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An ‘affront’ in every direction

by Gary Bates, AiG–Australia

18 August 2003

Medical scientist, Philip N., wrote to us to share his frustration about the difficulty in getting a fair hearing on campus. Although it is quite illegal to discriminate against someone on the grounds of their religious beliefs, more and more people are telling us how they are being ‘forced’ to accept a ‘belief’ in evolution—and the not-so-subtle methods that are being employed to make sure that Christians comply with humanistic ideology in their studies. Philip wrote:

‘Hi, I am just writing to say thank you for your ministry.

‘I am a practicing medical scientist in … [Australia]. I completed a science degree in 2000 … . That was a testing time for me as a Christian.

‘Having been educated through the ACE [Accelerated Christian Education] curriculum I was pretty well grounded in six day creation arguments. When I went to uni I assumed these would be attacked but never as openly or as bluntly as they were. In first year one of my lecturers would put up overheads of the time line of the Genesis creation account, laugh and scoff at it, and then put up the evolution time line in contrast and say how obvious it was that this was the more logical and reasonable proposal. If that was not enough, in almost every lecture … he would attack Christianity in some form; especially the miracles—i.e. saying that when God turned the Nile river into blood through Moses, that was just an algal bloom etc.

‘Then we were asked to write an essay on evolution. The last of ten possible topics was “discuss the evidence against evolution”. Three people, including myself, out of a class of around 300 chose this topic. All 3 of us failed that essay!! (One of my classmates who did this topic usually gets very high marks for his essays). When I challenged the lecturer about this his only offer was to give me a lower mark (remember he set the essay topics). As an undergraduate it was very difficult to argue a case before some professor who has been researching his field for years. I distinctly remember one of my Christian friends who was doing her essay on the “Eve out of Africa theory” saying to me, “Phil, it all sounds so convincing!”

‘You can imagine how powerless I felt trying to evangelise my classmates, when every day they are hearing arguments against the claims of the Bible. Who were they more likely to listen to—their classmate or their professor?

‘I joined up with the Christian uni group on campus, hoping I would find some support for my belief in a six day creation amongst some of the Christians there. To my surprise I found that basically all the Christians there believed in some form of evolutionary creation or refused to take a stand on either side. I believe that this is basically because that is all Christian young people have ever heard. … The more I studied evolution the more I saw that it was just human guess work. … the biggest attack was in first year in the classes that the most people attend. Satan is strategically working against Christianity.

‘Today I attend a church which is largely made up of young people. I don’t know anyone there who believes strongly in a six day creation. Most church leaders don’t and certainly could not defend it if they did. Somehow I think if they had been grounded in the biblical arguments instead of being taught evolution from childhood they may see clearer.

‘Open mindedness is seen as a godly thing. When informed, I see it as a reluctance to accept the truth, an embracement of relativism, and a denial that there are biblical absolutes based on divine revelation.

‘I praise God for a Christian education where history lessons started with the six days of creation and Adam and Eve. Your ministry has been a great support to me. Your continued efforts in the face of great opposition is inspirational. I particularly like Ken’s [Ham] Why Won't They Listen book and believe that your ministry is of untold value in today's world. Thank you.’

Sadly for Philip, most of the other Christians he turned to had already compromised on the issue of origins. We agree with him when he mentions how important the input of solid foundational teaching was when he was a child. It prepared him for the inevitable onslaught that followed, and as you have read, he was able to stand firm in his faith despite the lack of support around him.

That’s why we have produced so many teaching resources aimed at preparing our children. Can we encourage parents and teachers alike to ready your children for the times ahead?

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