who are working in their own fields as well as presenting biblical creation science.
This can be challenging.
Some things are easy to learn and we build on them. There are some areas that I struggle with that are presented in peer-reviewed creation science journals (sometimes I bail out because they're too technical or reading one takes over an hour; I have a job as well as creation science ministry). Occasionally something is poorly written and should have been edited instead of published. Simply put, not everything is for everybody. But it is beneficial and even fun to learn about different science subjects presented from a creation viewpoint.
It is interesting to note that in a sense, secularists are working for us. Those in the secular science industry are well-heeled, but creationists don't have that kind of money. Our scientists examine the material and point out where it has flaws, bad logic, and even works against evolution or deep time. Many times, creationist writing are actually providing us an education in evolutionary thinking!
Those who think they will defend creation science while acting in ignorance of scientific basics are not going to do well against informed secularists. There is always someone who knows more than you or I, or willing to throw a link from a secularist at us. Some critical thinking skills, knowledge of science, and the willingness to do some searching on biblical creationist sites can go a long way. For example, I posted something that had very recent discoveries supporting recent creation, and an angry atheist "refuted" it with a link that was horrendously outdated. In that case, I didn't need to search further, just simple logic to show that what was used against the post was irrelevant.
So this article is a bit of a mixed bag. Those of us who call ourselves biblical creationists need to be learning and growing in both science and understanding Scripture. Especially the latter. Some folks may need to hole up and dig in before trying to slap leather with atheists and evolutionists. Sure, get involved. Question Evolution Day is an excellent way to support creation science (you can learn about how easy it is at this link). All of us need to keep learning and growing, trusting God and the authority of the Bible. Feel free to take the QED-12 graphic and share it.