Benutzer:Ninety Mile Beach/Schreibtisch/Institute for Creation Research

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a biblical research institute based in Santee, California that focuses on constructing and teaching a Young Earth Creationist world view. Espousing Biblical inerrency, most of its teachings directly contradict modern scientific understanding. First established in 1970 as a part of the Christian Heritage College, in 1972, it was reorganized as an independent entity. Its president is John Morris, son of its founder, the late Henry M. Morris.

Background

Young-Earth Creationism (YEC) as it manifests itself at ICR refers to the belief that the Bible is an accurate record of history and the Genesis creation story is to be taken literally. The earth is therefore not more than 10 thousand years old, rather than several billion years old as currently accepted in mainstream scientific thought. The institute rejects the conclusions arrived at by the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and geology concerning the age of the earth. It also denies the biological concept of descent with modification through evolution, instead believing that speciation only occurs within the boundaries of a kind.

In 1961 Henry Morris and John C. Whitcomb published The Genesis Flood, a seminal work that claimed to provide the scientific rationale for YEC. As the title suggests, the authors accept Genesis literally, including not only the special, separate creation of humans and all other species, but also the historicity of Noah´s Flood. The Genesis Flood was the first significant 20th century effort to present a scientific rationale for special creationism. Creation Science was fleshed out by subsequent books and pamphlets by Morris and those inspired by him.

The ICR website and the Washington Post obituary for Henry Morris both state that he founded the organization in 1970. People for the American Way gives a history of what they feel led this to occur. In 1968 in Epperson vs. Arkansas the court ruled that evolution could not be prevented from being taught. As a reaction to Epperson, the California State Board of Education in 1970 removed the prospect of Creationism being taught in science classrooms. This led religious activist Nell Segraves and Henry Morris to found the Creation Science Research Center (CSRC) that same year. Differences over the political role the organization would take led to a split in 1972, the same year that Morris would then found ICR.Author Massimo Pigliucci claims Morris and two housewives, Jean Sumrall and Nell Segraves, upset at a 1962 Supreme Court decision that prohibited teaching creationism, started the Creation Science Research Center in 1970. He goes on to state the organization split in 1972 due to criticisms that Morris was "too soft" of a critic of evolution and became ICR in 1972.

ICR was established as an organization devoted to research, publication, and teaching of creation science. Initially it was formed as the research division of Christian Heritage College (also established in 1970 with Henry Morris as one of the co-founders), but became separate and autonomous in 1981 and achieved its own accreditation.

ICR professors have not had their creationist work published in scientific journals and there is no collaboration in research between these groups. ICR would claim they use the same scientific principles and examine the same evidence as the wider scientific community. The wider scientific community generally takes a different view, pointing out that an organization that has a starting assumption can not be conducting science even if the other processes of their experiments meet scientific criteria.

As such to spread creationism, they seek debate opportunities with evolutionists in front of a live audience. A listing of their travels, debates, and symposiums can be found within the monthly Acts and Facts pamphlet.

From 1987 to 1993, Ken Ham worked for the ICR, but in 1994 set up what in 1995 became Answers in Genesis (AiG). During his tenture at ICR he wrote several articles.[1][2][3] The relationship has continued to be a friendly one. Currently at least one ICR staff member is also on staff at AiG.[4]

In October 1994 school officials in St. Lucie County, Florida distributed copies of Of Pandas and People (a creationist text) to every high school and one middle school in the county to be reviewed by teachers and principals for use as a possible supplement for science classes. The response from teachers was negative but county school officials still planned to distribute the books to school libraries so teachers and students could use it as a resource. According to the local Civic, Business and Ministry Coalition, copies of the book were purchased by the Coalition from the ICR and were sent to school administrators on the grounds that it was "a good, science-based text appropriate for school children." The Coalition was reported to have met administrators on several occasions to promote creation science. However, the county school board did not find out about the matter until January 1995.

School and accreditation

ICR offers courses leading to master's degrees in the sciences, which are exempted by California for religious reasons. They have an on-campus program and a distance education program via the internet. In 1981 the first courses were taught, and all degree programs were then examined by the Office of Private Postsecondary Education of the State of California receiving an "approved" rating in June 1981. However, in 1989 the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction sought to "withdraw" the rating and close the school. ICR took legal action and the "approval" was reconfirmed early in 1992.

In 1991, the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) granted the Institute for Creation Research school accreditation. This created controversy because at the time Henry Morris, the founder of the ICR, was on TRACS' board of directors. Timothy Sandefur, a fellow at the Claremont Institute, has called Morris's position "highly questionable". Four years later, TRACS' government recognition was on probation due to questionable practices stemming from Steve Levicoff published a book-length critical discussion of TRACS, When the TRACS Stop Short: An Evaluation and Critique of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools which mentioned ICR. However, they met the government's requirements and today, TRACS is recognized by US Department of Education to accredit schools.

Most recently in 1995 the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education gave the ICR religious exemption from postsecondary school requirements in California. The ICR notes the "exemption from the approval process is presently a result of ICR/GS's national accreditation under TRACS."

Controversy and criticism

Massimo Pigliucci has criticized ICR for claiming to be interested in research while requiring students and faculty to sign a promise that the published material will correspond to a literal interpretation of the Bible, thereby excluding facts that aren't predetermined by religious doctrine. Moreover, Pigliucci notes that even within ICR "the dispensation of degrees has created internal schisms that have often resulted in the sudden dismissal of some ICR scientists." For example, a 1986 thesis titled "A Classical Field theory for the Propagation of Light" was approved by Duane Gish and Thomas Barnes, but not by the third committee member Gerald Aarsdma because the thesis was based on pre-Einsteinian physics and "invoked the long dismissed existence of ether". Furthermore, creationist Arleton Murray was denied a position for his belief that dinosaurs existed before humans. Pigliucci explained that much of the material put by the ICR is based on false claims and incorrect data. Concerning the ICR museum he noted "some of the historical claims found in the ICR museum are also stunning and show how easily ideology gets the better of accuracy."

In 2004, Penn and Teller did an episode on Creationism in their Showtime television show Bullshit!. A part of the show included references to ICR and footage of Duane Gish. The clips showed Gish stating that "neither creation nor evolution are scientific theories. Evolution is no more scientific than creation." Standing behind the Grand Canyon display of the ICR museum, Gish claimed, the Grand Canyon was created in as little as a few days due to the Biblical flood in Genesis. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education responded, "the Grand Canyon consists of granite and shale and really hard stuff about 5,000 feet of it. You're not going to cut this very hard rock with just a bunch of water flowing through it at one time."

Some creationists are opposed to the ICR. For example, the Christian Identity Movement believes the ICR are "crypto-evolutionists," Gary North "opposes the ICR on the grounds that they" acknowledge the second principle of thermodynamics, and John W. Robbins considers the ICR's activities a "fraud."

On January 7, 2007 the National Center for Science Education reported, "Grand Canyon: A Different View, edited by Tom Vail and published by Master Books, the publishing arm of the Institute for Creation Research" was facing new scrutiny. The book, "expounds a young-earth creationist view of the geology of the Grand Canyon," was reviewed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) in December 2006. PEER concluded the book "does not use accurate, professional and scholarly knowledge; is not based on science but a specific religious doctrine; does not further the public's understanding of the Grand Canyon's existence; [and] does not further the mission of the National Park Service".

Museum

Museum of Creation and Earth History at the Institute for Creation Research

Garden of Eden exhibit at the Museum of Creation and Earth History

ICR maintains the Museum of Creation and Earth History at its headquarters in Santee, California, USA. The museum is free and open to the public from Monday through Saturday. It features exhibits such as:

• An interpreted walk through the Garden of Eden, with descriptions of what happened on each of the six days in the Genesis accounts of creation.
• A dark room with pictures of the planets and stars discussing the view of modern astronomy and areas where ICR has a different view.
• Scale models of Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel.
• An Ice Age room explaining how Ice Ages could have occurred after the Flood, just a few thousand years ago.
• The Canyon Wall, describing how the Grand Canyon was formed in a matter of weeks or months, rather than the millions of years posited by mainstream geologists.
• A Mt St Helens exhibit, which explains why the catastrophic events at this volcano support a young-earth interpretation of earth history.
• The Hall of Scholars, with pictures and biographies of famous scientists who believed in creationism on one side and scientists who accepted evolution on the other.
• A final room devoted to showing the findings of ICR's recent RATE project, a multi-year collaboration with other YEC organizations to test for evidences of a young earth.

The museum also has a gift shop with books, magazines, videos, and other items supporting the YEC worldview.

Master Books

Master Books is the publishing arm of the Institute for Creation Research, and specializes in theology and creation science works.

External links

Official

• Institute for Creation Research
• ICR Adventures -- An ICR site meant for children.

Critical

• Answers In Creation Old earth creationist website alleging numerous errors in the works of the Institute for Creation Research
• The Creation/Evolution Continuum from the National Center for Science Education
• Young Earth Evidence and Rebuttals
• Review of ICR video "Radioisotopes & the Age of The Earth"
• Talk Origins This site examines many of ICR's claims in detail

Other

• Creation Museum

de:Creation Research Society