Why Laugh at Creationists?

Browsing the Internet can be an interesting experience whenever something totally unexpected comes up on the YouTube dashboard. Such is the title of a whole series of videos bearing the one title, Why do people laugh at Creationists? 

Laugh at Creationists? That's new! I thought we Creationists are ignored. Like good old Alfred Wegener. This son of a clergyman theorised that rather than remaining permanently fixed, the continents of our globe are on the move. Yet he was totally ignored by all the geologists of his day. Moving continents? How ridiculous could he get? He was ignored, maybe even laughed at. That was because Wegener was not a geologist, but a meteorologist who had an interest in geology from an amateur's perspective. According to contemporary geologists, anyone who is not in their profession should not stick his oar in. It took quite a bit of persuasion and thorough research before realising that Plate Tectonics is to accepted as valid science.

Or the case of one young doctor who, in the 1840s, was put in charge of a maternity ward at one of the top teaching hospitals in Vienna, Allegemeine Krakenaus. Here, this medic was very disturbed by the rate of mortality taking place on a regular basis - one out of every six women died, as was the case of all other hospitals of the day. Then this doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis by name, believed that some invisible agent or element was passed around from patient to patient.*

He thought up the idea that after each patient was examined, whether it was an autopsy carried out on a dead patient or checking out a living patient, the medic must wash his hands before examining the next patient. Immediately, the death rate dropped significantly from one out of every six to one out of 84.

But poor Semmelweis didn't get the praise he so richly deserved. Instead, it was scorned and belittled by lazy and prejudiced colleagues and jealous superiors. Perhaps they believed that Semmelweis had some supernatural power or that there is something magic about this constant washing, washing, washing which does not tie with science. Had he wrote and published a book on his discoveries, chances were that such a book wouldn't sell well, if at all, in the medical profession. After all, invisible element? Mythology has no place in the hard realities of science.

After such hostile treatment, Semmelweis lost his contract, and after watching the mortality rate rise again, he lost his mind and he was committed to an institution where he ended his days with a mental breakdown. Who would have ever thought that with the linking of bacteria, discovered in mould growth as early as 1676, with infection and disease could be the cause of such a high mortality rate? And Alfred Wegener, who was also ignored by his contemporaries, such life was not made easy for him either. What a ridiculous theory, this nonsense of moving continents!

Going back to YouTube. As already mentioned, there is a whole series of videos, looking to be as many as 45 of them altogether, themed Why do people laugh at Creationists? Checking the author's stats, at this time of writing, he has 276,621,362 views and 960,000 subscribers, his field also covers a much wider range of topics including his support for the UK to remain in the European Union. 

Indeed, his first video featured a student who used three false arguments to support his view of favouring Creationism. One was that the spherical orbit of the Earth around the Sun was within the Goldilocks zone, the second was that the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River was cut in just five minutes, and his third argument was that water is unique to our planet only, and does not exist elsewhere. As such, together with Flat-Earthers, we Creationists deserve to be laughed at. But on a more serious note, if I were to write a paper supporting Divine Creation which would satisfy the demands of Creation Research, then submit the paper to a team of secular scientists, one or two might give some time to answer, the rest would just ignore it altogether.

It was the student's "Grand Canyon in five minutes" theory which caught my attention and decided to answer in the comment forum. But it was not only to "prove myself" but also use this opportunity to confess my allegiance with Creationism, just as I would freely confess Jesus Christ as my Saviour. No matter, this video alone has 2,508,131 views. Therefore, I felt it was worth giving it a go if Creationism is to gain any creditability.

How wonderful it is for YouTube to allow quite a large margin to comment without being cut off. Because I had quite a bit to say. 

Firstly, I explained that the Earth's orbit around the Sun is not spherical at all, but follows the edge of a slightly elliptical plane, with the Sun not quite at the centre. Therefore, where one side of the orbit is at the Perihelion, that is, nearer to the Sun, it's winter in the UK and summer in Australia. At the other side of the orbit, known as the Aphelion, our planet is further away from the Sun during the UK summer. 

Whether this is a work of a Designer or just mere chance, I left for them to decide. But since the Southern hemisphere is mostly ocean which takes longer to warm up than the landmasses of the Northern hemisphere, if this slight eccentricity did not exist and the orbit was perfectly circular, then it's likely that much of the Southern hemisphere would be covered with a permanent ice sheet, very much like the one which covered the Northern hemisphere during the Ice Age. This could have a big impact on the existence of life, particularly with the oxygen output from the oceans.

Then, together with my hikes into the Grand Canyon and thus, my observation of the rock strata resting comfortably on granite bedrock, I concluded that these layers of limestone and sandstone were laid down by the waters of a long-gone ocean, and put forward the idea of the Noachian Flood, along with the theory that the Canyon was cut in months, possibly years, as the floodwaters drained off the rising continent, and not in five minutes. As for extraterrestrial waters, I reminded the student that since boyhood, I was aware of frozen water polar ice caps on Mars and elsewhere, and after conversion, hadn't changed my mind on this.

At the Grand Canyon, 1995.

Then about three weeks later someone contributed, asking me how vast limestones rock layers form, considering that limestone is formed out of calcite, a material gotten from the shells of marine life, if not taking millions, or even billions of years to accumulate into such rock layers.

Here I have always found this to be a problem, to be honest. Here in England, one particular type of limestone, chalk, is very common here. This stone makes up the rolling hillsides and downs of, for example, the Chilterns, the South Downs, the White Cliffs of Dover, and the rolling coastal hills which includes Ballard Down in Dorset and the Isle of Wight. I have always thought that during antediluvian days, the oceans must have had a tremendously vast population of such marine life to form such landscapes. Not forgetting the chalk seabed under the English Channel which makes the cutting and maintenance of the Channel Tunnel viable. And I haven't even included hard limestones such as Portland Stone, often used for construction.

How much easier it must be to assume such huge formations must take multiple millions of years for such rock layers to build up than for it to rapidly form under the intense pressure of a fast-moving global flood. But a Flood-based origin I'm willing to accept, whichever way it happened. To believe in the historicity of the Bible does involve swimming hard against the current of Charles Lyell's uniformitarian geology and Darwin's organic evolution which remains universally acceptable.

I'm one of a small number of Creationists who is willing to stick my neck out. Indeed, I might just be ignored, teased, laughed at, or to be made to look ridiculous but to be honest, I'll rather be a fool for the glory of God than be wise in the eyes of the world. Even in my own church, I'm not taken as seriously as a brother who is a graduate, especially in the realm of leadership or even delivering a preach. Or maybe there is this train of thinking going around among those who know me well - the "he's not capable" or "I don't think he can do that" or "I doubt he'll be successful". The reason for this is straightforward. I don't come across as one who is articulate or well educated. Fair enough.

But "in Christ, I can do all things" (Philippians 4:13.) Yea, I hold on to that. One example of this occurred back in 1980. Just a year before I was made redundant as a semi-skilled machinist in an aircraft factory (British Aircraft Corporation, which was later renamed British Aerospace) and I had trouble looking for suitable work until someone suggested going self-employed. Indeed, one or two of the Elders did not believe I could manage that, but I went ahead anyway and formed my own window-cleaning business. Yes, it was difficult at first. I struggled to make ends meet. I upset a few of my clientele. I was on the verge of throwing in the towel. I even applied for another job. When I didn't get that job and instead returned to my business, I decided to keep on persevering.

Eventually, it paid off. Throughout those 35 years, I managed to make enough not only to live reasonably well, but I was able to save up for travel. Flying to destinations such as to Israel in 1993, and then to New York in 1995 to backpack across the USA to Los Angeles, and then in less than two years later, to fly to Singapore, and then onward to Cairns in Queensland, then after backpacking the Pacific Coast with its glorious Great Barrier Reef, on to Sydney, then from there direct to Los Angeles, before returning to London on a Round-the-World experience in 1997. It was those glorious days, the explosive climax of my bachelorhood before I met and married Alex. Those days when I didn't claim a penny in benefit or low-income allowances. It pays to persevere against the odds and not throw it all in.

Another area where starting up was difficult and discouraging, and it's writing for this Blogger page! Indeed, at first, viewer numbers remained low, and it was very discouraging to see all other bloggers captivating readers by the thousands while I only picked up around 20-30 each week. Indeed, I thought, what's the use? I was even tempted to throw in the towel in this area too. After all, I'm a labourer who failed at school. Who am I, pretending to be someone I'm not?

Yet I enjoy writing, and I have always enjoyed writing since boyhood. Later, the advance of the Internet has open doors which before I could only dream about. Therefore, something of addiction grew within, until every Saturday afternoon is Blogging day. As for readership, at this moment of writing, I have more than 150,000 views. This I consider this to be a respectable number and its growing by the hundreds each week.

And now I have launched into something very new. It began while I was sitting at a Costa Coffee bar in Bracknell Town Centre with a croissant and a cappuccino coffee. There, I thought about opening a YouTube account and making videos of easy walks which older people would appreciate. And so, at Bournemouth and Swanage, I shot my first two videos. When they came out, I knew that I have a lot to learn! My camera was shaking, I got my fingers in front of the lens, I breathed heavily after climbing a hill, and maybe the video was rather monotonous, filming the same scene all the time. To a professional, these were rubbish and I knew it. But I still published them to see what happens.

The exact camera I use for YouTube Videos

Lessons learned from the past taught me not to throw in the towel. If I fail, I fail. If absolutely nobody clicks onto my channel, well, at least I gave it a go! I've tried it. Indeed, right now I can visualise with clarity all my church Elders and brothers shaking their heads in their plea to give it up now to save myself from getting hurt. This was the discouragement I have received from other church members for many years. 

But no, instead, I will carry on making videos and publish them. And as I make each one, I learn from my mistakes. And with learning and experience, real enjoyment will also bud and blossom into a beautiful flower.

Perseverance is hard. It's difficult. It can get very discouraging. But eventually, it can pay off. The same goes with my conviction that Divine Creation as recorded in Genesis will eventually pay off, despite being ignored or laughed at present. My vindication will await me in Heaven. 

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* S.I. McMillen, None of These Diseases, 1963, 1980, Lakeland Publishers.