Creation Research Society
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The Creation Research Society (CRS) is a
Christian fundamentalist Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
group that requires of its members belief that the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
is historically and scientifically true in the original autographs, belief that "original created kinds" of all living things were created during the Creation week described in Genesis, and belief in
flood geology Flood geology (also creation geology or diluvial geology) is a pseudoscientific attempt to interpret and reconcile geological features of the Earth in accordance with a literal belief in the global flood described in Genesis 6–8. In the ea ...
. The organization has produced various publications describing what it calls
creation science 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 ove ...
, including a journal and a creation-based
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
textbook; use of the textbook in public schools was ruled unconstitutional in ''
Hendren v. Campbell ''Hendren et al. v. Campbell et al.'' was a 1977 ruling by an Indiana state superior court that the young-earth creationist textbook could not be used in Indiana public schools. Jon Hendren, a ninth-grade student in the West Clark Community Scho ...
''. During the first few years of its existence, different beliefs about
Creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...
and disagreement over its statement of beliefs resulted in various members of the CRS board and voting members being forced out of the organization.


History


Formation

Walter E. Lammerts formed the organization in the 1950s after becoming concerned that the
American Scientific Affiliation The American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) is a Christian religious organization of scientists and people in science-related disciplines. The stated purpose is "to investigate any area relating Christian faith and science." The organization publi ...
was falling under the influence of
theistic evolution Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
. It was originally named the Creation Research Advisory Committee in February 1963, and headed by Walter E. Lammerts and William J. Tinkle with assistance from
Henry M. Morris Henry Madison Morris (October 6, 1918 – February 25, 2006) was an American young Earth creationist, Christian apologist and engineer. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research. He is con ...
. The committee originally consisted of ten creationists: Lammerts, Tinkle, Morris, John W. Klotz,
Frank Lewis Marsh Frank Lewis Marsh (18 October 1899, Aledo, Illinois – 14 July 1992) was an American Seventh-Day Adventist biologist, educator and young Earth creationist. In 1963 he was one of the ten founding members of the Creation Research Society. ...
, Edwin Y. Monsma,
Duane Gish Duane Tolbert Gish (February 17, 1921 – March 5, 2013) was an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement. A young Earth creationist, Gish was a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) ...
, Wilbert H. Rusch, John J. Grebe, and
R. Laird Harris Robert Laird Harris (March 10, 1911 – April 25, 2008) was a Presbyterian minister, church leader, and Old Testament scholar. Biography Harris was born near Upper Makefield Township, Pennsylvania. He was son of Rev. Walter B.Harris, a Presbyt ...
. The CRS was later formed in June 1963, with the original advisory committee constituting the new society's 'steering committee', with Karl W. Linsenmann, David A. Warriner and John N. Moore joining it at that time. At about the same time, Morris recruited Harold Slusher,
Thomas G. Barnes Thomas G. Barnes (August 14, 1911 – October 23, 2001) was an American creationist, who argued in support of his religious belief in a young earth by making the faulty scientific claims that the Earth's magnetic field was consistently decaying. ...
, Willis L. Webb and later Clifford L. Burdlick. Finally, Paul A. Zimmerman joined it. By the end of the year had expanded to approximately fifty members. Members with at least an M.Sc. or equivalent were eligible to be voting members.


Textbook project

In response to the
Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
-inspired emphasis on
science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...
, and the resultant
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study BSCS Science Learning, formerly known as Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), is an educational center that develops curricular materials, provides educational support, and conducts research and evaluation in the fields of science and techn ...
textbooks (which emphasised evolution for the first time), creationists in the early 1960s were searching for an orthodox and up-to-date creationist biology textbook. The CRS responded with ''Biology: A Search for Order in Complexity'', published in 1970 by Christian publisher
Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...
, which was a mixed success, selling out its first run of 10,000, and being approved by a number of state textbook committees but being adopted by few public schools. After an Indiana school attempted to make exclusive use of it, a state court ruled that its use in public schools was unconstitutional (in ''
Hendren v. Campbell ''Hendren et al. v. Campbell et al.'' was a 1977 ruling by an Indiana state superior court that the young-earth creationist textbook could not be used in Indiana public schools. Jon Hendren, a ninth-grade student in the West Clark Community Scho ...
'') stating:


Beliefs and stated purpose

The statement of belief was an issue of discussion among the 10 founders during its formation, with typical wrangling over wording, and little consensus beyond keeping out anyone supportive of
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
. There was concern whether
Flood Geology Flood geology (also creation geology or diluvial geology) is a pseudoscientific attempt to interpret and reconcile geological features of the Earth in accordance with a literal belief in the global flood described in Genesis 6–8. In the ea ...
would be able to explain all geologic evidence, and whether the six literal-day creation included the creation of the universe. The CRS adopted the following statement of belief, mandatory for all members: The society's stated purpose is "publication and research which impinge on creation as an alternate view of origins". The CRS's statement of belief was cited in the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruling of
Edwards v. Aguillard ''Edwards v. Aguillard'', 482 U.S. 578 (1987), was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of teaching creationism. The Court considered a Louisiana law requiring that where evolutionary science was taught in public ...
. Its mandate that members affirm that the origin story described in Genesis was an established fact was cited by Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. as evidence there was a
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
sectarian objective in the field of creation science, and also a fundamentalist sectarian objective in Louisiana's 1981 Balanced Treatment Act, a law requiring creation science instruction in the state's public schools wherever scientific evolution was taught. The judge ruled, "the intent of the Louisiana Legislature was to promote a particular religious belief" and therefore the teaching of creationism was unconstitutional.


Publications

The ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' has been published since July, 1964. ''Creation Matters'' containing popular level articles has been published bi-monthly since 1996. CRS has also published an assortment of special papers, monographs and books. Creationist publications have been criticized by scientists, such as
Massimo Pigliucci Massimo Pigliucci (; born January 16, 1964) is Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, former co-host of the '' Rationally Speaking Podcast'', and former editor in chief for the online magazine ''Scientia Salon''. He is a critic o ...
, as "nonsense" in their attempt to blend faith with empirical fact. Glenn R. Morton is an author of more than 20 articles published by CRS in an attempt to "solve scientific problems" of Young-Earth Creationism. Morton later left the creationist movement complaining "The reaction to the pictures, seismic data, the logic disgusted me. They were more interested in what I sounded like than in the data!".


Early purges

The organization's early growth allowed Lammerts to purge committee members who were insufficiently active or orthodox. Four committee members were removed: Monsma and Webb for inactivity, Harris for opposing a literal six-day creation, and Warriner after losing his university position and suggesting that the society hire him as a paid promoter. These members were replaced by George F. Howe, Bolton Davidheiser and H. Douglas Dean. Dean and Davidheiser left after only two years, Dean because of his unorthodox views on Evolution, and Davidheiser because he was unable to work with Seventh Day Adventists on the committee. Marsh, an Adventist, left about the same time because he interpreted the society's weekend meetings as a religious affront. By the end of 1964, the society had grown sufficiently that Lammerts decided to purge the society of Old Earth, Gap and Day Age creationists: In 1967, Lammerts arranged for Morris to succeed him as chairman of the board, in order to ensure continuing fidelity to flood geology. Historian of creationism Ronald L. Numbers states that the Society "acquired a well-deserved reputation for welcoming only committed flood geologists."


Laboratory

The Creation Research Society maintains a working electron microscope laboratory (scanning EM and transmission EM) at the Van Andel Creation Research Center in Chino Valley, AZ, although they will be moving their operation center and research laboratories to the campus of
Arizona Christian University Arizona Christian University is a private Christian university in Glendale, Arizona. History Founded in 1960 as Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College, Arizona Christian University's original campus was located at 2625 E. Cactus Ro ...
, Glendale, AZ. In 2013 Mark Armitage and Kevin Anderson of the CRS published their findings of soft tissues in ''Triceratops'' horn collected at the
Hell Creek Formation The Hell Creek Formation is an intensively studied division of mostly Upper Cretaceous and some lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana. The formation stretches over portions of ...
in
Glendive, MT Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway when they built the transcontinental railroad across the northern ...
.


Footnotes


References

*
Book excerpt


External links


Creation Research Society Web page


''
Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation ''Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith'', subtitled ''Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation'', is the academic publication of the American Scientific Affiliation. Background The ASA's original constitution provided two goals for th ...
''. Vol. 15. No. 4. December 1963. pp. 115–117. {{Creation Science Creation science Young Earth creationism Creationist organizations Flood geology