February 25th is a special day in the history of our world in light of an event that occurred three years ago today. It was an event tied to tragedy, even relating to Virginia Tech. It was an event surrounding Truth and worldwide influence. It was an event resulting in triumph from a perspective far beyond our measurements of time. What event am I referring to in this latest Blog? This event even relates to my 02-12-09 Blog, “Darwin, TRAGEDY, and Lincoln.” It was on February 25, 2006 that….
Henry Madison Morris was promoted to Glory. Henry M. Morris was a man of science and a man of God (c.f. http://www.icr.org/article/4343/). He was a widely respected scientist in the field of civil engineering, specializing in hydraulics. His longest tenure of service in the academic university community was actually at Virginia Tech University (known more then as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University). Henry M. Morris served for 13 years as the chairman of the civil engineering department at VT. Yet, there were tragedies that took place surrounding him while serving at VT.
Dr. Morris had taken a strong stand on the Truth of the Bible. In fact, he and another man in the town of Blacksburg had worked on a book that sprung from a local newspaper question and answer column about how the Bible has the answer to life’s questions. In addition, he had become a Gideon to help with the greater distribution of Bibles. Dr. Morris took a normal, historical/grammatical approach to understanding Scripture, in particular with the first Bible book of Genesis, and this put him at odds with certain officials at Virginia Tech and even in the church he attended. Tragically, this led to him essentially being expelled from his church in town and eventually from his position at Virginia Tech (c.f. my 04-18-08 Blog, “Expelled”).
Through the tragedy of essentially being expelled from his church, a Bible teaching church was formed in Blacksburg. In fact, several other churches were formed as a result of his efforts there. From the tragedy of being expelled from Virginia Tech (through internal pressure and not allowing his scientific, biblical perspective to be a part of the education process), Dr. Morris worked to start an educational institution. The Institute for Creation Research is the ongoing result of this (www.icr.org). Many other Creation organizations worldwide have been founded as a result of Dr. Henry Morris’s influence and his faithfulness to continue in Truth, despite any tragedy or whatever he faced.
The most influential book (essentially the foundational work for the modern Creation movement) coming from Dr. Morris’ scientific perspective and co-authored by Dr. John Whitcomb (a theological scholar) is The Genesis Flood. This book continues to be printed today and offers a reasonable scientific explanation of what a global flood (described in the Bible) would produce.
Friend, the physical evidence around the world indicates that the world was once covered with water. Dr. Morris understood this and explained how we can understand this scientifically. Dr. Morris is now in the immediate presence of the Creator since he passed away three years ago, today. Will you come to triumph in tragedy or through any difficult circumstances in life (like a devastating economic flood)? Will you triumph over death and through the power of death? You can, if you study the Creation, understand His Covenants (The Old and New of the Bible), and come to trust the Creator, Who will be your Savior—Jesus Christ!
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