Feedback archive → Feedback 2018

Please do something about Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Published: 21 July 2018 (GMT+10)

Today’s feedback is from J.T. from U.S.A. asking for help about the tourist interpretive center at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.

My name is J.T. and I'm a pastor's wife from Illinois. I have an idea I want to share with you.

On a recent visit to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky I noticed all the pro-evolution/millions of years information in the visitor center. It talked all about the eyeless fish being evidence of evolution, about the caves and stalagmites/stalactites forming over "millions of years," etc.

I thought about how this information could turn people away from trusting the Bible.

I looked up some articles from your website on eyeless fish and karstology [the study of caves and limestone] to share with my kids as my husband drove us home after our visit.

It gave me an idea. What if your group put up some small roadside exhibits as close as possible to national/state parks with information about the parks from a Creation science perspective?

Or even just an eye-catching billboard with a picture of the attraction and a thought provoking question like, "DID THIS CAVE REALLY FORM OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS? FIND OUT BY GOING TO CREATION.COM!

You could even set up a little booth the size of a bus stop and include placards with pictures similar to the ones in the park visitor centers. Like a placard with a picture of eyeless fish along with your article about eyeless fish from your website. You could even include brochures or links to a virtual brochure.

I know this sounds expensive. But maybe you could contact area churches that believe in Biblical creation. See if any of the churches or their members might have land near the park next to a main road. If they do, maybe they could let you put up the exhibit on the land free of charge as a ministry. Or area churches could help fund the exhibit.

I think this could be a very effective tool to help reach people with the truth.

I just thought I'd share my idea in case you may be interested in using it.

Thanks for reading and considering this suggestion!

J.T.

CMI writer/speaker Dr Tas Walker responded:

Hi J.T.,

Thanks for your message and your idea. Yes, it is sad that these tourist places present their information in terms of millions of years, but we are in the middle of an enormous spiritual battle in this world, so it calls for us to respond. And yes, the constant repetition of these ideas does affect people’s confidence in the Bible. We see the impact of that on young people leaving the church and the resistant attitude of people in the west we are trying to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

CMI produces lots of ‘ammunition’ to help counter this relentless onslaught of evolution. We produce inexpensive brochures including ones about specific geological sites around the world. We have published articles about many sites in the USA (Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Channelled Scablands, Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Stone Mountain, etc.), but we do not have one on Mammoth Cave National Park.

As far as your suggestion goes, I recommend you ask the Lord what He wants you to do since you are the one who has experienced the concern about the situation. That is how I got involved with CMI many years ago. In 1993, my wife and I were touring New Zealand and I was distressed by the constant evolutionary indoctrination at every tourist site. That motivated me to write a paper about geology for the International Conference of Creationism, and to enrol in a course at university to obtain a geology degree. That turned my life in a whole new direction.

The Lord leads different people in different ways.

Setting up a small roadside exhibit doesn’t seem to me to be very practical. Being small, not many people would stop to visit it. It would require manpower, time, and money. There are many small creation exhibits around the country but most find it a struggle. All the same, every little bit helps. A successful exhibit needs to be in a place where lots of people go, and to be big enough and bright enough to make people want to visit it.

Here is one idea for you to test. You could produce a small, inexpensive card about the caves (printed on a computer). You could contact the centre at Mammoth Cave and ask them to put the cards on display. They may agree to make such cards available for people to take. I must admit that seems unlikely, but you never know. And you can easily test that idea.

We regularly publish reports of people who engage in various methods of creation outreach. Our hope is that these reports will encourage others to do something similar.

• Taking creation evangelism to the streets!
• New Zealand creationists volunteer at major music festival
• Creation evangelism at the St Louis Zoo
• At the cutting edge of creation evangelism

Along these lines, it may be possible for someone to conduct creation tours of Mammoth Cave National Park similar to the tours at the St Louis Zoo. I understand that such tours can provide a small income for people who do them.

People have different ways of spreading the truth of creation, including developing a creation-outreach lifestyle. For example, some people give out back issues of Creation magazine as they go about their lives. I do that all the time—to shop keepers, people I meet in the park, to neighbours, to people at the mall, etc. I know other people who also give them out. I’ve seen someone give a Creation magazine to the guide at a tourist center, similar to Mammoth Cave.

People also engage the guides at such tourist places, but in a nice way. They might say such things as, “No, this formed in Noah’s Flood. No-one was there to see that. Those dates can’t be right. There are other explanations for how that formed.” Of course, we should be polite and respectful. For example, it is good to do this in a light-hearted, cheerful way. During a visit to a local cave in our country I heard one of our group say to the guide, “No, it must be 60,000 and ONE years old. You said 60,000 years last year.” When challenged, guides will usually back down. One guide that my wife challenged said, “I agree with you. But that is what I was told to say. I’ve only been here two weeks.”

Another method people use is to give out Creation.com cards as they go about their daily lives. These cards are small, inexpensive, and easy to carry. And they point people to a dedicated web page that answers their questions.

One other course of action is for the churches in the area to invite a CMI speaker and take advantage of the various programs available. This would raise the general awareness of the whole community of the problem and to give people ideas and resources that they could use.

Your email is encouraging. I’m planning to publish it with my reply as a feedback on Creation.com. Perhaps someone will be motivated to write or do something about Mammoth Cave National Park.

The Lord bless you and your family in abundance in every way,

Dr Tasman Walker

Scientist, Writer, Speaker