ABSTRACTS
The 2022 Creation Research Society Conference:Engaging, Cutting-edge, and Uplifting
Liberty University hosted the Creation Research Society’s largest annual conference comprising 186 registered attendees. Members from the CRS came for engaging workshops, cutting-edge presentations, and uplifting networking from July 21st-23rd.
Workshops
The workshops focused on different areas of historical creation study: astronomy (led by Danny Faulkner from Answers in Genesis), biology (led by Rob Carter from Creation Ministries International), education (led by Mike Riddle from the Creation Training Initiative), and geology ((led by Marcus Ross, Liberty School of Engineering (LUSE) Adjunct Professor and Cornerstone Educational Supply owner). The Astronomy Workshop group visited the Liberty University Observatory and started a discussion encouraging Liberty University to use the observatory as a location for Creation Science research. During the tour, Danny Faulkner helped the Liberty University technicians garner this photo of the Ring Nebula.
The Geology Workshop group went on a field trip exploring the Precambrian to Cambrian metamorphic rocks of the Lynchburg, Virginia area. Over 30 participants joined the trip, which included visiting a local greenstone/metabasalt quarry for mineral collecting. The Biology Workshop group discussed a wide variety of topics including population modeling, problems in baraminology, genetic entropy, the meaning of “information” in biology, and the ethical issues involved in stem cell and cloning research, specifically as this relates to the use of fetal cells derived from abortion. The Education Workshop group discussed why the church is losing the education wars and how to fight back with well-prepared, engaging, and informative presentations that ensure students are equipped to defend their faith.
Presentations
Rob Carter gave the plenary presentation Friday morning, offering a new paradigm on Baraminology. Ying Liu of Liberty University gave the plenary presentation on Saturday morning, elucidating the history and effects of Covid from a biblical perspective. All meetings were well attended. Following the plenary talks, Friday’s and Saturday’s conference sessions featured twenty-four 30-minute presentations followed by question-and-answer periods
Liberty University School of Engineering Research Professor Emeritus Dr. John Baumgardner sponsored four students who gave presentations at the conference.
Dr. Andy McIntosh, who holds an emeritus chair in thermodynamics at the University of Leeds in Great Britain, gave the Henry Morris Memorial Lecture on Friday night (see figure) entitled “Henry Morris’ Legacy and His Affect in Modern Culture.” This presentation was open to the public and was received very well.
Networking
The attendees were uplifted, engaged, and connected during the conference. Uplifting fellowship is one of the best parts of this conference; 44% of the attendees surveyed stated that it was the fellowship that was their favorite part of the conference. Attendees could be spotted engaging in conversation on the way to and from meals, between and during lectures, or at workshops. Many of these discussions ended in exchanging contact information. Most of those connections were to partner with projects or as invitations to come and speak at their church or regional creation group
Here are some comments made by attendees:
“Even if you are not a scientist, there are sessions you will find helpful for personal, spiritual, and educational growth.”
“You will learn much and find that the society is full of people who love God, His Word, and science--just like you do."
“The CRS conferences are a great opportunity to learn from creation scientists, hear about new research that’s being done in creationism, and have thought-provoking discussions with like-minded people. If you’re interested in digging deeper into creation science studies, you should come!”
The abstracts of the presentations will be published in an upcoming issue of Creation Research Society Quarterly. No recordings of the presentations were made
Joseph Kezele: CRS’s Newest Fellow
Dr. Joseph Kezele was recently honored with the rank of Fellow by the CRS board of directors because of his outstanding service to the Society. Dr. Kezele has been a friend and supporter of CRS for many years, but his recent help fulfilled a crucial need. In 2022 the sudden death of Dr. Kevin Anderson left multiple classes that needed to be taught to fulfill CRS’s contract with Arizona Christian University. Dr. Kezele quickly volunteered and took over all the classes Dr. Anderson was slated to teach.
Math Matters: Euclid of Alexandria
by Don DeYoung, PhD
The name of Euclid echoes throughout mathematics. This Greek scholar (~300 B.C.) wrote 13 books comprising the single title Elements. This may be the most successful textbook ever written, still in print after 23 centuries with over 1,000 editions and surpassed only by the Bible. The Elements includes 465 math propositions or postulates with geometric proofs. Some of the statements appear trivial such as Postulate 1: A straight line may be drawn between any two points. However, this formal expression of mathematics was new territory. Later postulates include the exploration of prime numbers and the volumes of cylinders and pyramids. Euclid’s proofs are deductive, drawing conclusions from previously known facts. The approach has broad applications including the scientific method, logic, philosophy and law.
Thinking Matters: Evolution and the Coronavirus
by Andrew Repp, PhD
If you ask for examples of evolution, you might hear about Galapagos finches, or about peppered moths—or, more recently, about the coronavirus. An article in The Atlantic begins,
If evolution is a numbers game, the coronavirus is especially good at playing it. Over the past year and a half, it’s copied itself quickly and sloppily in hundreds of millions of hosts, and hit upon a glut of genetic jackpots that further facilitate its spread (Wu, 2021).
Some of these mutations reached national news, so that “delta” and “omicron” became almost household words. People the most part, this has not happened. However, the coronavirus certainly does give us an example of mutations that increase survival rates—and thus (says Darwinian logic) all the various forms of life could have arisen from such mutations, simply by chance.