Creation Science Movement
Encyclopedia
The Creation Science Movement (CSM, founded in 1932 as the Evolution Protest Movement) is a British
Creationist
organisation which lays claim to the title "the oldest creationist movement in the world". It was a member of the Evangelical Alliance
until its resignation in 2008, and is a registered charity.
(or Philosophical Society of Great Britain) whose stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture ... against the opposition of Science falsely so called." Although the Victoria Institute was not officially opposed to evolution, it attracted a number of scientists sceptical of Darwinism
. It had its heyday in the late 19th century, but by the 1910s had shrunk considerably, and considerable apathy had set in. Prominent Canadian creationist (and long-standing institute member) George McCready Price
, attended meetings regularly while living in London between 1924 and 1928, but his views failed to persuade the membership. Before returning to North America, Price noted that British creationists were "scattered and divided into a number of small, weak, and insignificant groups or societies", and called for them to unify.
In 1932 decorated submariner turned free-lance journalist Bernard Acworth
proposed the formation of an anti-evolution society that would confine itself "as far as that might be possible, to the scientific rather than to the philosophic and religious plane". The proposal was seconded by barrister
and amateur ornithologist Douglas Dewar
, and the Evolution Protest Movement was formed at a meeting between them and five like-minded conservative evangelicals with electrical engineer, physicist
and Victoria Institute president John Ambrose Fleming
as president, Acworth as chairman and Dewar as secretary-treasurer.
The EPM existed as only a paper organisation until it was publicly launched in February 1935, at a meeting attended by over six hundred. In its early years, Dewar was the main driving force within the EPM, publishing a booklet entitled Man: A Special Creation and engaging in public speaking and debates with supporters of evolution. In the late 1930s he resisted the American creationists call for acceptance of flood geology
. Dewars association with the EPM was to span a quarter century, and saw it grow to about two hundred members, with small branches in Australia
and New Zealand
. However it failed to win the public endorsement of C.S. Lewis, the most prominent Christian apologist of his day (and a personal friend of Acworth's), though he privately admitted to finding their arguments increasingly compelling.
In the mid 1950s the EPM came under control of schoolmaster/pastor Albert G. Tilney, whose dogmatic and authoritarian style ran the organisation "as a one-man band", unwaveringly promoting Gap creationism
and reducing the membership to lethargic inactivity. A prominent Canadian entomologist with anti-evolution leanings described it as "largely ignored or ridiculed by both the scientific and ecclesiastical establishments", and several prominent Creationists declined to serve as officers.
In the 1970s, the recent publication of an English edition of The Genesis Flood
, the EPM's rejection of flood geology
, and Tilney's idiosyncratic scriptural interpretations, led to the formation of rival creationist groups such as the Newton Scientific Association and the Biblical Creation Society. During this time the EPM came to grudging acceptance of flood geology, and a number of young Earth creationists
(YEC) joined its council and moved the balance away from Tilney and his allies. It was renamed the Creation Science Movement in 1980. By the mid 1980s it had become overwhelmingly YEC, formally incorporated flood geology into their 'Deed of Trust' (which all officers were required to sign) and condemned Gap and Day-Age Creationism
as unscriptural. By the early 1990s it had closed down its foreign branches, but had increased its membership considerably.
The current chairman of the CSM is David Rosevear, who has a Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry
from the University of Bristol
, United Kingdom
and was a senior lecturer
in chemistry
at Portsmouth University. He is a Young Earth creationist, who when interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation has claimed that members of the public are brainwashed
by the media
into believing in evolution
.
is sited in the old National Provincial Bank on Portsmouth Harbour
. It "consists of 12 dioramas and a clutch of real fossilised dinosaur eggs." The dioramas include a mockup of a gravestone with "Here lies the Theory of Evolution" carved on it.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Creationist
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
organisation which lays claim to the title "the oldest creationist movement in the world". It was a member of the Evangelical Alliance
Evangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....
until its resignation in 2008, and is a registered charity.
History
The Evolution Protest Movement (EPM) had its roots in the Victoria InstituteVictoria Institute
The Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, was founded in 1865, as a response to the publication of On the Origin of Species and Essays and Reviews. Its stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture .....
(or Philosophical Society of Great Britain) whose stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture ... against the opposition of Science falsely so called." Although the Victoria Institute was not officially opposed to evolution, it attracted a number of scientists sceptical of Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
. It had its heyday in the late 19th century, but by the 1910s had shrunk considerably, and considerable apathy had set in. Prominent Canadian creationist (and long-standing institute member) George McCready Price
George McCready Price
George McCready Price was a Canadian creationist. He produced several anti-evolution and creationist works, particularly on the subject of flood geology...
, attended meetings regularly while living in London between 1924 and 1928, but his views failed to persuade the membership. Before returning to North America, Price noted that British creationists were "scattered and divided into a number of small, weak, and insignificant groups or societies", and called for them to unify.
In 1932 decorated submariner turned free-lance journalist Bernard Acworth
Bernard Acworth
Captain Bernard Acworth was an English submariner, writer, evangelical Christian and creationist.-Biography:...
proposed the formation of an anti-evolution society that would confine itself "as far as that might be possible, to the scientific rather than to the philosophic and religious plane". The proposal was seconded by barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and amateur ornithologist Douglas Dewar
Douglas Dewar
Douglas Dewar was a barrister, British civil servant in India and an ornithologist. He wrote widely in newspapers such as The Madras Mail, Pioneer, Times of India and periodicals such as the Civil and Military Gazette and Bird Notes.-Biography:He particularly advanced field studies of birds and he...
, and the Evolution Protest Movement was formed at a meeting between them and five like-minded conservative evangelicals with electrical engineer, physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and Victoria Institute president John Ambrose Fleming
John Ambrose Fleming
Sir John Ambrose Fleming was an English electrical engineer and physicist. He is known for inventing the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube, the diode, then called the kenotron in 1904. He is also famous for the left hand rule...
as president, Acworth as chairman and Dewar as secretary-treasurer.
The EPM existed as only a paper organisation until it was publicly launched in February 1935, at a meeting attended by over six hundred. In its early years, Dewar was the main driving force within the EPM, publishing a booklet entitled Man: A Special Creation and engaging in public speaking and debates with supporters of evolution. In the late 1930s he resisted the American creationists call for acceptance of flood geology
Flood geology
Flood geology is the interpretation of the geological history of the Earth in terms of the global flood described in Genesis 6–9. Similar views played a part in the early development of the science of geology, even after the Biblical chronology had been rejected by geologists in favour of an...
. Dewars association with the EPM was to span a quarter century, and saw it grow to about two hundred members, with small branches in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. However it failed to win the public endorsement of C.S. Lewis, the most prominent Christian apologist of his day (and a personal friend of Acworth's), though he privately admitted to finding their arguments increasingly compelling.
In the mid 1950s the EPM came under control of schoolmaster/pastor Albert G. Tilney, whose dogmatic and authoritarian style ran the organisation "as a one-man band", unwaveringly promoting Gap creationism
Gap Creationism
Gap creationism is a form of Old Earth creationism that posits that the six-day creation, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved literal 24-hour days, but that there was a gap of time between two distinct creations in the first and the second verses of Genesis, explaining...
and reducing the membership to lethargic inactivity. A prominent Canadian entomologist with anti-evolution leanings described it as "largely ignored or ridiculed by both the scientific and ecclesiastical establishments", and several prominent Creationists declined to serve as officers.
In the 1970s, the recent publication of an English edition of The Genesis Flood
The Genesis Flood
The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications is a 1961 book by young earth creationists John C. Whitcomb and Henry M...
, the EPM's rejection of flood geology
Flood geology
Flood geology is the interpretation of the geological history of the Earth in terms of the global flood described in Genesis 6–9. Similar views played a part in the early development of the science of geology, even after the Biblical chronology had been rejected by geologists in favour of an...
, and Tilney's idiosyncratic scriptural interpretations, led to the formation of rival creationist groups such as the Newton Scientific Association and the Biblical Creation Society. During this time the EPM came to grudging acceptance of flood geology, and a number of young Earth creationists
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
(YEC) joined its council and moved the balance away from Tilney and his allies. It was renamed the Creation Science Movement in 1980. By the mid 1980s it had become overwhelmingly YEC, formally incorporated flood geology into their 'Deed of Trust' (which all officers were required to sign) and condemned Gap and Day-Age Creationism
Day-Age Creationism
Day-age creationism, a type of old Earth creationism, is an interpretation of the creation accounts found in Genesis. It holds that the six days referred to in the Genesis account of creation are not ordinary 24-hour days, but rather are much longer periods...
as unscriptural. By the early 1990s it had closed down its foreign branches, but had increased its membership considerably.
The current chairman of the CSM is David Rosevear, who has a Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry is the study of chemical compounds containing bonds between carbon and a metal. Since many compounds without such bonds are chemically similar, an alternative may be compounds containing metal-element bonds of a largely covalent character...
from the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and was a senior lecturer
Senior lecturer
Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. Especially in research-intensive universities, lecturers lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at Portsmouth University. He is a Young Earth creationist, who when interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation has claimed that members of the public are brainwashed
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
by the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
into believing in evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
Genesis Expo
The CSM's Genesis ExhibitionGenesis Expo
The Genesis Expo is a permanent exhibition and shop dedicated to the creationist belief that life on earth originated by design, not by Darwinian natural selection. It is located in the former National Provincial Bank in Portsmouth, UK...
is sited in the old National Provincial Bank on Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...
. It "consists of 12 dioramas and a clutch of real fossilised dinosaur eggs." The dioramas include a mockup of a gravestone with "Here lies the Theory of Evolution" carved on it.