Two different homes, two different outcomes

by Ken Ham, president, AiG–USA

July 31, 2006

June was a very special month for me. We didn’t set out to plan things this way at AiG, but I’m always reminded that there’s a Higher Authority for whom nothing is a surprise.

The most important book project I’ve ever been involved with was released last month—the same month eleven years ago that my father passed on into the Lord’s presence. This book and my late father are intricately connected.

Our new book, coauthored with me by my youngest brother Stephen, is called Genesis of a Legacy. This book traces our upbringing and shares the influence that a godly father (and mother) had on the lives of their six children. It is a testimony to a father who led his home to stand firmly on the authority of the Word of God. 

This book is about parenting and how to build a Christian worldview in children, but it is also about husband and wife relationships. In particular, Stephen and I wanted our book to challenge fathers and mothers to think about the kind of legacy they’re leaving their children. Of course, our challenge to parents is to leave a spiritual legacy.

Most people don’t know this, but the ministry of Answers in Genesis is really a result of the spiritual legacy my father left me.

Ken and his father at Ken and Mally’s wedding in 1972.

It seems so fitting that by God’s plan (certainly not ours), this book is being released in the same month that is the anniversary of our father’s promotion to heaven. (And last month we celebrated Father’s Day.) Our father’s legacy lives on in this book … and in this ministry (and in the lives of each of his children). 

I couldn’t help comparing my father’s legacy to that of another man who left one of a totally different sort.

I am writing this letter just after my wife Mally and I returned from England, where I spoke at AiG–UK’s international creation conference. While in England, we visited Darwin’s home, called Down House, where millions of dollars have recently been spent restoring the home (it’s almost a shrine to the man). 

As we toured through the house, we went into the room where Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species—a book which literally changed the world.  We stood there and stared at the very chair Darwin sat as he wrote this book—his most famous legacy.

It was a book that attacked the foundations of the Christian faith, with an impact that was felt around the world. I prayed, “Lord, bring down this ‘house’—this ‘house’ of evolution that has permeated cultures around the world.”

In the last exhibit in Darwin’s house, I stood there and read the results of Darwin’s legacy. Read this for yourself and weep: 

Many Christians believed that the world and everything in it, including mankind, had been created by God in the beginning and had remained unaltered [sic] ever since.

… (E)very living creature looked the way it did because God had designed it that way. Darwin’s theory made nonsense of all of this [emphasis mine].

These quotes were actually superimposed over the text of Genesis chapter 1 presented in the exhibit!

Darwin’s legacy, according to his home, was to make “nonsense” of the authority of God’s Word in Genesis. But my father’s legacy was to stand on the authority of God’s Word beginning in Genesis: two very different homes.

The ministry of AiG is one the Lord has raised up to combat Darwin’s legacy. In reality, AiG vs. the evolutionary establishment is a battle between two opposing legacies. Darwin’s legacy has permeated nations around the world, and wherever there’s a formal education system, Darwinian evolution is taught as fact. 

Millions around the world are being led astray by this horrible legacy. We can see the effects of it nearly everywhere: millions of students are being taught that Genesis is “nonsense.”

All Christian doctrines (our Christian worldview, morality, etc.) are founded in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. They are not “nonsense”—they are real history. These chapters are part of the infallible, inerrant Word of God.

God is powerfully blessing the proclamation of His Word through AiG. As I think of my father’s pivotal role in raising his children to follow the Bible, I am thrilled when I hear of other parents similarly influencing their children:

I wanted to share with you how you have impacted my life. It has changed the way I live, look at things, and most importantly, how I teach my children.

I was blindly following the Darwin theories as fact for my entire adult life. I don’t see how I could have ever doubted the existence of our Wonderful and Generous Creator!

Now that my eyes have been opened, I see evolution being taught as fact everywhere, even at DisneyWorld in Florida (the big bang, evolution and its supposed relation to oil and coal, etc.). That must be causing such an impression with our country’s youth.
– C. U., Michigan

I need to ask you to do something special this month. In a way, it’s a “thank you” to the memory of my father … and for the legacy he has left as seen in this worldwide ministry of AiG.

Now, while we’re so thrilled to see so many people becoming excited by the Creation Museum project and have given generously (the museum is scheduled to open, debt-free, in 10 months), we face a challenge this month. While we continue to raise funds for the museum, the rest of the ministry needs increased support or we cannot continue at our current level.

Although I do share some of our needs with you each month, I think you’ll agree that we are fairly low key about this. This month, though, we need to be a little bolder in our request and bring our immediate need to your attention.

Your gift to the general fund this month will be a part of your legacy to support the Lord’s work in proclaiming the vital creation/gospel message.

Your donation will ensure that AiG’s seminar ministry, award-winning website (with up to 60,000 daily visits), radio outreach (on 800-plus stations in America) and other outreaches continue to have an impact in America, as together we proclaim the authority of the Bible from its very first verse. Thank you.

Recommended resources

Genesis of a Legacy: Parenting Study Kit (Retail $59.99.) With thought-provoking discussion questions and engaging study assignments, Ken Ham and Steve Ham equip parents at all stages to “train up their children in the way that they should go” … according to God’s Word!	Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World This hard-hitting lecture by Ken Ham examines the significance of the family in relation to Genesis.	Pilgrim’s Progress (The), All-In-One Curriculum Great for homeschool, family devotions, Sunday schools, and personal or small group studies! Includes reproducible student pages on bonus CD-ROM.	Leading Little Ones to God Now regarded as a classic, this book of Bible teachings will help children not only to praise God and love Him, but also to know Him better. Parents and teachers will find this book ideal for nurturing in young Christians a personal relationship with God.
Genesis: The Key to Reclaiming the Culture Ken Ham’s most popular talk on the relevance of Genesis, this presentation is a challenge to the church that explains why a belief in a literal Genesis is so important. A must for Christian leaders, youth leaders, homeschools, Sunday schools … in any class at all.	Lie: Evolution (The) This book powerfully equips Christians to defend the book of Genesis and opens eyes to the evil effects of evolution on today’s society.	Creation: Science Confirms the Bible Is True Dr. Jason Lisle systematically dismantles Darwin’s claims and shows that the very things Darwin used to propagate his beliefs actually undermine them! Also refutes the dating methods most commonly used to support the evolutionary timeline.

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