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Making the case for creationismA case for creationism

A 13-week course for teens helps them find answers to questions about our origin.n A 13-week course for teens helps them find answers to questions about man's origin.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published September 16, 2006

INVERNESS - Chris Rushton may dress comically in a lab coat and silly glasses to teach a study class for teens, but his message is a serious one.

"People ask the questions 'Where did I come from?' and 'Why am I here? and 'Where am I going?' " Rushton said. "The Bible answers those questions."

Last week, Rushton, 49, began a 13-week series called the Answers Academy Creation Study.

Twelve teenagers and three of their parents are taking the course, which answers questions about the authority and accuracy of the Bible as it pertains to creation.

The focus of the course, Rushton says, is to help people make a reasoned and logical argument for defending their faith by looking at the creation account, particularly in the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis.

Rushton plans to repeat the class at least once each year.

An independent insurance agent and homeschool parent, Rushton said he has been teaching similar courses as a layman for several years.

"About 10 years ago, a man came and did a brief seminar at my church about the creation issue," Rushton said. "It sparked my interest."

Rushton began reading about the subject.

"The first book I ever read was Ken Ham's book called The Lie. Basically it addresses your Christian worldview and how that fits in with the creation account in Genesis."

Rushton, a literal creationist, said he had questioned what he'd been taught in high school about humanity's origin.

"When I went through high school, they taught us the evolutionary ideas of our origins, how we evolved from molecules to man," he said. "But I never felt in my heart that was true.

"I believed the account in the Bible, but I never had any real information to prove that. So when this man came and gave this information, I started soaking it up. And what I have found is that there are a lot of people like me out there."

Rushton began sharing what he was learning with other adults in his church and found the topic was in demand. After teaching one six-week course, his students wanted more and he extended the course another six weeks.

"I have a whole library of books that I've read over the last 10 years in regards to the creation science world. So what I've found when I teach these courses, people have the same desire that I had to take in this information and see how science actually confirms our beliefs in the literal creation," he said.

As a literal creationist, Rushton believes that the world was created in six literal days.

"So with that view," he said, "we have to ask the question, 'Does science back that up?' This is what the course is all about. We look at observational science."

There are two types of science, Rushton says.

"There's observational science; that's the type of science that we can test with our senses: smell, sight, taste, touch. But there's also what's called historical science or origin science. That is taking evidences or facts and then interpreting the past.

"When you look at origin science or historical science, we have the same facts, the same evidence, whether we're creationists or evolutionists. What's different is how we interpret the facts.

"So, we look to see how observational science applies to the information we find in the book of Genesis. If you look at it with an open mind, you'll see that observational science confirms what's in the book of Genesis and that evolutionary ideas are not confirmed by observational science."

An organization called Answers in Genesis provides the resource materials used in the course.

"It's a ministry that is supported by hundreds of teachers, doctors, engineers, geologists, you name it. Whatever scientific field is out there, there are contributions made by these people," Rushton said.

"The books, videos and articles that are available is overwhelming. I think that Ken Ham, who heads up Answers in Genesis, has a phenomenal way of presenting the information that anybody can understand, and people are attracted to that."

Rushton believes that it's good to have a sense of humor when teaching about a biblical worldview.

"We poke a little fun," he said. "We have this character we've developed named Professor Layman who sort of came about when we were trying to inject some fun and entertainment into the whole program we were presenting at church."

Rushton described one of the skits he has done using his "alter ego."

"We did a skit in a frontier town and we had this old miner who had found some bones. He was sure someone had been killed. They were dinosaur bones actually, but he didn't know that. So he was running around. He found me with some tools so he thought I had killed somebody. In the process of that, being a scientist, I taught them how to make dynamite. Now that was fun."

Rushton said he has some surprises in store for his current class.

"We're developing something to have a little fun a few weeks down the road. We try to keep it fresh."

Rushton thinks it's important for teens to have a biblical worldview.

"They're only given what we call a naturalistic worldview or the evolutionary worldview when they watch television," he said.

"You watch the Discovery Channel, you read the National Geographic and we know when you go to the public school the science books only teach the evolutionary ideas. That's in complete conflict with your Christian belief.

"If you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then if you deny the first book, the first chapter, the first words of the Bible as being God's truth, then you're off on the wrong path.

"And that's what this course talks about. It talks about putting on your biblical glasses, seeing the facts through the glasses of the Bible vs. seeing the facts through man's truth. It's really man's truth vs. God's truth. As a Christian, we should believe God's truth. Not a blind faith, but a faith that is based on observational science."

[Last modified September 16, 2006, 06:56:55]