“If the Bible cannot be understood, it is useless as revelation. If it contains scientific fallacies, it could not have been given by inspiration.”(1)
So is the statement of Dr. Henry M. Morris II, the father of modern creationism. But so was not always the conviction of Dr. Morris. Early in life, he was a young Christian from a broken home given a secular education and no reason to change course.
And yet he did change.
Dr. Morris would eventually launch a movement returning Christians back to the historical and scientific reliability of Genesis, establish the Institute for Creation Research. His groundbreaking book, co-authored with Dr. John Whitcomb, would provide the first, formidable challenge to evolution and provide a biblically consistent explanation for the global effects of the Flood and its importance in Earth’s history.
Who was this man and who were the influencers who impacted him and thus countless Christians over the past 60 years?
One might expect a man who pioneered a new era in trusting the authority of Scripture to have had a childhood rich in Bible teaching and influences. Yet such couldn’t have been further from the truth for young Henry or H.M. as he was called. In summing up her father’s childhood and youth, Rebecca Morris Barber writes,
“H.M.’s spiritual leanings did not come from his parents or immediate family. His mother was accustomed to privilege…frivolous, and rebellious. His father was determined to pursue wealth, but had a propensity for alcohol, gambling, and…both led the family into insecurity, dysfunction, and failure.”(2)
In addition to his home life, Henry entered the world when the U.S. and much of the world were at the height of humanistic defiance against God. Born on October 6 1918, Darwin’s Origin of Species had been published almost 60 years before H.M.’s birth, ushering a “scientific theory” that made God, Scripture, morals, and even truth unnecessary. The effects of man seeking to live apart from God’s truth were not only taking place in young Henry’s home, but on a global level as well.
Despite such spiritual disadvantage, H.M. had key, godly influences who would draw his heart to the God his parents professed but did not know. One such influence was R. A. Torrey, a well-known 20 century evangelist and prayer warrior. Almost by chance he visited baby Henry and his mother in their Texas military based home. Torrey took the infant in his arms and prayed a prayer of dedication to God’s service over him. This prayer would be answered in a magnitude only to be measured in eternity.
God also used Henry’s Grandmother Morris to show him the narrow way to eternal life. H.M. writes, “I can never recall a time in my life when I did not know about the Lord Jesus and His love for me, and believe in Him.”(3) This early knowledge was imparted to him by Grandmother Morris in the many times she read him the Bible, talked to him about Jesus, and nurtured the seed of the Gospel in his tender heart.
Guidance by God’s gentle hands would continue through H.M.’s youth and young adulthood. He escaped many temptations known to youth, married Mary Louise Beach at age 22, graduated from Rice University with a degree in civil engineering which led to becoming an instructor at the same university and allowed him to avoid being drafted into the horrors of World War II–all of which would prove very instrumental in God’s eventual work for him.
The foundation for his life’s work was still being laid, but another spiritual turning point was a series of sermons a visiting minister would preach at Henry’s home church. Dr. Irwin Moon, a speaker for Moody Bible Institute in his “Sermons From Science” presented the global flood of Noah’s day as an historical fact with scientific implications.
“H.M. had never heard anything like this before, and it simulated an interest that remained with him for the rest of his life. Dr. Moon’s messages generated a confidence in the absolute authority and scientific accuracy of of the Bible–a conviction he had not known before.” (4)
From this point forward, H.M. was absolutely committed to the trustworthiness of Scripture and determined to uncover answers still threatening the faith of his own students. Henry would spend many years studying, writing, and praying before The Genesis Flood would published and complete the circle of him influencing others as he himself was influenced.
And the circle continues today. Like R. A. Torrey, Grandma Morris, and Dr. Irwin Moon, we each have the potential to influence the next Henry Morris in a coming generation. It may be through a prayer, a child, giving our means sacrificially, or becoming a volunteer at the Creation Experience Museum. Wherever you are, consider how your life is influencing others and what you are giving back to the Lord for Him to use in advancing His kingdom in ways you’ll only see in Heaven.
We’ve all been asked the question. “Why does God allow evil in the world?” But there is another side to that question, a query that cannot be addressed by logic, history, or facts. It’s the heart behind the question, often a bruised heart deeply wounded by evil, loss, or betrayal.
We’ve seen a lot of popularity growth in the Flat Earth Theory, and its proponents try to tie themselves to Creationism. Here is a Christian response to these efforts.
In the previous month of Creation Matters, we examined answers to the question “How do we know Genesis (and for that matter the entire Old Testament) has been accurately preserved to our time?” In this article, we will unpack a very, very brief overview of the scientific and scholarly side of this question, touching on early manuscripts, scribal practice, and ancient witnesses to the O.T. text.
“As a creation museum, we encounter many questions about the Bible. While many of these center around interpreting Genesis or explaining why evolution falls short as a theory of origins, we do occasionally hear doubts about the preservation of the Old Testament. In other words, after all, how do we know Genesis has been accurately preserved in the 3,500 years since Moses penned it?”
