Hope in a Creator, Hope in a Savior: Tales from the Creation Museum

by Alecia Klauk
(Chapin, SC)

Every brick placed for the glory of God.
Every flower planted to declare His majesty.
Every word written to point to a Creator, a Savior.

More than anywhere I have ever been, the Creation Museum gives a small taste of Heaven, as much as it can be when made by man. The fingerprint of God is all over this incredible place, and I simply must declare my wonder to the world.

I would like to take you on a tour with me through the museum.

I was welcomed by the magnificent gardens and water features. It feels like a tiny piece of Eden, an impression furthered by the petting zoo that brings the picture of paradise into view.

The lobby opens to a breathtaking display of a huge dinosaur. My boys were hooked, and I was surprised at my own childlike sense of wonder to see these huge beasts.

And then it hit me: there would not be one thing in this entire campus that would require me to lean down and whisper in my child's ear, "That's not true. The Bible says ..." I have seen big impressive displays before, but to have the emotional pressure gone, to relax and know that my children would be educated in the things of God, to be caught up in wonder myself without a need to protect: that was priceless. Even peaceful.

We went to the Planetarium. As a quintessential space freak, this was the part I looked forward to the most. I sat back and readied my heart to fall in love again, in love with the Creator. The show did not disappoint.

My unraveling started slowly with a slight trickle down my face, as I attempted to absorb the sheer magnitude of the universe. It progressed as the span of the sky was explained, and my crying became more pronounced. It culminated at a particular star field. This little, tiny spot in the cosmos boasts over 100,000 stars in just a 50 square light year space.

I was overwhelmed already, and then I heard in my spirit, "You wanna go there someday? I'll take you. (giggle) We can go on a Daddy/Daughter date!" I was undone and began to heave, sobbing as quietly as I could.

The fact that the same hand Who put all of Creation in motion with a word also holds me when I am afraid: that's what ruins me. It staggers my feeble little mind. How does He even see me?! But He does. And He cares. And He sent Jesus to that pretty blue ball and let Him die to bring me home. I cannot comprehend it! May I never. Oh, may I never.

I could have gone home right there. I could have sat there and cried all day. But the rest of the museum beckoned, so I peeled myself off the seat.

The museum is arranged around the Biblical chronological account of history: "Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation."

A side by side comparison of what man's wisdom assumes, and what the Bible teaches began our journey into the heart of the exhibits. It is presented in a scientifically credible way, and we were all trying to soak in all we could. There in that fist small section, there is an overview of creation and the flood, the fall and the redemption of mankind. It was clear at this early stage that the museum would go far beyond creation to give light to a Savior.

We went from there to the big boy displays, the monster dinosaurs. My boys were, of course, growling and loving every second of it. But what was so cool is that this particular section of the museum was presented before the fall of man.

So the dinosaurs were all herbivores. It was scary to stand in front of the T-Rex, but then comforting to think that he would have been a plant eater when everything was as it was created to be.

The tour then turns to a Biblical account of history after creation. Lifelike figures of Isaiah, Moses, David, Paul, even Peter and John peering in to an empty tomb, all stand as pieces of God's plan for man's redemption. Then Luther, old Biblical manuscripts, even a replica of the printing press that was used to print Bibles, all tell their story.

The tour then takes a sober turn as the cost of sin entering the world is displayed. Photos of poverty, bombs, disease and other results of sin are presented in sorrowful headlines that remind that sin is heavy. The evolutionary lie is placed in the context of an attempt to remove God and His authority from social consciousness. My heart was greatly sobered there.

But in such a powerful way, the corner is physically turned as God spiritually turns the card over and creation was revealed once again. A hall of glory to God, with Scripture everywhere and the names of God in great prominence filled my heart with worship. I could have sat right there all day. It was like a church. Holy.

Then, we went into Eden. Wow! What it must have been like! Incredibly beautiful and serene. This is "Creation." I studied Adam and Eve and found a new goal in my marriage: they were naked and unashamed. All we know about their pre-sin marriage is that they were naked and unashamed. I'll hold my ramblings on that for another column. But I think it preaches for days. I'm still chewing on that.

The temptation, the fall, and death entering the world are all stark realities that confront next: "Corruption." It saddened my heart, but made me so thankful for the remission of sin through Jesus. Sin's results are revealed: animals killed to cover Adam and Eve, animals killing each other for food, toil, travail, murder, more costs of sin.

And it all is leading up to "Catastrophe:" the flood, where God must punish the sin that had invaded the tranquility of the world. A breathtaking replica of a small section of the ark follows, along with a treasure trove of data about the flood. It was incredibly useful to understand how the flood changed the planet, and it equipped us to understand how to refute commonly held erroneous beliefs in regard to geography, geology, fossils and the like.

The tower of Babel's "Confusion" follows, explaining how the world went from Eden to a more modern reality. Many questions, such as dispersion of language, people, and animals, are addressed with credible science.

The grand culmination of the tour, "Christ, Cross and Consummation," is a short movie that gives a detailed presentation of the gospel, with powerful images of Calvary and a thorough explanation of our need for a Savior.

After the full tour of convincing data on the existence, mercy, and power of God, the gospel lands in a soft and supple place in the heart. I can easily imagine a heart moved to bow the knee in a plea for salvation, and my own heart is incredibly thankful for the 25 years that I have been safe under His grace.

The whole of the museum was a worshipful experience, and one I cannot recommend highly enough. Take your children. Take yourself. My children are better equipped to address creation with intelligence and credibility. They have experiential knowledge of the flood and God's mercy even in the midst of judgment through the ark. They have fed a camel, climbed a dinosaur, viewed the heavens. But most of all, they have seen Jesus.

As we left, Venture, my five year old boy, declared, "The most important thing is that we love Jesus." He got it. The most important thing is always Jesus.

And so to my God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and to the merciful Savior of my sinful heart, be all glory forever and ever. Amen.