Noteworthy: Creation Resources
In a departure from my usual review of books and CDs, I visited the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The Creation Museum was founded by Answers in Genesis, a nonprofit, Christ-centered, non-denominational ministry dedicated to upholding the authority of the Scriptures from the very first verse.
The Creation Museum is everything a regular (translation: secular) museum is, and everything a regular museum is not, all at the same time.
Here is the way it is similar to a museum you might visit in your city. It has lots of dinosaurs; it provides facts about the origin of our species; it has a planetarium, and provides information about the universe. The exhibits are very well laid out, and based in science.
However, it’s the differences that make the Creation Museum a standout attraction.
The “facts” at the average museum will covertly and underhandedly challenge our beliefs in the literal Creation of the world, and therefore in God Himself. However, the underlying premise of every picture, fossil, dinosaur, exhibit, and interactive experience in this museum is Creation as found in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Second, because the “starting point” determines the end perspective, the Creation Museum is able to offer answers to questions that an evolution-based museum can’t begin to address. What you believe about the past, and the origins of this world, significantly impacts how you will respond to the present, and what you expect for the future. So the Creation Museum can offer insight to questions such as: Why am I here? Am I as alone as I feel? Why is there so much suffering? Is there hope?
If you believe that life has no purpose, that there was a “big bang” and life began; if you believe that our mothers are single-celled amoeba, or that we are distant relatives of King Kong, then when sickness, tragedy, or death comes, you have nowhere to turn. However, if you believe that you are a child of Jehovah God, then you have hope that the one who “spoke and it was done” can and will intervene in your situation. If you believe, will you still have questions? Absolutely. I have a few myself. However, I know where to go to ask the questions. I don’t ask the “universe,” I ask the Creator of the universe.
Next, the museum really has something for everyone. If you are a science “geek” there is plenty to keep you occupied. If you are interested in the Christian perspective, then you can get your fill of Bible-based information. If you are a kid at heart, and would rather play than really “learn,” you can go and be awed by the planetarium and entertained by “men in white,” who help a confused young woman to understand that there is a reason for her existence, and that the world was created by a loving God.
As a Sabbathkeeper, I found it interesting that they did an entire museum based on Creation and didn’t talk much about the rest (pun intended) of the story—the fact that God rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it as the Sabbath, according to Genesis 2:2, 3.
So my recommendation is this: go and check it out. But when you go, keep your eyes and ears wide open—pay attention to what is there and notice what isn’t. Whatever you do, go, and as they say at the Creation Museum, “Prepare to Believe.”
Most museums have a gift shop with mugs, hats, shirts, and other museum paraphernalia. Not to be outdone, the Dragon Hall bookstore had all of those things, and more, including puzzles, games, creation-based activities, books, videos, and DVDs galore. It was wonderfully overwhelming.
Some creation resources:
Title: The New Answers Book: Over 25 Questions on Creation/Evolution and the Bible
Type: Paperback
Editor: Ken Ham
Publisher: Master Books—A division of New Leaf Publishing Company
Available: Mega book stores, Internet, and www.answersinGenesis.com
Price: $14.99
 Title: Creation, Catastrophe & Calvary
Type: Hardcover
Editor: John Templeton Baldwin
Publisher: Review and Herald Publishing Association
Price: $19.99
Available: Adventist Book Centers, www.adventistbookcenter.com
I can’t give you a complete review, space won’t allow, but both books are a great place to start for teens and adults to get a scientific, and biblical, perspective and be able to “give a reason for the hope that lies within us.”
Title: Genesis, the Key to Reclaiming the Culture
Type: DVD
Presenter: Ken Ham
Producer: Answers in Genesis
Price: $12.99
Available: Mega bookstores, Amazon.com, www.answersingenesis.org
The DVD explains why our culture has become so secular. He asserts that if we accept the world’s view, then we are saying that the Bible is wrong.
A final note: the museum was clearly focused on Creation. As I stated earlier, there were no exhibits specifically relating to the Sabbath. That was OK with me, because there was so much proof about the six days of Creation. Without blatantly stating it, they have done much to show that the Sabbath (the day God rested from His creation work) was instituted at Creation, even before the Ten Commandments, and therefore could not have been abolished at the cross or any other time.
Answer correctly and win!
Be the seventh person to answer one of the questions correctly and you will win one of the listed resources.
Question 1. God created the world in ____ days?
Question 2. What did God do on the 7th day?
(Please answer one question only.)
Send your answer via e-mail to: Loretta.MessageMagazine@gmail.com
Indicate question 1 or question 2 in the subject line.
Thanks for participating.
LORETTA PARKER SPIVEY, our music and book review maven, writes from Allison Park, Pennsylvania.
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