It’s all about power and control over the lives of others. They admit it out loud.
Noted creationist Ken Ham came right out and said it: “It wasn’t long ago that creationism was the basis of our society. A creation basis means there are absolutes. If you accept a belief in God as Creator, then you accept that there are laws, as He is the Lawgiver. He is the absolute authority, and we are under total obligation to Him.”
He lamented further, “When we look at the United States and other countries today, we see increases in homosexuality, support for abortion on demand, disobedience to those in authority, people who do not want to work, pornography, the abandonment of marriage and modest clothing, to name but a few examples.”
The article is best summarized in my own unflattering words, to wit: “People are enjoying too many freedoms to pursue happiness in ways contrary to the dictates and decrees of my religion. Teaching creationism is a way to make people believe that my religious decrees are authoritative and rooted in scientifically proven reality, thereby empowering me to issue moral decrees without any need to justify myself. Our country needs creationism so that Americans will realize that I am one of ‘those in authority’ to whom obedience is required.”
It wasn’t just a one-off
He reiterated in a later article, “The growing acceptance of atheistic evolution has resulted in many rejected God as Created. Over the years, many have used evolution to justify sinful behavior. If you accept a belief in God as Creator, then you accept that there are laws, since He is the law-giver. God’s Law is the reflection of His holy character. He is the absolute authority, and we are under total obligation to Him.”
In 2008, twenty years later, Ham maintained the same theme: “The more subsequent generations believe the Bible is not the ultimate authority, and that one cannot take it as written, then eventually such people can totally abandon Scripture and move towards a moral relativism (one will do what is right in their own eyes). Believing in millions of years is not the reason there is abortion and pornography—sin is the reason for such things. The ancient Romans aborted babies—long before Darwinian evolution and millions of years were popularized. The issue we challenge people with concerns not undermining (thus rejecting) the absolute authority of God’s Word!”
He said it again. It’s all about power: the authority to simply decree things as fatwas not to be questioned. Without popular belief in creationism, that claim to absolute authority is difficult to defend.
It’s not just Ken Ham; it’s pretty much all of them
Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and ever fixated on what other people do with their nether regions, endorsed the works of theologian Robert L. Reymond, citing this excerpt: “What then is the theological significance of biblical creationism? Not only does it address and satisfy the screaming intellectual need that we all have as thinking persons for a rational explanation of the universe and ourselves that will preserve significance for us at the same time, but it also defines who we are as men and leaves us, so defined, with great worth and dignity. It also provides the theistic context for necessary for moral absolutes.”
Theocrat Roy Gane builds upon this argument: “Such laws, other Old Testament writings, and teachings of Jesus and New Testament writers progressively guide faulty people toward restoration of Creation ideals … Second, divine laws are not arbitrary, but “for your good” (Deut 10:13). If God is our Creator, as the Bible consistently affirms, he knows what is best for us, just as the manufacturer of a vehicle has the best understanding of its optimal maintenance.”
He came right out and said it: he claims to know what is best for all of us, and more importantly, he makes it clear that he won’t listen to a single contrary word that you say.
David Skjaerlund, whose article appears at The Forerunner under the pen name “Editorial Staff” (but faithfully preserved with its original attribution by Yours Truly), reiterated the idea that creationism is necessary to justify the imposition of brutal, Taliban-like religious law: “Many organizations, such as the ACLU and the Humanist Association, are waging a war against the teaching of creationism. … Part of the controversy surrounding the teaching of creation is that it naturally demands accountability to God. God, as the Creator, holds the right of ownership over His creation and thus has absolute authority. Since He is the Creator and owner of our lives, He expects us to be proper stewards and to live according to the rules which He has established to preserve His property.”
The penalty for disobeying this movement? Putting us to death. “Capital crimes against the family include rebellion to parents, homosexuality and adultery. Sound harsh? Then what you are saying, in effect, is that God is harsh and that treason against the family is “not as bad” as treason against the state.”
I almost guarantee you that three out of four members of Trump’s cabinet support this and would love to see this happen.
The practical threat to our free society
We can gasp in horror over MAGA’s draconian religious law, and we can shake our heads at the patently obvious, self-serving motive for pushing creationism in schools. But the real danger is this:
The people who want to govern us have made it absolutely clear that they will not listen to a word that you say that goes contrary to them. We already see that incredible arrogance in Mike Johnson’s “Biblical worldview.” Public hearings or congressional hearings will become merely performative exercise, as these people have already decided that they will ignore any input or testimony that runs contrary to their dictates.
They intend to stampede our liberties into the ground and threaten us with government violence if we disobey — refusing to listen to any of our objections, let alone respect the rights of anyone thus trampled.