ICR - The First Twenty-Five Years (VIII: ICR, For Such a Time as This) | The Institute for Creation Research

 
ICR - The First Twenty-Five Years (VIII: ICR, For Such a Time as This)

As our first 25 years of creation evangelism and education have come to a close, and as my own role as ICR's president also has now been completed, I hope an over-all summary of what God has accomplished through ICR so far might be of interest to our supporters.

Reaching Future Leaders

Our great goal has been to win science and education back to God because education reaches the young people who will be our future leaders, and science is supposed to provide the factual basis of the many disciplines taught through education. For three or more generations, however, science and education have been dominated by a naturalistic worldview based on evolutionism. Since 1970, we at ICR have been trying—through research, writing, and teaching—to counteract this harmful evolutionary system, promoting the full Biblical worldview based on special creation.

For example, ICR writers have written and published over 125 books and booklets on creationism and related topics, at all levels, from elementary materials for children to research monographs for scientists. Some 3,000,000 copies of our books have been distributed, and probably 15,000,000 or more of the booklets, with marvelous results. Over 60 video cassettes have been produced in the past 15 years, and these also have been widely used.

ICR scientists have conducted creation seminars, or other meetings, on well over 700 college and university campuses, reaching large groups of students and faculty members with the evidence for creation. These have included practically all the nation's leading universities (Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, almost all the state universities, etc., as well as most of the leading Christian colleges). In this connection, there have been over 300 formal creation-evolution debates held (usually on secular campuses) by ICR scientists—especially Dr. Duane Gish—with evolutionary scientists. Even the evolutionists have acknowledged that the creationists nearly always "win" the debates.

We have been in many types of meetings "Back to Genesis" seminars, church conferences, conventions, etc. It is almost impossible to estimate the total number of creation messages given during the past 25 years by ICR speakers, but it would surely be more than 25,000, reaching audiences totaling almost 3,000,000. Meetings have been held in every state and probably 2,000 different cities. An unknown, but very large number of others have heard our message by way of radio and television.

Our own ICR Graduate School, which began only in 1981, is the most unique aspect of ICR's ministry to future leaders, being the only fully Christian graduate school of science in the nation, so far as we know, committed to strict creationism and to the full and sole inerrancy of the Bible as the word of God. It is not a large school, of course, but it does provide intensive, nationally accredited M.S. training in key sciences to a few choice students who will, we trust, indeed become future Christian leaders in the areas of science and education. In its 15 years, some 150 high quality young men and women have taken at least one course in our graduate school, even though only 40 so far have actually finished their degree programs. Many of the latter are already making key contributions in the creationist ministry, and all are holding strong to the tenets of scientific and Biblical creationism.

In addition, over 200 science workshops for parents, teachers, and children have been held, showing how to teach science in a creationist context at the elementary and secondary levels. Over 90 Summer Institutes on Scientific Creationism have been conducted, with each consisting of approximately 30 hours of lectures. Approximately 18,000 enrollees in these workshops and summer institutes (scientists, teachers, pastors, parents, and others) have participated.

Special Ministries

In addition to the broad range of evangelistic and educational ministries noted above, ICR has sponsored some 30 intensive educational/inspirational field tours—usually about a week in duration—to key points of creationist interest (Grand Canyon, etc.), with a total of about 4000 participants. ICR's 15-minute, weekly radio broadcast, "Science, Scripture, & Salvation" (presented every week since 1972) and the more recent, one-minute daily broadcast, "Back to Genesis," are now heard on over 1200 outlets across the nation and around the world. These broadcasts (never asking for money) have generated great response from listeners.

We opened a small museum about 20 years ago and it has been enlarged several times. Our present Museum of Creation and Earth History is truly outstanding and attracts 25,000 visitors annually. We have also been expanding our electronic outreach, with much of our periodical literature now available on computer bulletin boards. A number of our books, including most recently the new Defender's Bible, are, or soon will be, published in software packages.

Of lesser general interest, but still time consuming, is the large volume of mail and telephone inquiries dealing with a wide variety of scientific and Biblical topics. We have tried to answer all these to the extent time and ability have allowed.

International Outreach

ICR is also, in a very real sense, a missionary organization, with our literature (especially Acts & Facts and Days of Praise) reaching all over the world. Our books, too, are widely used, not only in other English-speaking nations, but in many other countries as well. In fact, at least one ICR book, and usually several, have been published in at least 20 different languages. The "Back to Genesis" broadcasts are regularly translated into Spanish.

Furthermore, ICR scientists have actually conducted personal creation ministries in at least 40 foreign countries. Many of these nations now have their own creationist associations and ministries.

Research

As ICR's name implies, one of our concerns is to do scientific research on problem areas in the creation-evolution conflict. Some of these projects have, naturally, been more successful than others, but that is the very nature of research. A few of the projects that ICR scientists have been involved in at various times in the past quarter century, are listed below:

  1. Exploration of Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake for evidence of rapid sediment layering and canyon erosion, rapid formation of fossil "forests," and rapid formation of future coal seams.
  2. Exploration of Grand Canyon for evidence of rapid formation of its component formations and rapid cutting of the Canyon itself.
  3. Determination of anomalous and fallacious radiometric "ages" of Grand Canyon formations.
  4. Search for remains of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.
  5. Study of anomalous fossils, especially of alleged human and dinosaur footprints, near Glen Rose, Texas.
  6. Exploration of alleged thrust faults (Hart Mountain, Keystone, etc.).
  7. Studies of limits of mutation and genetic variation in mice and fruit flies.
  8. Development of methods and curricula for teaching science in a creationist context in public and private Christian schools.
  9. Studies of compatibility of global flood model and recent creation with sea-floor sediments, atmospheric helium, glacial-age ice cores, and other geophysical phenomena.
  10. Computer modeling of antediluvian vapor canopy.

Space precludes mentioning the numerous other past research studies, as well as several going on now.

1995 Report

At the end of each year, an annual report of ICR's activities has been published for that year in Acts & Facts, and it is from these reports that the above information has been gleaned. Now here is the annual report for 1995.

In the very first issue of Acts & Facts in 1995, we had the sad duty of reporting the death of Dr. Richard Bliss, long-time head of our Science Education program. Fred Willson has been carrying on the "Good Science" workshops very effectively, and Dr. Steve Deckard the departmental graduate program.

Dr. Don DeYoung was made Professor of Physics and will be on the full-time faculty each summer. The 1995 summer graduate school was probably the best to date, with 40 keen students and several outstanding adjunct faculty here for one or more courses.

Four significant new books were published: From Darkness to Light to Flight by Jules Poirer; Teaching Creation Science in Public Schools by Duane Gish; The Defender's Study Bible with annotations by Henry Morris; and the booklet Scopes: Creation on Trial by John Morris and R. M. Cornelius.

ICR scientists conducted international ministries during 1995 in three countries (Henry Morris in England, Duane Gish in Russia and Brazil). A Portuguese translation of Scientific Creationism was published, as well as Russian translations of Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics, and The Biblical Basis for Modern Science.

ICR meetings were held in 28 states and on 13 college campuses, including five debates. Three Summer Institutes were conducted, and two field tours, as well as ten major "Back to Genesis" seminars. Fred Willson and associates conducted 19 "Good Science" Workshops.

Two new videos were published: Grand Canyon: Monument to the Flood; and When Two Worldviews Collide.

Total attendance at the various types of meetings was estimated at 15,000. This does not include the large numbers who heard one or more of ICR's 300 plus radio messages.

Discussion

All praise must go to the Lord for the opportunities provided over the past 25 years. The relatively small staff at ICR, our very limited financial resources and low key fund raising methods, opposition from practically the entire scientific and educational establishments, and other factors would seem to say that most of this should have been impossible.

And it would have been, except for God!

When ICR began in 1970, very few other organizations were carrying on creation ministries. Now there are numerous creation organizations—probably at least one in every state, and one in at least 20 other countries. Also, a large number of individual creationists are supporting themselves with full-time, creation seminar ministries of their own. We here at ICR are thankful that we have had a small part in seeing many of these ministries spring up and start proclaiming the same great truths that we have been seeking to proclaim and defend for many years.

This is, indeed, "the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." God has greatly blessed as the seed has been sown in the field of the world these past 25 years. The ICR ministry has been maintained in prayer and by strict adherence to God's word as we understand it, and God has been faithful to His promise. It is my hope and prayer that the next 25 years (if the Lord does not return sooner) will see an even greater harvest from the seed sown this first 25 years.

ICR is now under the leadership of Dr. John Morris, as I continue to serve in an "emeritus" status. He is well qualified to assume this responsibility, and we believe it is clearly God's leading that he do so. I do hope all our readers will uphold him in prayer and continue to support the ICR mission as faithfully as in the past.

* Dr. Morris is the founder and President Emeritus of ICR.

Cite this article: Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. 1996. ICR - The First Twenty-Five Years (VIII: ICR, For Such a Time as This). Acts & Facts. 25 (2).

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