From: James J. Lippard
To: All Dec-17-93 12:27PM
Subject: Re: INFO ON ICR?
Organization: University of Arizona
From: lippard@skyblu.ccit.arizona.edu (James J. Lippard)
Message-ID: <17DEC199313270762@skyblu.ccit.arizona.edu>
Newsgroups: talk.origins
In article , djones@megatest.com (Dave Jones)
writes...
>I wonder if one of you evilutionists could help me out. We have a local
>b-board here, in which a fellow employee mentioned "ICR" and "science" in the
>same sentence. I suggested obliquely that the two words might explode if
>held in too close proximity, and mentioned the infamous oath of loyalty to
>creationism.
>
>He replied in a way that may look just a wee bit familiar to the
>veteran talk.originator:
>
> > That's quite an assertion, obviously impossible to be disproved by
> > me or anyone. But proving it, short of producing such an oath, signed
> > by a current staff member of ICR, is just as impossible.
>
>Can you help me out? I know some of you have done quite a lot of research
>into ICR's credentials and practices. What do you know about this bunch,
>and exactly how did you find it out?
I'll leave the credentials part to someone else, but here's information
about the ICR's "loyalty oath":
The following "tenets" have been published in a number of places,
including _Impact_ no. 85 (July 1980), pp. 59-65 of _Creation--The
Cutting Edge_, edited by Henry M. Morris and Donald H. Rohrer
(1982, Creation Life Publishers), and appendix G (pp. 423-428)
of Henry Morris' _History of Modern Creationism_ (2nd ed, 1993,
ICR). In the latter source, Morris says that "The Institute for
Creation Research Graduate School has a unique statement of faith
for its faculty and students, incorporating most of the basic
Christian doctrines in a creationist framework, organized in terms
of two parallel sets of tenets, related to God's created world and
God's inspired Word, respectively." (p. 423) Earlier in the book
(p. 312), Morris writes of the split of the ICR from Christian Heritage
College that "A complet constitution was drawn up, including a new
doctrinal statement prepared by me which was even more extensive
and explicit (with respect to strict creationism) than the one used
by the College. ... The new doctrinal statement is listed not only
in the By-laws, but in the Educational Philosophy section of each
year's Catalog of the ICR Graduate School (which is, of course,
available free upon reqest to the ICR headquarters office). The
doctrinal statement is divided into two segments ... It is stressed
that each of these two sets of tenets is fully compatible with the
other, but that it is possible to utilize each independently of the
other if circumstances warrant (for example, in public schools in
the one case and in churches in the other)." Here they are:
Tenets of Scientific Creationism
1. The physical universe of space, time, matter, and energy has not
always existed, but was supernaturally created by a transcendent
personal Creator who alone has existed from eternity.
2. The phenomenon of biological life did not develop by natural
processes from inanimate systems, but was specially and supernaturally
created by the Creator.
3. Each of the major kinds of plants and animals was created functionally
complete from the beginning and did not evolve from some other kind of
organism. Changes in basic kinds since their first creation are
limited to "horizontal" changes (variations) within the kinds, or
"downward" changes (e.g., harmful mutations, extinctions).
4. The first human beings did not evolve from an animal ancestry, but
were specially created in fully human form from the start.
Furthermore, the "spiritual" nature of man (self-image, moral
consciousness, abstract reasoning, language, will, religious nature,
etc.) is itself a supernaturally created entity distinct from mere
biological life.
5. Earth pre-history, as preserved especially in the crustal rocks
and fossil deposits, is primarily a record of catastrophic intensities
of natural processes, operating largely within uniform natural laws,
rather than one of uniformitarian process rates. There is no
_a priori_ reason for not considering the many scientific evidences
for a relatively recent creation of the earth and the universe, in
addition to the scientific evidences that most of the earth's
fossiliferous sediments were formed in an even more recent global
hydraulic cataclysm.
6. Processes today operate primarily within fixed natural laws and
relatively uniform process rates. Since these were themselves
originally created and are daily maintained by their Creator, however,
there is always the possibility of miraculous intervention in these
laws or processes by their Creator. Evidences for such intervention
must be scrutinized critically, however, because there must be clear
and adequate reason for any such action on the part of the Creator.
7. The universe and life have somehow been impaired since the completion
of creation, so that imperfections in structure, disease, aging,
extinctions, and other such phenomena are the result of "negative"
changes in properties and processes occurring in an originally perfect
created order.
8. Since the universe and its primary components were created perfect
for their purposes in the beginning by a competent and volitional Creator,
and since the Creator does remain active in this now-decaying creation,
there does exist ultimate purpose and meaning in the universe.
Teleological considerations, therefore, are appropriate in scientific
studies whenever they are consistent with the actual data of observation,
and it is reasonable to assume that the creation presently awaits the
consummation of the Creator's purpose.
9. Although people are finite and scientific data concerning origins are
always circumstantial and incomplete, the human mind (if open to the
possibility of creation) is able to explore the manifestation of that
Creator rationally and scientifically and to reach an intelligent
decision regarding one's place in the Creator's plan.
Tenets of Biblical Creationism
1. The Creator of the universe is a triune God -- Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. There is only one eternal and transcendent God, the source
of all being and meaning, and He exists in three Persons, each of
Whom participated in the work of creation.
2. The Bible, consisting of the thirty-nine canonical books of the Old
Testament and the twenty-seven canonical books of the New Testament,
is the divinely-inspired revelation of the Creator to man.
Its unique, plenary, verbal inspiration guarantees that these
writings, as originally and miraculously given, are infallible and
completely authoritative on all matters with which they deal, free
from error of any sort, scientific and historical as well as moral
and theological.
3. All things in the universe were created and made by God in the six
literal days of the creation week described in Genesis 1:1-2:3, and
confirmed in Exodus 20:8-11. The creation record is factual,
historical, and perspicuous; thus all theories of origins or
development which involve evolution in any form are false.
All things which now exist are sustained and ordered by God's
providential care. However, a part of the spiritual creation, Satan
and his angels, rebelled against God after the creation and are
attempting to thwart His divine purposes in creation.
4. The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were specially created by
God, and all other men and women are their descendants.
In Adam, mankind was instructed to exercise "dominion" over all
other created organisms, and over the earth itself (an implicit
commission for true science, technology, commerce, fine art, and
education), but the temptation by Satan and the entrance of sin
brought God's curse on that dominion and on mankind, culminating in
death and separation from God as the natural and proper consequence.
5. The Biblical record of primeval earth history in Genesis 1-11 is
fully historical and perspicuous, including the creation and fall of
man, the curse on the creation and its subjection to the bondage of
decay, the promised Redeemer, the world-wide cataclysmic deluge in the
days of Noah, the post-diluvian renewal of man's commission to subdue
the earth (now augmented by the institution of human government), and
the origin of nations and languages at the tower of Babel.
6. The alienation of man from his Creator because of sin can only be
remedied by the Creator Himself, Who became man in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ, through miraculous conception and virgin birth.
In Christ were indissolubly united perfect sinless humanity and full
deity, so that His substitutionary death is the only necessary and
sufficient price of man's redemption. That the redemption was
completely efficacious is assured by His bodily resurrection from the
dead and ascension into heaven; the resurrection of Christ is thus
the focal point of history, assuring the consummation of God's
purposes in creation.
7. The final restoration of creation's perfection is yet future, but
individuals can immediately be restored to fellowship with their
Creator, on the basis of His redemptive work on their behalf,
receiving forgiveness and eternal life solely through trust in the
Lord Jesus Christ, accepting Him not only as estranged Creator, but
also as reconciling Redeemer and coming King. Those who reject Him,
however, or neglect to believe on Him, thereby continue in their
state of rebellion and must ultimately be consigned to the everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
[These last two are NOT printed in _History of Modern Creationism_.]
8. The eventual accomplishment of God's eternal purposes in creation,
with the removal of His curse and the restoration of all things to
divine perfection, will take place at the personal bodily return to
earth of Jesus Christ to judge and purge sin and to establish His
eternal Kingdom.
9. Each believer should participate in the "ministry of reconciliation,"
by seeking both to bring individuals back to God in Christ (the
"Great Commission") and to "subdue the earth" for God's glory (the
Edenic-Noahic Commission). The three institutions established by the
Creator for the implementation of His purposes in this world (home,
government, church) should be honoured and supported as such.
The Creation Research Society has a less specific but equivalent four-part
statement of faith, and also has an unwritten policy that, according to
Morris' _History of Modern Creationism_ (p. 219) "no publication of the
Society, including articles published in the _Quarterly_, would
ever advocate the 'old-earth,' geological ages position."
Jim Lippard Lippard@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Dept. of Philosophy Lippard@ARIZVMS.BITNET
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
