May 6 - Ken Ham: Christian Colleges Compromising Creationism, Bible's Authority

Answers in Genesis President/CEO Ken Ham has new research showing that Christian institutions of higher learning have gone too far gone down the pathway of secularism and they need to be either totally overhauled or scrapped in favor of new biblically-sound schools.

A hunch led him to survey the administration and faculty of 200 U.S. Christian campuses about their views on the authority of the Bible and the creation story versus evolution. A regular speaker on college campuses, Ham could tell that a metamorphosis has been occurring on Christian campuses. What he found is bound to shock parents who send their children to Christian four-year institutions, he said.

According to data gathered last year by the America's Research Group, only 17.3 percent of Christian institutions surveyed define "authority of the Bible" to mean "you believe everything it says." Other institutions said the Bible is "foundational" (30 percent); "a book of guidelines" (22 percent) or "inspired by God" (21.2 percent).

Additionally, when asked "what does your institution teach about the Bible," only 35.3 percent of respondents said they teach that it is true. The two most popular answers after that were "it is inspired by God" (25 percent) and "it is a book of guidelines"(23.1 percent).

While phrases such as "foundational" and "inspired by God" sound good to prospective students and their parents, Ham says those are newspeak, terms which are used because they sound pleasing, but mean something totally different. The data shows just how little "inspired of God" means with three follow-up questions. Respondents were asked if they believed in the inspiration, the inerrancy and the infallibility of the Scriptures. While nearly all respondents expressed their belief in the inspiration of the Scriptures (98.1 percent), less than three quarters of respondents (74 percent) affirmed their belief in the inerrancy, or total accuracy, of the Bible. Nearly 19 percent of respondents rejected the belief that the Scriptures are infallible or incapable of failing.

"Hall warned that if Christian professors teach youth that it is OK to change the Bible to accommodate evolution or an earth that has existed for millions of years, then students get the idea that it is also OK to undermine the authority of the Bible.

Without the strong teaching of Genesis, it won't be long before Christian students and faculty will be changing the Bible to accommodate other beliefs such as homosexuality and abortion, Ham argued. The young earth creationist asserted that the issue is really about preserving the Bible's authority as 100 percent true. "Until you get back to that issue (the Bible's authority), then you'll never be able to shut the door [on those issues]."