| Report: 5th International Conference on Creationism by Delbert Draeger (May-August, 2004) |
As a first time attendee to this conference, I was duly impressed with the commitment and professionalism of the
presenters and hosts of this conference. I truly appreciate and thank the LSI for the opportunity and financial
grant to attend this conference in August, 2003, at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA.
The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for creation researchers to share their latest research and
provide an opportunity to discuss this research relevant to the legal and professional issues involved and how
they affect the teaching of creation based science.
The structure of this six day conference consisted of four sessions each day, each session 90 minutes in length,
with two different papers being presented each session. The last 15-30 minutes of each session was open for
participants to ask questions or make comments to the presenter.
I was surprised at the in-depth questioning many of the individuals had, even though some did not have a
science based career but were just interested and informed. Each evening there was some kind of activity—
from a presentation given by Dr. John Morris, President of ICR, on the future of the Creation Movement to a
boat cruise on the rivers of Pittsburgh.
Many of the presentations were reports of ongoing science research being done by scientists who are looking
for answers and explanations to old as well as new questions about the formation of the earth, its aging issues,
and related topics such as the universal flood. Papers were categorized into five major areas:
1. Foundations of Science
2. Life Sciences
3. Astro Sciences
4. Social Sciences and Humanities
5. Earth and Planetary Sciences
Some of the presentations I was able to attend included:
* Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth —Larry Vardiman
* Do Creation and Flood Myths Found Worldwide Have a Common Origin? —John Bergman
* Radioisotopes in the Diabase Sill —Steve Austin
* Accelerated Decay: Theoretical Models —Eugene Chaffin
* Will Mechanics Allow a Rapid Ice Age Following the Flood —Mark Horstemeyer
* Nautiliod Mass Kill and Burial Event —Steve Austin
* Temperature Profile for an Optimized Water Vapor Canopy —Larry Vardiman
* Perspectives on Aging, A Young-Earth Creation Diversification Mechanism —Tom Wood
* Reflections on the Post Huttonian Relevance —John Baldwin
* Hypercanes following the Genesis Flood —Larry Vardiman
* The Significance of Caves in Post-Flood History —Emil Silvestru
*Rafting: A Post-Flood Biogeographic Dispersal Mechanism —Kurt Wise
* Creation Astronomy —-Danny Faulkner
* Catastrophic Plate Tectonics: The Physics Behind the Genesis Flood —John Baumgardner
As an alternative to the Technical Track, there was a Basic Track of presentations that followed the same time
schedule but had only one paper per sectional. This track was only available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
These topics were presented more as introductory programs for those less trained in the sciences.
In addition to the variety of topics from the general nature to the specific issues, please note the list of
presenters. Many of them have been involved and have published their works in creation research before this
conference. Plus, these knowledgeable individuals were available to anyone after their presentations for
additional questions or comments.
At this conference, I encountered little or no difficulty in the presentations with regard to the WELS doctrinal
teachings. Most of the topics were kept to true science methodology and pure research. Many did comment
and/or asked questions such as:
Did the facts or results they found in their research agree or not with the secular world’s findings? Would their
results support pure science mechanisms that support the Creation model and/or put question marks into the
evolutionary models? However, since this conference is composed of many different Christian denominations
that support the Creation model, one must be vigilant, especially when the discussions refer to applications of
Scripture.
Another benefit in going to this conference was the bookstore. There were a variety of publishers with a large
assortment of creation science materials. I did purchase enough reading materials and videos (to help uncover
details of these authors that will help me in my own teaching of the sciences) that will take me easily through
next summer to finish viewing.
In order to help the conference participant absorb the content of the sectionals, there was a book of
proceedings of the conference papers available. Many of the presenters didn’t follow their submitted paper
paragraph by paragraph, but this book would be the only written material available by the presenter. This year’s
version has been sold out, but they were recording each presentation on audio and were to include any power
point presentations they could onto a CD set and/or MP3 disk. These were to be available for around $35. If
interested, you can try the Internet address of www.icr03.org for your own copy.
The ICC conference has been hosted by the Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., of Pittsburgh, PA. You may be
able to find out more from them at www.csfpittsburgh.org .
When this conference is presented again in about 4 years, I would recommend others attend to get a personal
insight into research that supports God’s Word instead of denying it. LSI
presenters and hosts of this conference. I truly appreciate and thank the LSI for the opportunity and financial
grant to attend this conference in August, 2003, at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA.
The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for creation researchers to share their latest research and
provide an opportunity to discuss this research relevant to the legal and professional issues involved and how
they affect the teaching of creation based science.
The structure of this six day conference consisted of four sessions each day, each session 90 minutes in length,
with two different papers being presented each session. The last 15-30 minutes of each session was open for
participants to ask questions or make comments to the presenter.
I was surprised at the in-depth questioning many of the individuals had, even though some did not have a
science based career but were just interested and informed. Each evening there was some kind of activity—
from a presentation given by Dr. John Morris, President of ICR, on the future of the Creation Movement to a
boat cruise on the rivers of Pittsburgh.
Many of the presentations were reports of ongoing science research being done by scientists who are looking
for answers and explanations to old as well as new questions about the formation of the earth, its aging issues,
and related topics such as the universal flood. Papers were categorized into five major areas:
1. Foundations of Science
2. Life Sciences
3. Astro Sciences
4. Social Sciences and Humanities
5. Earth and Planetary Sciences
Some of the presentations I was able to attend included:
* Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth —Larry Vardiman
* Do Creation and Flood Myths Found Worldwide Have a Common Origin? —John Bergman
* Radioisotopes in the Diabase Sill —Steve Austin
* Accelerated Decay: Theoretical Models —Eugene Chaffin
* Will Mechanics Allow a Rapid Ice Age Following the Flood —Mark Horstemeyer
* Nautiliod Mass Kill and Burial Event —Steve Austin
* Temperature Profile for an Optimized Water Vapor Canopy —Larry Vardiman
* Perspectives on Aging, A Young-Earth Creation Diversification Mechanism —Tom Wood
* Reflections on the Post Huttonian Relevance —John Baldwin
* Hypercanes following the Genesis Flood —Larry Vardiman
* The Significance of Caves in Post-Flood History —Emil Silvestru
*Rafting: A Post-Flood Biogeographic Dispersal Mechanism —Kurt Wise
* Creation Astronomy —-Danny Faulkner
* Catastrophic Plate Tectonics: The Physics Behind the Genesis Flood —John Baumgardner
As an alternative to the Technical Track, there was a Basic Track of presentations that followed the same time
schedule but had only one paper per sectional. This track was only available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
These topics were presented more as introductory programs for those less trained in the sciences.
In addition to the variety of topics from the general nature to the specific issues, please note the list of
presenters. Many of them have been involved and have published their works in creation research before this
conference. Plus, these knowledgeable individuals were available to anyone after their presentations for
additional questions or comments.
At this conference, I encountered little or no difficulty in the presentations with regard to the WELS doctrinal
teachings. Most of the topics were kept to true science methodology and pure research. Many did comment
and/or asked questions such as:
Did the facts or results they found in their research agree or not with the secular world’s findings? Would their
results support pure science mechanisms that support the Creation model and/or put question marks into the
evolutionary models? However, since this conference is composed of many different Christian denominations
that support the Creation model, one must be vigilant, especially when the discussions refer to applications of
Scripture.
Another benefit in going to this conference was the bookstore. There were a variety of publishers with a large
assortment of creation science materials. I did purchase enough reading materials and videos (to help uncover
details of these authors that will help me in my own teaching of the sciences) that will take me easily through
next summer to finish viewing.
In order to help the conference participant absorb the content of the sectionals, there was a book of
proceedings of the conference papers available. Many of the presenters didn’t follow their submitted paper
paragraph by paragraph, but this book would be the only written material available by the presenter. This year’s
version has been sold out, but they were recording each presentation on audio and were to include any power
point presentations they could onto a CD set and/or MP3 disk. These were to be available for around $35. If
interested, you can try the Internet address of www.icr03.org for your own copy.
The ICC conference has been hosted by the Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., of Pittsburgh, PA. You may be
able to find out more from them at www.csfpittsburgh.org .
When this conference is presented again in about 4 years, I would recommend others attend to get a personal
insight into research that supports God’s Word instead of denying it. LSI
