There is much talk of family values these days. Politicians of all stripes claim to be for "family values." But upon inspection, their lives are characterized by divorce and adultery, their children being raised by day-care centers, and their voting records in support of homosexual causes, pornography, abortion, euthanasia, etc. They seem to be asking voters to believe that words speak louder than actions.

Indeed, it causes us to ask just what are true family values and on what do we base them? I submit that family values are "creationist" values given to families by the Creator of families.

For example, consider the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is said, that "by Him were all things created" (Colossians 1:16). "From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh. . . . What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mark 10:6-9).

It was "not good that man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18), so the Creator instituted marriage for the good of mankind. Eve had been formed from Adam's very flesh and bone, having been created from his side. Just as Adam and Eve were truly "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24), marriage yields a full unity between husband and wife. Neither Adam nor Eve could undo their "one flesh" nature. That is His design for us as well. As Jesus quoted Genesis to establish His own doctrine of marriage, He repeated the charge that the couple should "cleave" to one another in a lifelong union of fidelity.

Similar doctrines could be established from the Creator's designs for raising children (i.e., Genesis 1:28; Ephesians 6:4), regarding the benefit of work (i.e., Matthew 25:21; I Thessalonians 4:11), of abstaining from excessive debt (i.e., Proverbs 22:7), of the wife's primary responsibility in the home (i.e., Titus 2:4), etc.

Contrast this perspective with the applications of evolutionary thought, from "social Darwinism" to modern sociobiology, which seeks to apply animal behavior to human society. Just this fall there has been a spate of newspaper and magazine articles condoning infidelity in marriage because few animals limit themselves to one sex partner. "We are the descendants of animals, that behavior led to our evolution, and we have inherited their genes, so their behavior must be appropriate for humans," they seem to imply. One article even justified the philandering of President Clinton on the basis that the chief male gorilla has complete access to the females. Similar studies and claims are made for killing unwanted offspring, abandonment of the elderly, homosexual encounters, and abuse of females and children by males, etc.

Wrong thinking will always result in wrong behavior, and our country is suffering the results of wrong thinking and wrong teaching. Consequently, I encourage our readers to apply creationist/Christian thinking to their selection of our future political leaders.

*Dr. John Morris is President of ICR.