PATRIOT UNIVERSITY DISSERTATION FOR DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO DR. WAYNE KNIGHT SUBMITTED BY KENT HOVIND PENSACOLA, FLORIDA MAY 25, 1991Dedication page I can think of many people who have been influential in the production of this book. Miss Kim Van Gundy spent countless hours typing, correcting and retyping the manuscript. My Mom and Dad supplied the computer for this work to be done on. There have been many times they financially supported my ministry. My wife has put up with me reading well into the night many, many times. She has also patiently let me spend hundreds of hours on the phone gathering information and scheduling meetings. In those hundreds of moments when I thought of not completing this work, she encouraged me to go on. My three children; Kent Andrew, Bric and Marlissa have often traveled with me as I preach on the subject of dinosaurs and the Bible. They have been a great help to me as we set up (and later pack up) three tables full of books, bones, tapes, maps and graphs for each meeting. Patriot University inspired me the continue my education by making it possible for me to study at my own pace and complete this thesis as 1 could. Hundreds of pastors and laymen have encouraged me to continue on in this unusual and unique ministry. Many science teachers and writers have left their mark in my life, Some of these have been evolutionists and some have been creationists.Most of all I must thank my Lord Jesus Christ for patiently working with me and equipping me for the work of the ministry. I marvel that He has counted me faithfu1, putting me into the ministry. Kent Hovind 5-25-91INTRODUCTION Hello, my name is Kent Hovind. I ama creation/science evangelist. I-live in Pensacola, Florida. IT have been a high school science teacher since 1976, I've been very active in the creation/evolutien contraversy for quite some time. As an evangelist, God has given me the opportunity to preach and teach the wonderful story of His marvelous creation over 400 times each year to churches, schools (public and private), parent groups, youth groups, on the radio, and in university debates. It is my burning desire to help Christians get back to a simple faith in God’s Word. Satan’s method has always’ been to instill doubt in God’s Word. The first sentence that came from Satan that is recorded for us in the Bible is: "Yea, hath God said?" He started by questioning God's Word in the garden of Eden. It worked there so he has used it ever since. In the twentieth century the major attack Satan has launched has been against the first eleven chapters of Genesis. He knows that the entire Bible stands or falls on the validity of these chapters. 1 believe that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, inspired, perfect Word af God. I believe that the Bible needs to be read and believed as it stands, Christians are often guilty of neglecting or twisting the Bible to fit their lifestyle or their preconceived ideas.In this book. I711 be covering, in a nutshell, the creation/eveluticn controversy. I will explain why it is so important, the effects that the theory of evclution has had on our society, the creation alternative, and what we should do about the problem. I will try to answer questions that modern science has raised from a Scriptural viewpoint. I am, without apology, a Bible-believing Christian. I have been saved for twenty-two years by the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. 1 believe that God's Word is infallible and flawless in every detail. If the Bible says that something was created a certain way, then that is just the way it happened. Now, as a science teacher, I want to keep an open mind and understand why, how, and when God created the earth, if those things can be known. There are some things ve cannot understand, and some things I believe that we can. I will be quick to point out that "there is nothing new under the sun." Most of my ideas are the result of the input of hundreds ef Godly men and women through the years. I have attempted in this book te simply explain the things I have learned through many years of studying both science and the Bible. In the last twenty-two years I have read hundreds of books by creationists and evolutionists alike on the subject of origins. Many great thinkers and scientists have had an influence on me. I awe much to many, but I must in the final analysis, take the blame/credit for whatis written in this book. Many things I can document and verify with the "experts" (whatever an expert is? Some things in this book I couldn't prave to anyone. I only ask that you realistically lock at the ideas presented and ask yourself the simple question, "does this key open the lock, does this answer the question?" If it does--it just might be right. Only God knows all the details of how it really happened. 1 believe He has revealed many details about the original creation in His book the Bible. Everything else we come up with down here is just cur theory. My weekly radia broadcast has been instrumental in answering a number @f questions about the creation/ evolution controversy. I have tried to answer questions as thoroughly and scripturally as I know how, Each broadcast dealt with a different topic. We have selected some of the most helpful topics and developed them into chapters toward this beck. The chapters, and consequently the subject matter of the book, begins by discussing the history of evolution. Where did we get this crazy idea anyway? The second chapter deals with the fact that evolution is a religion and not a science, and therefore, should be excluded from public schoo) curriculum, The third chapter deals with the effects of evolution, What has the teaching of evolution brought te the world in the way of good or harm? In the fourth chapter we deal with the subject of time. How old is the earth? In the fifth chapter wediscuss the Big Bang theory. In the sixth chapter we give information about the Geologic Column, the foundation of all evolutionary teaching. In chapter seven we answer questions about radio carbon dating. Chapter eight gives the truth about cave men. Chapter nine discusses the evidence" evolutionists have for evolution, that is, archaeopteryx. Chapter ten answers the question, science created life in the laboratory?" We took ten chapters of the book te destroy the edifice of evolution, and clear away the rubble so that we could build on a clean foundation. Several legitimate questions about the creation account given in the Bible need to be answered. Number one, "Don’t all scientists believe in evolution?” In chapter eleven we discuss scientists, past and present, wha were creationists. In chapter twelve, we answer a commonly raised complaint, “Genesis 1 conflicts with Genesis 2." In chapter thirteen we give interesting evidence that dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible. I believe that dinosaurs are not only in the Bible, but they have lived with man all through his six thousand year history. In chapter fourteen we deal with the question, “Are dinosaurs extinct?" In chapter fifteen we discuss the human and dinosaur footprints found together in Glen Rose, Texas. In chapter sixteen we give the creationists’ alternative theory to explain the geologic features of the earth within a six thousand year framework.While all of the evidence is not in yet, I feel it is still the best option to take God's word at face value. The Bible has never been praven wrong yet, and I believe it never will be.THE HISTORY OF EVOLUTION Where in the world did the idea come from that things left to themselves can improve with time? Who would start a crazy idea like that? This idea is the opposite of everything that we observe in the world today. For instance, all the highways in our nation today left to themselves decay, deteriorate, and fall apart. A house left to itself will become a wreck. It takes work and constant planning to make anything improve. Everything tends toward disorder. The first and second laws of thermodynamics are well established scientific laws that have never been observed in the universe to be broken. The first law says that matter cannot be created nor destrayed by ordinary means. We da not see anything being created today, and yet we do see an entire universe of created material. This clearly indicates a Creator. There are people in the world today whe wish to avoid the concept of God. They do not like the idea of a God telling them what to do. Therefore, they have come up with the most dangerous, damnable doctrine every imagined, evolution. 1 would like in this chapter to trace the history of evolutionary doctrine. Where did this dangerous dectrine come from? Evolution is purely a religion, There is no scientific evidence at all to back up any form of macro evolution,