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Take the Young Earth Creationist Quiz Used in a Kentucky School | Righting America

by William Trollinger

An acquaintance passed along to Dan Phelps a quiz – displayed below – that was given to pre-high school students at a private school in rural Kentucky. If you find this young Earth creationist quiz ludicrous, please understand that the logic employed here is very much in keeping with what one finds in the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, as well as in Answer in Genesis apologetics materials. That is to say, creationist materials for adults are not notably more sophisticated or nuanced than what one finds in this quiz.

I have a few additional comments to make at the end. But first, here’s the quiz (and good luck!):

Photo of first page of questions on a Kentucky high school quiz.
Photo of second page of questions on a Kentucky high school quiz.
Photo of third page of questions on a Kentucky high school quiz with explanations to the answers.
Photo of fourth page of questions on a Kentucky high school quiz with explanations to the answers.
Photo of fifth page of questions on a Kentucky high school quiz with explanations to the answers.

Comments:

  1. While the explanations of the right answers for questions #5 and #7 claim that they were “covered above” in earlier explanations, this is obviously not the case.
  2. The explanation of the right answer for question #8 – “creationists and evolutionists . . . interpret the facts differently because they have different presuppositions” – is at the heart of all creation science apologetics, and is central to what is going on at the Creation Museum. Of course, such an argument goes beyond young Earth creationism to legitimate all forms of pseudo-science.
  3. The explanation of the right answer for question #10 – “all Christian doctrine is founded in the book of Genesis” – is (to understate the point) a novel theological assertion that is at odds with two millennia of Christian thinking. But it is all part of the young Earth creationist effort to minimize the Gospels and – in particular – the teachings of Jesus.
  4. The explanation of the right answer for question #1 reflects a young Earth creationist obsession with explaining why Cain marrying and having sex with his sister was ok. This is the topic of one of the most bizarre placards at the Creation Museum, “Where Did Cain Get His Wife?” The argument presented on this placard is virtually identical to the argument presented in this quiz. As we note in Righting America:

Even in the context of the Creation Museum, this is one strange placard. Here we have an argument on behalf of incest that includes questionable claims about human genetics, an attack on those who criticize incest on any grounds other than the Bible, and the suggestion that incest is not as bad as it seems, given that all humans engaging in sexual activity are having sex with relatives. Here we have an argument that renders a near-universal moral taboo wrong primarily on instrumentalist grounds. (177)