#03 - The Foundation of Scargazers

We shared where the idea of Scargazers originated, in a plane with a 35,000-foot view of the land below, but that idea came only because there was already a foundation of belief to connect to. The fact of a global flood was already well established in us because we had been following a handful of creation ministries and consuming their resources for many years, all which reinforced the Bible’s teachings.

We would like to introduce you to the science ministries we started following in the late 1980s which, after the Bible, are the foundation of Scargazers. There are now many more groups and organizations, but for now we’ll just start with the big three in our journey. Each one has publications (including technical options), podcasts, videos, books, and children’s resources. Each one has events to attend and speakers to send out to speak at churches and conferences. Each one has a website with endless amounts of information, whether you want a quick answer or a deep dive into a particular topic. You can find links to the websites at the bottom.

*ICR Discovery Center entrance lobby (March 2025)*

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a scientific research organization conducting their research within a biblical worldview. They were originally located in Santee, California, a short distance from where we lived in Temecula. ICR is now located in Dallas, Texas and in September of 2019, they opened the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History, and we were blessed to see it this past February while visiting our daughter and family who had recently moved from California to Texas.

The ICR Discovery Center has great interactive activities for all ages. They have state-of-the-art exhibits, lifelike holograms, animatronic creatures, interactive displays, user-friendly touchscreens, and a multimedia Ice Age theater. From the origins of the universe to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the exhibit hall explores Earth’s history starting with the biblical record.

*Creation Magazine, note "Post-Flood Animal Migration"*

Creation Ministries International (CMI) was originally located only in Australia when we started following them, but they have since added many international offices, including the US office in Georgia.

For over 45 years, CMI has focused on supporting the worldwide church as well as equipping individuals in proclaiming the truth and authority of the Bible and the Gospel. They have a very good search engine on their website that provides real-world answers to the most-asked questions on the vital topic of origins as clearly presented in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

Creation magazine is one of our favorite resources and is the world's most widely read magazine on the creation/evolution controversy, it’s available in print and digital formats and is sent out quarterly. They also publish the peer-reviewed scientific journal, The Journal of Creation, if you really want to dig into the technicalities of science.

In addition to their published material they host conferences all over the US, maybe there’s even one coming soon near you, check their website for more info.

*Our first visit to the Ark Encounter (May 2019)*

Answers in Genesis (AIG) also had its beginning in Australia but now is based in Kentucky. They are a ministry dedicated to enabling Christians to confidently defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively, starting in the most challenged book of the Bible, Genesis.

When we started following them, their only resources were magazines and traveling speakers. Fast forward to today, they continue to improve the wonderful Creation Museum (opened May 26, 2007) located just a few miles west of the Cincinnati airport and the amazing Ark Encounter (opened July 7, 2016) located 30 minutes south of the airport. We HIGHLY recommend visiting both!

The Creation Museum allows you to venture through biblical history with stunning state-of-the-art exhibits, botanical gardens, a planetarium, a zoo, zip lines, dining, and much more!

The Ark Encounter is a theme park featuring a life-size replica of Noah's Ark. It was built to provide a tangible experience within the ark during the biblical flood, and to challenge visitors with its theological implications. It answers questions about the feasibility of the Ark (animals fitting, food, waste, etc.) as well as the Bible's historicity. The park's exhibits and displays aim to demonstrate the truth of the Bible and its relevance to contemporary life.

Worth noting, the Ark Encounter opened on July 7 (or 7/7) not by accident. Genesis 7:7 says, “Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood.” We enjoyed following the building of the Ark from its earliest days of being a dream of AIG founder Ken Ham and we were blessed to make a small contribution toward its completion.

While our key objective with Scargazers is to highlight the evidence of Noah’s flood all around us, we also want followers to know there is a vast depth of scientific research and information available to support our discussions. While we plan to provide plenty of interesting information here, we’d love for you to also check out the resources that ICR, CMI, and AIG offer. We can’t begin to describe just how much you’ll find worth digging into to help you KNOW that the Bible is true, especially when it comes to the foundations of our faith.

Institute for Creation Research (ICR)

https://www.icr.org

Creation Ministries International (CMI)

https://creation.com

Answers in Genesis (AIG)

https://answersingenesis.org