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.

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