Myth 1: Creationists Want Creationism Taught in Public

Schools and Evolution Out

Some evolutionists like to drum up support and outrage by

claiming that creationists are out to ban evolution from public
schools and anywhere else we can. The only problem is that it’s not
true.
While we can’t deny that some Christians would like to see
Charles Darwin banished from academia, few creationist
organizations are in that crowd. AiG would prefer, instead, that
teachers have the freedom to present the creation view if they choose.
We have no desire to force someone to teach what they don’t agree
with. Many evolutionists have abused the court system in an effort to
squelch debate and silence dissent; we have no desire to use the same tactics.
Beyond this, we also think that every Christian should understand the basic tenets of
evolution. While the Bible tells us that God created in six days, most people have been
influenced by Darwin’s writings—even if they don’t realize it—because his ideas are
ubiquitous in our culture. So, understanding evolution will help all of us be more effective in
our witness.

Myth 2: Creationists Ignore the Evidence for Evolution

Among the many charges leveled against creationsts is the claim that
we “cherry-pick” the data we like and ignore what we don’t.
However, as mentioned earlier, the evidence is not the issue—it’s the
conclusions that evolutionists make about that evidence.
Answers in Genesis and other creationist organizations do our best to
address the most recent news reports, scientific research, and
controversial claims. For example, we deal with a number of
important stories every Saturday in News to Note and throughout the
week in other articles and blog posts.
However, just because evolutionists tell us how we should interpret a
particular find does not mean that their interpretation is the best one.
Creationists pick out the hard facts and expose the parts that are opinion or based on
assumptions. This is not ignoring what we don’t like; it’s separating the wheat from the chaff.

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 Myth 3: Creationists Deny the Laws of Nature

We like gravity just the way it is—thank you

very much. And we are grateful for the laws of
physics and chemistry that make life possible.
In fact, we see the laws of nature as evidence
of God’s sustaining hand in the universe.
Those laws operate consistently because He is
unchanging.
What we do deny, however, is that common
descent via evolution is a “law” or “fact.” Natural selection, mutations, and genetic changes
are all observable processes (that fit the creation model quite well), but descent from a
common ancestor is a framework and not a law of nature.
Ultimately, we expect the universe to be orderly and logical because we start from the Bible.
The laws of nature are not sufficient in and of themselves to create the universe and life;
instead, they point to the Creator.
Myth 4: There’s No Evidence for Creation

There’s proof for creation right where you are while

reading this. Your seeing eyes, your understanding
brain, the air around you, all testify to the ingenuity of
our God.
Of course, evolutionists see those same features as
pointing to the power of natural processes to sculpt the
universe and life. To them, such forces are sufficient to
explain how we came to be.
Evidence itself is simply evidence. It isn’t an objective
source of truth and must be fitted into the overall picture we have of how things work.
Whereas evolutionists see the layers in the Grand Canyon as showing millions of years, for
example, creationists see those same layers as a reminder of the recent global Flood.
Some aspects of our universe, however, make much more sense in light of the creation
account, including design features and reasons to think the earth must be young. They don’t
“prove” what the Bible says is true, but they do line up with it.

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 Myth 5: Creationists Are Anti-Science

It’s much easier to villify those who disagree

than to deal with their arguments. For this
reason, many anti-creationists paint us as being
against science or wanting to drive science
back into the “Dark Ages.”
The truth is that many creationists love science
because they love God. Exploring the universe
means getting a glimpse into the amazing
things God created. There are creation
geologists, botantists, astronomers, chemists,
physicists, and more who all love the work
they do.
On the other hand, creationists do attack ideas
and frameworks that deny God’s authority and
place as Creator. Most of these ideas stem
from the belief that nature is all there is, thus
denying God from the outset. The Bible, in
fact, commands us to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).
Myth 6: Creation Has Been Disproven

Instead of engaging in cordial debate, some

evolutionists prefer to say that creation has been
disproven and refuse to listen to any discussion.
After all, creationism is an “old” idea that has been
replaced—for the most part—by evolution in
schools, universities, and the media.
We would say, instead, that evolution was
disproven long before Charles Darwin came on the
scene. How? The One who spoke everything into
existence told us how He created—and it wasn’t
over billions of years though natural processes.
The real issue here is not one of proof or disproof,
but of spiritual ramifications. If God is the creator,
He is also the judge. Evolution allows many people a way to deny God’s authority—seeing
creation as being “disproven” helps them ignore the clear signs of a Creator (Romans 1:20).

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 Myth 7: Creationists Have a Narrow/Literal View of the
Bible

This is only partially true. Creationists believe that the Bible

was written to be understood. And since we believe that God
cannot lie and gave us the Bible to instruct us, we also
assume that His Word is clear and accurate. In other words,
there’s no reason to think that someone needs to “read into”
what the words actually say.
On the other hand, the Bible is not written in one particular
style throughout. There are a variety of styles, including
historical narratives and poetry. Beyond that, the people God
inspired to record His words employed various figures of
speech. Jesus Himself was adept at hyperbole and parables,
for example.
Thus, creationists approach the Bible in a straightforward fashion. We don’t take idioms or
poetic descriptions literally; we see them for what they are. We also do not ignore the intent
of the text to align with popular ideas or philosophies.
Myth 8: The Bible Is Not a Science Textbook

The Bible isn’t a science textbook in the sense that

it describes exactly how the laws of the universe
function, but it does make a number of statements
that touch upon scientific principles. And what it
does touch on is factually accurate.
Underneath this myth is the assumption by many
scientists that only natural (and not supernatural)
causes can explain reality. God could not have
created, for example, because special creation is
denied, not by fieldwork or research, but by biased presuppostions.
If the Bible does contain the true history of the universe as inspired by the One who created
it, then doing science without a biblical worldview often leads to false or imperfect
conclusions. A scientist can make astounding discoveries and not believe God’s Word, but a
full understanding of the universe begins with Genesis.

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 Myth 9: Intelligent Design Is Creationism

Although some evolutionists claim that the

Intelligent Design Movement (IDM) is a sort
of Trojan horse for creationism to get into
schools, those in the IDM are not necessarily
even Christian, let alone creationists.
Creationism begins with the belief that the
Bible is God’s infallible Word to us. The
Bible provides the framework by which we
understand the world. Because the Bible
teaches that there is a Creator and that the
earth is young, creationists base all our
research on this foundation.
Conversely, the IDM holds that certain
aspects of living things and the universe can
best be explained by being the work of an
intelligent designer. The identity of this
creator and whether or not the Bible is true
are non-factors. While creationists may agree
with some aspects of intelligent design theory,
those who do conflate IDM with creationism likely do not understand either.
Myth 10: Creationists Don’t Believe Species Change

A popular cariacature of creationists is that we teach

the fixity of species (i.e., species don’t change). And
since species obviously do change, evolutionists
enjoy setting up this straw-man argument to win a
debate that was never really there in the first place.
Prior to the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin
of Species especially, some Christians did claim that
species were immutable. But part of the problem is
that the word species did not mean the same thing then as it does now—nor was there ever
any reason to assume fixity in the first place.
Creationists have long been amazed by the diversity within each created kind (or baramin,
roughly on the family level). We know that species do change—but only within the original
kinds God created roughly 6,000 years ago.
Species changing via natural selection and mutations is perfectly in accord with what the
Bible teaches. Such changes are not evolution—they remind us that God put enough
information in the genome of each original kind to live and flourish in a cursed world.