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(5/7/2006)
Creationist Links Origins to Faith, Everyday Life Says outlook on Genesis account affects every aspect of life
By Bob Ellis Dakota Voice Eric Hovind of Creation Science Evangelism in Pensacola, Florida is in Union Center, South Dakota this weekend explaining why the Genesis account of creation is not only important to Christians, but affects every area of our lives.
Eric Hovind is the son of Dr. Kent Hovind, the well-known “Dr. Dino” who tours the world defending the creation account of origins, and founder of the Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola, Florida. Like his father, Eric Hovind uses lots of jokes and humorous slides to capture the attention of his audience and point out inconsistencies in the claims of evolutionists. Eric Hovind spoke last night at the Union Center Community Baptist Church, the first of several seminars he is giving in Union Center through the evening of Monday, May 8. Saturday night, Hovind gave a presentation on creation and evolution, the Big Bang theory, and competing worldviews of how the universe came into existence. This morning, he spoke on the Genesis account of creation which says God created the universe, the Earth and all that is on it in six 24-hour days. Sunday afternoon he spoke on the Garden of Eden and what the world was like before the great Flood of Noah. Tonight he will be speaking about dinosaurs, and Monday night Hovind will discuss “lies in textbooks,” which means claims about evolution which are not supported by science. This morning, Hovind covered the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which essentially says that all things in the universe tend toward disorder as time goes by. Author and scientist Isaac Asimov put it this way: “All we have to do is nothing, and everything deteriorates, collapses, breaks down, wears out, all by itself—and that is what the Second Law is all about.” Hovind said that evolutionists believe that by adding energy (which assumes the universe is an open system into which energy can be added), the Second Law of Thermodynamics can be overcome. However, Hovind pointed out, the universe is a “closed system,” and further, adding energy is always destructive without a complex mechanism to harness the energy. He cited examples of the sun’s destructive effects on your house, you car’s paint, and other materials. According to Hovind, chlorophyll is the only exception, using light to synthesize carbohydrates. Hovind said that we are seeing the effects of children being taught evolution in the self-destructive behaviors which are becoming more and more common in society. He showed slides of young people piercing their bodies often to extremes; youths covered in tattoos, and cited a number of disturbing behavioral statistics. He cited statistics which illustrate that since evolution became the mainstay in scientific teaching in the public schools in the early 1960s, things such as premarital sex, unwed births, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), divorce and other negative behaviors are up dramatically. One of the most striking figures was a 2,300% increase in child abuse. The line graphs showing a sharp increase in all these areas beginning in the early 1960s was compelling. Hovind said that the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite placed in orbit by the Soviets, scared some Americans into thinking that Soviet education, which taught evolution, was superior to ours since they “beat us” in that leg of the space race. This, according to Hovind, caused President Eisenhower to ask Congress for $1 billion in funding to teach evolution in U.S. public schools. One of the inconsistencies in evolution theory which Hovind pointed out was that of population. Hovind drew attention to a study which said that even though the current rate of population growth is 1.7%, if you assumed an extremely modest growth rate of .01% for the past 1 million years, you would end up with a current world population represented by the number 1 followed by 43 zeros. Hovind said the Genesis account of creation is so often attacked because if the Bible is correct about the age of the earth and humanity, then perhaps it’s also right about what God says in the book of Romans about humanity’s need for a savior. Hovind said that Christianity is unique in that while all other “religions” call for humans to work or earn their way to God’s approval, Christianity calls humanity to a relationship with God. He pointed out that even the Ten Commandments were not given as a “condition for relationship, but confirmation of a relationship.” Hovind said that the first two commandments, which call for humans not to worship any other gods or to make any idols, illustrate that God cares about how we look at Him. Hovind said that God is an “unmanageable God” who will not condone us “putting Him in a box” or “shrinking Him down.” Hovind concluded the Sunday morning presentation with this: “There’s a difference in feeling guilty for something you’ve done, and being accountable to someone. Because you can leave guilt at the door, but knowing you’re accountable to God affects every area of your life.” During an exclusive interview after the presentation, Hovind was asked about the recent statement from Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno in which he said that the belief that God created the universe in six days was “pagan superstition.” Hovind said, “That’s not what the Bible says. The Bible says they were regular days. Most Hebrew scholars also agree that the Bible was talking about 24-hour days. He needs to read his Bible.” Hovind said that if you can’t believe Genesis, then you can’t believe the rest of the Bible, and at that point, it becomes “just another good book.” Hovind also disagreed with the opinion of U.S. District Judge John Jones in the Dover, PA Intelligent Design case in December 2005 where Jones said the Dover school board’s decision to include intelligent design was “breathtaking inanity.” He did, however, say that the Dover school board was going about their effort in the wrong way. Hovind said they should first concentrate on making textbooks accurate, which would involve the removal of statements about the theory of evolution which are not supported by science. Eric Hovind is 27 years old and has been doing creation presentations for about eight years. He said he got into this work full time after completing college, and began by presenting at a home for troubled youths. He said that while it would be nice to give a joint presentation with his father Kent, their busy presentation schedule usually has them going in different directions. Hovind said that after he finishes his presentations at Union Center, he’s going home to Florida for some family time before presenting in Colorado, and after that, internationally in Ireland.
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