Creation Ministries International

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Creation Ministries International
AbbreviationCMI
Formation1977 (under a different name)
TypeFundamentalist [1] [ failed verification ]
Christian apologetics organization
Legal statusNon-profit
Purpose Young Earth creationism
Christian apologetics
Biblical inerrancy
Location
Website creation.com

Creation Ministries International (CMI) is a nonprofit organisation that promotes the pseudoscience of young Earth creationism. [2] It has branches in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. [3] [4]

Contents

History

In 1977 Carl Wieland organised the Creation Science Association (CSA) in Adelaide in South Australia. In 1978 the organisation began the magazine Ex Nihilo (from the Latin phrase Creatio ex nihilo , meaning "Creation out of nothing"). Soon after, the Creation Science Foundation (CSF) took over production of Ex Nihilo (later renaming it Creation Ex Nihilo, and eventually simply Creation). In 1984, CSF started the Ex Nihilo Technical Journal for more in-depth analysis of creation issues (it was later renamed Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal, then simply TJ, and now the Journal of Creation).

In the mid-1990s Ken Ham, formerly of the Creation Science Foundation and then part of the Institute for Creation Research, formed an autonomous ministry in the United States. This ministry, along with the Australian Creation Science Foundation, were branded "Answers in Genesis" (AiG); eventually, legally-autonomous Answers in Genesis offices were opened in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Following a legal dispute in 2005, [5] AiG split in 2006. The Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa branches re-branded as "Creation Ministries International". [6]

In late 2006 CMI established offices in the UK and United States. [6] Since then CMI has distributed Creation magazine and the Journal of Creation in the United States itself.

CMI publishes Creation magazine as well as the Journal of Creation. Creation reports that it has subscribers in more than 170 countries, [7] [ third-party source needed ] with 60,000 copies of each issue produced. [8] Creation is published four times a year. The Journal of Creation is published three times a year.

The Voyage That Shook the World

The Voyage That Shook The World is a 2009 dramatised documentary film commissioned by Creation Ministries International and produced by Fathom Media. It was released to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work On the Origin of Species . [9] [10]

This 52-minute-long film includes interviews with proponents of intelligent design and young earth creationism along with some scholars, academics, and scientists who support the scientific consensus on evolution. Some of the mainstream scientists later said that the filmmakers deceptively edited their interviews and misled them. It features wildlife footage from the Galapagos Islands as well as on-location footage from Argentina, Chile, Tierra del Fuego, and the United Kingdom. The film's dramatised sequences were shot on location in Tasmania, Australia. The National Center for Science Education reviewed the film and found it misleading. [11]

CMI's history is closely linked with that of its daughter ministry in the United States, Answers in Genesis (AiG), founded by former Australian colleague Ken Ham. A legal and personal dispute broke out between the Australian and US arms of AiG in 2005, involving claims of unethical dealing in the handling of magazine subscriptions and autocratic leadership on Ham's part. A more involved analysis of the situation is described in an account in the Reports of the National Center for Science Education. [12]

A lawsuit was filed on 31 May 2007, by CMI in Supreme Court of Queensland against Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis, seeking damages and accusing "unbiblical/unethical/unlawful behaviour" in Ham's dealings with the Australian organisation. [13]

CMI produces Creation Magazine and the Journal of Creation, formerly distributed by the US and UK AiG offices to their respective countries prior to the split. The Australian group maintains it was disconnected from all its American subscribers when the US office "announced on its web site (without telling us, the publishers) that it was ceasing to distribute both of these publications (and simultaneously announced its own magazine)". CMI further alleged in the lawsuit that AiG misrepresented their own magazine to subscribers as a replacement of Creation. CMI is claiming $252,000 (US) in damages for lost revenue by misleading and deceptive conduct in relating to lost subscriptions. [14] The case also concerns use of the trademark "Answers in Genesis" within Australia, and alleged misuse by Ken Ham of his position as a director for the Australian group to cause it detriment.

Answers in Genesis has had little to say in public to these accusations, but in comments to news reporters Ken Ham dismisses them all as "totally preposterous and untrue". [13]

In February 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered Australian-based Creation Ministries International into arbitration in the United States with Answers in Genesis (as sought by AiG) over copyrights and control of affiliates in other countries. [15] [16]

In April 2009, the ministries reached a settlement and ended their dispute. [17]

Relationship with schools

In 2011, a group of 30 UK scientists accused the organisation's representatives of falsely presenting themselves to schools as scientists. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creationism</span> Belief that nature originated through supernatural acts

Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. In its broadest sense, creationism includes a continuum of religious views, which vary in their acceptance or rejection of scientific explanations such as evolution that describe the origin and development of natural phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation science</span> Pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism

Creation science or scientific creationism is a pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism which claims to offer scientific arguments for certain literalist and inerrantist interpretations of the Bible. It is often presented without overt faith-based language, but instead relies on reinterpreting scientific results to argue that various myths in the Book of Genesis and other select biblical passages are scientifically valid. The most commonly advanced ideas of creation science include special creation based on the Genesis creation narrative and flood geology based on the Genesis flood narrative. Creationists also claim they can disprove or reexplain a variety of scientific facts, theories and paradigms of geology, cosmology, biological evolution, archaeology, history, and linguistics using creation science. Creation science was foundational to intelligent design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Hovind</span> American Christian fundamentalist and Young Earth Creationist

Kent E. Hovind is an American Christian fundamentalist evangelist and tax protester. He is a controversial figure in the young Earth creationist movement whose ministry focuses on denial of scientific theories in the fields of biology, geophysics, and cosmology in favor of a literalist interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative found in the Bible. Hovind's views, which combine elements of creation science and conspiracy theory, are dismissed by the scientific community as fringe theory and pseudo-scholarship. Answers in Genesis openly criticized him for continued use of discredited arguments abandoned by others in the movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Ham</span> Australian Christian fundamentalist

Kenneth Alfred Ham is an Australian Christian fundamentalist, young Earth creationist, apologist and former science teacher, living in the United States. He is the founder, CEO, and former president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Christian apologetics organisation that operates the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Earth creationism</span> Form of creationism

Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespread version, YEC is based on the religious belief in the inerrancy of certain literal interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Its primary adherents are Christians and Jews who believe that God created the Earth in six literal days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Answers in Genesis</span> Nonprofit organization promoting young Earth creationism

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is an American fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates young Earth creationism on the basis of its literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Bible as a whole. Out of belief in biblical inerrancy, it rejects the results of scientific investigations that contradict their view of the Genesis creation narrative and instead supports pseudoscientific creation science. The organization sees evolution as incompatible with the Bible and believes anything other than the young Earth view is a compromise on the principle of biblical inerrancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rejection of evolution by religious groups</span> Religious rejection of evolution

Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups exists regarding the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and of other life. In accordance with creationism, species were once widely believed to be fixed products of divine creation, but since the mid-19th century, evolution by natural selection has been established by the scientific community as an empirical scientific fact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Creation Research</span> Creationist organization

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a creationist apologetics institute in Dallas, Texas, that specializes in media promotion of pseudoscientific creation science and interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative as a historical event. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as religious and moral truths, and espouses a Young Earth creationist worldview. It rejects evolutionary biology, which it views as a corrupting moral and social influence and threat to religious belief. The ICR was formed by Henry M. Morris in 1972 following an organizational split with the Creation Science Research Center (CSRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Museum</span> Museum in Kentucky promoting a pseudoscientific creationist point of view

The Creation Museum, located in Petersburg, Kentucky, United States, is a museum that promotes the pseudoscientific young Earth creationist (YEC) explanation of the origin of the universe and life on Earth based on a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative of the Bible. It is operated by the Christian creation apologetics organization Answers in Genesis (AiG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Sarfati</span> Australian young earth creationist and chess player

Jonathan David Sarfati is a young Earth creationist who writes articles for Creation Ministries International (CMI), a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry. Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry, and was New Zealand national chess champion in 1987 and 1988.

Carl Edward Baugh is an American young Earth creationist. Baugh has claimed to have discovered human footprints alongside non-avian dinosaur footprints near the Paluxy River in Texas. Baugh promoted creationism as the former host of the Creation in the 21st Century TV program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Walter T. Brown is an American engineer, author, and young Earth creationist who is the director of his own ministry called the Center for Scientific Creation. The Skeptic's Dictionary considers him to be one of the leaders of the creation science movement. He proposes a specific version of flood geology called the Hydroplate Theory.

John Clement Whitcomb Jr. was an American theologian and young Earth creationist. Along with Henry M. Morris, he wrote The Genesis Flood, which influenced many conservative American Christians to adopt flood geology.

Carl Wieland is an Australian young Earth creationist, author and speaker. He was the managing director of Creation Ministries International, a Creationist apologetics ministry. CMI are the distributors of Creation magazine and the Journal of Creation.

The Story of God is a three-part video series produced by Dangerous Films featuring the physician Professor Lord Winston. It first aired on 4, 11 and 18 December 2005 on BBC One. It was rebroadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in May and June 2006 and by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in April 2007.

Andrew A. Snelling is a young-Earth creationist geologist who works for Answers in Genesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Evidence Museum</span> Creationist museum in Texas

The Creation Evidence Museum of Texas, originally Creation Evidences Museum, is a creationist museum in Glen Rose in Somervell County in central Texas, United States. Founded in 1984 by Carl Baugh for the purpose of researching and displaying exhibits that support creationism, it portrays the Earth as six thousand years old and humans coexisting with non-avian dinosaurs, disputing that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old and non-avian dinosaurs became extinct 65.5 million years before human beings arose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate</span> 2014 debate on the origins of the universe

The debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on the question "Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?" was held February 4, 2014, at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

<i>Is Genesis History?</i> 2017 creationist documentary film

Is Genesis History? is a 2017 American Christian film by Thomas Purifoy Jr. that promotes the pseudoscientific notion of Young Earth creationism, a form of creation science built on beliefs that contradict established scientific facts regarding the origin of the Universe, the age of the Earth and universe, the origin of the Solar System, and the origin and evolution of life. The film suggests the Earth was created in six days of 24-hours each in opposition to day-age creationism, and also advocates the Genesis biblical narratives of Adam and Eve, the Fall, the global flood, and the tower of Babel. It grossed $2.6 million in theaters and $3.3 million in video sales.

<i>Answers Research Journal</i> Pseudoscientific research journal

Answers Research Journal (ARJ) is an open-access creation science journal published by Answers in Genesis (AiG), a fundamentalist Christian apologetics organization. Founded in 2008, the online journal devotes itself to research on "recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework". ARJ's research is not scientifically sound and encourages readers to doubt mainstream scientific evidence. The journal, in its embrace of young Earth creationism (YEC), supports the unscientific idea of a 6,000-year-old Earth, among other claims. The journal refuses to publish research contradicting its belief system. While ARJ undergoes a peer-review process, the journal's reviewers are selected from a pool of people who only support the stances of the journal. Therefore, members of the scientific community are excluded from the review process.

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Randy (2021). "The Relation of Young-Earth Creationism to Fundamentalism" (PDF). University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences.
  2. ↑ "Should Genesis be taken literally". creation.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.[ third-party source needed ]
  3. ↑ "Worldwide Contact Information". creation.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.[ third-party source needed ]
  4. ↑ Ruse, Michael (15 July 1982). "Creation Science is not Science". Science, Technology, & Human Values. 7 (3): 10–18. doi:10.1177/016224398200700313. S2CID   143503427.
  5. ↑ "Answers in Genesis in legal turmoil". Berkeley, CA: National Center for Science Education. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  6. 1 2 Creation Ministries International – About us, history
  7. ↑ "Creation magazine". creation.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.[ third-party source needed ]
  8. ↑ Archived 3 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "The Voyage that shook the world". ballymoneytimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "BBC – Will & Testament: Creationists defend Darwin film". BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Screen Australia film agency awarded creationist film AUD$90,000". The Guardian. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Lippard, Jim (2006). "Trouble in Paradise: Answers in Genesis Splinters". Reports of the National Center for Science Education. 26 (6, November): 4–7. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Biblical battle of creation groups | the Nation | the Australian". theaustralian.news.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Lovan, Dylan T. (2009). "Court: Creationists Should Settle Outside Court". Taiwan News. No. 14 February. Associated Press. Archived from the original (online) on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  16. ↑ Answers in Genesis of Kentucky v. Creation Ministries International, Ltd., 08-6014/6032 (6th Cir.2009)("For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court in its entirety. Our affirmance as to the district court's refusal to issue a foreign antisuit injunction is without prejudice so that AiG may renew its motion before the district court should proceedings in the Australian suit resume. We also deny CMI's motion to stay arbitration as moot in light of our disposition of this appeal. (United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit)").
  17. ↑ "Creationist legal dispute resolved". National Center for Science Education. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Butt, Riazat (19 September 2011). "Scientists demand tougher guidelines on teaching of creationism in schools". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
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