Evolutionists Demand Removal of Creationists
Book from Grand Canyon Bookstores
By Jim Day

     What would provoke the presidents of seven prestigious geological societies -- representing around 100,000 geologists and paleontologists -- to write a scathing letter of protest to the superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park?
      Try a coffee-table book offering a different view on how the Grand Canyon was formed!
      A relatively new creationist coffee-table book entitled Grand Canyon: A Different View by Tom Vail (which has been available in the Grand Canyon National Park’s six bookstores since late July, early August, 2003) has raised the

hackles on the backs of a multitude of prominent evolutionists to the point of demanding that the book be removed from the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) bookstores or placed in the inspirational section of the bookstores, away from its original (and rightful) place in the natural sciences section. The problem for these esteemed scientists is that the book is more than just a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book, because it presents scientific evidence from some of the best-known creation scientists and theologians of our time as to how the Grand Canyon was formed.
     Vail’s striking book presents an alternative scientific and philosophical viewpoint that runs contrary to evolutionary dogma that the Canyon was formed over millions of years by the Colorado River.

      Even though the book’s thesis (that the Canyon was carved out quickly by a lot of water) has been accepted by some evolutionary geologists who have agreed that the Canyon was formed by a sudden catastrophe, the book has still incurred the wrath of evolutionary zealots.
      In a letter of protest dated December 16, 2003, the presidents of seven different scientific organizations lashed out at the National Park Service (NPS) for supposedly undermining “the scientific understanding of Grand Canyon geology” by promoting “the anti-science movement known as young Earth creationism.”

Bad theology - bad science?
     The apparent instigator of the incident was Dr. Wilfred A. Elders, a professor at the University of California–Riverside, who ran across the book while visiting the Canyon. Incensed by the book’s mere presence in the bookstore, he published a scathing review of the book’s “absurdities” in the September 23, 2003 issue of the geophysics journal Eos entitled Bibliolatry Revisited: A Review of Grand Canyon: a Different View.  
     Elders noted that the book’s editor, Tom Vail, was “a Colorado River guide who is well acquainted with the Grand Canyon at river level.”  Vail however is more than “well acquainted” with the Grand Canyon. He’s a former information systems manager for a Fortune 500 company who, after his first visit to the Canyon, left the corporate world to become a full-time rafting guide and has led more than 150 Canyon tours over the past 25 years.  After becoming a Christian in 1994, he and his wife started Canyon Ministries to provide Christ-centered rafting trips through the Grand Canyon.
     Elders went on to note that the book’s contributors “comprise a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ in creationism,” including Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. John Whitcomb and Ken Ham.
     In another portion of Elders’ attack piece he comments on the format of the book, “The format of GCDV [Grand Canyon: a Different View] has each chapter beginning with an overview by Vail followed by brief comments by other contributors.  A note on the contents page lays out the ground rules for such participation – ‘All contributions have been peer reviewed to ensure a consistent and biblical perspective.’ This perspective is extreme biblical literalism. Thus, in my opinion GCDV combines both bad theology and bad science. ”
     Elder’s review closed with these words: “I believe that the continued sale of this book within the National Park would undermine the work of the National Park Service interpreters who work so hard to educate the public.”
     Three months later, the superintendent of the GCNP received a letter of protest (see letter at the end of this article) signed by seven high-powered presidents of various scientific societies.

Out of sight - out of mind
     The presidents’ letter opens with the old line that the biblical view of Earth history is “a particular religious interpretation...under the guise of being a scientific explanation.”
     The letter closes with the same claim: “Grand Canyon: A Different View is not about science and we strongly urge that, if it remains available in Grand Canyon bookstores, it be clearly separated from books and materials
that do discuss our scientific understanding of Grand Canyon geology. ...we must clearly distinguish religious tenets from scientific knowledge.”
     Apparently, either the Superintendent of GCNP, the Grand Canyon Association (a private non-profit organization that operates the Parks’ bookstores) or someone in the NPS headquarters in Washington, decided to comply with part of the letters’ demands. On January 7th the Los Angeles Times reported: “In part to appease some outraged Grand Canyon employees, the book was moved from the natural sciences section to the inspirational reading section
of park bookstores.”  That report was followed by an article in the Boston Globe on January 19th which stated: “The book, The Grand Canyon: A Different View, by Tom Vail is a creationist tract stating that the gorge was formed by the great flood described in Genesis. The thesis has no basis in science and is rightly filed in the inspirational section of the Grand Canyon National Park's bookstore -- it was moved there from the general reading collection last summer after visitors questioned its content.”
     On February 10th, when I called the GCNP and spoke to the Park Public Relations Officer, Maureen Oltrogge, she stated that the book had always been in the inspirational section of their bookstores and had never been in the natural sciences section. In speaking with Al Nash at the NPS headquarters in DC, Nash stated that he was not aware that any decision had been made to move the book from one section to another however he did state that whether the book would stay in the bookstores or not was still under consideration. Nash also stated that although all NPS bookstores were operated by concessionaires, the NPS has the final say-so on what’s sold in the stores.
     At press time a decision as to whether or not the book will remain in the GCNP bookstores was still pending.

Back to the attack
     In contrast to the biblical understanding of the Canyon’s geology, the esteemed scientists’ letter claims that their geologists’ long-age view of the Canyon is based on “well-documented scientific understanding” and “broadly accepted interpretations.”
     Even after all that creationists have published, these evolutionary geologists remain unwilling to acknowledge the most basic truth: both views of Earth history are based on the same facts, but scientists use different frameworks for interpreting these facts.
     It’s simply untrue and deceptive to claim that those who believe in a young Earth are anti-science and that the book Grand Canyon: A Different View “aggressively attacks modern science.”  In fact, three creationist scientists made poster presentations of their radiometric dating research at a conference of the American Geophysical Union in December -- and all three of these men (Dr. John Baumgardner, Dr. Russell Humphreys and Dr. Larry Vardiman) are contributors to Vail’s Grand Canyon book.
     Moreover, another contributor to Vail’s book, Dr. Steven Austin, has presented a paper at a Geological Society of America conference on his discovery of massive numbers of nautiloid fossils (a squid-like creature) catastrophically deposited in a rock formation of the Grand Canyon over hundreds of kilometers and including billions of nautiloids. The NPS even asked Dr. Austin to write a monograph for them, explaining his findings.
     Dr. Austin made his discovery, in part, because he believed the Genesis framework for interpreting the geology and history of the world. Evolutionists missed the story because they were not looking for evidence of catastrophe on such a massive scale.

Not surprised
     Vail commented: “I’m not surprised at the letter. The book presents a different view, one that goes against the grain of everything they [evolutionary geologists] believe. Without an Earth that is millions of years old, the entire evolutionary house of cards falls apart, and think about what that would mean to those that have been trying to prove this theory their whole careers. Not only does their theory crumble, but their worldview crumbles with it.
     “Plus, it is just what the Bible warns us about. Colossians 2:8 says ‘See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.’  This was the core Scripture in compiling this book and that is what this letter attacking the book is all about.”

Possible legal action
     It gets worse. A left-leaning group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) saw Elder’s Eos

article and issued a press release proclaiming that Christian fundamentalists were taking over the National Park Service. “The Park Service leadership now caters exclusively to conservative Christian fundamentalist groups,” lamented Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of PEER. “The Bush Administration appears to be sponsoring a program of Faith-Based Parks.”  The PEER press release also attacked the deputy director of the National Park Service, Donald Murphy, for restoring three religious plaques at the Grand Canyon, which the park’s superintendent had removed earlier.
      The press release included an unsubstantiated claim that “Park Service
leadership has blocked publication of guidance for interpretative staff that labeled creationism as lacking any Government Affairs Program, which is looking into the report.

Take a stand against censorship
     As of February 6th, about 7,000 people had written the NPS to voice their opinions about the book and request that the book not be banned from GCNP bookstores.
     As mentioned earlier, at press time, a final decision by the NPS to totally remove the book from its Grand Canyon bookstores was still pending. However, someone has evidently mistakenly decided to place the book in the inspirational section of the bookstores stores away from its rightful place in the natural sciences section. This move totally ignores the scientific evidence presented in Vail’s book that there was a global flood, and that one of its after-effects was a quick carving out of a massive canyon in northern Arizona.  
     If this book stays in its current inspirational spot, then the bookstores should move its evolutionary books to the same section because those books also present a worldview (an evolutionary – humanist one) and therefore are also religious.
     It’s not too late to take a stand against this effort of censorship. I would strongly urge readers to send a firm but polite e-mail to Ms. Fran Mainella, Director of the US National Park Service, at fran_mainella@nps.gov (note that there is an underscore -- not a space -- between the first and last name in the email address) respectfully requesting that Grand Canyon: A Different View remain in Canyon bookstores, and that it be returned to the natural sciences section where it rightfully belongs (and not remain in the ‘inspirational’ section).
      If you would rather write a letter or send a fax here are some points you may wish to include in your letter or fax:

     1. No one is forcing people to read the book or accept its viewpoint – it’s only sitting on a bookstore shelf.

     2. I do not want my tax dollars supporting a Park Service that would condone censorship. Why should a legitimate view of the Canyon’s formation be silenced (i.e. the view that the Canyon was carved by a lot of water over a short period of time)?

     3. You may wish to conclude with a final phrase like: “Please don’t allow censorship and book banning to occur.”

     4. An extra added touch might be to CC your Congressman and US Senator.

     Be sure to include your full name and address. Letters and faxes should be address to: Ms. Fran Mainella, Director of the US National Park Service, 1849 C. Street N.W. Washington DC, 20240. The fax number is (202) 208-7889.

Presidents’ letter of protest

December 16, 2003

Mr. Joseph Alston, Superintendent
Grand Canyon National Park
P.O. Box 129
Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023

Dear Mr. Alston:

     It has come to our attention that a book espousing a particular religious interpretation of the Grand Canyon is being sold in bookstores within the Grand Canyon National Park under the guise of being a scientific explanation for the origin of the canyon. The book, The Grand Canyon: A Different View (compiled by Vail, 2003), makes claims about the age of the rocks and the formation of the canyon that are at odds with the well-documented scientific understanding of Earth history. The book is not about geology but, rather, advances a narrow religious view about the Earth. We urge you to remove the book from shelves where buyers are given the impression that the book is about Earth science and its content endorsed by the National Park Service.
     The National Park Service should be extremely careful about giving the impression that it approves of the anti-science movement known as young Earth creationism or endorses the advancement of religious tenets as science. The book aggressively attacks modern science and broadly accepted interpretations of the geologic history of the Grand Canyon. As such, any implied approval or endorsement by the NPS for the book and others like it undermines efforts to educate the public about the scientific understanding of Grand Canyon geology.
     The Grand Canyon: A Different View is not about science and we strongly urge that, if it remains available in Grand Canyon bookstores, it be clearly separated from books and materials that do discuss our scientific understanding of Grand Canyon geology. As you know, the Grand Canyon provides a remarkable and unique opportunity to educate the public about Earth science. In fairness to the millions of park visitors, we must clearly distinguish religious tenets from scientific knowledge.
     We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,

William I. Ausich, President, Paleontological Society
Robert E. Dickinson, President, American Geophysical Union
Cathryn A. Manduca, President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers
John C. Steinmetz, President, Association of American State Geologists
Hans-Dieter Sues, President, Society for Vertebrate Paleontology
Barbara J. Tewksbury, President, American Geological Institute
Robert van der Voo, President, Geological Society of America

CC: The Honorable Fran Mainella, Director, National Park Service
Dr.. Michael Soukup, NPS Associate Director, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
Mr. Loran Fraser, Chief, NPS Office of Policy

Note…

     For more information on this growing controversy (or purchase a copy of the book) go to www.canyonministries.com OR www.AnswersInGenesis.org/Canyonuproar. Canyon Ministries has a link which will take you to the complete text of Elders’ Eos article as well as the letter from the seven presidents. Much of the information in this article was taken from a report posted on the Answers In Genesis web site www.answersingenesis.org by Mike Matthews.

Correction

For those who obtain the MetroVoice from one of our many distribution points throughout the St. Louis metro area and outlying communities or subscribe to the MetroVoice, please accept our apologies. The web site address which was printed at the end of this article for Canyon Ministries should have been www.canyonministries.com (as corrected here on our web site) and NOT org.