I was recently invited to be a keynote speaker at a leadership planning meeting for international right-to-life advocacy groups. We gathered in Amsterdam, Holland, a city renowned for its history, beauty, and culture.
Parenthetically, while I was there I took time to visit the "Ark," a half-size model of Noah's vessel that consists of several barges welded together, floating on the waterways of Holland. Inside is a large and attractive creation museum, complete with exhibits from the Grand Canyon and Mount St. Helens. The owner, a professional contractor and devout Christian, uses the Ark as an evangelistic tool, traveling around Europe.
Organizers of the Amsterdam conference correctly identified evolution as the root cancer underlying many of society's woes, and proposed linking creation ministry more closely with issues concerning the value of life. Many of the Christian leaders who were present loosely believed in creation, but had never before made the connection between evolution and such societal ills as abortion, infanticide, promiscuity, racism, etc.
Conference attendees were treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of Corrie ten Boom's "hiding place." To reinforce the connection between the Holocaust and abortion, they also visited a concentration camp in north Holland with a resident who had lived nearby in his youth. A press conference was held at the European Parliament to underscore the damage done to women by abortion. One supportive representative of Parliament related that just a few days before, Parliament had refused to pass a resolution banning infanticide, the killing of unwanted infants. We were told how the abortion of so many millions of babies in the womb has caused the population of several European countries to decline to crisis levels. And yet the incessant call for abortion and euthanasia continues. Will the "evolutionary" extinction of the unfit (i.e., survival of the fittest) drive us past the point of no return?
It brought to mind a poignant passage of Scripture. Commenting on society's evils, the psalmist asks in Psalm 94, "Lord...how long shall the wicked triumph?...They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see..." |v. 3, 6, 7|. But God's patience has a limit. "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?...judgment shall return unto righteousness" |v. 9, 15|. He warns that even those who conduct their shameful deeds openly, who "frameth mischief by a law" |v. 20|, will meet their ultimate doom |v. 23|.
Until then we must continue to study, teach, and represent Him well as "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). So much more than an academic belief in "creation" is at stake in creation ministry. Thank you for standing with us in this worthy battle.
* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.
Cite this article: Morris, J. 2008. Issues of Life. Acts & Facts. 37 (2): 3.
