Viewpoint of Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman

As the father of six children, I can certainly agree with the Bible when it tells us that “Lo,  children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them…” (Psalm 127:3,5a)

I love my children. Even so, I also know how it feels when my children do things that displease me, my wife and God. As the title of one of our radio program scripts put it: “Your little angel … isn’t!” From the moment of our birth, our thoughts and actions are tainted by the sin that affects each descendant of Adam. No one has to teach a child to throw a tantrum and say “No!” No one needs to train a child to be selfish and disobey his parents.

Recently, a Jewish friend from New York told a wonderful story that ties this very topic to evolution. Let me share it with you just as he read it to me from a book in his personal library.

There is a famous anecdote about the great Torah sage, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, who was once traveling on a plane with his son and granddaughter. Next to him was the Secretary-General of the Israeli Trade Federation. The man was amazed at the dedication of the son and granddaughter to the elderly rabbi. He confided sadly to the rabbi that he almost never saw his children and grandchildren.

The rabbi explained to him that the difference in their relationships to their children and grandchildren could be traced to their differing views of Creation. “You believe in the Darwinian view of life as the result of random, purposeless events,” he said, “so as far as your descendants are concerned, you’re just one generation closer to the apes than they are.”

The rabbi continued: “We, on the other hand, do not believe we are superior to our fathers and mothers. Quite the contrary. For us, the central event in history was the Revelation at Sinai. The generations immediately after that Revelation lived in awe of their parents as people to whom God actually spoke. And their children in turn viewed them with veneration for having known those who heard God speak.

“And so it is with each passing generation. My children and grandchildren honor me as one who had contact with spiritual giants whose greatness is almost beyond their comprehension. Therefore, they attribute to me a wisdom and spiritual sensitivity that they do not possess.”

Makes sense, doesn’t it? If evolution were true, then the second law of thermodynamics is magically reversed. With a wave of the Darwinian magic wand, the downward arrow of entropy – from order to disorder – becomes an upward arrow where simple creatures evolve upwards to ever more complex and glorious creatures! And with each successive generation, man becomes just a little more distant from his ape ancestors. Evolutionary thinking would have us believe that humans are now evolving into beings that can perhaps best be described as super-human! So as parents and grandparents, we are less evolved than our children are, making us less worthy of honor and respect!

As I was pondering this delightful story, I remembered what one member of our staff told me about his recent experience at a homeschool co-op. He taught three grades of youngsters about the evidence for biblical creation. Steve told me that all of the 100+ students he taught that day were very respectful and eager to learn about God’s magnificent creation. They were also delighted to meet the author of our Letting God Create Your Day, Volume 8 book because this was what their teachers had used as a devotional throughout the school year.

Those who have had little contact with homeschooled children would have been delighted to see how bright and inquisitive these children were … and not one of them had any difficulty socializing with the other students! They had dozens of questions, and each one waited for his or her turn to speak. When a picture was shown from a book, they crowded around, their eyes wide with anticipation of seeing something new. And since it was their last day of the school year, some of their eyes were sorrowful, knowing they would have to wait three long months until the school co-op would meet again.

Steve told me why he hadn’t homeschooled his children. “Forty years ago, evolution wasn’t being taught as if it were fact,” he said. “Public school wasn’t perfect even then,” he continued, “but it was nothing like the public schools of today. Gender-neutral bathrooms, explicit sex education, the rewriting of history and the extreme bias in favor of leftist ideas – these weren’t a big problem when my two daughters were attending public school.”

Unlike Steve, I homeschooled all six of our children and have not regretted that decision. In fact, I have recommended it to many of my friends. And yet, I know that homeschooling is difficult or next to impossible for some parents, so I can sympathize with their situation. Still, there is so much at stake. One of Steve’s daughters is now a mother of four who is still walking with the Lord. His other daughter, though, has walked away from the faith. He attributes it, at least in part, to her education – especially at college.

There are many factors in life that will cause our children to be drawn to Christ or steered away from Him. Evolution is undoubtedly one of the worst influences. So whether you send your children to public school or homeschool them, we hope you will consider Creation Moments to be your partner in training up your children in the way they should go.

We offer a wide variety of resources – many of them free – to help parents and churches teach children the truth about origins. Keep reading to find out about one such resource we think should be in every home and church library!

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