TEMPLES OF EVOLUTION 

TEMPLES OF DOOM

by Ken Ham

One of the latest "temples" to be built in the USA cost almost $18

million. This beautiful building and its complex technology are being

used to indoctrinate at least 120,000 school students each year, in

the religious belief that they are just animals in a fight for

survival in this evolving world.

Where do we find this structure? At the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri. But

BEWARE! This "temple" is really a prototype of similar "temples" that

the designers hope will be built throughout the world.

In the zoo's media information kit, we read that the state-of-the-art

educational center, called "The Living World," is "expected to lead

zoos of the world into the 21st century." Its purpose? ". . .to

combine high technology with live animals to present a unified view of

how life evolved...." The Hall of Animals, called 'An Introduction to

the Animals,' will take visitors on a tour of the animal kingdom, a

journey in which visitors will be able to trace life's evolution from

one-celled creatures to jellyfish, worms, and insects, then to the

parade of vertebrates: fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, and mammals. One

wall of fish includes lamprey eels, the first to develop a spinal

cord, a prerequisite for coming on land as amphibians.

CHARLES DARWIN ROBOT

As part of this spectacular display, "A life-like animatronic robot of

Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution explains the diversity of

the animal kingdom, will greet visitors to the hall and will introduce

Darwin's Theory of Evolution.... The final exhibit in the evolutionary

journey is the computer game Homo nextus, in which visitors make

guesses about what species will replace our own. A computer builds a

three-dimensional image based on those guesses."

FALSE INFORMATION

At the Natural Selection exhibit, visitors are told that Darwin did

not realize that "a major evolutionary change was taking place around

him Äthe larger night-flying species of moths of England were evolving

a darker color!" Everyone who visits the display is taught classic

Darwinian evolution as FACT.

MISLEADING INFORMATION

In the press kit we received a number of photographs, including one of

"Lucy." We are told that Lucy is the "oldest erect-walking human

ancestor ever found. The original skeleton, from which this replica

was meticulously reconstructed, is about 3.5 million years old and was

found in 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia." At the actual display,

we are told that "This is a reconstruction of an adult female

Australopithecus, the earliest direct ancestor of humans." From the

display, one would get the idea they had a whole skeleton of a human

apelike ancestor that is accepted as fact by all scientists!

MILLIONS TO SEE EXHIBIT

The St. Louis Zoo is the first in the world for which citizens voted

tax support. It is one of only three major zoos that charge no

admission and is one of the largest tourist attractions, with more

than 2.5 million people visiting annually. Robert Hyland, president of

the St. Louis Zoo commission, said that the St. Louis Zoo has become

an international leader in changing the mission of zoos. It is the

vision of the designers that this type of exhibit be adopted by zoos

around the world.

Some of the many other statements made at the exhibit include:

"Terrestrial vertebrates evolved from the lobe-finned fishes;

amphibians were the first vertebrates to walk on land; reptiles

evolved from amphibians 300 million years ago; mammals first appeared

on earth along with dinosaurs about 190 million years ago; humans

evolved from Australopithecus, a small ape a little larger than a

chimpanzee. "

It is good to remind ourselves of Romans 1:22-25: "Professing

themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the

uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to

birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.... Who changed the

truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more

than the Creator, who is blessed forever."

THE CONSEQUENCES

What will be the consequences of this beautifully presented

evolutionary propaganda? Millions of people will be graphically told

that science has proved they are just animals in the fight for

survival. But if this is so, Why should they not then act like

animals? For instance, why not take whatever you can get and why not

indiscriminate sex, or violence, just like any other "animal" in the

jungle?

What do impressionable school students, as well as adults, learn from

this exhibit? We came from slime for no reason. We don't know why we

are here, and we don't know where we are going (who knows what "Homo

nextus" will be, as the display informed us?). In America today, the

leading cause of death among teenagers, other than accident, is

suicide. And, no wonder! Evolution teaches we are just animals, and

there is no purpose or meaning to life.

WOE UNTO THEM

On the opening day of this exhibit, much praise was given for the

construction of this centerÄyet students don't even hear of the

possibility of creation; those who wrote the script have ruled it out.

Isaiah had a warning concerning this: "Woe unto them that call evil

good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for

darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah

5:20).

The prime mover behind the project was Mr. Robert Hyland, recipient of

many awards for his various achievements. He certainly has received

the praises of men: "Magistral Knight of the Sovereign Military Order

of Malta from Pope Paul VI; the Abe Lincoln Award from the Southern

Baptist Radio and Television Commission; the St. Louis award for

Outstanding Contributions to the Community 1975. In 1980, he was named

Churchman of the Year by the Religious Heritage of America for

contributions to the religious life of our country." The list goes on.

Even the governor, in his address at the Grand Opening in June this

year, said, "I wish God's richest blessing on this institutionÄon all

of you that have worked so hard to make it successful."

WARNING

Each one of us must stand before God the Creator one day to give an

account of our works. I, for one, would not look forward to standing

before the Creator to give an account of the millions of people led

astray because I had helped to indoctrinate them in the pagan and evil

philosophy of evolution. "Be not many masters, knowing that we shall

receive the greater condemnation" (James 3:1).

What would you do if your zoo adopted this kind of exhibit?

BACK TO GENESIS

The Institute for Creation Research, with the help of God's people, is

doing something about this terrible situation. We are conducting "Back

to Genesis" seminars across the nation to inform people on the truth

of Creation and the evils of evolution. Two such programs are being

conducted in the St. Louis area, November 10-11. See our "Speakers

Schedule" in this issue for details. Bring your friends to this

exciting program that gives glory to the Creator and equips people

with the knowledge necessary to defend creation and confront this

evolutionary belief.