That creation seminars, creation-oriented books, and other means of spreading the message of scientific, Biblical creationism are effective tools for evangelism and discipleship is a truth that is becoming more clearly evident every year. We here at ICR receive numerous testimonies to that effect at each of our seminars and from each of our publications. We need not be surprised at this, for the Bible itself makes it plain that creation evangelism is a Scriptural method for reaching both Christians and non-Christians who have been influenced by the evolutionary humanism that dominates our schools and news media.
We hope it is encouraging to our readers when we share a few of these testimonies with them from time to time. Here, for example, is one received by Dr. John Morris at our recent seminar in Mason City, Iowa.
For most of my life, I was completely lost. Though raised in a home, some might term "Christian;" I was never presented the true gospel of Jesus Christ with any degree of enthusiasm. I therefore eventually dismissed any church affiliation as an archaic predilection rooted more in Western tradition than prepositional truth. I claimed agnosticism but was a practical atheist, and when I did acknowledge God it was to curse His name and dare Him to retaliate, "knowing" that such response was impossible since there was no God.
I found myself in this precarious position in relation to God for one primary reason. I was a scientifically oriented, self-proclaimed intellectual for most of my life. One thing I had to my credit was enough intellectual integrity to realize that, if prevailing scientific opinion regarding origins was true, then the Bible was a dubious and ignoble work of fancy. By no means could it be considered a divine oracle by which to determine the course of one's destiny. Because I believed its foundation to be a whimsical illusion, I rejected the entire structure of the Christian faith.
The course of my life took an entirely unexpected turn a few years ago. As the result of the concerted efforts of a very dear friend, I was coerced into attending my first "Back to Genesis" seminar in Castro Valley, California. I cannot describe the thoughts and feelings that rushed throughout my entire soul as truths, which seem now obvious to me were unfolded. All I can say is that at one point I began to wonder if anyone noticed the tears rolling down my cheeks. It was not the dry data, which stirred me to such a display, but their implications. My rejection of God had been predicated on the fallacy of Genesis 1:1. If it were possible that the creation account were true, then God was real and I was in trouble! Strangely enough, however, my most intense emotion at that moment was not the fear of imminent Divine retaliation, but a deep sense of agony at having for so long spat in the face of the loving God who created me. A few weeks later, I dedicated my life to the Lord. Although I did not realize it at the time had not only called me to salvation, but also to the ministry of His gospel. At the time of this writing I am a licensed Baptist minister and am currently in the process of gaining a seminary degree.
I have spent the bulk of my life on the path to Hell. If it were not for the ministry of the Institute for Creation Research, I might never have departed from that path. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for ordaining this vast ministry to His service.
Another heart-felt testimony was received recently in a letter from a lady in New England.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you for your book The Genesis Record that was sent to my husband by ICR. I cannot express the joy and tenderness of his heart that I have witnessed in the intense reading of your book. It has made him a strong dedicated man, a man that I can see Christ in. It (the book) was sent at a time that I experienced a deep loss and as a result, a hurt so deep that I became both physically and emotionally drained and in despair, losing my faith in a God that is alive and that even cares about me. Nick has been slowly and tenderly sharing your book with me. Thank you so very much, Dr. Morris. There is most certainly a special place in my heart for you.
Here is a fine letter from a Chinese student studying in Iowa.
I have just finished reading your book Science and the Bible. I just bought the book this morning and read it in the evening. I could not put it down except for dinner and I am blessed by your book very much. Praise the Lord! I am a man that loved science very much and find the Bible is contradictory (or at least that was what I thought) to sciences or facts. The Lord is right! I shall know the truth and the truth will set me free. I was overfilling when I was reading chapter two to the end of the book. No wonder many Christian scientists said they were being lied to and now I know exactly why.
The reason I wrote this letter is to tell you the above mentioned and to tell you that I am really blessed! Please can you also send me a list of your publications and other similar books to me? I give thanks to you in the name of Christ.
The following is a testimony from a medical doctor in Arkansas who is now a strong and articulate creationist and soul-winning Christian.
Through my many years of scientific and medical training, I had agreed with the theory that evolution was fact. Since I had a personal relationship with the Creator, I was a theistic evolutionist. Scientific creation was a farce!
Dr. Henry Morris, a scientist, had been invited to speak at our church on the scientific evidence of creation. At that time, I was embarrassed by the promotion of his talk in our community.
On the night before Dr. Morris was to speak, a friend asked if I would please take Dr. Morris for breakfast. I spent that evening preparing many questions designed to humble the man who believed in creation as science. He politely answered questions on the age of the earth, carbon 14 dating, fossils, biochemistry, physics, genetics, geology, biology, history, anatomy, etc. His answers showed irrefutable, clear evidence of a designer. I quickly shifted to the "weaknesses" of the Bible: a seven-day creation, the flood, Cain's wine, languages, races, Jonah and the whale, etc. His answers were clear, simple, and easily understood. For the first time in my scientific life, I was hearing understandable truths and seeing facts, which answered my most difficult questions. I did not need faith to believe the obvious.
A wife and mother in Minnesota writes that she and her husband had both graduated from a denominational college but that all of their textbooks and classes had been heavily weighted toward evolution. One day they happened to hear our ICR radio program. She goes on to say:
… he had heard someone from ICR on the radio and was very excited about what he had heard. I bought him The Genesis Record and he read it from cover to cover....
Their childhood faith was restored, and all her family soon joined a Bible-believing church where they are happy in the Lord and studying God's word. In the last paragraph of her beautiful, four-page letter she says:
Your books and tapes have been a real encouragement to us. Maybe someday, we will be able to attend one of your tours.
A man in England writes about the way in which God brought him to saving faith in Christ.
I went to church up to the end of my teens and I then stopped. I considered myself a Christian, but accepted evolution as proved, and tried to fit in what the Bible had to say with it, with obviously no success.... I started to think about evolution and wonder how it worked. It made no sense to me. While I was doing this, I was looking at the books about the Bible in our central library. One of the books that caught my attention was The Genesis Flood. What you had to say made more sense to me than evolution ever did. I decided to look into it, and what I found absolutely appalled me. I decided to fight it at every opportunity I could get. It was this and a couple of other Christian books that the Lord used to lead me to Himself, and I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior in 1983.
From a college student in Arkansas:
While I was at my parent's home during spring break, I came across a book I had read during junior high--entitled Evolution and The Modem Christian, by Henry Morris. I am rereading it now and again I am struck (as I was in the eighth grade) by how well it refutes the doctrine of evolution.... This book transformed me from a skeptical doubter into a defender of the faith armed with scientific knowledge to refute the false and unscientific concept of evolution.
From a student at the University of Papua New Guinea:
I am a second year biology student at the above mentioned university.... I never realized the supreme importance of the question of origins until I came to university. The devil is attacking the book of Genesis and Christians on university campuses are silent! It seems much easier to go and win souls than to be tangled up in a controversial issue--while our very foundations are being destroyed.
I thank God for the tremendous work you guys are doing. I first got to hear about ICR through my Baptist chaplain. He does seminars on creation versus evolution, backed up by slides and films that he has bought from your Institute. He has also bought many books and tapes and we keep them in a little book center that we have started.... My chaplain is leaving at the end of this year and we want to continue learning from you through Acts & Facts.
We hear many such testimonies at our meetings and would like to put them all in a book, if we could. In any case, although we never give altar calls or use other such methods that are common in evangelistic meetings, we are confident that the creation oriented message is effective in evangelism, both in winning people to saving faith in Christ and in strengthening the faith and testimony of those who are already Christians but who have doubts that are hindering their own effectiveness in the Christian life.
We would, in the meantime, love to hear from any of our other readers who would like to share similar testimonies conceding the impact of scientific Biblical creationism in their own experience.
* Dr. Morris is Founder and President of the Institute or Creation Research.
