Grand Canyon Creation Book Stays on Shelves
The ruckus over a creation-oriented geology book on Grand Canyon at the Visitor Center (see 01/18/2004 headline) is back in the news. The Environmental Media Services reports that plans for a review have been shelved by the park:
Despite telling members of Congress and the public that the legality and appropriateness of the National Park Service offering a creationist book for sale at Grand Canyon museums and bookstores was “under review at the national level by several offices,” no such review took place, according to materials obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, the real agency position was expressed by NPS spokesperson Elaine Sevy as quoted in the Baptist Press News:
“Now that the book has become quite popular, we don’t want to remove it.”
The group calling itself “Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility” (PEER) complains that the Bush Administration has a “Faith-Based Parks” agenda:
“Promoting creationism in our national parks is just as wrong as promoting it in our public schools,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, “If the Bush Administration is using public resources for pandering to Christian fundamentalists, it should at least have the decency to tell the truth about it.”
This reporter found copies on the bottom row of the North Rim Visitor Center in August. The Ranger on duty indicated that people seem to like the book and want it, so they keep it on hand.
Update On Oct. 19, World Net Daily posted an article on the controversy. A National Park Service official said the review has not been shelved, but is “being looked at very carefully because it could be precedent-setting throughout the Park Service.”
The Darwin Party can only thrive in a totalitarian regime. They are so threatened by other interpretations of the scientific evidence, they must resort to intimidation, the courts, and lies to try to stop the other side from being heard. The book in question is not a flaky mythology like some native American stories that get evangelistic support at many national parks. Grand Canyon: A Different View was written by scientists (at least 13 with PhDs) and canyon explorers with a lot of experience studying the canyon. They just don’t subscribe to the reigning uniformitarian myth, but neither do some non-creationist geologists (see 07/22/2002 headline). Many of the evidences supporting the Flood model are well known within the scientific community. The secularists have no explanation for these things, such as 160 million years of missing strata with no evidence of erosion, and all they can offer is just-so stories that assume the ages anyway. It is perfectly legal for any scientific viewpoint to be heard, especially one that explains these things in a superior fashion. Why should it be “legal” and “appropriate” for the Bush Administration to “pander” to the atheists? Promoting atheism in our national parks is just as wrong as promoting it in our public schools. PEER should at least have the decency to tell the truth about it. Buy the book AT the Grand Canyon visitor center if you can. It’s not only a vote for fairness, it’s a worthwhile book to read and enjoy.